Grenades: One of the most earliest weapons of war, it was now in the hands of all infantry men. Soon, a new form of units was made known as the grenadiers, each of them equipped with a hollow iron ball with explosive powder in them. Many different types of grenades were made throughout the war, the Germans made a "stick grenade". This grenade was easy to throw and exploded in a small radius without harming the advancing troop(s). Britain created the Mills Bomb created by William Mills. When exploded, this device would release fragments everywhere. But its impact radius was much larger than the German grenade, so the thrower would immediately seek cover. Finally, the French used a grenade attached to a rod, but also put it on a rifle, and the U.S. favored the pineapple shape, which improved the lethality of the grenade.
Flame Throwers: The first flame thrower was invented by Richard Fielder, and first appeared in war in 1914. Flame throwers were most effective at around 20-30ft, and were meant to shock the enemy. German troops who used this weapon were called shock troopers, but were executed if captured. Germany was actually the only country to use the flame thrower in ww1. The weapon was portable and used oil in one tank that was shot out and mixed with a propellant gas in another tank (both tanks were on the back of the user) and the flame was shot out through a tube.
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