Flamethrower

The English word flamethrower is a loan-translation of the German word Flammenwerfer, since the modern flamethrower was invented in Germany. First used by the Prussian Army and by the Imperial German Army in WWI, it was later adopted by all other armies – friends and foes alike. Although not of high tactical value, they were a powerful and demoralizing weapon, and caused terror on the battlefield. It was a dangerous weapon to wield, as its heavy weight made operators vulnerable targets. A much more effective flamethrower was used in WWII by all participants.

History

Also known as the Grof, the Großflammenwerfer M.1912 was the largest and heaviest of the German flamethrowers, and not intended to be carried by troops. Comprised of a stationary fuel and propellant tank with a loose hose, it would be placed in one position, as it wasn’t easily moved. Once set up, soldiers would use the hose to attack enemy trenches.

A German flamethrower team prepares to lead a simulated attack for German officers. They are using a Kleif-style Flammenwerfer.

A German flamethrower team engages a British tank at close range near the Somme River in France. Early German Panzer were also susceptible for enemy flamethrower attacks.

They were incomparable: Successful assault by specialized assault troops (Sturmbataillone) on Hill 265 (Dead Man) at the Battle of Verdun, 14 March 1916.

Australian Lieutenant Leslie Bowman Cadell, 6th Battalion, holding a German Wechselapparat (Wex) M 1917 flame-thrower captured near Stirling Castle in the Ypres sector.

The Wehrmacht Flammenwerfer 41 of 1941 was an improved version of the Flammenwerfer 35 of 1935.

Fire is not a modern weapon. For more than 2,000 years, men have used fire on the battlefield to influence the outcome of wars. Ancient Chinese, Greek and Arabic warriors all used flame in some form or another. The Roman and Byzantine (against the Turks) use of so-called Greek Fire in naval battles is the stuff of legend. Both the Chinese and Arabs developed crude projectors that would dispense flammable oil through a variety of pumping mechanisms.

The first flamethrower, in the modern sense, was invented by Richard Fiedler. Fiedler studied engineering and worked as an engineer in Berlin. He is credited with the rediscovery and development of the first modern flamethrower in the modern sense. The starting point was his work on the design of nozzles for spraying liquids. Fiedler originally performed at folk festivals in Berlin-Weißensee with the "Burning Lake" technique, in which he poured a flammable liquid onto a body of water and ignited it. In 1901, he received his first patent.

The development of a flaming liquid thrower progressed in 1900. Fiedler submitted evaluation models of his Flammenwerfer to the Prussian Army in 1901. The most significant model submitted was a portable device, consisting of a vertical single cylinder 1.2 metres (4 ft) long, horizontally divided in two, with pressurized gas in the lower section and flammable oil in the upper section. On depressing a lever the propellant gas forced the flammable oil into and through a rubber tube and over a simple igniting wick device in a steel nozzle. The weapon projected a jet of fire and enormous clouds of smoke some 18 metres (20 yd). It was a single-shot weapon—for burst firing, a new igniter section was attached each time. In 1905, Fiedler presented his flamethrower to the Prussian Engineering Committee at the Guard Pioneer Battalion in Berlin, who suggested further improvements.

The fire director of Posen and reserve officer of a Landwehr pioneer company, Dr. Bernhard Reddemann (1870–1938), converted steam powered fire engines into flamethrowers; his design was demonstrated in 1907. In 1908, Fiedler started working with Reddeman and made some adjustments to the design; an experimental pioneer company was created to further test the weapon. Before WW1, German pioneers used the Brandröhre M.95 a weapon consisting of a sheet metal tube (125 mm (4.9 in) wide and 1.2 m (3.9 ft) long) filled with an incendiary mixture, and a friction igniter activated by a lanyard. The Brandröhre was designed to be used against enemy casemates; a long pole was used to reach the target and the lanyard was pulled to ignite the fuel; producing a 2-metre (7 ft) long stream of fire. Those weapons were deployed in six-man teams and were limited by their short range. In theory the Brandröhre was replaced by the flamethrower in 1909 but it was still in use in WWI; it was used during the assaults on Fort du Camp-des-Romains in 1914 and Fort Vaux in 1916.

