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The WW1 flamethrower: a new weapon of war
The WW1 flamethrower: a new weapon of war
On:
August 7, 2014
By:
Patrick Wingrove
Posted in
Blog, Browsing The Archives
0
WW1 flamethrower
Europe’s technological development completely transformed the battlefield during the First World War.
Newly developed rifles could hit a target from almost a mile away; machine guns, on a fixed trajectory, could sweep an area with 400 rounds per minute and artillery units could bombard an opposing army from considerable distances. To protect themselves, the armies of both the Central Powers and the Allies dug trenches and began a war of attrition.
Each side sought to break the stalemate, and one of Germany’s first methods was to introduce the flammenwerfer, or flamethrower. The basic idea of the flamethrower was to destroy the enemy by launching burning fuel which set fire both to men and their surroundings. Early flamethrowers in the First World War were relatively simple weapons; the apparatus consisted of a reservoir tank containing fuel attached to a cylinder of highly compressed air, a pressure-gauge, a starter valve and an electric battery.
The flammenwerfer was initially used against the French army and reported by The Illustrated London News in March 1915. According to the ILN, a French official account had reported that,
The defenders of the trench felt heated air blowing over the parapet and in a few seconds were flooded with a scalding liquid which they think was pitch. Jets of the liquid played all over them in the midst of the smoke, as if squirted by a pump… the Germans hidden by a cloud of smoke managed to force a passage.
Part of the effectiveness of the flamethrower was in the terror it created, causing panic in enemy lines which could then be exploited. The most notable use of flamethrowers by the Germans in the First World War was a surprise attack on the British at Hooge, Flanders on 30 July 1915. The Germans succeeded in pushing the British from their trenches and slaughtered nearly 800 soldiers in two days of fighting. The success of the attack prompted the dissemination of flammenwerfer to all fronts of battle.
Flamethrowers were a very useful weapon when used at a short-range, but they came with some crucial drawbacks. The men who operated these machines had short life expectancies — British and French soldiers would concentrate their fire on the areas where flamethrowers were sited to eliminate the threat. Furthermore, there was always the chance the gas cylinder would explode and if the operator was captured it was unlikely that he would receive a great deal of mercy.
Flamethrowers, like gas, were considered by the British to be against the laws of warfare and portrayed as another example of German barbarism. The Illustrated London News condemned the German’s use of flamethrowers at Hooge as “diabolical”. This portrayal continued even after the Allies began using them. The Illustrated London News justified Britain’s use of flamethrowers by suggesting that they were compelled to adopt them for the purposes of self-defence against German flammenwerfers.
Towards the end of the war, each side had modified and improved their flamethrower designs. Smaller, lighter and more mobile flamethrowers were created and some were even adapted for use against tanks. The use of flamethrowers carried on in the Second World War and continues to this day.Related articlesOrdeal by Fire, and by Water: British Troops Sustaining an Attack by German FlammenwerferThe use of liquid fire, it will not be forgotten, was one of the amenities which Germany is proud of having introduced into modern war, and which the Allies, in…Champagne and Verdun: German Flammenwerfer in Action: And French Going to the Firing-LineThe splendid courage shown by the French troops in the defence of Verdun has excited universal admiration. “When one talks with the men who come down to Verdun straight from…Spraying Liquid Fire: The German “Flammenwerfer” in ActionIn a recent despatch Sir John French said: ” The enemy begn a bombardment of our trenches north and south of Hoee, and followed this by an attack with’flame-projector’. By…
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