Improvised Self-Defense Weaponry: The Fougasse

War has a way of forcing ingenuity on the poor sods caught in the crossfire, and it was way back in the 16th century that one of Europe’s many tumultuous wars that the fougasse was developed. It was one of the earliest landmines, designed to halt charges on the battlefield or to counter sneak attacks with a little surprise of their own.

Unlike many weapons from that bygone era, the fougasse remains a potent improvised weapon even to this day, seeing use in Vietnam and even later wars. For the prepper looking to defend himself after the collapse of law and order, the fougasse acts as a force-multiplier that lets a few prepared people handle many. It also acts as an intimidator, frightening enemies with a mighty roar and gout of flame that destroys people and vehicles alike.

Disclaimer: A Fougasse is essentially an Improvised Explosive Device. Please, please do not attempt to make one unless all law and order has been completely removed. Furthermore these are extremely dangerous and powerful, particularly owing to the explosive power required to operate each one. Do so with the utmost caution!

What is a Fougasse, and how does it work?

A Fougasse is not one particular weapon, but rather a class of weapons with different purposes. Some are better used against vehicles, others against looters on foot, with differing variations depending on the terrain. However, all Fougasses basically operate the same way:

1. Dig a hole and place explosives of some kind in the bottom.
2. On top of the explosives, place shrapnel or other dangerous materials (flammable liquids, sharp metal) and pack them in loosely.
3. Pile a small amount of dirt and camouflage over the top of the hole to disguise it.
4. Trigger it to unleash the fury of the explosives themselves and the horrifying damage of all that shrapnel.

Like a gigantic shotgun shell, an explosion at the bottom of the hole propels thousands of pieces of deadly materials at the enemy, peppering people and vehicles with shards of rock, metal, or flaming gobs of liquid. Some are pointed at slight angles in order to fire more shards in a general direction, while others might be nearly sideways in order to smash the full force of the explosion into the sides of cars or legs. Regardless, they make a horrendous amount of noise and spew fire right at oncoming enemy forces, which is in itself terrifying to behold.

Modifications usually depended on what the Fougasse might need to stop: thin-skinned vehicles and people usually received metal and smaller stone chips or flaming tar, while vehicles might be met with additional explosives or larger chunks of masonry. Some were put in barrels rather than holes in the ground at covered in greenery to imitate shrubs. Some particularly ingenuitive soldiers even rigged up tripwires that would set off several Fougasses at once in places where vehicles or troops were likely to slow and congregate, shredding whole groups at once.  Like most improvised weaponry, the Fougasse was used anywhere and everywhere that people had the materials needed to build them and a place to fire them from.

Building a modern Fougasse

I must emphasize that this is only to be done after law and order are thoroughly removed and society is no more. The ATF does not look kindly on improvised explosive traps setup on your lawn!

That said, the technique for building a Fougasse has greatly improved from those first days back in the 1500s. Modern chemicals and fuels often make a bigger impact and cause more damage, while modern cording makes setting off coordinated explosions much easier. Generally speaking, most modern Fougasses are placed in barrels even if they’re buried underground to focus more of the blast upward rather than into the nearby soil. Many of these also take advantage of the excess fuel lying around (in a prepper’s case this could include spoiled gasoline from abandoned cars) rather than spending time gathering rocks and metal. The flaming liquid is usually made of tar mixed with gasoline and some kind of thickening agent in order to ensure that the flaming material sticks to enemy infantry and vehicles. By and large most main battle tanks are nearly impervious to a Fougasse and so the focus is primarily on thin-skinned vehicles and infantry, so at most a few extra shards of rock and metal might be included only if you have the time.

Setting them off properly involves purchasing triggers and blasting charges, such as det cord, to set off the primary explosives (c4 in most militaries). The very first ones involved some poor fool being tasked with lighting a massive store of black powder with a torch, so if you plan on using them I recommend legally acquiring the necessary cordage and learning how it is to be used.

Are they more effective than traps and stakes?

In some ways, yes. They are definitely more intimidating in many ways, particularly if a fiery column of burning liquid is shot into the sky at night. They also ten have a greater effect per Fougasse used owing to the spread of the shrapnel and the force of the explosion. On the other hand they are not particularly practical for rapid setup owing to the care you have to take setting up explosives and the expense required to acquire the proper blasting cord and caps for maximum safety.

Generally speaking Fougasses were used for dramatic effect or to break larger charges and discourage sneak attacks. They were better when hitting large numbers or vehicles rather than singling out individual troops. As such, they merely complement rather than replacing more conventional traps.

by preparedforthat.com