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Caltrop
DEFINITION
These are pointed iron pieces on three sides that were thrown from enemy aircraft during the war and used to prevent Turkish soldiers from walking.
SIZE
25×20×20×10 mm 50×45×37×39 mm, 22,97 g
PERIOD
WWI
DESCRIPTION
The tip and skeleton are separate. The skeletal part is more robust and intact. But the end part rusted over time and had decay. The length of the tips is different. It is one of the rarest productions of the kind of nails we have. Its skeleton and ends are manufactured separately and then combined. Thus, even though the skeletal part of the nail was removed after its poisonous or non-toxic ends entered the foot of a person or an animal, the end part was separated and remained inside with its hook-like structure and did not come out without surgical intervention. That would have increased the nail’s effect.
STORY

Heel-breaking nails were a combat tool often used by soldiers of the Roman Empire and were considered war crimes in later times. The reason was that the person who sank to his feet mostly caused his feet to be decapitated. In the Battle of Dardanelles, the British and French threw these nails, which were considered war crimes, on Turkish soldiers. 4 side spikes were called heel breakers, the ends of which are made in a way similar to a fishing rod and the pointed side always remained on top, no matter how it fell to the ground. These nails thrown on the Turkish soldier’s walkways caused great casualties to the soldier, as they were not noticed at nightfall. These nails, which easily passed through the shoe, broke the heel bones of the soldiers wearing sandals and injured them. These nails, which were impossible to remove without surgery, also caused kangrene. At the same time, the horses, mules and donkeys used were excluded from the war.