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Publisher:Schiffer Publishing
Author:Thomas Wictor
Since ancient armies first fought, each side has always sought the means by which to dominate the battlefield and in 673 AD; The Byzantine Empire first deployed Greek fire as an incendiary naval weapon against an invading Muslim fleet attempting to lay siege to Constantinople. The Byzantines typically used it in naval battles to great effect as it could continue burning while floating on water. It provided a technological advantage, and was responsible for many key Byzantine military victories, most notably the salvation of Constantinople from two Arab sieges.
Over the centuries, the technology was pretty much lost when in 1901; the first modern flamethrower was invented in Germany. This initial flamethrower was technically a single-shot weapon which projected a stream of fire some 20 yards and required a new igniter after each use.
It was not until 1911 that the German army accepted their first real flame throwing device, creating a specialist regiment of twelve companies equipped with Flammenwerferapparaten.Despite this, the weapon went unused in World War I until February 26, 1915, when it was briefly used against the French outside Verdun. On July 30, 1915 it was first used in a concerted action, against British trenches at Hooge, where the lines were just 5 yards apart, and even there, the casualties were caused mainly by soldiers being flushed into the open and being shot by more conventional means rather than from the fire itself.
As the war progressed, flamethrower technology advanced (as it usually does with all weapons systems in wartime) and by the end of the war the Germans had developed comprehensive flamethrower tactics. By this time, German flamethrower pioneers were highly trained, mobile assault troops who used speed and concealment to improve their chances of success and survival. Also, flamethrower troops never faced the enemy by themselves. Typically, they were deployed with hand grenade throwers, light machine gunners and grenade launcher squads who provided cover during the advance. There are even wartime reports of mass flamethrower assaults that included as many as 240 devices being co-ordinated from the air. Overall, the German army deployed flamethrowers during the war in more than 300 battles, usually in teams of 6.
Schiffer’s latest release covers this little know subject and does so in their usual exemplary style. Covering fourteen chapters, the book is pretty much laid out in the chronological order of the development of the weapon and its deployment throughout the war. As with all other Schiffer books, this one is filled with tons of photographs showing the flamethrower troops in every type of environment - training, combat, relaxed poses, unit group shots and individual posed photos and quite a few photos of the flamethrowers themselves taken from various angles. I have seen many photos from World War 1 and the majority of what is in this book has never been seen before. Additionally, the book is filled with line drawings of all the various types of equipment and their various components along with cutaway drawings of the devices and unit insignias.
The development of Flamethrower tactics are thoroughly covered and what I found really interesting was how as the war progressed, these units were deployed with other shock troops in coordinated attacks which could be fairly substantial in some battles and were not just sent out alone into no-mans land to use their weapon. The author also covers the initial reaction of the allies to this weapon (downplayed its effectiveness) and their countermeasures but they themselves never developed their own flamethrower during the war. The moral question of this type of weapon are also discussed but as time would show, these weapons were later developed and used by most of the combatants World War 2, especially in the Pacific where it was used to clear out entrenched Japanese troops during the island campaigns. This is a great book for modelers looking for something different to try.
Author:Thomas Wictor
Since ancient armies first fought, each side has always sought the means by which to dominate the battlefield and in 673 AD; The Byzantine Empire first deployed Greek fire as an incendiary naval weapon against an invading Muslim fleet attempting to lay siege to Constantinople. The Byzantines typically used it in naval battles to great effect as it could continue burning while floating on water. It provided a technological advantage, and was responsible for many key Byzantine military victories, most notably the salvation of Constantinople from two Arab sieges.
Over the centuries, the technology was pretty much lost when in 1901; the first modern flamethrower was invented in Germany. This initial flamethrower was technically a single-shot weapon which projected a stream of fire some 20 yards and required a new igniter after each use.
It was not until 1911 that the German army accepted their first real flame throwing device, creating a specialist regiment of twelve companies equipped with Flammenwerferapparaten.Despite this, the weapon went unused in World War I until February 26, 1915, when it was briefly used against the French outside Verdun. On July 30, 1915 it was first used in a concerted action, against British trenches at Hooge, where the lines were just 5 yards apart, and even there, the casualties were caused mainly by soldiers being flushed into the open and being shot by more conventional means rather than from the fire itself.
As the war progressed, flamethrower technology advanced (as it usually does with all weapons systems in wartime) and by the end of the war the Germans had developed comprehensive flamethrower tactics. By this time, German flamethrower pioneers were highly trained, mobile assault troops who used speed and concealment to improve their chances of success and survival. Also, flamethrower troops never faced the enemy by themselves. Typically, they were deployed with hand grenade throwers, light machine gunners and grenade launcher squads who provided cover during the advance. There are even wartime reports of mass flamethrower assaults that included as many as 240 devices being co-ordinated from the air. Overall, the German army deployed flamethrowers during the war in more than 300 battles, usually in teams of 6.
Schiffer’s latest release covers this little know subject and does so in their usual exemplary style. Covering fourteen chapters, the book is pretty much laid out in the chronological order of the development of the weapon and its deployment throughout the war. As with all other Schiffer books, this one is filled with tons of photographs showing the flamethrower troops in every type of environment - training, combat, relaxed poses, unit group shots and individual posed photos and quite a few photos of the flamethrowers themselves taken from various angles. I have seen many photos from World War 1 and the majority of what is in this book has never been seen before. Additionally, the book is filled with line drawings of all the various types of equipment and their various components along with cutaway drawings of the devices and unit insignias.
The development of Flamethrower tactics are thoroughly covered and what I found really interesting was how as the war progressed, these units were deployed with other shock troops in coordinated attacks which could be fairly substantial in some battles and were not just sent out alone into no-mans land to use their weapon. The author also covers the initial reaction of the allies to this weapon (downplayed its effectiveness) and their countermeasures but they themselves never developed their own flamethrower during the war. The moral question of this type of weapon are also discussed but as time would show, these weapons were later developed and used by most of the combatants World War 2, especially in the Pacific where it was used to clear out entrenched Japanese troops during the island campaigns. This is a great book for modelers looking for something different to try.
