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ADDITIONAL INTERESTING INFORMATION
Nebelhandgranate. Another form of weapon that the Wehrmacht lacked was a proper smoke grenade, a vital piece of equipment allowing infantry to cover advances or retreats, or blinding their foes while assaulting a position. To solve this, Germany designed and produced a nebel (German, literally "fog") grenade that essentially was a copy of the standard issue Model 1924 Stielhandgranate with a number of minor changes. Firstly, the smoke variant had its explosive filler removed, and the fuse mechanism was remodeled slightly. Unlike most smokescreen grenades of the time, Germany's nebel grenade was not a unique design (since it was a rebuilt Model 24), and therefore a number of complications arose. In detail, the essential manner in which the nebel variant worked was that the fuse was primed as normal, but when the smoke material ignited, it was emitted from small holes cut into the underside of the usual metal charge head. One complication was that Wehrmacht infantry needed a way to recognize this new grenade, because at the surface, it looks like any ordinary Model 24 Stielhandgranate. In order to treat this issue, German industries produced the nebel variant with entirely separate markings. The largest visual change was a large white band was painted onto the stalk handle of the grenade, as well as a number of general inscriptions on the metal charge head (expressing that the grenade was a smokescreen version). As the war progressed, another precaution was taken, as well, to aid infantry in determining the variant even in darkness. The wooden stalk handle was given a relief texture by using grooves, allowing a soldier to tell the original Model 24 and the Nebel version apart, even if he is not able to see the grenade (useful in nighttime operations, as well as when fighting in city streets, within the confines of large buildings). This variant is often referred to as a nebelhandgranate (German, literally "fog hand grenade").