Blown apart propelling charge case for British ordnance QF 4.5-inch howitzer that is dated November 1915, recovered at Mametz part of the German defensive line on 1st July 1916 Somme battlefield
This is a blown apart propelling charge case which is a brass shell case base which ripped clean apart when fired and exploded and is empty and inert.The case base is in nice condition it still retains a lot of its brass colour but has discolored and dirty with some damage from being buried as well. The case still has most of its original markings on the bottom fairly clear to see including dated November 1915. The case is still very solid and is not braking up or falling apart it has been very well cleaned and perfect for display or any collection.The case base was recovered from near the village of Mametz. This was part of the German defensive line on 1st July 1916 during the First attack by the British on the first day of the battle of the Somme.The case comes with A5 laminated information card.
In June 1916, the British preliminary bombardment cut much of the barbed wire protecting the Mametz defences and destroyed many of the trenches in the first position occupied by Reserve Infantry Regiment 109 of the 28th Reserve Division. On the 1st July 1916 when the British 7th Division advanced behind a creeping barrage, much of the German front line was quickly overrun and many prisoners taken; delays further forward caused the infantry to lag behind the barrage and suffer far more casualties. Mametz was occupied during the morning by the British 20th Brigade but a German counterattack forced most of the British troops out, until a second attack during the afternoon, when the advance of the British 18th Division on the right flank, had cut the Germans in the village off from Montauban to the east. The German defence collapsed, and the 7th Division reached all its objectives on the right and in the centre and began to consolidate, ready to receive a German counterattack.
This is a blown apart propelling charge case which is a brass shell case base which ripped clean apart when fired and exploded and is empty and inert.The case base is in nice condition it still retains a lot of its brass colour but has discolored and dirty with some damage from being buried as well. The case still has most of its original markings on the bottom fairly clear to see including dated November 1915. The case is still very solid and is not braking up or falling apart it has been very well cleaned and perfect for display or any collection.The case base was recovered from near the village of Mametz. This was part of the German defensive line on 1st July 1916 during the First attack by the British on the first day of the battle of the Somme.The case comes with A5 laminated information card.
In June 1916, the British preliminary bombardment cut much of the barbed wire protecting the Mametz defences and destroyed many of the trenches in the first position occupied by Reserve Infantry Regiment 109 of the 28th Reserve Division. On the 1st July 1916 when the British 7th Division advanced behind a creeping barrage, much of the German front line was quickly overrun and many prisoners taken; delays further forward caused the infantry to lag behind the barrage and suffer far more casualties. Mametz was occupied during the morning by the British 20th Brigade but a German counterattack forced most of the British troops out, until a second attack during the afternoon, when the advance of the British 18th Division on the right flank, had cut the Germans in the village off from Montauban to the east. The German defence collapsed, and the 7th Division reached all its objectives on the right and in the centre and began to consolidate, ready to receive a German counterattack.