The Great Siege Tunnels in Gibraltar
The Great Siege Tunnels in Gibraltar are an impressive feat of engineering and a testament to the strategic importance of this small peninsula on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. Constructed during the 18th century, these tunnels played a critical role in the defense of Gibraltar during the Great Siege of 1779-1783.
The Great Siege of Gibraltar was a key battle of the American Revolutionary War, as the British controlled Gibraltar’s strategic location at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea, which allowed them to control the flow of goods and ships in and out of the region. The siege began in June 1779, when a combined Spanish and French force began a sustained bombardment of the British garrison in Gibraltar.
The British, under the leadership of General George Augustus Eliott, responded with a combination of determined resistance and innovative defensive measures. One of the most remarkable of these was the construction of a network of tunnels inside the Rock … Read the rest