British No. #106 ''Wire Cutter'' Shell

By Crusader1307

As we have previously seen with Wire Obstacles and of course the somewhat simple but effective ''Screw Picket'', such obstacles were prevalent on the battlefields of World War I., both German and British Armies were now faced with the issue of how to overcome them, without creating the often massive shell craters they would create in order to demolish such. As stated, these craters would in fact destroy wire obstacles, but also had the unintended after effect of creating another obstacle. Advancing Forces would (and often did) – have to go thru such craters, often becoming ''bogged down'' in them. So concentrated, they would become easy prey to Snipers, Machine Gunners and of course more Artillery. British and German Ordnance Shells of The Era, were as such, that they tended to ''bury themselves'' into the earth – prior to timed detonation. This was especially true of the popular 18-Pound Shell. In 1916, a new device was created called ''The Wire Cutter''. Installed on an 18-Pound Shell, the dart-like extension was timed to detonate several feet off the ground. Small steel Flanchetes would be deployed which could shear through Wire Obstacles. The resulting explosion, Being an ''airburst'' Shell – it caused very little ''cratering''. Variants were created (and copied), by both Allied and Imperial German Forces. As a result, more effective assaults could be made.