I helped dig this stuff up on the former front line of the Allied Intervention
in N. Russia (from 1918/1919). Can anyone tell me what it is?
I presume the first is some kind of mortar, but why bottle-shaped and where from?
I presume the second are anti-personnel mines. Again, where from?

Although anti personel mines were used in the ACW and in some wars in the far East in the 19th century by both Japanese and Chinese forces none were being manufactured during WW1 (plenty of anti tank mines though). So either those aren't anti personnel mines or they date from WW2 or after. Missiles with a spike like that are usually hollow charge and again much later than WW1 or just after.

Hello - The shell appears to be a high explosive shell with a French instantaneous fuse. I hope that you left it there! Regards, Torrey

Many thanks! I think you've solved the mystery.
Presumably these fuses were used where the surface was soft and there was a risk of the shell burying itself before exploding.
Am I right?

According to the Russians I was with, nothing we found was dangerous except this!
I certainly left it alone!

Am I right in concluding the shell has been fired and failed to detonate?
The driving band is visible and seems to have rifling marks.

Thanks for your reply.
About the mines... all the other stuff we found was definitely WW1 vintage with 1917 year of manufacture.
The fighting at this spot could only have been Intervention or Russian Civil War, not WW2.
Nor were there any tanks or other vehicles there - just the railway.
The mines were all buried under a couple of inches of soil in the forest itself, not along the railway tracks.
It's still a mystery... any more ideas?

Hello - Yes, shells with these fuses were used to detonate the shell near the surface when the ground was soft, as well as to cut barbed wire by detonating the shell as soon as wire was struck. If the shell's driving band shows rifling, then it was fired. Regards, Torrey

Dear Elgarcharles,

Slightly off topic but your project sounds absolutely fascinating- what were you doing there ? is it an ongoing project?
Regards
Greg

The shell looks like a 75mm with a Fusee-detonateur percutante de 24/31, Instantee allongee modele 1915.

Mick

The Germans produced a couple of anti personnel devices that were primarily intended for use in boobytrapping abandoned positions. One was a form of improvised pipebomb with a glass 'fuse'. This appears to have been mainly used in S W Africa. The other was a special fuse for inserting in the base of ordinary shells - this usually worked with a trip wire. The devices shown resemble neither of these. Britain produced no anti personnel mines at the time and to the best of my knowledge neither did the USA. Wether the Russians produced anything is a moot point. The mine clearing charities who provide some pretty good histories of personnel mine development say the anti personnel mine evelopment only really got started betrween the wars (originally to stop people lifting anti tank mines). All of which suggests that those things aren't AP mines.

Just a thought - there were six tanks involved in North Russia (4 Mk V 2 Medium . Although probably not used by the British they were used by the North Russian Army in at least one action. There would therefore be a perceived tank threat - could these things be anti tank mines (possibly of German manufacture - they produced about 20 diferent types) laid by the Soviets?