The distinctive appearance of the Stielhandgranate family has led to them being called "potato mashers" in British Army slang, and they remain one of the most easily recognized infantry weapons of the 20th century.

The blast effect went only a limited distance before dying out, while pieces from an equivalent fragmentation grenade could fly hundreds of metres (it was not unrealistic to expect that metal shrapnel could create friendly fire casualties, especially in open areas).

This cap concealed the porcelain bead and pull cord, allowing it to simply rest freely inside of the handle.

With the German Empire's defeat at the conclusion of World War I, the collapse of industrial capability and military strength of Germany left many projects and ideas forgotten for years.

When the newly created Weimar Republic progressively began to repair both the physical and economic devastation, a slow rebuilding of the armed forces was allowed under the limitations set by the allies.

While retaining the same explosive and fuse, the main distinction between the M24 and the original M15 is a slightly shorter charge head and the removal of a belt carry clip.

The intent of these design alterations was simply for mobility; German soldiers could easily (and often did) tuck the grenade in behind their uniform's belt, held tight and secure.

[5] Adapting to the rapidly changing field of modern warfare, German soldiers would carry the M24 directly in front, allowing quick and easy access.

However, in the later years of the war it was often advised to carry them in a different manner, as it was very likely any sort of explosion or heat could light the fuse from the grenade on the belt, resulting in unnecessary casualties.

Later in the war, however, many soldiers of the Wehrmacht would always have their weapons ready, due to the fierceness seen in the Soviet Red Army in the east and the progressive advance of the Allies on the Western Front.

To overcome these faults, various German industries during World War II produced a number of variants that widened the utility and capability of the M24.

During numerous operations of the invasion of the Soviet Union, the Heer found that under freezing conditions the M24's fuse could fail to ignite.

In response, a variant with a cold-resistant explosive was developed and supplied to most units deployed on the eastern front (especially into present-day Russia).

[6] The Wehrmacht lacked a proper smoke grenade to allow infantry to cover advances or retreats, or for assaulting a position.

[7] Like most of the forces that took part in World War II, the Wehrmacht produced inert (not able to explode) practice versions of the standard-issue grenade, designed to aid recruits on how to properly throw and operate the weapon during training.

An exercise version called Übungs-Stielhandgranate 24 (English: Exercise-stick hand grenade 24) was introduced that was characterized by its bright-red warhead with big perforated holes going throughout.

[8][9] The Übungs-Stielhandgranate 24 could be outfitted with an exercise charge and a fuse with a pull cord that made a bang and puff of smoke to indicate explosion when used.

[citation needed] As a result of this cost-effective and reliable solution, the standard infantryman of the Wehrmacht could quickly improvise a grenade with up to seven times the explosive power.

These factors meant that infantry squads, if faced with an armored enemy, would have to close to a reduced range if they wanted to use the bundle charges.

A number of nations either directly acquired or purchased stockpiles of the grenade, or created similar versions with very slight adjustments.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), the Chinese designed and produced a grenade based on the Model 1924 which was used by the National Revolutionary Army.

[12] There were some variations in the design, but most followed the same basic pattern: A wooden handle with a round or cylindrical warhead and a slow burning fuse.

[14] To catch up in the arms race leading to WWII, Sweden managed to purchase a large amount of German produced M24s in 1939, adopting it as the spränghandgranat m/39 (abbr.

[16] Later shipments included wartime changes to the grenades, such as a metal pull cord and cheaper explosives such as nitrolite, leading to four designs in use eventually: m/39, m/39A, m/39B and m/39C.

The Wehrmacht needed to minimize the risk of injury or death caused by faults of its military equipment, munitions, and weapons.

This was a copy with a few expensive parts removed or replaced for easier production – and because of this, the original remained in service with Wehrmacht infantry right to the end of the war.