In his books “Phantom Soldier” and “The Tiger's Way” H. John Poole makes the observation that in many battles Japanese or Vietnamese troops used grenades more readily than their firearms. On this page David Hackworth's “Hardcore” battalion in Vietnam often conducted ambushes mainly with claymores and grenades, seldom using small arms. This may seem an obvious tactic for close-range jungle fighting but in fact its applications are broader.
During World War One German Stormtrooper infiltration units would attempt to clear enemy trenches using hand weapons and grenades. Gunfire would alert a unit and its neighbors that an assault was in progress, while grenade detonations might be assumed to be mortar or artillery fire. Such tactics were refined further during the Korean war. The so-called “Human wave” assaults by the Chinese were in fact infantry companies in parallel columns, their squads arranged in lines. Each line would alternately be armed with concussion grenades or submachine guns. The attacks would be conducted at night and the assault elements would attempt to get as close as possible to the enemy without being discovered. An artillery barrage might be used to mask the noise of approach and keep the defenders' heads down, negating the value of night vision devices. The attackers would use the defenders response as cues to their tactics. Ideally the trench would be attacked silently with just bayonets and other hand weapons such as knives, machetes, axes and entrenching tools. If this were not possible then grenades would be used and their detonation would be a signal for the submachine gunners to move forward and assist the grenadiers in mopping up with hand weapons. If there was any gunfire the submachine gunners would hold position and provide massed suppressive fire.
The topic of concussion grenades and the need for a more useful model than the Mk3A2 is discussed further on this page.
Grenade Tips and Tricks Fold paper tape through the rings of grenades and tape the ring to the body of the grenade. The paper tape will tear for fast use, while plastic or cloth tape will
