Machine Guns
An Illustrated History of Their Impact
James H. Willbanks
- 288 pages
- English
- PDF
- Available on iOS & Android
Machine Guns
An Illustrated History of Their Impact
James H. Willbanks
About This Book
The machine gunâoften called the killing machineârevolutionized 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 combatâand how in some instances, technology outran tactics and doctrines, with disastrous consequences.