Download or read book Machine Guns and the Great War written by Paul Cornish and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2009-09-19 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An in-depth study of how these direct fire weapons were actually employed on the battlefields and their true place in the armory of World War I. The machine-gun is one of the iconic weapons of the Great War—indeed of the twentieth century. Yet it is also one of the most misunderstood. During a four-year war that generated unprecedented casualties, the machine-gun stood out as a key weapon. In the process it took on an almost legendary status that persists to the present day. It shaped the tactics of the trenches, while simultaneously evolving in response to the tactical imperatives thrown up by this new form of warfare. Paul Cornish, in this authoritative and carefully considered study, reconsiders the history of automatic firepower, and he describes in vivid detail its development during the First World War and the far-reaching consequences thereof. He dispels many myths and misconceptions that have grown up around automatic firearms, but also explores their potency as symbols and icons. His clear-sighted reassessment of the phenomenon of the machine-gun will be fascinating reading for students of military history and of the Great War in particular. “For those wanting a little more in-depth information about the role and development of machine guns during the war, this book offers an excellent, well written and easily accessible account of what became the iconic weapon of the war, mainly due to the massive casualties it was able to inflict . . . This really is well worth reading.” —Great War Magazine

Download or read book Machine Guns of World War I written by Robert Bruce and published by Crowood Press UK. This book was released on 2008-11-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: All the guns examined in this new paperback edition of Machine Guns of World War 1 belong to the class known as "automatic" and seven classic World War 1 weapons are illustrated in some 250 color photographs. Detailed sequences shows them in close-up: during step-by-step field stripping, and during handling, loading and live firing trials with ball ammunition, by gunners wearing period uniforms to put these historic guns in their visual context. These fascinating photographs are accompanied by concise, illustrated accounts of each weapon's historical and technical background. The reader will learn exactly what it looked like, sounded like and felt like to crew the German, British and French machine guns which dominated the battlefields of the Western Front in 1914-18, and which changed infantry tactics forever.

Download or read book German Machine Guns of World War I written by Stephen Bull and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2016-05-19 with total page 163 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: World War I's defining weapon for many, Germany's MG 08 machine gun won a formidable reputation on battlefields from Tannenberg to the Somme. Although it was a lethally effective weapon when used from static positions, the MG 08 was far too heavy to perform a mobile role on the battlefield. As the British and French began to deploy lighter machine guns alongside their heavier weapons, the Germans fielded the Danish Madsen and British Lewis as stopgaps, but chose to adapt the MG 08 into a compromise weapon – the MG 08/15 – which would play a central role in the revolutionary developments in infantry tactics that characterized the last months of the conflict. In the 1940s, the two weapons were still in service with German forces fighting in a new world war. Drawing upon eyewitness battlefield reports, this absorbing study assesses the technical performance and combat record of these redoubtable and influential German machine guns, and their strengths and limitations in a variety of battlefield roles.

Download or read book Weapons of the Great War written by Valdimir Glazkov and published by MMP. This book was released on 2021-08-26 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Book tells the readers about machine guns, automatic rifles, handguns and revolvers, including both the official weapon models in service in the Russian Army in 1914-1917 and weapons not officially approved as weapons in service but nevertheless used by the troops such as obsolete Russian and non-Russian arms both supplied by the allies or captured from the enemies. A special highlight of this book is the part describing the experimental automatic weapons, without which the reader would hardly get the big picture of the state of the Russian defense engineering developments in the early 20th century. For each model described in the book, there is a brief history of how it was designed and started to be used as an approved army weapon, also with the description of the key modifications made to it throughout the period of its manufacturing for further use as in-service weapon. The book contains a detailed and meticulous description of the field use, strengths and weaknesses of the weapon seen through the eyes of the soldiers. It is the first book written by a Russian weapons history researcher providing a detailed description of machine gun system parts such as mounts, carriers and pack equipment. This book also contains unique information on flare guns and special accessories. Book contains detailed color photos of the guns preserved in different Russian museums.

