yes but probably not as we know them! Anti infantry landmines have been in use since the invention of gun powder and were used in the defence of breaches of fortresses in the 18th and 19th century (the British asault on the breech at Badajoz suffered many casualties from mines). However these were actuated remotely by a defender lighting a very fast burning fuze at the appropiate moment, Mines were used in the Russo Japanese war against Japanese infantry but how these were fired I don't know although I've seen a Japanese print that suggests that they were like modern ap mines - set off by being trod on. The Ja[anese did suffer heavy casualties when these mines were used in conjunction with barbed wire. The Germans used anti infantry mines against the Japanese at Tsingtau in 1914. They were big square boxy things. They do appear to have been self firing as the Japanese suffered some fatalities clearing them after the fortress fell, The British used some "small land mines" against German infantry - these were remotely exploded by an observer with an electric detonator. With the introduction of anti tank mines came anti personnel mines that were laid with them to hamper any clearing effort rsther than as a defensive field in their own right.
I've not found any other references to WW1 anti infantry mines but if the Russians had used them in 1904/5 they might well have used them in WW1
yes but probably not as we know them! Anti infantry landmines have been in use since the invention of gun powder and were used in the defence of breaches of fortresses in the 18th and 19th century (the British asault on the breech at Badajoz suffered many casualties from mines). However these were actuated remotely by a defender lighting a very fast burning fuze at the appropiate moment, Mines were used in the Russo Japanese war against Japanese infantry but how these were fired I don't know although I've seen a Japanese print that suggests that they were like modern ap mines - set off by being trod on. The Ja[anese did suffer heavy casualties when these mines were used in conjunction with barbed wire. The Germans used anti infantry mines against the Japanese at Tsingtau in 1914. They were big square boxy things. They do appear to have been self firing as the Japanese suffered some fatalities clearing them after the fortress fell, The British used some "small land mines" against German infantry - these were remotely exploded by an observer with an electric detonator. With the introduction of anti tank mines came anti personnel mines that were laid with them to hamper any clearing effort rsther than as a defensive field in their own right.
I've not found any other references to WW1 anti infantry mines but if the Russians had used them in 1904/5 they might well have used them in WW1
Hi centurion thanks for your reply.....it occurred to me that APmines may not have been used extensivly during WW1 on the western front due to the heavy barrages that tended to proceed attacks which would probarbly destroy any minefields? however it does seem strange that such a weapon was'nt used in huge quantitys during WW1( since self detonating mines had been used for some years in sea warfare) expecially towards the end, perhaps they were only limited to traps in fixed positions.... there may be another reasoning behind it that is not clear from todays perspective, for example large fields of mines would restrict the ability of the owner as well as the enemy to attack and since strategy on the western front revolved around the elusive breakthrough it would not be a good idea to restrict your options by laying minefields.... Cheers
Laying mines in advance of your frontline positions would have had to be done in the face of the enemy who could both observe where they were being laid and also fire on the layers. The Germans did have the opportunity when preparing the Hindenberg line to lay mines but don't seem to have done so. Given the extemporised nature of most anti tank mines of the time (for example converted toffee apple mortar bombs) one suspects that AP mines would also have had to be improvised. No one seems to have manufactured land mines. I've seen a reference to them being declared 'uncivilised' by the French just prior to the start of the war but given that gas was also declared as against various international conventions and still got used that can't be the whole answer. The use of grenade type devices with tripwires was more common, especially in the defence of built up areas.
I think this is a reasonable summary of the what but not the why
The first infantryman to be killed by stepping on a landmine was an unfortunate Union soldier in 1862 who was killed by a Confederate mine. As late as the 1960s live and potentially lethal Confederate land mines were still turning up, Pressure operated land mines were used in a number of colonial wars between 1870 and 1914. Similar mines were used in some numbers in the Russo Japanese War being deployed by the Russians. In the First World War very little use was made of the pressure operated land mine. The Germans had a ‘mine’ that was effectively a demolition device but could be fitted with a variety of fuzes (including an acid based timer). It would seem that these could be fitted with some form of pressure trigger and were deployed in the defence of Tsingtau. A photo of one these devices recovered by the Japanese is enclosed. It appears that these mines were somewhat sensitive for the Japanese lost people just clearing them. In August 1918 dumps of these devices ready primed were captured by advancing British troops before any could be laid. German anti tank mines were laid with accompanying anti personnel mines intended to stop infantry supporting tanks from clearing them. It was only after 1918 that various nations began the development and production of anti personnel mines in any number.
