5/21/2023 0 Comments Wwi color machine gun![]() ![]() While machine guns and heavy weaponry could seal off access to a position, rifles were needed, and are still needed, for either holding or capturing and occupying the position. ![]() In trench warfare, hidden and lurking riflemen helped create an atmosphere of pervasive danger. It was able to create a threatening space several hundred meters in front of its muzzle. Nonetheless, on the whole, it combined a number of unique features: availability on a wide scale, ability to be used by a single person, portability, logistical simplicity and great reliability. The rifle had neither the firepower of a machine gun, nor the total impact of a piece of artillery or the particular effect of a hand grenade. The rifle’s availability in sufficient numbers was the precondition for the use of special high performance weaponry. The rifle was and remained the primary weapon for combat troops. Nonetheless, infantrymen who did not work with crew-served weaponry such as machine guns, trench artillery or trench mortars still needed to be equipped with rifles.Īlthough no battle in the First World War was decided by riflemen, no battle could have been fought without them. This ratio quickly shifted in favor of fully automatic weapons. In 1914, there was an average of only two machine guns for every thousand riflemen. In the first phase of the war, the infantries’ firepower continued to come primarily from rifles. The Role of the Rifle in the First World War ↑ All of Great Britain’s and the United States' armed forces carried a standard weapon from the beginning. These were intended for troops who carried small arms for self-defense or needed a weapon that was as unobtrusive as possible during their duties in the cavalry or artillery, as machine gunners, or in supply formations.ĭuring the war, these shorter weapons were also used by the trench infantry because they were convenient. In addition, there were shorter versions, known as carbines, with lengths ranging between ninety and 110 centimetes. The continental European armies’ infantry rifles were 125 to 130 centimeters long. In the rifle’s loading action, the empty case was drawn out and ejected a new cartridge was then fed into the chamber and the firing pin was cocked for the next shot.Īmong the various countries participating in the war, there was no appreciable difference in the rifles. The weapon featured a manually operated locking mechanism located at the end of the barrel. The magazine contained between three and ten cartridges, although it typically had five. The diameter of the barrel fluctuated between 6.5 millimeters and eight millimeters. The rifles used in the First World War were developed between 18. This development had far-reaching effects, including the transition to field uniforms in muted and inconspicuous colors, which most armies had carried out by 1914. ![]() Indeed, this alluded to its most important feature – its lack of white smoke - for even in long firefights, the guns were no longer engulfed in thick white clouds of smoke that simultaneously obscured the rifleman’s view and gave away his location. In a slight exaggeration, it was referred to at that time as “smokeless powder”. While black powder was simply a mix of basic ingredients, the new propellant was developed on the basis of nitrocellulose in chemical factories. France’s adoption of a new rifle that used nitrocellulose powder in 1886 represented a large advancement in weapons technology. Through the general introduction of the rifled barrel and the reduction of the caliber, accuracy and firing distance were greatly improved. In the second half of the 19 th century, engineers succeeded in greatly improving the performance of military service rifles. In Europe, the rifle with a fixable bayonet was the standard weapon of the infantry, the largest and most important branch of the armed forces from the end of the 17 th century on. ![]()
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