Collecting Warwire

"WARWIRE"
BARBED WIRE BARRIERS
USED IN WARFARE

Warwire

WHAT IS WARWIRE?
Also known as entanglement wire, anti-intrusion wire, prison wire and concentration camp wire, almost any barrier constructed of barbed wire to slow enemy troop movement is called Warwire.

WHEN WAS WIRE FIRST USED IN WARFARE?
The first known recorded use of wire in warfare was in 1864 when smooth telegraph wire was salvaged from a nearby telegraph line and entwined between posts and tree stumps at the foot of Stockade Redan at Vicksburg.

WHEN DID BARBED WIRE APPEAR?
Barbed wire development began in 1867 and by 1880 was readily available around the world. The French Military was among the first to incorporate smooth and barbed wire into defensive barriers designed to slow enemy troop advance.

IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MILITARY AND REGULAR BARBED WIRE?
Military designed barbed wire is more vicious in nature than regular stockman's wire. Until 1898, the military used regular livestock wire in barriers. By 1902, barbed wire entanglements became the most formidable obstacles attacking troops faced.

IS BARBED WIRE USED TODAY IN MODERN WARFARE?
The use of barbed wire reached its peak during WWI when trenches, barbed wire barriers, and rapid-fire machine guns caused "trench deadlock" as troops refused to advance against the wire. The German Military developed a "bombardment tactic" using artillery to clear the barriers and rapid deployment vehicles to move troops. Today, barbed wire is used in warfare to guard supply depots, temporary prisons, and in creating check point barriers. At home, barbed wire plays an important part in our modern prison system.

WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT WARWIRE HISTORY?
A book entitled "Warwire" may be purchased by clicking on Museum Mercantile. Contents include history text, hundreds of illustrations and photos of barbed wire designs, tools and inventions used to combat Warwire, and suggestions on how to collect these items. You may contact the author, Delbert Trew by e-mail to trewblue@centramedia.net.

A Chapter of Significance

by Delbert Trew 2007

Whether crossing America on the super highways or cruising the back roads, most people are aware of the barbed wire barriers on each side making the roads safe for travel. Most citizens are also aware of the significance and history of barbed wire in the taming of the Old West. Few, however, are aware of the historical role played by barbed wire in warfare.

Warwire

Whether crossing America on the super highways or cruising the back roads, most people are aware of the barbed wire barriers on each side making the roads safe for travel. Most citizens are also aware of the significance and history of barbed wire in the taming of the Old West. Few, however, are aware of the historical role played by barbed wire in warfare.

Beyond doubt, war is hell and wishfully forgotten. War is ugly and the ugliest scene of all shows fellow human beings being held or repelled by barriers made of barbed wire. The photos, news reels and paintings of war scenes where barbed wire is used sends chills up and down the spines of all but the most hardened of viewers. Veterans of war who actually encountered the entanglements cringe as they recall the horrible memories. Some consider the use of barbed wire against our fellow man the ultimate insult to humanity.

But wait a minute! Isn’t this a part of history? Why is killing by barbed wire worse than killing by a bullet? If we study only the “nice incidents” in history won’t we miss the lessons taught by the “not so nice” experiences? Whatever your thoughts are on the subject, we find that little has been recorded about entanglement wire in the annals of history. However, there are indications of change as our information network grows.

Interest in entanglement wire is growing as recent popular movies seem to include the most violent scenes of war without apology. Inquiries spawned by Internet web sites about entanglement wire and prisoner of war camps has increased indicating new interest by the public.

Research about the use of barbed wire in warfare reveals little and a more thorough study begs to be done. So far, we find that in the late 1870's, the French military began building fortifications along their borders and started using stockman’s design barbed wire in patterns to deter ground attack by the enemy. Details of this use is scarce to date.

Little further use of barbed wire by the military in any country has been found until the Boer War, 1900-1902. The British military hastily constructed barbed wire barriers of stockman’s ribbon wire along a railroad in an effort to isolate the enemy in certain areas. Details of these installations are vividly pictured in photos and paintings.

A short time later, use of entanglement wire in defensive positions escalated drastically before the start of the Russo/Japanese War, 1902, as the Russians built massive entanglements in preparation for attack. We know this beyond doubt, as communications, films, photos and on-site paintings, recorded the following gory battle scenes in detail.

Evidently, these efforts were studied closely by the American military strategists for in 1904, U.S. Army manuals described and instructed the art of building defensive barriers of barbed wire. Although not found to date, but believed to have happened, other countries such as France and Germany were developing similar entanglement barriers for defense as such barriers showed up at the beginning of WWI.

Entanglement wire use peaked during WWI, 1915-1917, as all countries involved built mile upon mile of barriers to protect their boundaries, seashores and fortified bunkers. The newly developed machine guns, placed in strategic positions within the entanglements, took a terrible toll on the enemy.

Eventually, for the first time ever, these losses caused “trench-lock” where the combatants refused to obey orders to leave the trenches in attack. Beyond doubt, at this moment, barbed wire was in total control of the battlefields and forced change in the age-old tactics of war in a most drastic manner.

Another change caused by barbed wire, was just as drastic but made more quietly, occurred when the horse-mounted cavalry, feared down through the ages from Ghengis Khan, was rendered obsolete and eventually abandoned. Simply put, the horses would not charge into barbed wire.

So, in 1917, during WWI, barbed wire rendered the horse cavalry obsolete, and held the armies of the world hostage, penned in trenches, refusing to face the prickly barrier and the guns contained within. It was the shining moment and the climax in the story of entanglement wire.

The moment lasted only weeks, as the German military devised a totally new tactic of pulling its troops back from the front line to rest and replenish, then bombarding the line with artillery and attacking in the aftermath using flame-throwers to clean out the buried bunkers.

The barbed wire entanglements holding troops hostage, were blown apart, buried and flattened by the bombardment. The wire’s rise to fame over the years, crashed in weeks as more powerful explosives rendered the entanglements obsolete like other old-time tactics of war.

Since that climatic moment, the role of barbed wire in warfare has been reduced to guarding prisoners, protecting supply camps and aiding the military at checkpoints. When combined with chain-link fencing, placed atop walls or added to existing barriers, barbed wire in one design or another faithfully serves its master. Though strengthened, tempered, re-formed, adjoined and sharpened, the basic component is still a sharp point to cause determent.

Because of these basic harsh elements, collectors often ignore entanglement wire specimens. For whatever reasons, entanglement wire does not enjoy the same recognition as other wire designs. Hopefully, modern historians, using new methods of research and digging deeper into the past, will find tidbits of history to fill in the blanks now missing.

The British Broadcasting Corporation of London, England is conducting a film project now that should show the true significance of the use of entanglement wire in warfare. Perhaps after this documentary is viewed on the history channels throughout the world, entanglement wire will enjoy the recognition it so richly deserves.

Collecting Warwire