When Was The Land Mines Used For The First Time?

A land mine is a self contained explosive device that is hidden in the ground and set to explode when triggered by a vehicle, animal or person.

The basic concept of a land mine goes back to the times of ancient Rome where sharpened spikes were buried in small foot sized holes in the ground.  

In the early eighteenth century in Europe, small booby traps and bombs were buried in wells in the ground and covered with scrap metal or gravel as shrapnel.  

It was in 1862 when the first mechanically fused high-explosive land mines were used during the Battle of Yorktown.  Improved designs were used in the World War One after which the British were manufacturing them containing poison gases instead of explosives.  These were manufactured until at least the 1980s in the Soviet Union.  

The Ottawa Treaty came into force on March 1st 1999 banning landmines and forcing the countries signed up to it to destroy all stocks and clear all land affected by mines that had already been laid.