An
anti-personnel weapon is one primarily used to incapacitate
people, as opposed to attacking structures or vehicles, or hunting game. The development of defensive
fortification and
combat vehicles gave rise to weapons designed specifically to attack them, and thus a need to distinguish between those systems and ones intended to attack people. For instance, an anti-personnel
landmine will explode into small and sharp splinters that tear flesh but have little effect on metal surfaces, while
anti-tank mines have considerably different design, using much more explosive to effect damage to
armored fighting vehicles.