Download or read book The Weapons of World War I written by Charles River Charles River Editors and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-01-25 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *Includes pictures *Profiles weapons such as superartillery, poison gas, rifles, grenades, flamethrowers, planes, and more. *Includes a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents "God would never be cruel enough to create a cyclone as terrible as that Argonne battle. Only man would ever think of doing an awful thing like that. It looked like 'the abomination of desolation' must look like. And all through the long night those big guns flashed and growled just like the lightning and the thunder when it storms in the mountains at home...And it all made me think of the Bible and the story of the Anti-Christ and Armageddon. And I'm telling you the little log cabin in Wolf Valley in old Tennessee seemed a long long way off." - Alvin C. York World War I, also known in its time as the "Great War" or the "War to End all Wars," was an unprecedented holocaust in terms of its sheer scale. Fought by men who hailed from all corners of the globe, it saw millions of soldiers do battle in brutal assaults of attrition which dragged on for months with little to no respite. Tens of millions of artillery shells and untold hundreds of millions of rifle and machine gun bullets were fired in a conflict that demonstrated man's capacity to kill each other on a heretofore unprecedented scale, and as always, such a war brought about technological innovation at a rate that made the boom of the Industrial Revolution seem stagnant. The arms race before the war and the attempt to break the deadlock of the Western and Eastern Fronts by any means possible changed the face of battle in ways that would have previously been deemed unthinkable. Before 1914, flying machines were objects of public curiosity; the first flights of any account on rotor aircraft had been made less than 5 years before and were considered to be the province of daredevils and lunatics. By 1918, all the great powers were fielding squadrons of fighting aircraft armed with machine-guns and bombs, to say nothing of light reconnaissance planes. Tanks, a common feature on the battlefield by 1918, had not previously existed outside of the realm of science fiction stories written by authors like H.G. Wells. Machine guns had gone from being heavy, cumbersome pieces with elaborate water-cooling systems to single-man-portable, magazine-fed affairs like the Chauchat, the Lewis Gun and the M1918 BAR. To these grim innovations were added flamethrowers, hand grenades, zeppelins, observation balloons, poison gas, and other improvements or inventions that revolutionized the face of warfare. These technological developments led to an imbalance. Before the introduction of the man-portable light machine gun (which took place in the second half of the war), not to mention tanks (which also joined the fight late in the game), defensive firepower vastly outweighed offensive capability. Massed batteries of artillery, emplaced heavy machine guns, barbed wire entanglements, and bewildering fortifications meant that ground could not be taken except at incredible cost. This led to the (somewhat unjustified) criticism famously leveled at the generals of World War I that their soldiers were "lions led by donkeys." Certainly, every army that fought in the Great War had its share of officers, at all levels of command, who were incompetent, unsuitable, foolish, or just plain stupid, but there were plenty of seasoned professionals who understood their job and did it well. The main problem facing commanders in the war was that there was such a bewildering array of new armaments, with such vast destructive potential, that previous military doctrines were virtually useless. The Weapons of World War I analyzes the technological advancements in weaponry that produced the deadliest conflict in history up to that time. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the weapons of World War I like never before, in no time at all.

Download or read book The Devil s Paintbrush written by Dolf Leeming Goldsmith and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Sub Machine Gun written by Maxim Popenker and published by Crowood Press UK. This book was released on 2012-01-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, weapons experts Maxim Popenker and Anthony Williams present a study of the development of the sub-machine gun and its ammunition, before undertaking a country-by-country survey of the weapons designed, built and used across the world. With data tables giving details of ammunition and hundreds of photographs, this is an authoritative account of an essential infantry weapon.

Download or read book The Social History of the Machine Gun written by John Ellis and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 1986-08 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It necessitated a technological response: first the armored tank, then the jet fighter, and, perhaps ultimately, the hydrogen bomb.

