French rifle grenade a model 1916 Viven Bessière grenade nice relic condition,not damaged with original black paintwork remains and brass fuse recovered from the Somme battlefield of 1916-1918.

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This is a nice and rare find from the battlefield which is French rifle grenade a model 1916 Viven Bessière grenade which is a complete outer case in lovely condition. The case has no rust holes and most of its original black paintwork remains with its 2 top fuses still attached one its nice shiny brass colour it is completely inert and empty it has been nicely cleaned and is perfect for display or any collection. The grenade was recovered from the Somme battlefield of 1916-1918.This grenade comes with A5 laminated information card.

The Battle of The Somme took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916 on both sides of the River Somme in France. The battle was one of the largest of World War I, in which more than 1,000,000 men were wounded or killed, making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history.

The VB (Viven-Bessière) grenade, appearing in 1916, was the most famous and best French rifle grenade. Made of a pig iron cylinder with inner fragmentation grooves, it was axially crossed by a hollow tube of the same inner diameter than the Lebel rifle bullet, laterally by another tube containing the detonator and parallel to the central one and was topped by a brass cap with a small lateral percussion lever over the detonator tube as well as filling aperture plug. This grenade was so efficient that it changed the tactics of the French infantry. Each company had 16 VB men, giving a powerful and very manoeuverable firepower for both attack and defence. It was still in use in the French Army in 1940.