Grenade

Grenades are small bombs which are used in armed combat. They have been in use in many wars across history, with their technology improving vastly across time.

The word "grenade" is derived from the French word for pomegranate. Grenades were one of the most important weapons in World War I. At the start of the war, Germany had seventy thousand hand grenades ready for use. Grenades allowed soldiers to destroy the enemy at close range without using their guns or having to engage in hand-to-hand combat. “Bombing Parties” were assigned to run along the enemy trench, dropping handfuls of grenades in each dugout. Grenades were very small and light so soldiers could carry many of them at a time, and they were easy to activate without any special equipment. All that was necessary was to pull the pin and throw.