Another important military innovation that made its appearance during the Great War was the flamethrower. Even this weapon exploited recent developments in the field of chemistry in the sense that its active ingredients were carbon dioxide and sulphur. Compressed together inside a cannister, these two substances would be released as air would be fed inside the cylinder. This would cause a huge blaze which, in the German version, could even reach a distance of thirty-five metres. This was therefore a most powerful tool during an assault when enemy trenches were nearby: flamethrowers forced those who were inside the trenches to come out in the open.
Like many other similar inventions, even this invention originated in Germany (with this country being at the forefront of the chemical industry). Invented in 1901 by the scientist Richard Fiedler, the flamethrower was used by the army ten years later with the setting up of special battalions. It was used for the first time in 1915 during a battle with English troops who were scared stiff and lost thousands of men in just two days. Later, even the other armies distributed flamethrowers to their troops.
Despite its devastating effects and its undoubted advantages, the flamethrower was not as decisive as other innovations (such as gas). Its use in fact envisaged participation in an assault that would always expose every soldier to very great risks. Besides, in order to make it work it was necessary to remain standing up and this turned the person who was making use of it into an excellent target for defenders. Finally it was not a rare occurrence for the cannister containing the inflammable liquid to explode and inflict a considerable number of casualties on the attackers.
Even the Italian forces armed themselves with flamethrowers. Two types were developed: the type that was meant for defensive purposes was bigger and static and would be placed inside small caves and activated if necessary; on the other hand, the other type was mobile and lighter and took advantage of the innovations of German technology and was distributed to the Arditi, the army troops who were meant for the attack in the last year of the war.
