Beneath Hill 60

Woodward, an Australian miner, dreams of life beyond the copper pits while flashes of a romance with Marjorie Waddell frame his memories. He faces relentless pressure to enlist, especially from Marjorie’s father, and the prospect of service grows clearer as war looms. The flashbacks set the stage for his decision to join the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company.

Woodward is commissioned to lead the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company, a frontline unit that will work beneath enemy lines to support the Royal Engineers. The assignment promises danger but also a chance to influence the war from underground. The role binds his personal life to a perilous subterranean frontier.

In the Western Front's claustrophobic tunnels, Woodward meets Frank Tiffin, a young miner grappling with shell shock. He arranges relief for Tiffin with Dwyer and Morris, but two German tunnelers breach the line. Dwyer is killed when a tunnel explosion collapses the path, while Morris is saved by the remaining sappers.

Woodward, Morris, and Fraser carry out the mission to strike the Red House, a fortified German position. They advance under cover and lay explosives, but the cable they rely on is too short to reach safety. Morris volunteers to fetch the exploder, while Fraser and Woodward pull the others back; Lieutenant Clayton is mortally wounded as they retreat and dies soon after.

A tense but hopeful mood settles after the mission, punctuated by a friendly rugby game with British troops. Woodward is promoted to captain, and Fraser is promoted to sergeant as the unit shifts toward a broader war footing. The new assignments chart a path toward the Ypres salient.

The narrative narrows to three young soldiers—Tiffin, Sneddon, and Bacon—who become separated from the main body under machine-gun fire. The tension tightens as danger closes in, and Bacon sacrifices himself to distract the Germans, just inches from safety. The cost of courage weighs heavily as the unit presses on.

Woodward takes charge of two mines, Hill 60 and The Caterpillar, and oversees the construction of shafts to keep the water table at bay. Diversion tunnels are engineered to mislead the enemy while the sappers work underground. Jim Sneddon, Walter Sneddon's father, is buried in one tunnel after following orders that push him toward danger.

As German forces press, the Australians dig an attack tunnel and destroy the exploratory shaft to hamper the enemy's advance. The timing is perilous: the detonation of the shaft's charge weakens the clay, trapping Tiffin deeper underground. The crew fights to hold the line amid the labyrinth of tunnels.

In a decisive moment, Woodward detonates two of the mines at the outset of the Battle of Messines, unleashing a devastating blast beneath the enemy. The explosions mark a turning point in the tunnelling campaign and tilt the balance in favor of the Allies. The team endures the aftershocks and holds the line against renewed counterattacks.

Woodward returns home to civilian life, carrying the memories of the tunnels, losses, and hard-won victories. The contrast between peace above ground and the war beneath shapes his sense of self and duty. He confronts the lasting scars and the costs paid by his comrades.

The survivors gather to celebrate Woodward's homecoming and look forward to his forthcoming marriage to Marjorie. The moment anchors his identity as both a soldier and a man who balanced duty with love. The couple's bond roots their future in a fragile peace after years of subterranean warfare.

The final scenes reflect on the toll of war and the meaning of courage under fire. Woodward's leadership in the tunnels reshaped the war's outcome, while his personal life finds solidity in love and community. The tale closes with a quiet sense of closure for the soldiers who lived through the underground battles.