Weapons of War - The Machine Gun

The one weapon most responsible for the lack of mobility and casualties during the war was the machine gun. The reason it became such a feared weapon was it's high rate of fire. In the British army, it was expected that a well-trained infantryman was to fire ten rounds (bullets) in a minute from his rifle. The Vickers machine gun was capable of firing ten rounds in one second.

The firing of these weapons in battle would generate a large amount of heat. To prevent the barrel from melting, they were surrounded by a water jacket. The water inside the jacket kept the barrel cool, but would quickly boil and need to be replaced. The men sometimes would use the hot water to make tea after firing the weapon.

The high rate of fire that could be generated by the machine gun allowed
gunners to mow down enemy solders in a hail of lead. One German machine gunner described his work as "easy." All he had to do was move the weapon loaded and swing it back and forth.

Because the machine gun was capable of wounding and killing massive numbers of men, they became a weapon to be feared. The men who operated these weapons were responsible for hundreds of casualties while defending their trenches. This made the gunners hated men by enemy soldiers. Often machine gunners would fire up to the last second then try to surrender. Usually they were killed on the spot in retaliation.

The 8/10th Highlanders had already gone through the village of Loos, capturing many prisoners. A friend of mine was one of their officers, by name John Wood. He was one of the bravest men I have ever met, and was entirely regardless of shell fire and all such terrors, walking about a battlefield as though it were a field of buttercups and daises. On this day he commanded a company of Gordons and told me afterwards that he won the M.C. "for saving the lives of a bunch of German prisoners" That was his way of putting it. His men had their blood up. When the enemy emerged from cellars and machine-gun posts with their hands held high, the Gordons wanted to bayonet the lot. John Wood stood in front of them, and held his revolver, and threatened to shoot the first man who bayoneted these Germans who had surrendered.
Memoirs
Philip Gibbs

MULTIMEDIA

Click HERE to see how machine guns were aligned at the front line so they were the most effective.

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