Kleinflammenwerfer

The Kleinflammenwerfer, German for small flame thrower and often shortened to Kleif, was the first series of German portable flamethrowers of the First World War. It was created and developed by Richard Fiedler, who had proposed the idea in 1901, offered test models to the German Army in 1905 and reached a largely finished single cylinder design by 1912, with approval for use in 1914. A vertical backpack tank held fuel oil and a smaller tank or attachment held nitrogen propellant, and a hose fed a lance with an igniter at its nozzle. A team of two operators, an officer and a grenadier worked it, and the later models reached about 30 to 35 metres. The weapon was meant for close quarters and trench fighting, and it was first used against French troops in October 1914. Later uses included Hooge in July 1915, Verdun in 1916 and the huge attack at Skrobowa in November 1916. Variants ran from the M.1912 to the M.1917, and the Wechselapparat replaced it in May 1917. It was controversial for its cruelty and for frequent malfunctions in the trenches.