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1916–2016: The Berger Smoke Mixture turns 100
Author(s) -
Koch ErnstChristian
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
propellants, explosives, pyrotechnics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.56
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1521-4087
pISSN - 0721-3115
DOI - 10.1002/prep.201680531
Subject(s) - smoke , boiling , environmental science , meteorology , law , engineering , chemistry , waste management , political science , geography , organic chemistry
In an attempt to cross the Daugava River close to Riga on early morning July 19 1701, King Charles XII of Sweden had his men set fire to a few dinghies filled with manure and straw. The evolving smoke nicely blended with the natural fog typical for an early morning on a river and allowed half the division to cross the water before being spotted by the Polish-Saxon forces emplaced at the East bank. Though this is surely not the first military use of smoke it is quite an accurately passed on historic account of a combined deception and camouflage operation which allowed a small force to successfully take a superior force by surprise [1] .