The Grabenpanzer The Grabenpanzer, or Sappenpanzer (trench armor), also called lobster armor, was a German-made steel fist used as personal body armor during the “Great War.” The Grabenpanzer consists of four pieces of articulated steel: a large chest plate and three other plates that cover the user's abdomen and groin. The different plates were connected with canvas straps. Each plate also had a thick felt block inside to silence the sound of steel plates hitting. The armor divided into separate parts allowed the user to be more flexible. The Grabenpanzer weighed between 9 and 11 kg depending on the model and was generally combined with a thick steel front plate for the user’s Stahlhelm (helmet), which added even more weight to the soldier. For this very reason, the Grabenpanzer was not produced for assault troops, but for machine gun teams and soldiers in sentimental service, operating in static positions, where they were highly exposed and unprotected against an enemy rifleman. ...