Hand Grenades: A handbook on rifle and hand grenades — Key Ideas to Explore

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Authors: Ainslie, Graham Montgomery, 1883-1949 [Compiler] Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2018 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Grenades Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 10,486

Reading time 46 min

Text sections 15

Hand Grenades: A handbook on rifle and hand grenades — Key Ideas to Explore can be approached with a clearer sense of reading commitment from its source measurements: 10,486 words, 46 min estimated reading time, and 15 detected text sections.

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Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Grenades,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #56638

A 1917 military handbook compiled by Major Graham M. Ainslie, detailing the use, construction, and tactical deployment of rifle and hand grenades in World War I, with precise instructions and illustrations for British and foreign models.

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Underscores “_before_” and after a word or phrase indicate _italics_ in the original text. Equal signs “=” before and after a word or phrase indicate =bold= in the original text. Small capitals have been converted to SOLID capitals. Illustrations have been moved so they do not break up paragraphs. Typographical errors have been silently corrected but other variations in spelling and punctuation remain unaltered.

_A HANDBOOK ON RIFLE AND HAND GRENADES_

COMPILED AND ILLUSTRATED BY MAJOR GRAHAM M. AINSLIE

NEW YORK JOHN WILEY & SONS, Inc. London: CHAPMAN & HALL, Limited 1917

COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY GRAHAM M. AINSLIE

PRESS OF BRAUNWORTH & CO. BOOK MANUFACTURERS BROOKLYN, N. Y.

The purpose of this work is to assist students of grenade work in acquiring a rapid and complete knowledge of the subject. If the student will refer constantly to the illustrations, which are accurate drawings of grenades now in use, this book may help to elucidate many points which are inadequately treated in any existing work.

In compiling the book, the author has inserted only information absolutely necessary, and has arranged it so simply that a person with a very little previous knowledge of the subject may be able to grasp both the data given, and the principles, and methods herein explained and illustrated.

This book is the result of practical experience in the present war.

PAGE INTRODUCTION 1 HAND AND RIFLE GRENADES 2 GRENADE ESTABLISHMENT 26 GRENADE SQUAD 28 CLEARING A TRENCH FROM A FLANK 29 FRONTAL ATTACK 32 TRENCH STORMING PARTIES 36 FOREIGN GRENADES. FRENCH 38 FOREIGN GRENADES. GERMAN 42 EXPLOSIVES USED IN GRENADES 51 FUSES, DETONATORS, ETC. 55 THROWING 59

A grenade is a hollow ball, cylinder, or cube, made of metal or other material, which is filled with some explosive, and burst by means of a fuse, or on impact when it falls among an enemy. Until about the end of the seventeenth century trained soldiers called Grenadiers used grenades which were thrown by hand, but after that date they fell into disuse. In 1899—1900 at the siege of Mafeking they are said to have been used by the besieged, and also in the Russo-Japanese war. In the year 1914, however, the beginning of the great war produced new methods in the employment of infantry in the attack or defense of positions. It was proved that under many conditions infantry armed only with a rifle and bayonet found it impossible to press home an attack or hold a position against troops armed with grenades.

This weapon, handy to use and immensely destructive and demoralizing in its employment, has played a most important part in every successful operation carried out by British troops on the Western front. It has become one of the principal weapons not only in trench warfare, but in the attack and clearing of enemy positions, strong points, villages, and especially in house-to-house and cellar fighting.

NOTE. 1. In throwing all hand grenades an overarm action will be used, like a bowler when playing cricket.

2. Attached to all stick hand grenades are tapes or streamers a couple of feet long to enable them to fly head first, when thrown.

There are two kinds of grenades:

No. 1. Time grenades. No. 2. Percussion grenades.

No. 1 rely for ignition upon:

(_a_) Some form of fuse lighter. (_b_) A length of time or safety fuse. (_c_) A detonator or exploder.

(_a_) Some form of percussion striking device. (_b_) A percussion cap. (_c_) A detonator.

For throwing purposes grenades as follows:

1. Hand grenades. 2. Stick hand grenades. 3. Rifle grenades, fitted with firing rods 8 to 10 in. long.

GRENADE HAND NO. 1 or General Service

=Type.= Percussion stick grenade. =Weight.= Two lb. complete. =Explosive.= Lyddite.

