The operators then remained out of sight and waited for orders to attack.Īt exactly 1200 hours, the Germans unleashed hissing streams of liquid fire, accompanied by great clouds of black smoke, on the unsuspecting French troops. Along a 750- yard section of the German trench, and at the ends of some saps (specially dug extensions toward the French line), the men quietly set up 10 large experimental Flammenwerfer with hand pumps, and two with gas projection. In this area of the front, the French trenches were only about 15 to 30 yards from the German forward trench-just within the 30-yard range of the heavy flamethrowers’ fire stream. The men were members of an experimental unit called the Flammenwerfer-Abteilung Reddemann, and they were about to test a frightful new weapon, the Flammenwerfer, or flame thrower, for the first time in combat. Upon reaching the rear trench, they continued lumbering to the front lines through communication trenches. They lugged unfamiliar equipment: heavy iron tanks, apparatus, and hoses. The small groups of gray-clad soldiers dismounted from wagons on February 26, 1915, and trudged under cover of darkness across the shell-cratered battlefield, just behind the front at Malancourt, near Verdun, France. “The Prince of Hades” introduced a terrifying new weapon to World War I battlefields.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |