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Shrapnel

Pencil sketch of a piece of French shrapnel by a German soldier1 drawn September 12, 1915.  Shrapnel was an anti-personnel weapon, designed to kill and maim.
Text:
Translation of the writing on the front side: "Strange shape of an exploded French Shrapnel"
Reverse:
Message dated September 13, 1915

Pencil sketch of a piece of French shrapnel by a German soldier1 drawn September 12, 1915. Shrapnel was an anti-personnel weapon, designed to kill and maim.

Image text

Translation (courtesy Thomas Faust):

"Strange shape of an exploded French Shrapnel"

Reverse:

Message dated September 13, 1915

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Shrapnel is an anti-personnel weapon, designed to kill and maim. It is produced by shrapnel or fragmentation shells.

Shrapnel shells contained a charge topped with a metal plate at the base of the shell. The shrapnel, metal spheres or other metal objects, filled the shell. A cap topped the shell and contained a timed fuze. After the shell fired, the fuze ignited the charge, and the shrapnel and cap were ejected from the shell, dispersing, but traveling in the same direction as the shell.

Fragmentation shells used high explosives to rend shells into hundreds if not thousands of projectiles traveling at great velocity.

Shrapnel is a bombs and shells.