"Archaeologists dig for Operation Cobra remains" Topic

See:

link

Much uncovered including two previously unknown mass graves.

Barry

Interesting.

They'll be uncovering unexploded ordnance for the next thousand years…

Thank you. Interesting.

Zephyr, absent a collapse of civilization, in 200 years tops they'll have a machine capable of detecting and neutralizing our unexploded ordnance. Not sure it will be able to detect and neutralize theirs, of course.

Out of curiosity, have those of us who do campaigns ever tried this much-recommended German phased withdrawal to the Seine? I often wonder how this was was supposed to work out with an army about 80% horse-drawn.

@Zephyr1:
Farmers in France and Belgium still plough up a variety of ex- WW1 shells on each farm every year. Some farmers even leave a 'wood pile' of dud shells at the farm entrance for local disposal to collect. Both countries also still lose several EOD officers each year killed in explosions.

Even in Britain we have problems. Apart from unexploded Luftwaffe ordnance in our cities we also have left over WW1 shells from former British artillery ranges. Some of these were filled with mustard gas and similar and require special treatment. A recent TV documentary about Porton Down, the UK chemical and bacterial warfare unit, dealt with disposal of suspected mustard gas shells from an unspecified UK site. The suspect shells are X-rayed while angled at about 45 degrees. If the filler levels inside the shell it confirms that the content is a liquid (mustard or chlorine) and the shells are remotely opened in a gas chamber and burned. If the contents do not level but remain at 45 degrees then it is solid H.E. and is blown up conventionally.

Even our archaeologists can be at risk. On a recent dig a quantity of 'milk bottles' were found buried. They appeared to have a white content and even looked like milk. Luckily they were unbroken by the digging and someone got suspicious. Turns out they were ex-Home Guard (Dad's Army) Molotov Cocktails (made in WW2 from commercial milk bottles) and the white content included fuel, liquid latex rubber and white phosphorus. They would have ignited instantly on contact with the air! The bottles had been buried at the end of WW2 to 'get rid of them' and in the belief that they would never be found again.

Barry

Not just Britain, Warspite. A few years ago they discovered that a trendy Washington DC suburb had been built over WWI munitions, including mustard gas.

Not sure exactly where, but somewhere at sea off British coast… there is a Hell of a lot of Mustard Gas munitions.