''Minenwerfer'' ("mine launcher" or "mine thrower") is the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
name for a class of short range
mine shell
A mine shell (from the German term ''Minengeschoß'', "mine shot"), also known as High-Explosive, High-Capacity (HEHC) in British military nomenclature, is a military explosive shell type characterized by thin (usually steel) shell walls and a cor ...
launching
mortars
Mortar may refer to:
* Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon
* Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together
* Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind
* Mortar, Bihar, a villag ...
used extensively during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
by the
Imperial German Army. The weapons were intended to be used by engineers to clear obstacles including bunkers and barbed wire, that longer range artillery would not be able to target accurately.
Background
The Germans studied the
Siege of Port Arthur
The siege of Port Arthur ( ja, 旅順攻囲戦, ''Ryojun Kōisen''; russian: link=no, Оборона Порт-Артура, ''Oborona Port-Artura'', August 1, 1904 – January 2, 1905) was the longest and most violent land battle of the Russ ...
, where heavy artillery had been unable to destroy defensive structures like barbed wire and bunkers. The German Military ''Ingenieurkomitee'' ("Engineer committee") began working with
Rheinmetall to study the problem in 1907. The solution they developed was a short-barrelled rifled muzzle-loading mortar for
mine shell
A mine shell (from the German term ''Minengeschoß'', "mine shot"), also known as High-Explosive, High-Capacity (HEHC) in British military nomenclature, is a military explosive shell type characterized by thin (usually steel) shell walls and a cor ...
ammunition, built in three sizes. In 1910, the largest of these was introduced as the ''
25 cm schwerer Minenwerfer
The 25 cm schwerer Minenwerfer (heavy mine launcher), often abbreviated as 25 cm sMW, was a heavy mine shell launching trench mortar developed for the Imperial German Army in the first decade of the 20th century.
Design and developme ...
'' (abbreviated "sMW"; English: "25 cm heavy mine launcher"). Despite weighing only 955 kg (2,193 pounds), it had the same effect on targets as the 28 cm and 30.5 cm mortars, which weighed ten times as much.
Combat history
At the outbreak of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the German army had a total of 160 ''minenwerfers''. They were used successfully in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
at
Liège and
Namur, and against the French fortress of
Maubeuge. After a few months when
trench warfare
Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery. Trench warfare became ar ...
started, the German infantry began calling for short-range weapons, and the ''minenwerfer'' entered the battle. Before long Allied forces were demanding similar devices. A captured ''minenwerfer'' was taken to the
Royal Artillery Woolwich establishment in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in November 1914 and 100 copies rushed to the front by
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
. By mid-1916 there were 281 heavy, 640 medium, and 763 light ''minenwerfers'' in service, with 4,300 new weapons being produced every month.
With this powerful armory of short-range artillery, the German forces were able to reach across
No Man's Land and bring a punishing fire to bear on any target which presented itself. When
chemical warfare arrived, the ''minenwerfer'' was a highly convenient method of delivering gas. The first German use of gas was in 1915 during the
Battle of Bolimów
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
on
January 31
Events Pre-1600
* 314 – Pope Sylvester I is consecrated, as successor to the late Pope Miltiades.
*1208 – The Battle of Lena takes place between King Sverker II of Sweden and his rival, Prince Eric, whose victory puts him on the ...
. The German army shelled the Russian positions with
xylyl bromide
Xylyl bromide, also known as methylbenzyl bromide or T-stoff ('substance-T'), is any member or a mixture of organic chemical compounds with the molecular formula C6 H4(CH3)(CH2 Br). The mixture was formerly used as a tear gas and has an odor r ...
, the attack was relatively unsuccessful due to low temperature which prevented the gas from vaporizing and spreading.
Development
The medium version, the ''
17 cm mittlerer Minenwerfer
The 17 cm mittlerer ''Minenwerfer'' (17 cm mMW) was a mortar used by Germany in World War I.
Development and use
The weapon was developed for use by engineer troops after the Siege of Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War of 1905. ...
'' (mMW; "17 cm mid-sized mine launcher"), was introduced in 1913. The model remained in reserve service until 1939-40.
[Ian Hogg (1976). ''War Monthly - Issue 37: Minenwerfer'', p. 6. .] The light version of the weapon, the
7.58 cm ''Leichter Minenwerfer'' (LMW; "light mine launcher"), was still at the prototype stage when the war started, but rapidly entered production. The weapon was far more efficient than its artillery counterpart: in comparison, the 7.7 cm FK 96 n/A needed to be towed by a team of six horses, compared with a single horse for the LMW; additionally, the LMW could be moved around the battlefield by four men. The ''minenwerfer'' was cheaper, costing only one-seventh as much as the artillery gun, as did its ammunition.
Since the muzzle velocity, and thus firing shock, of ''minenwerfers'' was low, a variety of explosives that would usually be unsuitable for use in artillery was used to fill the shells. In any case,
TNT
Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
explosive was reserved for use in artillery shells. Typically, the explosives used in ''minenwerfer'' shells were
ammonium nitrate
Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a white crystalline salt consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate. It is highly soluble in water and hygroscopic as a solid, although it does not form hydrates. It is ...
-
carbon
Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon mak ...
explosives. However, the sensitivity of the explosives occasionally made them detonate in the tube. There were a large number of these incidents, one of which claimed the life of Karl Völler, head designer of Rheinmetall, in 1916. These problems, however, were eventually overcome.
Recognizing the numerous advantages of the ''minenwerfer'' in trench warfare, production was stepped up and, by 1918, the numbers had increased dramatically to 1,234 heavy, 2,361 medium and 12,329 light ''minenwerfer''. A 38 cm calibre ''sehr schwerer Minenwerfer'' (ssMW; English: "very heavy mine launcher") was also developed.
Gallery
File:Иллюстрация к статье «Бомбометы». Военная энциклопедия Сытина (Санкт-Петербург, 1911-1915) (cropped) Early Krupp MinenWerfer.jpg, Early Krupp MinenWerfers.
File:Kann - Journal d'un correspondant de guerre en Extrême-Orient - p279.jpg, Japanese troops using a mortar during the Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
.
File:German 7.58 cm minenwerfer.jpg, German 7.5 cm MinenWerfer, World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
File:17cmMinenwerferAWM-1.jpg, 17 cm nMW nA
File:25cmMinenwerferCrewLoading.jpg, German soldiers loading a 25 cm MinenWerfer, World War I.
File:111-SC-28652 - NARA - 55216758 (cropped).jpg, 24 cm schwerer FlügelMinenWerfer IKO.
File:240mmalbrechtmortar2.jpg, 24 cm schwerer FlügelMinenWerfer Albrecht.
File:German Artillery on the Western Front Q160.jpg, A Minenwerfer Lanz 91.
See also
*
Granatenwerfer 16
*
9.15 cm leichtes Minenwerfer System Lanz
*
24 cm schwerer LadungsWerfer Ehrhardt
*
24 cm schwere Flügelminenwerfer IKO
*
24 cm schwere FlügelMinenWerfer Albrecht
*
Albrecht Mortar
References
* ''Russian army 1914-18'', Osprey Publishing, Nick Cornish,
* ''German artillery of World War One'', Herbert Jäger,
* ''German trench warfare: Minenwerfer'', Ian Hogg,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minenwerfer
World War I mortars of Germany