It was not until 1911 that the German Army accepted their first real flamethrowing device, creating a specialist regiment of twelve companies equipped with Flammenwerfer Apparent. Fiedler founded the company named after him, "Fiedler Flammenapparate G.m.b.H.", in Berlin, of which he served as managing director until 1917. His successors were Captain Arthur von Steynitz, businessman Arthur Bock, and businessman Kurt Mayen. He held a total of 11 German patents for flamethrowers, beginning in 1901 and most recently in 1918 for an aircraft flamethrower.

Few weapons in any army’s arsenal are as terrifying as flamethrowers. Just the thought of being burned to death or hideously scarred for life is enough to send even the bravest, most battle-hardened troops fleeing in panic. Modern flamethrowers, or Flammenwerfern, were invented in Germany in the early 20th century and effectively employed in World War I by German Stosstruppen (shock troops) and Sturmpioniere (combat engineers). However, the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, which placed severe limitations on German armaments, banned the German possession, importation, or manufacture of flamethrowers–strong testimony to their success on the battlefield due, in great part, to their psychological effect.

WWI

In 1914, after various trials and experiments, Dr. Reddemann established the Reddemann Flamethrower Detachment. This specialized unit, composed mostly of firefighters, consisted of the later Major Reddemann as commander, the deputy officer and fire sergeant major Ambrosius, and 48 men. Equipped with 10 portable hand-operated pumps capable of projecting flames up to 35 meters, and six passenger vehicles with trailers for transporting personnel and equipment, the Flamethrower Detachment deployed to the VI Reserve Corps in Romagne-sous-Montfaucon on 15 February 1915.

“But what is this? Has hell opened up under our feet? Are we right at the rim of a furious volcano? The trench is filled with flames, with sparks, with bitter smoke, the air is unbreathable. I hear hissing, crackling, and alas, yes, the cries of pain.” With these words the French corporal Louis Barthas described a German flamethrower attack at the western front in the summer of 1915. First used in battle in the Forest of Argonne in 1914, the flamethrowers were supposed to end the still stand in the trench warfare. They have been specifically implemented for the tactical support of the assault troops and for the local defense. Apart from the physical destruction the flames had a paramount psychological impact on the enemy. As soon as it was known that an attack with flamethrowers was planned the enemies troops often retreated, this created more advantageous conditions for the attacking infantry. Bernhard Reddemann, who played a decisive part in the development of the military flamethrower, emphasized that the major impact was “the moral shock of the enemy [which] was so immense that he never tried to resist physically”. Furthermore the flamethrower had a huge moral impact on the own infantry as well by supporting their “will to attack” and their “confidence in the victory”. Reddemann, a former fire chief of Posen and leader of a pioneer company of the territorial forces, started to research on devices to spray burning fluids in 1907 and designed since 1912/13 prototypes for two different seizes of flamethrowers. Because of his participation in the development of this cruel melee weapon and the connected military utilization of fire brigades he is one of the most controversial persons in the history of German fire brigades. Richard Fiedler (source 2), an engineer from Berlin, ranks as the re-discoverer of the first modern flamethrower he had started as early as 1900 with the research for his “fire-tube” and devices to fumigate trenches. Since 1914 Reddemann worked together with him on the further development. The technology was comparable simple and the flames could be generated with little effort. Nitrogen was pressed into a container with a highly inflammable oil mixture under high pressure. A valve controlled the emanation of the oil stream which was inflamed by an ignition. The thick black smoke that was produced enhanced the moral impact on the enemy. When the threat was imminent to be discovered to early by the enemies artillery another oil mixture was applied which produced only a thin, hardly visible smoke.

The newest flamethrower was first used in World War I on 26 February 1915 when it was briefly used against the French near Malancourt. The available 10 hand-operated pumps (small flamethrowers) and 2 “Fiedler flamethrowers” ​​(large flamethrowers) were used. The French position, between 12 and 35 meters away, was blasted with flame jets over a width of 700 meters by 12 devices. Resistance was immediately extinguished, and the enemy began a hopeless rout. In the end, the subsequent attack was carried to the 4th line, covering 600 meters of terrain, destroying 3 machine guns, 7 mortars, and taking countless prisoners. The military success and morale impact were enormous. Another, smaller flame attack took place at Vauquois, shortly before the detachment's strength had already been increased.

