Tunnel, Bellicourt

Double leaf sketch of Bellicourt Tunnel, likely to be a preliminary sketch for the large painting ART12437 'Bellicourt tunnel'.

By September 1918, allied forces had pushed the Germans back to the Hindenburg Line. In part, this defensive line followed the route of the St Quentin Canal. Near Bellicourt, the canal ran underground for five and a half kilometres. On 29 September, after two days of heavy bombardment to destroy the German defences, Australian and American troops captured the tunnel. The discovery of an improvised German kitchen at the tunnel's southern end encouraged rumours of a secret "corpse-boiling-down" factory located within.

purchased with the assistance of the Australian Government through the National Cultural Heritage Account, 2007