Flammenwerfer M.16.
The Flammenwerfer M. was a German man-portable backpack flamethrower that was used in World War I in trench warfare by the Germans. It was the first flamethrower ever used in combat, in 1916 at Verdun by the Germans. It was also used in 1918 in the battle of Argonne Forest in France against Allied forces by Germans, as featured in the 2001 film The Lost Battalion where the main character fights German, although an account in a 1917 issue of The Living Age suggests eyewitness accounts of it being used at the Battle of the Somme in 1916 by Germans.
Also recorded as M.16 Flamethrower · Flammenwerfer 16
Flammenwerfer M.16.

SDASM Archives · Public domain
- Name
- Flammenwerfer M16
- Field
- flamethrower
- Region
- German Empire
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
The Flammenwerfer M. was a German man-portable backpack flamethrower that was used in World War I in trench warfare by the Germans. It was the first flamethrower ever used in combat, in 1916 at Verdun by the Germans. It was also used in 1918 in the battle of Argonne Forest in France against Allied forces by Germans, as featured in the 2001 film The Lost Battalion where the main character fights German, although an account in a 1917 issue of The Living Age suggests eyewitness accounts of it being used at the Battle of the Somme in 1916 by Germans.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
No house-authored Note is published until its assertions and sources pass the VALÉORINE evidence contract. The documentary article remains available in full while that enrichment is being consolidated.
Documentary enrichment in progress · no unsupported statement published
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Flammenwerfer M.16.. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Evidence Panel
not yet certified
- Identity
- resolved
- Independent source families
- 0
- Admitted assertions
- 0
- Open conflicts
- 0
Authority files
wikidata · Q5457321 · wikipedia · Flammenwerfer M.16.
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Flammenwerfer M16 • Origin — German Empire • Type — Flamethrower • Is Ranged — yes • Used By — German Empire, Freikorps • Wars — World War I • Crew — 2 • Sights — None
Development
Development
As the industrial revolution grew across all of Europe the desire for more powerful and effective weapons continued to grow. In 1901 Germany, a private citizen named Richard Fiedler designed and patented the first modern design of a flamethrower. In the same year the Imperial German army took notice and funded his project. Fiedler would continue to work and design several flamethrowers, and presented them to the German army in 1905. After receiving some feed back, he delivered two versions of the Flammenwerfer for army use. Finally in 1911 the German army accepted his designs into service. About the same time another man named Bernhard Reddemann began his own development of the flamethrower. He was an officer in the German pioneer battalion in the reserves, as well as a firefighter in the civilian world. As his curiosity with the use of kerosene as a weapon of war, he started to blend the pumping power of a hose for fire fighting, with the effectiveness of fire as a defensive weapon. As the First World War started he went back to active duty. By the second year of the war he was commanding a flamethrower pioneer battalion. Thanks to his command and use a whole regiment was installed. Although Fiedler was the real inventor of the flamethrower, it was Reddemann who used it to great success on the battlefield.
Instructional use
Instructional use
The Flammenwerfer M.16 was a two-man operated system, with one man wearing a metal tank full of fuel, and the other man holding the nozzle to aim towards the desire target. As the fuel hit the open fire in front of the nozzle, spraying flames about 20-30 yards with a continuous spray for 20–40 seconds. Although very portable it was not able to be carried by one person.
World War I
World War I
At the outbreak of the Great War the German army started to look for towards the Flammenwerfer as a means to break the dead lock facing the western front. During the battle of Verdun in 1916 where German pioneers and shock troopers used it to deadly effect. They would be the front of the attack, clearing trenches and piercing soft points in enemy lines, allowing for more troops to enter. An unnamed French officer witnessed the German flamethrowers in action saying that "they were so terrifying that not even words could describe it" as they assaulted many men fell, although they still completed their mission. The flamethrower pioneers were successful in about 80% of their missions, turning the tide of battle and instilling fear into their enemies hearts.
Inter-war use
Inter-war use
After the Treaty of Versailles, Germany became the hot bed for chaos and communist revolutionaries. During this time, the German army as well as the Freikorps, a right wing militia, used the Flammenwerfer to disperse crowds.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
German Empire
Country
Flammenwerfer M.16. is associated with German Empire.
Country
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
Connections
Knowledge graph
Connections
Each connection was recorded deliberately, with the basis for it kept on the internal record.
Broader subject
1- flamethrowerTerminology
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Militaria
6,095 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Flamethrower, Portable, No 2Terminology
- flaming swordTerminology
- Flammenwerfer 35Terminology
- Flammenwerfer 41Terminology
- flare gunTerminology
- Flash-ballTerminology
- flatbowTerminology
- flechetteTerminology
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own an object connected with Flammenwerfer M.16.?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.