A grenade is a type of ammunition designed to destroy enemy personnel and military equipment with fragments and a shock wave generated during an explosion.
Soviet military encyclopedia
The use of pomegranates has a long history. The first progenitors of grenades were known even before the invention of gunpowder. They were made from tree bark, papyrus, clay, glass was used mainly in the defense of fortresses and was equipped with quicklime. Such grenades were used in Fustat, a city that in ancient times, before the founding of Cairo, was the capital of Egypt.
Ancient documents say that "the miasma of quicklime flowing from the pots when they break, crush and strangle the enemy, and the soldiers make him upset." The choice of the material from which the pomegranates were made was determined mainly by the consideration that the vessels had to break into small pieces when falling and scatter their contents as far as possible.
In Europe, the first mentions of exploding shells, which were thrown by hand into enemy clusters and hit them with shrapnel and fire, date back to the 13th – 15th centuries. Count Solms, in his "Review of Military Affairs", dating back to 1559, writes: "A round ball of burnt clay of fair thickness, stuffed with gunpowder, breaks violently and gives a strong blow. If made of thin material, it breaks easily and gives a weak blow. Such a ball should have a long, thin neck. It must be filled with seed powder (pulp), tightly stuffed into the neck to slow down combustion and tinder, which is slowly burning, reaches the seed powder. In addition, the ball at the neck must have two ears. A piece of rope with a knot at the end must be passed through them. It is convenient to throw such a ball away from yourself into the enemy crowd. When the fire gets to the seed, the ball explodes and hits far around it."
The 16th century gunmaker Sebastian Gele from Salzburg in one of his works for the first time calls explosive balls grenades or granadines, apparently by analogy with the fruits of the pomegranate tree, which, falling to the ground, scatter their seeds far away.
He suggested making pomegranates out of copper, iron, wood, glass, clay, and even waxed linen. Wooden and cloth balls were required to be coated with a layer of wax, bullets pressed into it and then waxed again. About the equipment of the grenades, the following is said: "Pour the ball halfway with gunpowder and shake it well, then put in a few ounces of mercury and again pour the gunpowder to fill the ball completely, finally insert the seed with flint into the ignition hole."
Another recipe recommends adding bullets in addition to mercury. The meaning of mercury is unclear here. However, another author, Wilhelm Dillich, in his Kriegsschule, dating back to 1689, indicates a similar method of making pomegranates. The clay body of the grenade was filled with black powder (1 lb.), mercury (1 lot) and iron bullets. A tinder, placed in a dummy hole, served as a wick.
In the work of Kazimir Simenovich “Vollkommene Geschutz-Feuerverk und Buchsenmeisterey Kunst”, published in 1676 in German, the following definition is given to grenades: “These are completely round iron balls, called granatae ma-nuales, since they are thrown at the enemy mostly by hand. In terms of their size, they are equal to 4-6 or even 8 pounds of kernels, but weigh 2 times less. The grenades are filled with a lot of gunpowder. When ignited, they scatter into a large number of pieces that are dangerous to the enemy, which scatter like seeds from a ripe fruit and inflict serious injuries on everyone close by."
Kazimir Simenovich also suggested making pomegranates from glass, potting clay and other materials.
Creation of grenadier units in various armies In France, the first grenadiers appeared during the Thirty Years War. In the guards regiment of King Louis XIV in 1645, there were 4 grenadiers in each company.
In 1670, the first grenadier detachment was formed in France, consisting of soldiers trained in the use of grenades. The detachment was made up of volunteers who had combat experience in the assault and defense of cities. In addition, only one type of grenade was adopted by this detachment. By 1672, such units were already in 30 regiments, and a few years later, in all the regiments of the French army. In 1674, a detachment of mounted grenadiers appeared in France.
K. William writes in his book History of Firearms. From the earliest times to the 20th century ":" … In 1678 John Evelyn visited the army camped in the Hanslow Wasteland, and saw there an innovation: "… a new kind of soldiers called grenadiers, who are skilled in throwing hand grenades, which each have a full bag … They have fur hats with a copper top, exactly like those of the Janissaries, which is why they look very fierce, while others have long caps hanging from the back."
