Their use was subject of § 23 of the Hague Convention from 1907Īlready in the first weeks of the war the respective war parties accused each other to use this ammunition banned by international law. Postal card: The infamous Dum Dum Bullets (probably 1915)ĭum Dum Bullets have been banned already in the first Hague Conventions of 1899, because of their capability to expand or flatten inside the human body. The British used these industrial produced bullets, as well as manual made bullets which points had been filed of, during the later course of the Sudanese Mahdist War as in India. The local ammunition factory produced hollow point bullets for the British army at the end of the 19th century. The ammunition was named after the Indian town Dum Dum near Kolkata. The colloquially term “Dum Dum Bullet” – even though common in the First World War – meant originally rifle ammunition with an uncovered lead core at the top (soft point bullet) or a covered but cylindrical drilled out bullet (hollow point bullet). The soldier Ernst Pauleit not alone reports about the alleged daily use of Dum Dum Bullets by the Englishmen, but also about the possible fast production of this type of ammunition To achieve this aim English rifles are equipped with a special device that allows them to transform normal bullets into Dum Dum Bullets in an instant, and there is no chance to proof this evil deed.” This changes as soon as the tip is broken. “By its outer appearance each bullet looks like one of ours. The Soldier at the Western Front – The Use of Dum-Dum-Projectiles

Dum dum dum