Devised in utter secrecy as early as 1934, the German engineers disguised
their Nebelwerfer Multiple Rocket Launcher as a smoke projector. League of Nations
intelligence believed Germany was producing a defensive smoke weapon when, in fact,
they were making a powerful rocket launcher that would terrorize the Allied forces in World War 2.
Then, as the distressful weapon reached the Eastern Front, France,
and Northern Africa battlefields, it was the world's most advanced rocket launching system.
In February of 1943, the green American troops did everything in their power to
hold back the battle-hardened forces of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel when they first
clashed against the mighty Wehrmacht during the Battle of Kasserine Pass.
However, their efforts would prove futile as the
Germans unleashed a battalion of Nebelwerfer Rocket Launchers upon the unexpecting Allies.
The disturbing wailing produced by the rockets, as well as the fiery spectacle that lit the night,
sent the Americans into a panic, and the weapon became as feared as the enemy itself…
Chemical Warfare
During the last years of the 1930s, as a new global conflict loomed ever closer, the world's
superpowers were preparing for chemical war. After all, such weapons had been a critical component of
the World War 1 experience, and they had to be ready to respond if the enemy unleashed them.
With that philosophy in mind, Germany began the development of a groundbreaking mobile
Multiple Rocket Launcher. The weapon was designed to be highly versatile and able
to launch smoke bombs, incendiaries, explosives, and chemical weapons.
If the incoming war devolved into a chemical conflict, Germany would be ready to use
mobile rocket launchers to rain chlorine, phosgene, and mustard gas over its enemies.
What’s more, the weapon could be used to
unleash the newly discovered Tabun nerve agent upon the Allied forces.
The rocket launcher system was highly versatile and extremely advanced for
its time, and no matter what kind of events World War 2 would bring,
the new German rocket launcher would be a formidable asset for the Wehrmacht.
A Deceptive Weapon
The Nebelwerfer, which translates to "smoke projector" or "smoke mortar," was designed as
a state-of-the-art rocket launcher; however, its name was chosen to deceive the League of Nations,
which was closely monitoring Germany's military manufacturing to prevent it from
breaching the limitations issued by the Treaty of Versailles after World War 1.
Nazi Germany kept the project's true nature a top secret while showcasing the harmless
production of a smoke mortar meant to deploy defensive smokescreens in case of an attack.
In reality, the Nebelwerfer was a concept design that produced nine different individual rocket
launching models. Its inception occurred in 1934 as Hitler desperately struggled
to circumvent the Treaty of Versailles and arm his men without alarming the League of Nations.
The design consisted of a five-barreled or six-barreled multiple rocket launcher
mounted on the towed carriage salvaged from a 3.7-centimeter PaK 36 anti-tank gun, and a
swiveling stabilizing jack was added to the front of the cart to stabilize the launcher when firing.
The contraption was able to fire all of its missiles in little more than a minute,
making it a destructive asset for the German forces.
Still, it was anything but a defensive weapon…
The Nebelwerfer
The Nebelwerfer would be one of the first Rocket launcher systems
used during World War 2, along with the infamous Soviet BM-13 Katyusha.
And although it did not deliver the spectacle that that weapon did,
the Nebelwerfer is widely considered a more advanced rocket launcher due to its remote,
electrical firing mechanism, spin-stabilized projectiles, and ammunition versatility.
The rocket nozzle array included 22 orifices uniformly spaced around the rim of the nozzle,
and they set an angle of 16 degrees from the shaft to give the projectile a clockwise rotation.
As it was fired, the propelled rockets expelled a powerful burst that kicked up a substantial amount
of dust and debris; thus, the operators had to seek shelter before activating the Nebelwerfer.
It was because of that mechanism that the rockets were remotely fired,
which allowed the crew to seek shelter but also avoid swift retaliation fire from the enemy.
In addition, the projectile was fired automatically one at a time and in a timed
pattern. As such, the system could not fire a single missile without launching the rest.
Moreover, the rockets could be configured with either impact or delay fuses,
depending on the mission parameters, and liner rails could be mounted on the system
to allow it to use 15-centimeter Wurfgranate 41 rockets for smoke and poison gas projectiles.
The German engineers designed the spin-stabilized rocket with the engine toward the front,
thus placing the warhead farther aboveground to optimize the blast effect.
Finally, the rocket launchers were organized into batteries
of six launchers and one anti-tank gun with three batteries per battalion.
These battalions were concentrated in independent ‘Werfer-Regiments’ and ‘Brigades.’
Still, they could be assigned to a specific division for a particular operation,
but most of the time the Werfer-Regiments had their own objectives and command chains.
A Broad Assortment
During the fall of France in 1940, the German Army received its first 15-centimeter Nebelwerfer units
capable of delivering all three payload types but primarily used to fire high-explosive rounds.
The rocket launchers were used to a limited degree during the last weeks of the conquest.
Their incendiary payload was often used during the Nebelwerfer's initial deployment as they
delivered a swift and broad fire blaze that could devastate entire towns and urban areas.
By 1941, as Germany prepared for the invasion of the Soviet Union,
the first 28/32-centimeter Nebelwerfer 41 rockets were delivered to the Eastern Front
in both 280-millimeter high-explosive and 320-millimeter incendiary versions.
