German Minenwerfer and other Trench Mortars in the First World War 1914 - 1918

The First World War was the conflict in which the dominance of artillery reached its peak. As a result, positional battles were fought on an unprecedented scale. Nevertheless, there were tactical tasks that artillery could not fulfil. Hitting small targets at close range with pinpoint accuracy was not possible with the existing guns. In addition, steep-fire weapons that could throw their projectiles into the trench systems at a high angle of incidence were required to engage targets behind cover. The lack of such weapons led to the development of trench mortars, which were quickly designed and manufactured by all the warring parties. This book is the first to present the German Minenwerfer and other Trench Mortars in their entirety. The development history of the guns can be traced using numerous original sources. Furthermore, the devices are described in terms of how they worked and the accessories, ammunition and operation are explained. In addition to conventional Trench Mortars, the description also includes devices powered by compressed air and mechanical launchers. With this work, the author has succeeded for the first time in presenting a complete technical-historical picture of the German Minenwerfer and other Trench Mortars - the weapons which, after artillery, were responsible for the most casualties in the First World War.