In Prussia, at the end of the 17th century, each guards company in its composition had 10-12 grenadiers, who, in combat formation, stood on the right flank of the battalion. In 1698, a grenadier battalion of five companies, 100 men in each company, was additionally created.
The beginning of the 18th century was a golden age for grenadiers. Grenadier units appear in all armies of the world. But by the beginning of the next century, with the development of firearms, the grenadier units were turning into a branch of the military, which is selective in its composition, but does not differ from the rest of the infantry in terms of armament.
In Austria, each company of an infantry regiment had 8 grenadiers. Later, two grenadier companies were created in each infantry regiment. These companies existed until 1804. The grenadiers had weapons and equipment that did not differ from the weapons of other soldiers, but additionally carried three grenades in a bag. Large, physically strong people were recruited into these companies, while the advantage was given to people of a "terrible" appearance.
Grenadier units in Russia
In Russia, hand grenades began to be used at the end of the 17th century. Around the same time, the first divisions of grenadiers appeared. In 1679, during a campaign in Kiev, materials for the manufacture of hand grenades were transported in the wagon train of the regiment of Colonel Kravkov.
Before the Crimean campaign, General Gordon proposed to have one grenadier company in each infantry regiment, teaching the most dexterous, strong and intelligent soldiers to handle grenades. There is a written mention that the regiments of Gordon and Lefort set out on a campaign in Kozhukhovo, having one grenadier company each. At the same time, grenadier teams appeared in the Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments. After the first campaign against Azov (1695), these teams were consolidated into separate companies. The grenadiers appeared in the rifle regiments during the second Azov campaign (1696). After 1699, grenadier companies were established only in 9 infantry regiments formed by Prince Repnin.
In 1704, at the suggestion of Field Marshal Ogilvy, grenadier companies were organized in all infantry and cavalry regiments. By order of Peter I, the companies were made up of "selected people".
By 1709, all infantry regiments had such a company in their composition. Each company in the state had three officers, 7 non-commissioned officers and 132 soldiers. Four years later, the grenadier companies were expelled from the regiments and consolidated into five grenadier regiments. Each such regiment had two battalions. At the same time, the first horse-grenadier regiments were created. It is curious that these companies did not lose contact with their "native" units, and were considered to be on distant missions, receiving all the allowance from their regiments. After the death of Peter I, the importance of the grenadier began to gradually decline.
The grenadier regiments were renamed musketeer regiments and one grenadier company was left in them. In 1731, these companies were also disbanded, distributing the grenadier into musketeer companies of 16 people each. In 1753 the grenadier companies reappeared - there were now one per battalion. Three years later, they were again put on shelves. In 1811, these regiments were consolidated into divisions, and in 1814, the divisions were brought together into a corps.
Development and use of hand grenades in the second half of the 19th century
By the middle of the 19th century, hand grenades had turned mainly into fortress weapons used
when repelling the storming enemy. In Russia, when supplying fortresses with grenades, they were guided by the following norms: 50 grenades were relied on for every 30 fathoms of the defense line. For every 100 grenades, 120 fuses and 6 bracelets were released. Throwing grenades at the enemy was carried out in calculations of three people. The first number threw grenades, the second loaded them, the third brought ammunition. This calculation consumed up to 10 grenades per minute. In addition, grenades could roll off the shafts along prepared grooves.
In Sevastopol, hand grenades were used little, due to the insignificance of their reserves. During the war, only 1200 glass grenades were found in the Sevastopol arsenals, intended for boarding battles. According to the report of Admiral Kornilov on March 15, 1854, these grenades were transferred to the coastal fortifications. According to the memoirs of a contemporary, many Frenchmen died during the storming of the bastions from these grenades.
