Editing Shrapnel shell (section)

===Tactical use===
[[File:Sectioned British 18-pounder shrapnel round photograph.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A sectioned British World War I [[Ordnance QF 18 pounder|18 pounder]] shrapnel [[British ordnance terms#Round|round]] (top) and complete round (bottom) displayed at the [[Canadian War Museum]], [[Ottawa]].<br>The spherical bullets are visible in the sectioned shell (top left), and the cordite propellant in the brass cartridge is simulated by a bundle of cut string (top right). The nose fuse is not present in the sectioned round at top but is present in the complete round below. The tube through the centre of the shell is visible, which conveyed the ignition flash from the fuse to the small gunpowder charge in the cavity visible here in the base of the shell. This gunpowder charge then exploded and propelled the bullets out of the shell body through the nose.]]
During the initial stages of [[World War I]], shrapnel was widely used by all sides as an anti-personnel weapon. It was the only type of shell available for British field guns ([[Ordnance QF 13 pounder|13-pounder]], [[Ordnance BLC 15 pounder|15 pounder]] and [[Ordnance QF 18 pounder|18-pounder]]) until October 1914. Shrapnel was effective against troops in the open, particularly massed infantry (advancing or withdrawing). However, the onset of [[trench warfare]] from late 1914 led to most armies decreasing their use of shrapnel in favour of high-explosive. Britain continued to use a high percentage of shrapnel shells. New tactical roles included cutting barbed wire and providing "creeping barrages" to both screen its own attacking troops and suppressing the enemy defenders to prevent them from shooting at their attackers.

In a creeping barrage fire was 'lifted' from one 'line' to the next as the attackers advanced.  These lines were typically {{convert|100|yard}} apart and the lifts were typically 4 minutes apart.  Lifting meant that [[Artillery fuse#Time fuses|time fuses]] settings had to be changed. The attackers tried to keep as close as possible (as little as 25 yards sometimes) to the bursting shrapnel so as to be on top of the enemy trenches when fire lifted beyond them, and before the enemy could get back to their parapets.