The new rockets were not limited to the 5-to-6-cylinder-circular configuration, as
the 28/32-centimeter Nebelwerfer 41 rockets could be arranged in two racks of three missiles each.
In addition, the racks' frames were made of wood, which would later be switched to metal tubes.
These racks could be mounted on a towed carriage like in previous versions. However,
they could also be fitted atop armored half-tracks or single tubes mounted
beneath the wings of Luftwaffe warplanes to use against American bomber formations.
The final iteration of the Nebelwerfer would be the 30-centimeter Nebelwerfer 42.
This version saw action in the final stages of the war,
and it featured more than twice the range of the 28/32-centimeter models.
Each iteration of the weapon had some specific design elements in common:
they were all remotely fired and used the same finless spin-stabilized rockets that
could carry explosives, incendiary oil, or poison gas. Plus, the systems could launch
all their projectiles within 90 seconds with reload speeds of up to five minutes.
Battle Tested
The Nebelwerfer was widely used in its different
variations by the German armed forces on every front except Norway and the Balkans.
The rocket launchers were often valued for being substantially cheaper than artillery
units while also delivering severe psychological damage to enemy units.
Being one of the very first rocket launching systems in the war,
most troops were not used to the overwhelming sound and the shocking light show they produced.
This often led to enemy troops panicking at the sight of Nebelwerfer fire.
In reality, Nebelwerfer rockets were less lethal than artillery shells,
as they exploded on impact and were unable to penetrate any defenses; thus,
even troopers behind light cover were usually safe from the weapon’s effects.
Nevertheless, the German weapon would have shocking results during
the first Allied encounters with the Nebelwerfer.
Striking Fear
Operation Torch was the first major Western mission carried
out by American troops after joining the war. In it, US and British forces were
tasked with capturing French North Africa to regain control of the Mediterranean Sea.
Facing mostly depleted French Vichy forces,
the Allied troops quickly took control of Morocco and Algeria, while the German
forces led by Erwin Rommel were busy fighting against the British troops in Libya and Egypt.
The situation grew even more frightening when a furious Hitler reinforced Rommel,
and the battle-hardened General rushed to Tunisia to clash against the green American troops.
The Americans and the Germans then battled each other for the first time in the war
near the border of Algeria and Tunisia, in a place known as Kasserine Pass.
The US troops outnumbered the Germans, but Rommel had experience on his side.
The Desert Fox was known for employing psychological warfare tactics to demoralize
his opponents, and after the entrenched US troops repelled his first attack,
Rommel unleashed a massive artillery barrage carefully bolstered by a Nebelwerfer regiment.
The night sky was suddenly lit on fire as the rocket launchers delivered hundreds
of projectiles into the Allied positions while producing their characteristically ominous sound.
The nightmarish scene led many American soldiers to abandon their posts, and when the German
tanks changed their position and aimed at the barrage, the Allied defenses fled the battle.
Widespread Use
For the remainder of the war, the Nebelwerfer would be effectively
used to destroy Allied troops but also instill terror amid their ranks.
After the landing at Normandy,
Nebelwerfer batteries saw frequent use while defending France and Germany. Still,
the Allied forces soon grew familiar with the weapon system, dubbing it the ‘Screaming Mimi.’
After witnessing the effective use of multiple rocket launchers, the US military also developed
its own systems by mounting a rack of 60 4.5-inch rockets on top of M4 Sherman tanks. The system
would be known as the T34 Calliope, and it would continue to be used until the end of the war.
Then, as the Allied effort gained steam, the Nebelwerfer's use would be limited
to defensive operations; still, they were used in some offensive missions as well.
In 1942, when the Soviets attempted to recapture the Crimean Peninsula during the Battle of the
Kerch Peninsula, the Wehrmacht used a regiment of Nebelwerfer rocket launchers in an overwhelming
counterattack that obliterated the second defensive line of the Soviet 44th Army.
The rocket launchers delivered an overwhelming defeat to the
Soviet landing efforts, after which the Germans remained in control of Crimea.
The rocket launchers would also be used for defense purposes during the Battle for Caen,
responding to Operation Cobra and several encounters following the landings in Normandy.
As a cheap and effective indirect fire system,
the Nebelwerfer became ubiquitous as Germany struggled to fight the Allied invasion.
The Nebelwerfer multiple rocket launchers accompanied the German troops till the
last days of the war, but despite their effectiveness and technological advancement,
they would not make a difference in the outcome of the global conflict.
Backtracking
Despite the countless horrors of World War 2, all the nations involved ultimately abstained
from using chemical weapons for combat, which was the initial purpose of the Nebelwerfer Multiple
Rocket Launcher, but even Germany refrained from using its vast deposits of chemicals,
opting instead for conventional warfare methods.
There is no clear explanation behind Germany’s reasoning for not using such agents. Some
historians argue that Germany's chemical program lacked behind other nations, and Hitler knew it.
In contrast, others attribute this reluctance to Hitler's own experience in World War 1.
The Fuhrer had suffered the devastating effects of chemical weapons during his time as a German
dispatch runner in France. It is said that the dreadful experience might have led to
his hesitancy to use chemical weapons and risk the enemy using them on his own countrymen.
Whatever the reason, no western nation during World War 2 ever crossed the
chemical warfare line, and many powerful technologies like the Nebelwerfer were
limited to function as conventional weapons, abandoning their darker initial purpose.
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