Weapons have always been capable of inflicting damage on humans. However, there are some modifications of it, which at some point become really scary to use. Moreover, the same principle works even with ammunition. Expansive bullets were a prime example of such weapons. And all because their combat use showed such destructive power that it was banned by the Hague Convention back in 1899.
The history of this unusual ammunition at the end of the nineteenth century, when it became clear that the previously widespread soft lead bullets were not suitable for use in the then rifled weapon. Therefore, during the military campaign in Northern Pakistan in 1895, British colonial troops began to look for a solution to the problem. And after several unsuccessful concepts, Captain Neville Bertie-Clay managed to develop new ammunition.
The bullet was an unusual ammunition design with a small cavity in front, therefore, when it hit soft tissue, it was deformed and opened in such a way that it looked like a flower. Moreover, its "petals" were sharp, so they inflicted terrible lacerations on the enemy and could even break bones. That is why bullets, which received the official name expansive, were also called "flowers of death".
The first massive documented use of expansive bullets occurred during the Boer War of 1899-1902. And their use was amazingly effective. And so much so that in most cases they became the cause of amputation of the injured limb, and if the bullet entered the body, then it was completely fatal.
The use of expansive bullets was actively covered in the then media, therefore, when the world community saw the eloquent images of terrible wounds and realized the damage from these ammunition, it became clear that something had to be done about it. Therefore, on the initiative of the British government in 1899, 15 leading world states signed the First Hague Convention, in the text of which, among other things, the prohibition of the production and use of expansive bullets was spelled out.
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