Editing Sapper (section)

=== Miner ===
{{See also|Mining (military)}}
[[File:Ghuznee.jpg|thumb|The fort of [[Battle of Ghazni|Ghazni]] which fell as a result of mining by a mixed contingent of the [[Bombay Engineer Group|Bombay]] and [[Bengal Engineer Group|Bengal Sappers]] during the [[First Afghan War]] on 23 July 1839.]]

An additional term applied to sappers of the British Indian Army was "miner." The native engineer corps were called "sappers and miners," for example, the [[Royal Bombay Sappers and Miners]]. The term arose from a task done by sappers to further the battle after saps were dug. The saps permitted cannons to be brought into firing range of the besieged fort and its cannons, but often the cannons themselves were unable to breach the fort walls. The engineers would dig a tunnel from the forward-most sap up to and under the fort wall, then place a charge of gunpowder and ignite it, causing an explosion that would destroy the wall and permit attacking infantry to close with the enemy. This was dangerous work, often lethal to the sappers, and was fiercely resisted by the besieged enemy. Since the two tasks went hand in hand and were done by the same troops, native Indian engineer corps came to be called "sappers and miners".