Very rare blown apart half of a French model 1914 ball hand grenade solid relic condition recovered from on Hill 304 the March - May 1916 battle in Verdun

This is a very rare blown apart half of a French model 1914 ball hand grenade this outer case half it is empty and inert. This a near complete half section of the very famous early war French hand grenade it has cleaned up very well and still retains a fair bit of original colour it is rusty and relic condition but still very solid it is perfect for display or any collection and not the easiest of finds from the battlefield these days now. The grenade part was recovered on Hill 304  the March - May 1916 battle which was the large German advance towards Verdun. A very nice and rare relic from this famous battlefield which comes with a A5 laminated information card.

In late February 1916, following German attacks on the right bank of the River Meuse during the Battle of Verdun, the French had established artillery batteries on the hills on the left bank commanding the opposite, right-hand bank. One of these was Le Mort Homme. These batteries caused such havoc that the Germans, belatedly, decided to attack southwards along the left bank of the river simultaneously. Their objective was Le Mort Homme and its neighbouring hills. Over the next few months, the Germans made repeated attacks, pounding the French lines, rushing their positions and ejecting the French from their wrecked trenches. French artillery would then pulverise the Germans and counter-attacks would drive them out again, the French infantry re-occupying the shell holes where the trench systems had been.

Despite the terrible cost, the Germans were able to advance slowly, first capturing a neighbouring hill, Côte 304, which was dominating the approach to Le Mort Homme. Then, on 16 March, the Germans took Côte 265, labelled on their maps as Toter Mann (Le Mort Homme), but not on French maps. Finally, on 24 May, they took the second summit, Côte 295.