The Machine Gun V1

The machine gun—often called the killing machine—revolutionized modern ground combat, brought an end to the traditional infantry and cavalry charge, and changed the battlefields of war forever. This volume in the Weapons and Warfare series describes the history of machine guns from the mid-19th century to the present, following both the evolution of small arms technology and the impact of machine guns on the battlefield, on military strategy, and on human society. This book discusses subjects ranging from the forerunners of mechanical and automatic guns, to the unusual history of the Civil War-era Gatling gun (the first practical machine gun, not used by the Union army because Gatling was a Southerner), to the machine guns developed for the world wars and those for present day use. Readers will see how the advent of the machine gun revolutionized ground combat—and how in some instances, technology outran tactics and doctrines, with disastrous consequences.

This book is a very important text for any student of the development of the machine gun, and contains details of the history of this weapon from its inception to the mid-ppoint of the First World War. The evolution of the machine gun is detailed, followed by examples of the use of the wepon in war, and particularly in the Russo-Japanese War. Tactics are examined in detail, both from the historical point of view and tactics of the First World War, an important part of the book. Training is covered, particularly from the British Army side, and the relevant chapter has much of great value in it. Perhaps the most important part of the book however is the examination of the machine guns of the armies then at war. There is in addition a complete chapter on machine guns in the German Army, which is of specific importance to any study of the tactics on the western front. The book is illustrated with a series of good photographs and a number of line drawings of both early and current machine guns, and there is also a large scale drawing of the Vickers gun.

"The series of books entitled "The machine gun" was begun with the belief that the next best thing to actual knowledge is knowing where to find it. The research summarized within the covers of these volumes has been compiled by the Bureau of Ordinance, Department of the Navy, in order to place in the hands of those rightfully interested in the art of automatic weapon design, the world's recorded progress in this field of endeavor."--Vol. II, p. v.

"The series of books entitled "The machine gun" was begun with the belief that the next best thing to actual knowledge is knowing where to find it. The research summarized within the covers of these volumes has been compiled by the Bureau of Ordinance, Department of the Navy, in order to place in the hands of those rightfully interested in the art of automatic weapon design, the world's recorded progress in this field of endeavor."--Vol. II, p. v.