Digging tunnels or underground passages to intercept and destroy enemy mines during warfare.
From counter- (against) + mining (digging for minerals or laying explosive mines). The term evolved in military contexts during the 17th-18th centuries when fortifications relied on underground tunnel systems to defend against siege warfare.
Medieval and early modern armies fought literal underground wars—soldiers would dig counter-tunnels to find and destroy enemy mines before they could detonate, creating a kind of subterranean chess match beneath castle walls.
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