Download or read book French Tanks of the Great War written by Tim Gale and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2016-08-31 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A detailed history of France’s development of tanks and the combat the tanks served in during World War I, by an armored warfare expert. The French tank corps was an essential part of the French army from 1917 onwards, yet its history has been strangely neglected in English accounts of the Western Front. Using information derived from the French military archives at Vincennes—much of which has never been published in English before—author Tim Gale describes the design and development of the tanks, the political and organizational issues that arose between the French military and civilian bureaucracy, and the record of these pioneering fighting vehicles in combat. All the major engagements in which French tanks participated are depicted in graphic detail, often quoting directly from recollections left by individual tank commanders of their experience in battle, and each operation is assessed in terms of its impact on French tactics in general and on tank tactics in particular. The Nivelle offensive and the battles of Malmaison, the Matz, Soissons, and Champagne are featured in the narrative, and the actions of the French tanks serving with the U.S. army are covered, too. Much of the material in Tim Gale’s study will be entirely new to non-French speakers. The story will be fascinating reading for anyone who is interested in the Great War, the French army, military innovation and the history of armored warfare. Praise for French Tanks of the Great War “Gale’s book . . . is very easy to dip into.” —Military Modelling “It is a wealth of information and I would definitely recommend it.” —Forgotten Weapons

Download or read book Soviet Machine Guns of World War II written by Chris McNab and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2022-02-17 with total page 81 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study looks at how the Soviet armed forces developed and deployed a range of machine guns that fitted with their offensive and defensive infantry tactics across six years of total war. In 1939, three machine guns dominated the Red Army's front-line infantry firepower – the DShK 1938 heavy machine gun, the PM M1910 medium/heavy machine gun and the Degtyaryov DP-27, a lighter, bipod-mounted support weapon. Confronted by cutting-edge German technology during the Great Patriotic War (1941–45), the Soviets responded with the development of new weaponry, including the RPD light machine gun, the 7.62×54mmR SG43 medium machine gun and the improved version of the DP-27, the DPM. Taken together, all these weapons gave the Red Army a more practical range of support weapons, better able to challenge the Germans for fire superiority on the battlefield. Fully illustrated, this study explains the technology and the tactics of these machine guns. Noted authority Chris McNab sets out how these machine guns were distributed and tactically applied and provides numerous examples of the weapons in action, from assault teams on the streets of Stalingrad to tank crews struggling for survival at Kursk. The book also reflects upon the weapons' post-war service; many of the machine guns remain in front-line use today. Illustrated with high-quality photographs and specially commissioned artwork, this is a deep analysis of these essential tools of warfare within the Soviet forces.

Download or read book The Lewis Gun written by Neil Grant and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2014-03-20 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During World War I, the British adopted the US-designed Lewis gun as an infantry weapon, realizing that its light weight and the fact that it could be fired both prone and on the move made it ideal for supporting advances and defending captured trenches. Later adopted by an array of countries from the Netherlands to Japan, the Lewis successfully served as the primary or secondary armament in armoured fighting vehicles and in both ground-based anti-aircraft and aircraft-mounted roles. Although it was superseded by the Bren in British service in 1937, the outbreak of World War II meant that thousands returned to active service, and it played a key role as far afield as Libya, with the Long-Range Desert Group, and the Philippines, with the US Marine Corps. Written by an authority on this iconic light machine gun, this is the fascinating story of the innovative and influential Lewis gun, from the trenches of World War I to the Libyan desert and Pacific islands of World War II and beyond.

Download or read book Summary of Paul Cornish s Machine Guns and the Great War written by Everest Media, and published by Everest Media LLC. This book was released on 2022-05-18T22:59:00Z with total page 31 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The first machine gun was invented by Hiram Maxim in London in 1883. It was a device that discharged six cartridges automatically, on a single trigger pull. The date can be deduced from patent number 3493, which Maxim registered on 16 July 1883 for an invention of improvements in machine or battery guns, and in cartridges for the same and other firearms. #2 Hiram Stevens Maxim, an American, arrived in England in August 1881. He was already an established inventor, with over eighty US patents filed in his name. He later admitted to being a chronic inventor. His first stop was Paris, where he met an American Jew whom he had known in the states. He was told to invent something that would enable Europeans to cut each other’s throats with greater ease. #3 Maxim’s first gun, the Forerunner, was just the start of a lengthy process of development that he undertook before launching his product. The first firing of the Prototype took place on 24 January 1884. The date is known because the spent cases of the first two cartridges fired are preserved in the Imperial War Museum. #4 The Maxim gun was powered by the energy released by the firing of a cartridge. The action of the weapon is easiest to understand if broken down into a sequence of operations. The breech of the gun is locked by means of a toggle mechanism.