Naturally, these small reserves were not enough for the defenders of Sevastopol for a long time. Here is an excerpt from the memoirs of a participant in those events, retired Guard Colonel Georgy Chaplinsky, concerning the defense of the Malakhov Kurgan: “… Despite the strong canister fire that they were met with, the French had already managed to climb the parapet, but the rangers of the Podolsk regiment and the squad of the Kursk militia managed to throw them off in the moat. Struck by rifle fire and stones, the surviving French fled to the nearby trenches and craters, which came from the camouflage memorable to all ….
Pay attention - the enemy is below, in the ditch, and there is nothing to hit him with. They shoot him with guns and throw stones at him! Similar situations are repeatedly described in the memoirs of veterans. With the required number of hand grenades, the enemy could be inflicted here much more damage.
And here are a few more examples from the memories of Sevastopol residents: "… small enemy hand grenades were put into five-pound mortars in a cylindrical tin box, so that they all flew out together and, if they fell at the work site, did great harm to the workers …".
The enemy acted in the same way: “… in the middle of the siege, the enemy began to throw at us from mortars, mainly into the trenches, baskets filled with grenades, numbering from fifteen to twenty. At night, the fall of these pomegranates was especially beautiful: having risen to a certain height, they disintegrated in all directions in a fiery bouquet …”. Or here's another: “… and our powder keg will be imposed by enemy hand grenades, sometimes collected by fragments and lying enemy cannonballs; a barrel with this gift will be put in a mortar and released, in revenge, to the enemy: they say, the French will choke on their own good … ". “… A hand grenade is often thrown back into the enemy's trench by hand. It was not difficult, as in some places the enemy approvals at the end of the siege came very close, about sixty paces, no more … ". Given the shortage of its own grenades in Sevastopol, we are apparently talking about captured and unexploded French hand grenades of the 1847 model.
After the end of the war, the time has come to sum up the gloomy results. It was necessary to re-equip the army in accordance with the requirements of the time. Among other things, the changes also affected the grenades.
In 1856, by order of artillery, all fuses ignited from the wick were replaced with grater ones. In the same year, the chief of the Caucasian artillery Meyer received the task of creating prototypes of grenades in the Tiflis laboratory and testing them. Meyer's report was presented in 1858. In this report, the device of all fuses in service was considered unsatisfactory. At the same time, a description of the fuse and grenade created by Lieutenant Kazarinov was attached. After improving this fuse and increasing the charge of the grenade, it was put into service in 1863.
The fuse adopted for service had a tube body made of hardwood. The channel of the tube was tightly packed with gunpowder for 3 seconds of burning. The grating mechanism consisted of two brass pliers with notches, one included in the other. Their contacting surfaces were coated with a mixture of Berthollet's salt and sulfur. For tightness, the tube was covered with a special varnish and wrapped with a canvas tape impregnated with a water-repellent compound. The body of the grenade was made of cast iron, had a spherical shape. A charge of black powder weighing 15-16 spools (60-65 grams) was placed inside the case. The leather bracelet had a carabiner for engaging the grater ring. This grenade was adopted as a 3-pound hand grenade.
Grenades stored in warehouses and arsenals were out of order due to the action of moisture. The fuses became dangerous due to the frequent shots of the retarding train. In addition, a constructive flaw was revealed. Some grenades had fuse graters made of too hard metal, with blunt teeth. This led to the fact that after throwing the grenade, it remained hanging on the bracelet with an already burning fuse.
To assess the merits of the hand grenades in service, the Artillery Committee in October 1895 suggested to the serf artillery "… to practice with 3-pound hand grenades with a charge of 15 spools …". The chief of artillery of the Vyborg fortress was the first to respond, probably due to its proximity. He asked not to conduct such classes, as it poses a danger to those who throw. Having considered the request, the committee decided not to hold classes in the Vyborg fortress and wait for information from other fortresses.
In 1896, the Artillery Committee ordered the withdrawal of hand grenades from use "… in view of the appearance of more advanced means of defeating the enemy, strengthening the defense of fortresses in ditches and the insecurity of hand grenades for the defenders themselves …".
