The Germans, however, were less than pleased at the introduction of this new weapon to the battlefield. The shotgun, with 6 shells of 00 buck, was so effective that American troops referred to it as the “trench sweeper” or “trench broom.” This was a modified version of Winchester’s model 1897 with a shortened 20” barrel, heat shield, and bayonet lug. The United States used a few different shotguns but the primary weapon was the Winchester M1897 Trench Grade shotgun. When Americans entered the fight on the Western Front they brought with them a new weapon that absolutely terrified the Germans: the shotgun. Marine carrying the Winchester M97 shotgun. Finally, the knife had a “skull crusher” pommel on the bottom in order to smash the enemy’s head with a downward attack.Īn improved design, the Mark I Trench Knife, was developed in 1918 but didn’t see use until WWII. The knife also had a “knuckle duster” hand guard mounted with spikes in order to deliver maximum damage with a punching attack. Triangular stab wounds were so gruesome that they were eventually banned by the Geneva Conventions in 1949 because they cause undue suffering. The blade of the weapon was triangular which meant it could only be used for stabbing, but it inflicted terrible wounds. The M1917, America’s first trench knife, combined three killing tools in one. The most terrifying trench knives were developed by the United States. However, with the introduction of trench warfare, a new weapon was needed in order to fight effectively in such close quarters.
World War I trench knife, model 1917 “knuckle-duster.”Įven with the advent of the firearm, hand-to-hand combat was still a given on the battlefield. These were used with great effectiveness at the Somme on Jwhen they burned out a section of the German line before British infantry was able to rush in and capture the burning remnants. The nozzle would spring out of the ground and send a wall of flame 300 feet in the enemy’s direction.
These were stationary weapons deployed in long trenches forward of the lines preceding an attack. The British went a different way with their flamethrowers and developed the Livens Large Gallery Flame Projector. As soon as they were spotted, they became the targets of gunfire. Should one happen to be taken prisoner, they were often subjected to summary execution. The terrible nature of the flamethrower, Flammenwerfer in German, meant that the troops carrying them were marked men. The flamethrower was especially useful because even just the idea of being burned alive drove men from the trenches into the open where they could be cut down by rifle and machine gun fire. The idea of being able to burn one’s enemies to death has consistently been on the minds of combatants throughout history however, it was not until 1915 Germany was able to deploy a successful man-portable flamethrower.