Original French WWI All Steel Trench Raiding Club with Ball End Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. 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, but sometimes all steel examples are encountered. 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

This example is of French design, and measures approximately 14 inches overall, made completely of steel. The 12 inch long handle is made from bar steel, bent around at the bottom to form a handle. The business end is a crude steel ball about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, topped with a single spike. Even a helmet would most likely not protect from this heavy club. Clearly made up in a field workshop, this would have proved highly effective. Apart from the historical connection ideal for home defense or to keep the kids in order!