The Meeker herald., 1917-09-08
eRENADES N War
mERclLess DEATH sPaeAosRs

nERcILEss DEATH sPREADERs
Thsy Az Mads Nov - y Flung b.
Hand 1t cisss ovsrtsrs. - 8s s,ss&
Frsa , Hs~itssr ~ - D eiastsd -
Misss cd FIND ~ EIsetrseity.
The use o. hand grenades a. an Inn
psement Of war dates tact nearly fosr
centuries. and this deadly weapon re-
mains today. n In the sixteenth CEN
tury. one Of the most elective weap-
ons Of warfare. In the United States
Infantry Journal there IL an article
dealing with grenades which b trans-
iation from the German military pub-
Hcation. MISUNDERSTANDING
Hand grenades." the article reads.
-as an Implement of warfare date back
many centuries History records their
use NJ far back as 1896 At the siege Of
Aries. Up to the close Of the eight
zenith century soldiers were trained In
the throwing OF hand grenadea- They
were for that reason called gre4adiefs.
The grcnades were hollow balls Of
iron OF other metal about two and .
half inches In diameter. filed with
powder and provided with q fuse.
which was lighted before being thrown.
At nrst there were . few In each regi-
ment. later entire companies were
formed. and still later every infantry
battalion bad its own grenadier COM
psny. which In the different armies had
precedence ever the other companies
At parades and other formations
During the war between Russia and
Japan hand grenades were assln used
In great quantities by both sides. espe-
ciaily in lighting at close quarters. and
% deadly effective were they that II e
not surprising the Inventors mind &C.
cupied itself with this means OF COM
bat and endea vored 10 adopt It to the
requirements Of modern warfare.
First Of all. 1t wss very important
to invent projectiie that would unite
deadly effectiveness with complete
safety Of the thrower. Mr.. Assem-. the
Danish inventor. constructed . number
Of hand. ride and mine grenades which
are said to fulfill these requirements.
THE hand grenades are carried by
the man until required and then
thrown by hand The ride or 'howitzer
grenades are ared from 4 nrm rest
such - . wooden stand made from q
sine placed on the ground and directed
At various angles Of elevation by means
of stakes. The mine grenade 10 an
chored in the ground and discharged
BY electricity upon approach Of the en-
envy. In each case they are veritable
death deAlerB.
The ride grenade weighs about $50
grams. 1t contains seventy-two bullets
weighing rs grams and seventy-two
grams Of explosives The seventy-two
bullets cover 4 space Of at least forty
to nifty square meters. The rifle gre
made may be fred from an ordinary
army ride at any range up to about
400 meters. The great destructive ef-
feet Of the grenade is due to the fact
that the explosion takes place immedi-
ateIy after the grenade strikes the
ground before It has had time to bury
itself In the soil.
The 'howitzer grenade weighs one
kilogram and contains 215 bullets and
q bursting charge weighing 200 grams.
1t can be thrown with the hand forty
meters or with 'bowitzer' 300 meters
The 'howitzef' II . contrivance made
Of 4 cylinder and weighs twelve kilo-
grams. It may be carried like a-rine.
The bullets OF this grenade cover q
semicircular space Of At least eighty
square neters and spread only to the
front and Isterally. but not to the rear
toward the thrower. They are, there
fore. of especial value for fighting at
close quarters. They are constructed
10 that they may be exploded only aft
er they have Travelled eight meters To-
ward the target
THE hand grenade weighs ono kilo-
gram and contains 100 bullets weigh
ing "a grams and q bursting charge
weighing 10 grams. In contrast to the
above described .hOwitzer' grenade the
bullets ny In every direction. 20 that "
b only used for throwing from cover.
The last kind Of these grenades IL
the mine grenade. II weighs about
four Kilograms and contains 400 80
gram bullets and 200 gram bursting
charge. The 400 bullets will cover .
space Of Ut least 800 square meters.
These srenades. together with their
electrical connections. are placed about
one half meter under the surface Of
the ground. 30 that they are completely
Invisible to the enemy.
when II 10 vet Oh the grenade rises
about three fourths Of meter above
the ground. then expiodes and throws
the bullets in all directions parallel
with the ground. At distance Of ten
meters the bullets will go through
wood at least q hundred miliimeters