Rare to find British rifle grenade number 35 Mark 2 dated 1917 lovely complete example with original colours recovered from an old German trench in Polygon wood from the September 1917 battle part of the third battle of Ypres in Belgium.

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This is a British rifle grenade number 35 Mark 2 late war pattern it is a lovely complete and unusual relic from the battlefield.The grenade is complete with its rod and complete with its brass fitting the outer case still with some of its original black paintwork the actual rod is a bit rusty but complete the grenade is empty and inert.The outer case is a bit pitted buy no holes with lots of original colour as do the brass fittings which are there lovely brass colour on the end it is maker marked and dated 1917 clear to see. The grenade is still very solid not braking up at all a cracking condition relic that has been very well cleaned and is perfect for display or any collection. The grenade was recovered from old German trench in Polygon wood from the September 1917 battle part of the third battle of Ypres in Belgium and comes with A5 laminated information card.

The Battle of Polygon Wood was fought on September 26th, 1917. The 4th and 5th Divisions of the Australian Army were involved. The whole area around Polygon Wood had been churned up by artillery fire from both sides. Roads had been destroyed. The joint Australian and British attack on Polygon Wood was covered by a British artillery barrage. This creeping barrage threw up great swirls of dust which served to disguise their advance. Aided by precise artillery attacks, Polygon Wood was seemingly taken with ease. However, the artillery attack had not destroyed numerous German pill boxes found within the wood itself. These had to be captured before there could have been any consideration towards moving further forward. It was during these assaults that the Australians suffered large casualties. The 4th Division lost 1,717 men while the 5th Division lost 5,471 men killed, wounded and missing. The Germans tried to re capture the wood in 1918 during the Kaisers offensive of March that year using poison gas but the attack failed.