In this case, too, it was a weapon that utilized the most modern innovations in the field of chemistry, as its active ingredient was carbon dioxide and sulfur. These two substances, compressed in a bottle, were then released thanks to the supply of air. This created a large flame, which in the German models could reach a distance of 35 meters. This made it an extremely useful tool when an attack reached enemy trenches. The flamethrowers forced the occupants to come out of cover.

On 30 July 1915, it was first used in a concerted action, against British trenches at Hooge, where the lines were 4.5 m (4.9 yd) apart—even there, the casualties were caused mainly by soldiers being flushed into the open and then shot rather than from the fire itself. After two days of fighting the British had suffered casualties of 31 officers and 751 other ranks. The success of the attack prompted the German Army to adopt the device on all fronts. Flamethrowers were used in squads of six during battles, at the start of an attack destroying the enemy and to the preceding the infantry advance.

Alongside all the positive experiences and praise from the regular troops, hapy to have this weapon on their own side, there was also negative criticism, even ridicule. Many older German warriors considered the flamethrower to be dishonorable on the battlefield. From the regimental history of the Infanterie-Regiment „Großherzog Friedrich Franz II. von Mecklenburg-Schwerin“ (4. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 24:

Even the flamethrowers were of no use to them. What was the point of this weapon, whose bearers were practically condemned to death, which didn't have a long enough range to have any kind of notoriety, and which, if it had actually worked, would have been an abomination to every honest soldier? With some justification, a company commander used to say: "The inventor of the flamethrower deserves to be hung by the legs and blasted with flames until he's roasted crisply on all sides like a St. Martin's goose!"

Hutier tactics

Infiltration tactics were developed 1915 on the Western Front. It started with the Flammenwerfer-Abteilung (flamethrower battalion) under Captain of the Landwehr, later Major Dr. Bernhard Reddemann. This special force, mostly comrades from the fire department, consisted of Reddemann as leader, the deputy officer and fire department sergeant Ambrosius and 48 men. Equipped with 10 portable hand pressure sprayers, which could throw flames up to 35 m, and six passenger cars with trailers to transport the crew and equipment, the flamethrower department was transferred to the VI. Reserve Corps in Romagne-sous Montfaucon on 15 February 1915. The first flamethrower attack of World War I was to take place on 26 February 1915 near Malancourt.

Attack on Verdun

The 3rd Guards Pioneer Battalion was directly subordinate to the High Command. Six divisions attacking side by side were each assigned a flamethrower company for support; a total of eight companies participated in the attack. The plan was to use the battalion against starworks, blockhouses, and special points of resistance, as well as to clear trenches. For this purpose, a "shock troop" with flamethrowers would advance with an infantry company fighting in parallel. Frontal attacks with large flamethrowers and follow-up attacks with small flamethrowers characterized parts of the new tactics.

The majority of the battles were successful; here are some of the most important: On 22 February 1916, Companies 4 and 5 fought the machine gun nests, dugouts, and blockhouses in the Consenvoye Forest. Also on 22 February 1916, the 6th Company contributed to the success in the Herbebois Forest, and the 2nd Company contributed to the attack on the village of Haumont. On the third day of the offensive, the bridgehead and the village of Samogneux were captured with the help of the 8th Company. At the beginning of March, the 1st Company successfully attacked positions in the Chaussons Forest. A major joint attack by the 4th and 5th Companies in the Malancourt Forest took place over a width of 800 meters, using 8 large and 55 small flamethrowers. Both companies also participated in the capture of Haucourt. On 31 March 1916, the reserve company engaged in house-to-house fighting against a tenaciously defending enemy in and around the village of Vaux. The eight companies advanced with 400 flamethrowers during the initial advance on Verdun. By 27 April 1916, 57 flame attacks had been conducted, 14 of which were unsuccessful. The battalion received an honor for its actions, with permission to wear the Totenkopf on the left sleeve of its uniform.

