Next Is this a weight? Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here Please log in using one of these methods to post your comment:. Email required Address never made public. Name required. Follow Following. Aotea Utanganui Join other followers. Sign me up. Already have a WordPress. Log in now. While maces seem more like a weapon that knights or barbarians used, they were effective trench raiding tools. Inspired by medieval maces, the Allies and Central Powers prominently used them during nighttime raids, as a silent way to neutralize wounded soldiers.
Selection of clubs and a flail used on the Dolomites front. By Stefano Menchiari. The maces themselves were usually constructed from wood and a metal object was affixed to the striking end. Another effective design compromised a stave with the end drilled out, where a lead weight was inserted, with rows of large hobnails around the circumference.
Clubs were made in bulk by regimental carpenters and metal workers behind enemy lines. Trench knives were specially designed for closer quarter skirmishes in confined areas.
Most trench knives of the time were crafted by individual soldiers or ordnance blacksmiths. They were simple weapons, usually shortened and sharpened bayonets. By Taken by Antandrus. Through fighting with these remedial weapons, troops soon realized they had to refine their designs. The French Army had such a great need for knives that they demobilized cutlery workers so that they could begin creating knives for service. They had slab wooden grips and metal sheathes.
For that reason, the intrenching tool became an indispensable piece of equipment, as necessary as a weapon in many settings. One Quartermaster observer in Tunisia in noted:.
It is probably the most useful utensil that he has in his possession. In every new position he takes, either advancing or retreating, it is absolutely necessary that a foxhole be dug. The M Intrenching Tool was a combination shovel, hoe and pick ax, with a wooden handle and folding blade. It could be easily carried, assembled, and required almost no instructions for use. These were issued starting in , but the M continued in use through the end of the war.
The M had a one piece handle that was permanently attached to the blade via an adjustable hinge. Using a large nut to loosen or tighten the connection, the hinge could be freed so the shovel and handle could be set up in a line use as a shovel , at a right angle use as a hoe , or folded over to store in its cover. The khaki or later olive drab canvas M cover had a foldover flap with snap closure and a hook on the back for attachment to a utility belt or pack.
The M shovel went through a series of improvements without changing the basic design. The biggest change was the M version that added a pick, hinged and attached to the same pivot as the shovel so it too could be folded out or laid flat for storage photo, left. The M cover would fit the M intrenching tool. During the winter of in Korea, intrenching tools were discarded by combat units while they were actually engaged with the enemy.
The reason was that the ground was frozen and the tools could not be used. The quartermaster of the Division did not become aware that these tools had been abandoned until the spring of , when the ground began to thaw.
Commanders then wanted replacement intrenching tools as rapidly as possible. But the number of replacement requests on this item was too great for the depot at Pusan to fill.
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