Bomberg’s painting commemorates an incident in the First World War, in which a company of Canadian soldiers dug tunnels under the German trenches to lay explosives. The operation was part of the preparation for a surprise assault on the enemy defences at Hill 60, a low rise on the southern flank of the Ypres salient in Flanders. The hill, which had been captured by the Germans in 1914, was successfully retaken by the Allies in 1915.

This work was made by Bomberg as a preliminary study for a painting commissioned by the Canadian Government for a War Memorial exhibition. The poses of the figures emphasise their physical effort, giving them a somewhat heroic aspect. At the same time, they are not portrayed as individuals but as generic soldiers, akin to the props that support the tunnel. The fractured forms and surprisingly exuberant colouring add to this ambiguity. The painting was criticised at the time as a 'Futurist abortion', although Bomberg had compromised the abstraction of his earlier avant-garde work for a more representational style. The final version is now in the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.

David Bomberg (1890-1957) was born in Birmingham, and grew up in Whitechapel. He lived and worked in London.