The experiences gained during the Verdun Offensive and the increasing intensity of the fighting ensured that in April 1916 the battalion became a 3,000-man regiment with 12 combat companies, an experimental company, and a recruit detachment. The individual platoons were now assigned alternately to the already formed assault battalions. The vehicle fleet was expanded, and the launchers were further improved. The regiment participated in many more assault operations with heavy fighting, the Verdun Offensive having long since stalled. By July, 40 flamethrower missions had been carried out, 15 of which were unsuccessful. On the western bank, near Hill 304, the 4th Company was deployed against blockhouses and machine gun nests. A platoon from the 5th Company helped to dig trenches west of the hill on 18 May 1916. The regiment also fought on the Dead Man's Hill (Toter Mann) on 20 May 1916, with shock troops from the 5th and 6th Companies, aided by 16 small flamethrowers, gaining 1,000 meters of ground. A platoon from the 8th Company blazed a path through the underground casemates of Fort Vaux on 4 June 1916. In the Cailette Wood, the 10th Company undertook a major frontal attack across a 300-meter-wide area. Ten large and 14 small flamethrowers were used. The French fled in panic or defected, and the advance continued into the Chapitre Wood. 24 machine guns were captured and 2,300 French prisoners taken.

Various sources generally report the losses of the flamethrower troops during the Verdun Offensive: 23 officers, 106 non-commissioned officers, and 761 enlisted men are listed as ⚔, missing, and wounded. The losses of the flamethrower troops during attacks were sometimes higher than those of the infantry they supported.

Rohr tactics

Hauptmann Willy Martin Rohr of the Guard Rifles Battalion (Garde-Schützen-Bataillon) was given command of the Detachment on September 12. Assault Detachment Rohr was assigned a machine-gun platoon armed with two MG08 heavy machine guns, a trench-mortar platoon armed with four light weapons, a gun battery armed with four modified Russian 7.62 cm cannons designated "infantry guns" (Infanterie-Geschütze), and a flamethrower platoon armed with six small flamethrowers (Kleif). Four heavy and two medium spigot mortars (Ladungswerfern) and one grenade launcher (Granatenwerfer 16) completed the arsenal. Rohr’s goal was to create a unit that had elements of every arm of the ground forces, in order to create new techniques for using the weapons. Being pioneers, the men of the Detachment were already familiar with the hand grenade, which Rohr deemed central to effective close-quarter fighting. Assault Detachment Rohr saw its first action on October 12, when the 2nd Assault Company attacked French positions at the Schrätzmannle in the Vosges Mountains. After six large flamethrowers of the 3rd Guard Pioneer Battalion were fired, six squads of assault pioneers attacked assigned sections of enemy trench, clearing them with hand grenades while trench mortars and field guns silenced French artillery and a machine gun. Infantrymen following behind the assault pioneers consolidated the positions with shovels and sandbags. 4 Assault Pioniers were killed in the action including Unteroffizier Friedrich Pöhler. The operation was so successful that Rohr used it as the core of the training for the remainder of the Detachment. Beginning in December he also began training infantry units in his assault tactics. On December 22, the entire Assault Detachment was used in combat for the first time, in cooperation with Reserve Jäger Battalion No. 8. The two units reclaimed positions lost at the Hartmannsweilerkopf and the northern sector of the Jägertanne. Christmas Eve saw the Detachment experience its first failure, when heavy fog and a lack of preparation and organization prevented the assault pioneers from taking back the Hirzstein. Following several more failed attempts between Christmas and the new year, Rohr undertook systematic preparations for a large-scale attack modeled on the Schrätzmannle operation.

Quotes

• Nowadays, the Bundeswehr no longer uses pioneers as regular infantry. But we, the Wehrmacht Pioniere, were used as assault groups because we knew how to handle explosives, could destroy obstacles, break through a corridor, and then rush into the trenches with flamethrowers and hand grenades. – Oberst a. D. Eberhard Heder

Further reading

• Thomas Wictor: German Flamethrower Pioneers of World War I, Schiffer Military History, 2007

External links

• Flamethrower in action
• Flammenwerfer: Hell on Earth in the Trenches
• Flammenwerfer — World War I German Flamethrowers
• The German Flammenwerfer Forever Changed Warfare – And Not for the Better