Initially utilized in the water, naval or submarine mines were used to blow holes in ships and U-boats. Mainly dispersed by ships called minelayers or dropped by aircrafts into the water, these mines would be anchored in place, ready to explode with contact from a ship or submarine. Relatively cheap and very effective, these mines helped both offensively intercepting enemy ship routes and setting traps outside of their harbors, and defensively placed at different depths of water to protect from both subs and ships. Different types of mines were also used besides these contact mines such as magnetic, pressure, and acoustic mines, all having the same explosive effect. With these vast varieties of mines, both sides combined to have laid down more than 550,000 submarine mines, sinking over 1300 Axis ships and 1,100 Allie vessels. Even today, there are still tens of thousands of unexploded mines in the European waters, mainly around Estonia in the Baltic Sea which governments have to deal with to protect their citizens and cities from unexpected explosions.
On land, mines became more common during World War II, where they could be easily buried under surfaces. Triggered by the pressure by vehicles or troops, or hand detonated by remote control nearby, as well as being easily manufactured and transported, both the Allied and Axis Powers used them on their fronts. Mainly split into two different categories, antitank mines fixed with around 5 kg of explosives were used to disrupt and destroy vehicles, while antipersonnel mines used fragment explosives to injury or kill troops. Just on the German front against the Allies troops, mines were responsible for more than 2% of troop deaths and over 20% of vehicles being destroyed.The impact of mines became very strong in World War both on the battlefield as well as in military, where commanders had to consider where they could put mines on their defensive fronts as well as coordinate with lower divisions so their own troops don't blow up, and on the offensive front to predict where the enemy could possibly have place mines. Those in higher military positions had to be smarter with their moves with the increased lethality in the war if they made a bad decision. Overall, mines evolved the destruction and state of war.
https://www.britannica.com/technology/mine-weapon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_mine#Early_20th_century
https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/2016/06/28/german-land-mines-the-hidden-danger/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/10/26/estonia-mines/
This was very well written and interesting! Mines were another strategy of warfare mainly introduced during World War II, just like air warfare, that made fighting even more advanced, dangerous, and effective. The use of antipersonnel mines continued and played an important role during the geurrilla wars of the second half of the nineteenth century. I read that millions of antipersonnel mines were laid throughout Vietnam, Cambodia, Afgahnistan, and other countries throughout the war, and a large amount were still active after the war had ended. Governments tried to locate all of them to deactivate, but they were not very successful, resulting in about 25,000 deaths a year for a time. Because of this, over 120 governments signed a treaty that set in motion the process to ban the production, export, and use of all mines in 1996. However, the United States, Russia, and China were all countries that opted not to sign this treaty.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://www.britannica.com/technology/mine-weapon