Flammenwerfers

On the 1st September 1916, 8th Suffolk were still in training. Their efforts at Longueval on 19th July had resulted in the Brigade Commander 'recommending' them for a period of training in preparation for the next major offensive they were to be used in, which was planned for mid September.
Behind the lines, a pair of captured German flame throwers or "Flammenwerfers" were being demonstrated to the Battalion. These deadly instruments of war had first been felt by 11th Suffolk at La Boisselle on the first day of the offensive and they were now pretty much standard kit in most German units.
"The Flammenwerfers" wrote Sydney Fuller in his diary "were carried on the operators back, like a pack, and would throw a huge flame a distance of 15 to 20 yards for a short time. The only way to avoid the flame was to lie in the bottom of the trench - the flame could to be forced down to the bottom having a natural tendency to turn upwards, like a ordinary flame. These facts were demonstrated on the spot by playing the flames all over a trench in the bottom of which men were lying. They were unharmed."
​It was a pretty rudimentary response to this deadly weapon, but like poisonous gas the year before, it was for the time being, the best method they had to meet its deadly force.

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