| NoCoolOnesLeft | January 7th, 2005 09:22 AM | Re: Schu Mine Quote:
Originally Posted by Anlushac11 The point of a minefield is to restrict enemy movement. You put up signs saying "Hey! mines over here!"
You want the enemy to know mines are there so they wont come there. What you dont want is for them to know how deep and wide and where gaps are.
Before the invention of the mineclearing vehicles used in North Africa minefields were a major almost impenetrable obstacle. The only way to clear them was to have sappers proble the ground with bayonets lookng for mines, the mine would then be gently dug up and disarmed or explosives palced on it and detoanted from a safe distance. The explosion often detonated other mines. The Germans also started planting Anti personnel mines to hinder sappers from removing vehicle mines. | Very true. My grandad was a Royal Engineer in Africa, his main job was to get rid of mines. A very grueling exercise that involved poking the ground with a bayonet or pocket knife, if you were lucky enough to have such things. He was never killed or seriously injured by one, although he had shrapnel in his face from when his jeep went over a mine, it killed his friend who was with him in the passenger seat. He had that shrapnel in his face till the day he died, which was only a year or two ago. |