Original Item: One-of-a-kind. Purchased directly from David F. Machnicki, the author of At Arm's Length Trench Club book Series. This example is very similar to one seen on Page 1 of Volume II of “At Arms Length: Trench Clubs and Maces”, and this example was actually excavated at the site of the Battle of Galicia in 2021.

The club is still astoundingly in one piece with an enormous crack and near break in the center near an intentionally-placed lanyard hole. The heavy cylindrical iron head bears twenty blunt pyramidal-shaped points symmetrically arranged in a pattern of five alternating rows, with four points per row, around the head’s circumference. The handle tapers gradually towards its pommel terminating in a bulbous shape with a semi-spherical pommel plate. The overall length is 22 ¾”, and the head measures roughly 4 ¼”.

The wooden shaft has very heavy damage as shown and should not be handled as a mace to save it from further damage. It is very rare to find a period-manufactured trench club, but to have one that was dug out of the ground at one of the largest battles fought along the Eastern front.

The club comes in a long cylindrical acrylic tube which has two small wooden stands for it to display on. Unfortunately due to the design of the club there is now heavy scratching on the interior of the tube but it could be displayed outside of it as well.

This is one of the most astounding clubs we have ever offered, sure to become the centerpiece of any WWI collection!

The Battle of Galicia, also known as the Great Battle of Galicia, was a major battle between Russia and Austria-Hungary during the early stages of World War I in 1914. In the course of the battle, the Austro-Hungarian armies were severely defeated in several encounters and forced out of Galicia, while the Russians captured Lemberg (now Lviv) and, for approximately nine months, ruled Eastern Galicia until their defeat at Gorlice and Tarnów. The Battle of Galicia showed weaknesses of the Austro-Hungarian Army during that period and at the same time was one of the formidable victories of the Imperial Russian Army in the war.

Trench raiding clubs were homemade melee weapons used by both the Allies and the Central Powers during World War I. Clubs were used during nighttime trench raiding expeditions as a quiet and effective way of killing or wounding enemy soldiers. The clubs were usually made out of wood. It was common practice to fix a metal object at the striking end (e.g. an empty Mills bomb) in order to maximize the injury inflicted. Another common design comprised a simple stave with the end drilled out and a lead weight inserted, with rows of large hobnails hammered in around its circumference. Most designs had some form of cord or leather strap at the end to wrap around the user's wrist. Bosnian soldiers serving in the Austro-Hungarian army were fond of using maces. They were also used by officers to finish enemy soldiers wounded by poison gas attacks.

Trench clubs were manufactured in bulk by units based behind the lines. Typically, regimental carpenters and metal workers would make large numbers of the same design of club. They were generally used along with other "quiet" weapons such as trench knives, entrenching tools, bayonets, hatchets and pickaxe handles – backed up with revolvers and hand grenades.