March 3rd, 2022
13minute read
The recent Russian invasion of Ukraine has shocked the world.
As the Red Army pushed into Finland, Soviet bombers began to indiscriminately bomb civilian targets in Helsinki.
After that, the Finns referred to Soviet cluster bombs as Molotov Bread Baskets.
The Molotov cocktail has a long history of use by resistance forces, from the days before World War II through to Ukraine today. Shutterstock: Gorb Andrii
Man vs.
In the meantime, German infantry anti-tank doctrine focused on close assault tactics.
The mixture was kept in bottles and just before throwing, it was shaken vigorously.
Finnish soldier showing the proper method for throwing a Molotov cocktail.Image: SA-Kuva
Molotovs are dangerous things both to carry and to throw, but the next weapon was even worse.
This was a specialty of the Asturian miners of northern Spain.
Fears of invasion in the British Isles were rampant and were not completely unfounded.
Finnish troops created the name “Molotov cocktail” during the Soviet invasion of their country during the winter of 1939-1940.Image: SA-Kuva
For smaller tanks, a pick slung into the tracks from the side will sometimes do the job.
That figure appears to hold true even now, particularly among irregular or militia forces.
Japanese use of Molotov cocktails continued during World War II.
In the beginning: A British Mark I tank, circa 1916. Note the anti-grenade netting on the roof of the vehicle. Image: Patton Museum
It has a fuze.
It will fire when thrown against ordinary ground as well as against hard objects.
It is sealed with gum paper.
In the beginning II: A U.S. Doughboy poses with a captured German “bundled charge” made from seven standard stick grenades. France 1918. Image: NARA
The fuze is threaded to screw into a metal lining which fits inside the neck of the bottle.
A rubber washer enables the bottle to be liquid sealed.
The Japanese have used at least three kinds of explosives in this weapon.
Spanish Nationalist troops look over a captured T-26 tank, supplied by the Soviets to the Spanish Republic. Molotov cocktails proved consistently effective against these vehicles. Image: Patton Museum
OPERATION
The following instructions on operation were translated from Japanese sources.
Assembling
Fill the bottle with inflammable chemical compound.
The effect will be greater if two or three bottles are thrown in succession.
Molotov cocktails producing oily smoke were an important part of the tank-hunter teams’ inventory. This captured Soviet T-34 is seen used by the Finns to train their troops in close assault.Image: SA-Kuva
However, I have never found any after-action reports that detail American use of the Molotov cocktail in combat.
The sticky bombs were in Roger Rodats script using C-2 explosive blocks, socks and sticky substances.
That was not scripted but Spielberg liked it, so we ended up using it.
Finnish illustration showing a tank-hunter team creeping up on Soviet tank with demolition charges and Molotov cocktails.Image: SA-Kuva
Conclusion
Captain Dye is right, of course.
Finnish trooper training with a Molotov cocktail in 1942.Image: SA-Kuva
Finnish makeshift anti-tank weapons: Molotov cocktails and improvised explosive charges activated by a stick grenade.Image: SA-Kuva
Men against tanks: a still from a German anti-tank training film showing the use of a Molotov cocktail. Image: NARA
An illustration from a German wartime training manual: bending the enemy’s gun barrel with a crowbar. Image: Author’s collection
A scene from a German wartime training film: in this scenario the tank hunter uses a five-gallon Jerrycan equipped with a standard hand grenade as a detonator. Image: Author’s collection
A U.S. wartime illustration of theJapanese lunge mine— a hollow charge explosive hand-directed by a tank hunter. Image: Author’s collection
A Japanese soldier in a foxhole positioned to wait until a U.S. tank rolled over him. He was killed before he could activate the detonator of the 132-lb. aircraft bomb in his dugout. Image: NARA
U.S. soldier training with a gas bomb at the Chemical Warfare Center during 1942. Image: Library of Congress
U.S. soldier training with a gas bomb at the Chemical Warfare Center at Fort Belvoir, Virginia during September 1942. Image: Library of Congress
U.S. tank destroyer crewman training with a “sticky bomb” anti-tank grenade during 1943. Image: NARA
