Weapons of War - The Grenade

The grenade was not a new invention during the war, but its use became widespread by both sides. Grenades were very useful for clearing out enemy trenches and fortifications. They would also be used to break up groups of men attacking moving forward to attack.

The British used a type of grenade called the Mills bomb. It was made of cast iron and shaped like a pineapple. The reason the outer part was lined like a pineapple was to help the grenade to break apart. The more pieces that break up increase the chances to hurt someone. It was designed to have a four second fuse before exploding.

The German army used a grenade that had a wooden handle to help throw it. The British nicknamed the German grenades "potato mashers" because they thought it looked like an instrument to mash potatoes. German grenades were also fused to explode at four seconds.