German military historian, H. Frieherr von Flemming provides one of the earliest descriptions of a pressure operated landmine, in 1726, “It consisted of a ceramic container with glass and metal fragments embedded in the clay containing 0.90 kilos (2 lb) of gunpowder, buried at a shallow depth in the glacis of a fortress and actuated by someone stepping on it or touching a low strung wire.” (H.Frieherr von Flemming, The History of Landmines). The Americans were actually the first nation to develop and use landmines, and this is attributed to Brigadier-General Gabriel J. Rains. The British first used landmines in the 1880’s, for their campaign in Africa. A massive number of landmines are still present in Africa, and this is why landmines is such an important issue. By the 20th century, most armies around the world were accustomed to use landmines. Mines that are used today were actually developed during the Second World War and modern types include anti-tank mines, trip-wire mines and pipe mines.

Viewpoint One: Landmines are very useful, and should be continued to be used.

Landmines are highly useful, and should be continued to be used. There are many reasons why they should be used. When discussing if landmines should be used, it is important to understand why landmines are used in the first place.

There are two main reasons why landmines are used. Firstly, they are used as a weapon in warfare. Landmines are also used to create tactical barriers and act as area-denial equipment. But why should they be used?

Landmines are very effective forms of weaponry. They can be used to slow enemies down, or to focus enemies into a certain kill zone. Landmines are also very effective because they may “reduce morale by randomly attacking material and personnel” (Wikipedia). In modern wars, artillery and aircraft scatterable mines have been used, which provide a great advantage in wars as they allow minefields to be dropped right in front of moving enemy formations. Landmines also play an important part in covering the retreat of soldiers, from advancing enemy lines. The good thing about landmines is that the modern-day mines used, mostly by the U.S, self-destruct after a given period of time, and thus play an important part in tactical warfare. In this way, landmines are a very sneaky way of conducting war, and are very beneficial for the user. The two main types of landmines, that are anti-mine and anti-personnel mines are used together, to completely disintegrate the enemy. In addition to that, landmines can be easily deployed, and are hard to remove for the enemy, giving a great advantage to the user.