The Molotov cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, or Molotov bomb, or simply Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons. They are frequently used by rioters due to the relative ease of production. In its simplest form, a Molotov cocktail is a glass bottle containing petrol fuel usually with a source of ignition such as a burning cloth wick held in place by the bottle's stopper. The wick is usually soaked in alcohol or paraffin, rather than petrol. In action the fuse is lit and the bottle hurled at a target such as a vehicle or fortification. When the bottle smashes on impact, the ensuing cloud of petrol droplets and vapor are ignited, causing an immediate fireball followed by a raging fire as the remainder of the fuel is consumed. Other flammable liquids such as wood alcohol and turpentine have been used in place of petrol. Thickening agents such as tar, strips of tire tubing, sugar, animal blood, XPS foam, egg whites, motor oil, rubber cement, and dish soap have been added to help the burning liquid adhere to the target and create clouds of thick choking smoke. During World War II, the Soviet Union attacked Finland in November 1939, after the shelling of Mainila. The Finnish Army, facing Red Army tanks in what came to be known as the Winter War, borrowed an improvised incendiary device design from the 1936–1939 Spanish Civil War. In that conflict, General Francisco Franco ordered Spanish Nationalists to use the weapon against Soviet T-26 tanks supporting the Spanish Republicans in a failed 1936 assault near Toledo, 80 km south from Madrid. During the Winter War, the Soviet air force made extensive use of incendiaries and cluster bombs against Finnish troops and fortifications. When Soviet People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov claimed in radio broadcasts that the Soviet Union was not dropping bombs but rather delivering food to the starving Finns, the Finns started to call the air bombs Molotov bread baskets Soon they responded by attacking advancing tanks with "Molotov cocktails" which were "a drink to go with the food". [READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE]
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