Download or read book The Rocky Road to the Great War written by Nicholas Murray and published by Potomac Books, Inc.. This book was released on 2013-08-31 with total page 331 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nicholas Murray's The Rocky Road to the Great War examines the evolution of field fortification theory and practice between 1877 and 1914. During this period field fortifications became increasingly important, and their construction evolved from primarily above to below ground. The reasons for these changes are crucial to explaining the landscape of World War I, yet they have remained largely unstudied. The transformation in field fortifications reflected not only the ongoing technological advances but also the changing priorities in the reasons for constructing them, such as preventing desertion, protecting troops, multiplying forces, reinforcing tactical points, providing a secure base, and dominating an area. Field fortification theory, however, did not evolve solely in response to improving firepower or technology. Rather, a combination of those factors and societal ones-for example, the rise of large conscript armies and the increasing participation of citizens rather than subjects-led directly to technical alterations in the actual construction of the fieldworks. These technical developments arose from the second wave of the Industrial Revolution in the late nineteenth century that provided new technologies that increased the firepower of artillery, which in turn drove the transition from above- to belowground field fortification. Based largely on primary sourcesùincluding French, British, Austrian, and American military attache reports-Murray's enlightening study is unique in defining, fully examining, and contextualizing the theories and construction of field fortifications before World War I.

Download or read book Machine Gunner 1914 1918 written by C. E. Crutchley and published by Pen & Sword Books. This book was released on 2014-02-19 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1914 there were only two machine guns supporting a British infantry battalion of 800 men, and in the light of the effectiveness of German and French machine guns the Machine Gun Corps was formed in October 1915. This remarkable book, compiled and edited by C E Crutchley, is a collection of the personal accounts of officers and men who served in the front lines with their machine guns in one of the most ghastly wars, spread over three continents. The strength of the book lies in the fact that these are the actual words of the soldiers themselves, complete with characteristic modes of expression and oddities of emphasis and spelling. All theatres of war are covered from the defence of the Suez Canal, Gallipoli and Mesopotamia in the east to France and Flanders, the German offensive of March 1918 and the final act on the Western Front that brought the war to an end. SELLING POINTS: * A harrowing story of the types of combat used in World War I * Pulls together the experiences of different people who served, helping yo to understand what these men went through 8 pages of b/w plates

Download or read book The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War I written by Chris Bishop and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the first tanks to early submarines to the repeating rifle to the biplane, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War I examines key weapons from the Great War. It includes more than 300 pieces of equipment from handguns to zeppelins. Each weapon system is illustrated with a detailed profile artwork and a photograph showing the weapons system in service. Accompanying the illustrative material is detailed text that lists each weapon's service history, the numbers built, and its variants, as well as full specifications. Which tanks were first used at Cambrai? What was created in response to the request for a 'bloody paralyser'? What was the range of the Paris Gun? The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War I answers these questions and many more. Packed with artworks, photographs and information on each featured weapon, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War I is a fantastic book for any general reader or military enthusiast.

Download or read book Merchants of Death written by Helmuth Carol Engelbrecht and published by Ludwig von Mises Institute. This book was released on 1937 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book MG 34 and MG 42 Machine Guns written by Chris McNab and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-10-20 with total page 155 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the MG 34, the German Wehrmacht introduced an entirely new concept in automatic firepower – the general-purpose machine gun (GPMG). In itself the MG 34 was an excellent weapon: an air-cooled, recoil-operated machine gun that could deliver killing firepower at ranges of more than 1,000m. Yet simply by changing its mount and feed mechanism, the operator could radically transform its function. On its standard bipod it was a light machine gun, ideal for infantry assaults; on a tripod it could serve as a sustained-fire medium machine gun. During World War II, the MG 34 was superseded by a new GPMG – the MG 42. More efficient to manufacture and more robust, it had a blistering 1,200rpm rate of fire. Nicknamed 'Hitler's buzzsaw' by Allied troops, it was arguably the finest all-round GPMG ever produced, and alongside the MG 34 it inflicted heavy casualties. Featuring specially commissioned full-colour artwork and drawing upon numerous technical manuals and first-hand accounts, this study explores the technological development, varied roles and lasting influence of the revolutionary MG 34 and MG 42 machine guns and their postwar successors.