“No fortress can be so strong that it will not yield to time and patience.”
— Jean-Jacques RousseauIn today's world, the German officers who gave orders that sent hundreds of men to their deaths by hunkering down in the tunnels would face court martial, or there would be a war crimes investigation. The soldiers found a false sense of security in the well-lit, fortified tunnel system. Officers should have been informed about the limitations of the tunnel's protection and how soldiers can survive in them if a bombardment happens. Wolf's letters describe the tunnel system, where he was probably surprised that it became a death trap. Therefore, the lessons learned from this tragedy are ethical, military, and psychological. This signifies how technology cannot replace human intuition.
“No fortress can be so strong that it will not yield to time and patience.”
— Jean-Jacques RousseauHundreds of German soldiers were killed because of the military orders from their officers, due to the overreliance on engineering instead of human intuition. A collapse of a tunnel system today would bring about a war crime investigation. The tunnels provided military commanders with a false safety net to protect their soldiers, but instead became a death trap. I do not know if the engineers provided the commanders with information about the limitations of the tunnels in case a bombardment happens, which should have included an escape plan. Wolf's realized that the tunnels were well built and surprised that it killed so many Germans. However, there are lessons to be learned from this tragedy, such as psychological, ethical, and the limits of engineering.
The tunnels of Morte Homme were a technological marvel, but it did not replace human intuition. Officers who sent their soldiers into the tunnels during the bombardment killed them, and probably would have faced criminal charges. The limited protection that the tunnel provided created a false sense of security. The commanders thought the tunnels would protect their soldiers, but they should have consulted with the engineers about the vulnerability they faced.
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