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Ordnance on WW1 battlefields

thread for the ages

Jens, just wanted to comment, that in my opinion this is the absolute best thread on BOCN. Seeing WW1 goodies in the wild so to speak just gets my ass hairs up. Well done my friend...Dano
 
dano1917 said:
Jens, just wanted to comment, that in my opinion this is the absolute best thread on BOCN. Seeing WW1 goodies in the wild so to speak just gets my ass hairs up. Well done my friend...Dano
Click to expand...

I'll put a few up from Verdun and the Somme later Dano. Just got to find them.

John
 
Some F1 and Citron Foug. Don't touch anything like that!!!
 

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Gentlemen, today is the 94th Anniversary of the Battle of Verdun.

Today, 94 years ago, a german 38 cm naval gun (nicknamed "Long Max"), positioned in the Bois de Spincourt, fired the first shell and started the battle. The shell was aimed at one of the bridges over the river Meuse but detonated near the bishops palace, missing its target by about 400 m. When you imagine, that it was fired from a distance of about 32 km, it was a very precise shot for these times.

Just after this shot over 1200 guns of all calibers opend fire. From 16:00 on also the Minenwerfer opened fired until 17:00, when the first waves of infantry left their trenches. The results of it you can see in this thread...
 
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Here's a few I helped the forrester move, ready for collection (see earlier post) Le Mort Homme. We probably moved three times this amount.

John
 

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And what the trenches look like now. Still walkable (though quite dangerous and full of trip snags) and well defined in many places.

John
 

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Thanks

Thanks for showing the WW1 stuff,I bet you can find alot after a big rain.
Vinny:tinysmile_classes_t
 
Great photos! I am drawn to the photos of ordnace still in the field after all these years. It is almost like looking at venonous snakes behind glass-death lurking for the careless. I will bet than everyone who pulled the lanyard long ago never thought that their projectiles would last this long and, in some cases, kill people generations later.I have seen many duds in the fields around Ft, Sill, but the EOD crews generally cleaned then away fairly quickly. I have a photo of my wife and I on the wall before me of us in Belgiun, standing in the misty gloom among the impact craters looking very tense. You could feel the ghosts of those who were now parts of the soil. Very sobering.
 
Der Feldgraue,Many thanks for showing all these pics,thanks also for your time and efforts in taking these pics,this thread is a credit to your dedication,
Again,many thanks,
Regards,
Don,
 
Thanks to everyone! I must mention that, of course, none of these items were touched, moved or taken. Only "touched" by the camera ;)
 
I am shocked every time I see how close such stuff is lying to the streets! :hmmmm2: I don't want to know whats lying UNDER the street. Here a german 77 mm shell.


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A german "Lange Feldkanonengranate" with EKZ16 fuse; possibly a gas shell. You can guess... 3 m beside the well known street.

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A german stick grenade 16 in quite good condition still with a large part of the wooden stick... this time in a large mud hole used by wild pigs!! Take care for any pigs flying around if this one will do its job.

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