Battles & Wars › World War I › Trench warfare
Flamethrower
first used February 26, 1915 (German army)· Invention or discovery· Weapons, armor & warships
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
A weapon that sprays burning fuel at close range; Germany first used the modern version against French trenches in February 1915.
See it on the Battles & Wars map →What happened
German engineer Richard Fiedler designed pressurized flamethrowers from 1901. Compressed gas pushed oil through a nozzle where it was lit, throwing fire roughly 20 to 40 meters. Germany first used them at Malancourt, near Verdun, on February 26, 1915, and against the British at Hooge in July. Other armies copied them. In World War II, US Marines used backpack flamethrowers and flame tanks against Japanese bunkers on Tarawa, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Why it matters
It was a terror weapon that could reach defenders shielded from bullets. Its short range made operators prime targets, so it stayed a specialist tool.
How we know
Fiedler's patents, German army records, British and French reports from 1915, US Marine Corps after-action reports, and surviving equipment in museums.
Still debated
Its legal and moral status is still argued: a 1980 treaty limits incendiary weapons near civilians but does not ban their use against soldiers.
Connections (3)
▸Greek fire foreshadowed the FlamethrowerMostly agreed
The connection
From about 672, Byzantine ships pumped Greek fire, a burning liquid, through bronze siphons, much like a flamethrower; it helped save Constantinople from Arab sieges. Song China's armies later used a piston pump to spray burning oil. The recipe was lost, so the German flamethrower of 1901 was a fresh invention using compressed gas and petroleum.
When and how
Constantinople, 670s and 717–718; Song China, described in a 1044 manual; Berlin, Richard Fiedler's designs from 1901.
How sure are we?
Byzantine chroniclers such as Theophanes, Emperor Leo VI's military manual, the Chinese Wujing Zongyao, and Fiedler's patents. The link is one of idea, not descent.
Debates and open questions
Greek fire's ingredients are unknown, probably crude oil with resins. Whether China's flame pump owed anything to Byzantium, via Arab traders, is debated.
▸Flamethrower was introduced to clear enemy trenches in Trench warfareWell documented
The connection
Germany built flamethrowers to burn defenders out of trenches and strongpoints a few dozen meters away. A pioneer unit led by Bernhard Reddemann, a former Leipzig fire chief, used them from 1915, causing panic at first. But the short range and heavy fuel tanks made operators easy targets, so flamethrowers became a shock weapon for small assault teams.
When and how
Malancourt, near Verdun, February 26, 1915; Hooge, near Ypres, July 30, 1915; Reddemann's Guard pioneer flamethrower unit.
How we know
German army records, French and British reports of the attacks, and soldiers' accounts of Hooge.
Debates and open questions
How effective flamethrowers were beyond their shock value is debated; most historians judge them psychologically strong but tactically limited.
▸Flamethrower cleared Japanese bunkers in the Battle of Iwo JimaWell documented
The connection
About 21,000 Japanese defenders under General Tadamichi Kuribayashi fought from tunnels, caves and concrete bunkers that shelling rarely destroyed. US Marines answered with backpack flamethrowers and flame-firing Sherman tanks, used with demolition charges. Corporal Hershel 'Woody' Williams won the Medal of Honor using a flamethrower against pillboxes. Nearly all the defenders died; about 6,800 Americans were killed.
When and how
Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, February 19 – March 26, 1945; the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions.
How we know
US Marine Corps after-action reports, Medal of Honor citations, unit histories, and Japanese records and survivors' accounts.
Debates and open questions
How many positions fell to flame rather than explosives is unknown. Incendiary weapons are limited by a 1980 treaty, and their ethics are still argued.