I've been intrigued with the seemingly strange weapons used by both sides during the war in the trenches ... catapults, muzzleloaders, etc ... as well as clubs, etc. Is there any good pictoral source of information?
I would recommend two books, both written by Anthony Saunders:
- "WEAPONS OF THE TRENCH WAR 1914 - 1918" ISBN 0 7509 2505 1 Sutton Publishing 1999 (paperback edition 2000)
174 pages, many b&w photographs, many drawings
chapter 1: jam-tins, pitchers and balls - hand grenades 1914-15 " 2: drainpipes, toffee-apples and flying pigs - trench mortars 1914-15 " 3: rubber bands and springs - catapults 1914-15 " 4: mills and patent hand grenades 1915-16 " 5: timed eggs and the elusive percussion grenade 1916-18 " 6: rods and phosphorus - rifle grenades and chemical grenades 1914-18 " 7: new ways to throw new bombs - grenade launchers 1916-18 " 8: a tale of two stokes - mortars 1915-18 " 9: oil cans and projectors - livens, flame and gas 1915-18 " 10: winners and losers appendix
- "DOMINATING THE ENEMY WAR IN THE TRENCHES 1914 - 1918" ISBN 0 7509 2444 6 Sutton Publishing 2000 (hardcover)
182 pages, many b&w photographs, many drawings
chapter 1: shields against fire - defensive loopholes " 2: protect and survive - body shields " 3: live savers and portobanks - more body shields " 4: armoured shovels and tin hats " 5: vigilant with a glass eye - periscopes " 6: shooting with heath robinson - sniperscopes " 7: dark terrors - shot, stabbed and clubbed " 8: mud and wire " 9: the way ahead appendix
Both books contain British, French and German "ideas".
Yes, I agree. I got both books and they contain a lot of material on less-known weapons, many pretty zany ones that were never realized - the author has worked with patent applications a lot.
