German pioneers, the foot soldiers who went ahead of the main company to pave the way for them, initially used existing artillery and mortar shells fitted with sensitive fuses. They also employed command-detonated mines, which are the forerunners of modern full-width attack anti-tank mines. These earliest anti-tank mines were scattered at random to reinforce wire obstacles and anti-tank ditches in front of the trench lines. Most of the early improvised anti-tank mines used by the Germans were very large with one dimension in excess of a meter. Because of the size, large holes were dug to bury the mines which made it relatively easy for the Allied sappers (military engineer who lays, detects and disarms mines) to locate the mines.
The German Flachmine 17 landmine was mass produced starting in 1916 after the appearance of British and French tanks. Consisting of a wooden box measuring approximately 20 x 30 x 5 cm and weighing about 4.6 kg, the box was filled with 18, 200 g explosive blocks. They were buried about 25 cm deep. Detonation was caused by one of four ‘spring percussion lighters’ and triggered either automatically by the weight of the tank passing over it, or remotely (which was greatly facilitated by the use of electric detonators).
During the course of the war, the Germans had produced approximately 3,852,000 land mines, with an average monthly production rate of 108,000 in 1917 and 128,000 in 1918.