Minenwerfer ("mine launcher") is the German name for a class of short range mortars used extensively during the First World War by the Imperial German Army. The weapons were intended to be used by engineers to clear obstacles including bunkers and barbed wire, that longer range artillery would not be able to target accurately.
At the outbreak of the First World War, the German army went to war with a total of 160 minenwerfers. They were used successfully in Belgium at Liège and Namur, and against the French fortress of Maubeuge. After a few months when the trench warfare started, the German infantry began calling for short-range weapons, and the minenwerfer entered the battle. It was a sore surprise to the Allied forces in the opposing trenches and before long they too were demanding similar devices, a demand which eventually led to the trench mortars we know today. Initially a captured minenwerfer was taken to the Royal Artillery Woolwich establishment in London in November 1914 and 100 copies rushed to the front by Christmas. By mid-1916 there were 281 heavy, 640 medium, and 763 light minenwerfers in service, and production of new ones was going at a rate of 4,300 new weapons every month.
M.W.A.J.R.186 - A mortar unit.
Minenwerfer.Abteilung. Infantry Regiment No. 186. Weapon No.109.
Mine, throw, department. Infantry Regiment No.186. Weapon No.109.
These fellows here would be typical of the soldiers in the Imperial Army assigned to a Mortar Unit and equipped with LP.08's amongst their other weapons not the least of which would be several variations of mortars.
I am fortunate enough to have in my collection one such unit marked 1917 DWM LP.08. - M.W.A.J.R.186 Nr.109
My friend Ron, aka roadkill1, has generously researched and provided me with a brief history of the 186th Infantry Regiment, Imperial German Army. Thanks Ron aka roadkill1
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Nr. 186. Infanterie=Regiment
(186th Infantry Regiment, Imperial German Army
Unit History/Battle Participation)*
https://ia800302.us.archive.org/27/i...wohu03unit.pdf
1. In 1915, the Imperial German Army organized additional infantry regiments and divisions. One of the new divisions was the 185th Infantry Division that was organized in May 1915. At the same time, one of its newly created regiments was the 186th Infantry Regiment. This regiment was constituted from Hessian elements. The 185th Infantry Division was assigned to the VIII Army Corps.
2. In 1915, the 185th Infantry Division fought in France around the areas of Hèbuterne, Alsace and Champagne. At the outset of 1916, this division was still fighting in the Champagne area followed by battles in the Somme, Oisne-Aisne and back to the Somme during the close of 1916.
3. At some point in time during 1917 the 186th Infantry Regiment was transferred from the 185th Infantry Division to the 56th Infantry Division, XVIII Army Corps located in the same general area in France. This transfer was due to heavy losses the 186th received during the Battle of Aisne, April 1917, prior to joining the 56th.
4. In 1917, the 56th fought in Somme-Hindenburg Line, Lens where it suffered heavy losses and on the left bank of the Meuse. On 19 March 1918, the 56th was pulled off line from the Meuse and moved to Belgium and inserted on line in the Kimmel area for several months followed by relief, a rest period and again inserted on line again near St. Genois. The last identification of the 56th was on 8 November when it was east of Avelghem, Belgium
5. “The division (56th Infantry Division) was rated (by Allied Intelligence) as second class. It was very actively engaged during almost the entire last year of the war on the British front.”
Paragraph numbers 1 and 2 above were extracted from pages 627 through 629 of The Histories of Two Hundred and Fifty-One Divisions of the German Army Which Participated In The War (1914-1918).
Paragraph numbers 3, 4 and 5 above were extracted from pages 517 through 520 of The Histories of Two Hundred and Fifty-One Divisions of the German Army Which Participated In The War (1914-1918).
* - The one book considered the “bible” of the Imperial German Army and how its primary combat units, its divisions, performed during World War I is The Histories of Two Hundred and Fifty-One Divisions of the German Army Which Participated In The War (1914-1918). This book was compiled from records of Intelligence Section of the General Staff, American Expeditionary Forces at General Headquarters, Chaumont, France in 1919 with vital support from the other Allied Staffs and was first published in 1920 by the United States War Office as the War Department Document No. 905, Office of the Adjutant General. In general, allied intelligence headquarters elements tracked/chronicled combat unit location, movements and effectiveness at the division level to include all units assigned to each respective Imperial German Army Division. As a result, whatever attributes were assessed to a division’s effectiveness was also attributed to the units assigned to that respective division.
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Thank you Ron
