Original Austro-Hungarian WWI Flexible Steel Wire Trench Raiding Club – Personal Collection David Machnicki Author of At Arm’s Length Series Original Items

Original Item: One-of-a-kind. Purchased directly from David F. Machnicki, the author of At Arm’s Length Trench Club book Series. We were told that this club will be featured in the upcoming Volume three of the series

This trench club (Nahkampfkeule) features a pear-shaped iron head mounted to the top of a 12 mm diameter steel wire cable (wire rope as opposed to the more commonly used steel springs). A set of six 4.0 mm diameter wire cables were twisted/braided to form this large, strong and flexible 12 mm diameter steel-cable. This flexible cable was attached to the inside of the iron head and passes completely through the massive double-concave wood grip. The bottom part of this cable has been anchored at the base of its grip by an 10 mm convex “skull-cracker” (pommel cap). There are 18 regularly spaced, 0.5 mm deep grooves turned about the circumference of its grip. Its pommel has a 12 mm wide groove for its leather lanyard that has been wrapped and affixed by twine. The wood grip is shaved off in two areas which appear to be possibly from battle damage. Overall length is 71 inches and weight is 2 lbs.

Trench raiding clubs were homemade melee weapons used by both the Allies and the Central Powers during World War I. Clubs were used during nighttime trench raiding expeditions as a quiet and effective way of killing or wounding enemy soldiers. The clubs were usually made out of wood. It was common practice to fix a metal object at the striking end (e.g. an empty Mills bomb) in order to maximize the injury inflicted. Another common design comprised a simple stave with the end drilled out and a lead weight inserted, with rows of large hobnails hammered in around its circumference. Most designs had some form of cord or leather strap at the end to wrap around the user’s wrist. Bosnian soldiers serving in the Austro-Hungarian army were fond of using maces. They were also used by officers to finish enemy soldiers wounded by poison gas attacks.

Trench clubs were manufactured in bulk by units based behind the lines. Typically, regimental carpenters and metal workers would make large numbers of the same design of club. They were generally used along with other “quiet” weapons such as trench knives, entrenching tools, bayonets, hatchets and pickaxe handles – backed up with revolvers and hand grenades.