Grenade used in Battle Scene

[Greg C.]

I dont know if this has been brought up before but does anyone know anything about the grenade used during the battle scene when the Mexicans take over the long barracks?

Greg

[Bromhead24]

I noticed that also, it sure blew out alot of fire from the windows. It looked like the soldado pulled the so-called pin with his teeth..

[neferetus]

Yeah, he was likely a grenadier. In ALAMO, THE PRICE OF FREEDOM, the grenadiers actually have the symbol of a grenade on their helmets.

In THE WAYNAMO, the grenade thrown seems to have been incendiary, judging from all of the flames that followed. (By the way, the soldados are coming over the WEST wall in that scene and the block of buildings in question still exists at Alamo Village.)

British Grenadiers were in service as far back as the War of 1812. Can you think of any earlier battles/wars where grenades were used, Mike?

[Bromhead24]

The Grenadier

The concept of throwing grenades goes back to the Ming Dynasty, when Chinese warriors on the Great Wall were reported using this weapon. The earliest references to these grenade-throwing soldiers in Western armies come from Austria and Spain. References also appear in England during the English Civil War. However, it was King Louis XIV of France who made the grenadier an official type of soldier and company during his army reforms late in the 17th century. According to Rene Chartrand, Lt. Col. Jean Martinet introduced the idea of having men detailed to throw grenades in the Régiment du Roi in 1667.

The first grenades were small iron spheres filled with gunpowder fused with a length of slow-match, roughly the size of a cricket ball or a baseball. The grenadiers had to be tall and strong enough to hurl these heavy objects far enough so as not to harm themselves or their comrades, and disciplined enough to stand at the forefront of the fight, light the fuse, wait, and throw at the appropriate moment to minimize the opportunity for the enemy to throw the grenade back. Understandably, such requirements led to grenadiers being regarded as an elite.

[Greg C.]

thanks for the info.