1. Safety pin. Leather thong through eye of pin. 2. Cord becket. 3. Red indicator and words of directions on removable cap.

=Body.= Brass cylinder.

=Striker.= Steel needle carried in removable cap.

=Detonator.= Special detonator (see page 57.)

=To prepare for use=:

1. Turn word “remove” on cap to red indicator. 2. Take off removable cap. 3. Insert detonator. Turn to left to secure. 4. Replace cap and turn to “travel.”

1. Turn cap to “fire.” 2. Pull out leather thong from safety pin. Remove cord becket. 3. Gather streamers palm right hand, holding grenade in left hand. 4. Holding grenade right hand, pull out safety pin with left hand. 5. Throw grenade.

=Packing=: Grenades are packed six in wooden box with tin containing ten special detonators.

=Precautions=: Care must be taken in act of throwing that grenade does not strike any object in rear of the thrower.

Always carry grenades at “travel.”

Hales Hand or Mexican Grenade

=Type.= Percussion stick grenade. =Weight.= One lb. complete. =Explosive.= Tonite. =Safety Device.= Safety pin. =Body.= Brass cylinder 4¾ × 1¼ in. diameter. =Striker.= Brass needle pellet 1½ in. long, conical head, steel needle point, creep spring contained in brass base piece.

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Major Graham M. Ainslie's 1917 handbook opens with a definition that grounds the weapon in historical lineage: grenades were used by grenadiers until the late seventeenth century, then revived at Mafeking and in the Russo-Japanese War. The author states that the work is 'the result of practical experience in the present war,' and the text bears this out with a focus on immediate, actionable knowledge. The preface promises 'only information absolutely necessary,' and the content delivers on that promise through terse, procedural entries.

Procedural Precision and the Grenadier's Task

The handbook’s core consists of step-by-step instructions for making grenades 'safe' or 'alive' and for using them against the enemy. For each model—spherical, stick cylinder, cylindrical, oyster shell, parachute—the text follows a rigid three-part structure: how to make safe, how to make alive, how to use. The language is stripped of explanation: 'Screw out the special lighter, taking care not to pull the wire.' The reader is assumed to be a soldier under training, not an engineer. Notes on fuse burn times (e.g., 'seven seconds, but another lighter which burns for five seconds—painted red—is also provided') underscore the life-or-death stakes of memorizing these details.

Tactical Context: Trench Clearing and Storming

The table of contents reveals a tactical arc beyond mere weapon description. Chapters on 'Clearing a Trench from a Flank,' 'Frontal Attack,' and 'Trench Storming Parties' situate the grenade as a tool for specific infantry operations. The introduction asserts that grenades have 'played a most important part in every successful operation carried out by British troops on the Western front,' and that they are essential in 'house-to-house and cellar fighting.' The handbook thus functions as both a technical manual and a tactical primer, reflecting the close-quarters reality of World War I trench warfare.

The Role of Illustrations and the Student's Approach

Ainslie emphasizes the importance of the book's illustrations, which he describes as 'accurate drawings of grenades now in use.' He advises the student to 'refer constantly to the illustrations' to grasp points 'inadequately treated in any existing work.' The text itself is spare, relying on diagrams to convey visual details that words alone cannot. The preface also notes that the book is arranged 'so simply that a person with a very little previous knowledge of the subject may be able to grasp both the data given, and the principles, and methods.' This pedagogical intent shapes the entire work, making it a self-contained training aid for the novice grenadier.

Readers should approach this handbook as a primary source on World War I military technology and training. The catalog subject 'Grenades' is accurate, but the excerpts reveal a work equally concerned with tactics, safety procedures, and the physical handling of munitions. The text’s brevity and directness reflect its purpose: to prepare soldiers for the specific, dangerous act of throwing a grenade in combat.

That rainy afternoon, the 1917 grenade manual felt impossibly distant—yet its matter-of-fact lists of names and fuses had a strange intimacy. Turning pages, I remembered another roll call, men whose stories were equally brief and numbered. The wet window blurred outside, and I reached for The Waterloo Roll Call With Biographical Notes and Anecdotes — Reading Companion, finding the same quiet echo of vanished hands.