The Great Escape is one of the most famous events of the Second World War, but few people know that a similar event preceded it in 1918. The First Great Escape took place in 1917, from Holzminden prisoner-of-war camp in Hanover, Germany. Camp Commandant Karl Niemeyer, a man who had an appalling reputation for mistreatment, boasted from the outset that escape from Holzminden was impossible. He greatly underestimated the ingenuity of the British Officers.
Within a month of the camp's establishment, 17 Officers escaped, although they were swiftly recaptured. Many other escape attempts failed, with the Officers being returned to confinement. It was against this backdrop that a small group of British Officers devised a plan to break out by digging a tunnel. This is the story of the incredible escape of 29 British Officers in July 1918, having spent 10 months constructing the tunnel right under the noses of their German guards.WATCH -http://www.channel5.com/shows/the-first-great-escape/episodes/the-first-great-escape
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