''Minenwerfer'' ("mine launcher" or "mine thrower") is the
German name for a class of short range
mine shell
A mine shell (from , "mine shot") or high-explosive, high-capacity (HEHC) in British military nomenclature, is a military explosive shell type characterized by thin (usually steel) shell walls which allow a much higher explosive content than stan ...
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 village i ...
used extensively during the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
by the
Imperial German Army
The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...
. 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.
The name of "minenwerfer" lives on in the German version of
Clash Royale, where it refers to a building that deals damage by launching projectiles.
Background
The Germans studied the
Siege of Port Arthur, 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
Rheinmetall AG () is a German automotive and arms manufacturer, headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was promoted to the DAX, Germany's leading stock market index, in March 2023. It is the largest German and fifth largest Europe ...
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 , "mine shot") or high-explosive, high-capacity (HEHC) in British military nomenclature, is a military explosive shell type characterized by thin (usually steel) shell walls which allow a much higher explosive content than stan ...
ammunition, built in three sizes. In 1910, the largest of these was introduced as the ''
25 cm schwerer Minenwerfer'' (abbreviated "sMW"; English: " heavy mine launcher"). Despite weighing only , it had the same effect on targets as the and mortars, which weighed ten times as much.
Combat history
At the outbreak of the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the German army had a total of 160 ''minenwerfers''. They were used successfully in
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
at
Liège
Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...
and
Namur
Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration.
Namur stands at the confl ...
, and against the French fortress of
Maubeuge
Maubeuge (; historical or ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France.
It is situated on both banks of the Sambre (here canalized), east of Valenciennes and ab ...
. After a few months when
trench warfare
Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising Trench#Military engineering, military trenches, in which combatants are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from a ...
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 city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in November 1914 and 100 copies rushed to the front by
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
. 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 in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
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 th ...
. The German army shelled the Russian positions with
xylyl bromide, 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'' (mMW; " 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 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
Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...
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 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, but does not form hydrates. It is predominantly us ...
-
carbon
Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...
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 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 (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...
File:German 7.58 cm minenwerfer.jpg, German 7.5 cm MinenWerfer, World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
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