Feldfernsprecher 33

One of the earliest forms of military communication originated with the Roman Army who used coloured smoke as a means of communication. Other early methods included human runners who delivered messages on foot or on horseback, the use of drums, horns, and whistles were used to transmit messages, particularly in battle, to coordinate troop movements and signal commands. For more communication a distance, smoke signals, fire signals, and flags were used to transmit information over relatively short distances or systems like semaphore towers with movable arms or coded flag signals were developed to communicate over longer distances using visual cues. Once the telegraph was invented it instantly changed communication as it related almost real time information to a command post that could be thousands miles away from the front line. And once telephones and radios were invented, real time communication could be achieved between command posts and the front line. The military telephone you see here on display is a presumably captured German Feldfernsprecher 33 from the Second World War.