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The hand grenade came to be one of the primary infantry weapons of trench warfare. Both sides were quick to raise specialist grenadier groups. The grenade enabled a soldier to engage the enemy without exposing himself to fire, and it did not require precise accuracy to kill or maim.
Allen, Edward A. Technical Progress Report: C12 Detonator Malfunctions in EX 1 Mod 0 Illuminating Hand Grenade. China Lake, Calif.: Naval Ordnance Test Station, 1963. Dockery, Kevin. Special Warfare Special Weapons. Chicago: Emperor's Press, 1997. ISBN 1-883476-00-3. Gervasi, Tom. Arsenal of Democracy III: America's War Machine.
The soldiers would charge through no man's land very quickly, utilizing hand grenades, pistols and flamethrowers to overwhelm enemy forces and secure a foothold in the trenches. Although Rohr developed his tactics for the Assault Detachment, they were first tested in combat by the 187th Infantry Regiment at the Vosges mountains. [6]
A grenadier (/ ˌ ɡ r ɛ n ə ˈ d ɪər / GREN-ə-DEER, French: [ɡʁənadje] ⓘ; derived from the word grenade) [1] was historically an assault-specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in siege operation battles. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited from ...
In 1917 a new bouncing grenade was developed that had a small powder charge in the head, and when the grenade hit, the charge would ignite, propelling the grenade 1 m (3 ft 3 in) into the air and then explode, increasing its blast radius. [3] The Granatenwerfer 16 was normally placed in either the first or second line of trenches.
But within two years, following the success of improvised grenades in the trench warfare conditions of the Russo-Japanese War, and reports from General Sir Aylmer Haldane, a British observer of the conflict, a reassessment was quickly made and the Board of Ordnance was instructed to develop a practical hand grenade. [23]
Grenades proved to be effective weapons in the trenches. When the war started, grenades were few and poor. Hand grenades were used and improved throughout the war. Contact fuzes became less common, replaced by time fuzes. The British entered the war with the long-handled impact detonating "Grenade, Hand No 1". [45]
Trench raiders were also armed with more modern weapons such as pistols, shotguns, submachine guns, and hand grenades, though these were only intended to be used in an emergency i.e. if the enemy discovered their activities and raised the alarm.