Recruit Training: Heavy Machine Gun
Heavy Machine Guns relied on a well-oiled crew to keep the gun maintained and firing. Changing barrels, reloading, cleaning actions, plus moving a heavy weapon and carrying thousands of rounds of ammunition across an active and dynamic battlefield was a demanding amount of effort.
Shooting Gallery
Heavy Machine Gun Production I
Modern machine gun tactics evolved in the later years of WW1. It was eventually determined that marching soldiers across No Man’s Land into swarms of bullets was unsustainable. As infantry learned to use mobility and aggressiveness to counter MGs, MG crews developed flanking fire, interlocking fire, interdiction fire into rear areas and dead ground, and the use of lighter more mobile MGs.
Tougher Meat
Heavy Machine Gun Hero
Officer Training: Heavy Machine Gun
Heavy Machine Guns relied on a well-oiled crew to keep the gun maintained and firing. Changing barrels, reloading, cleaning actions, plus moving a heavy weapon and carrying thousands of rounds of ammunition across an active and dynamic battlefield was a demanding amount of effort.
Brotherly Love (Soviet)
A poem from the late 19th century noted the already potent effect of modern machine guns. “Whatever happens, we have got the Maxim gun, and they have not.” What was true in 1898 remained true in 1941 when the robust Soviet version of the design was used against invading German forces. The M1910 Maxim would happily chew through countless 250 round belts of ammunition, hour after hour.
Hit the Deck!
Machine Guns are designed to do two things; kill enemy forces, and suppress enemy forces so they can be more readily killed. Establishing fire superiority is key – by forcing the enemy down, your own forces can engage them. In a defensive position, machine guns can rapidly fill the battlefield with very discouraging amounts of highly lethal jacketed lead.
Veteran Training: Heavy Machine Gun
Rapid Fire Anti-Tank