Beneath the cobbled streets of this northern French city, the networks of galleries and tunnels played a vital role in protecting Allied soldiers during the fierce fighting that ravaged the region.
The underground shelters of Arras formed a true labyrinth, with narrow passages and spartan rooms where soldiers could find refuge. This complex of chalk underground quarries was connected by the New Zealanders during the war in order to emerge behind no man’s land and surprise the enemy.
Today, these underground shelters have become sites of memory and contemplation, recalling the sacrifice and courage of the soldiers who fought in the trenches of the First World War. It is possible to visit the underground museum.
