Machine gunner

“ Concealment is an essential feature of the Japanese machine-gun tactics, and the officer told me he had not a single gun put out of action by opposing artillery. The guns have shields; the manipulators of the machine guns are very expert, and there is now seldom a jam. Like a good chauffeur, the Japanese machine gunner knows all the peculiarities of the weapon he fires, and can almost tell by instinct when anything is going wrong. Four thousand rounds is the most that has been fired in a day by three machine guns of the 1st Cavalry Brigade ”

“ The trouble with us is that we have not, and never have had, any machine gunners in the United States Army. By this I mean men skilled in machine gunnery as applied to present-day warfare. The evolution of machine-gun tactics is, perhaps, (p. 095) the most outstanding feature of the whole war. From being, as it was considered four years ago, merely an emergency weapon or, as the text-book writers were pleased to call it, "a weapon of opportunity," it has become the most important single weapon in use in any army, not even excepting the artillery. ”

“ The seizure of ground likely to be of use to the main body—particularly artillery positions—must be the first consideration of machine guns with the advanced-guard infantry, once the infantry are in action. That they can hold these unsupported is certain. “There never has been and cannot be such a thing as a successful attack on a line of machine guns in a favourable position in action, until the machine guns have been well battered by artillery fire,” says Lieutenant Parker in his book Tactical Organisation and Uses of Machine Guns in the Field. ”

“ Machine guns may also be held as a reserve of fire to check the advance of hostile reinforcements, to meet turning movements, or to prepare and cover the counter-attack. When their retirement is not likely to be compromised, machine guns may be utilised in positions in front of the main line to delay the enemy’s advance. ”

“ It is necessary, therefore, for its effective use, that its movements and fire action should be so regulated as to enable it to open fire rapidly whenever a favourable target presents itself, for the losses inflicted on an enemy will affect him in proportion to the suddenness and rapidity with which they are experienced. As the rôle of machine guns is to assist the particular body of troops to which they belong, the machine-gun commander should be fully acquainted with the orders issued to such troops. ”

“ When required to cover the advance of infantry, machine guns should be used in batteries and must be so placed that they are able to see the infantry they are covering, and to sweep those portions of the enemy’s position from which fire can be brought to bear on the advancing troops. If the enemy’s artillery is not silenced or at least dominated by that of the attackers, it will be necessary to conceal the machine guns from view and provide cover from fire. ”

“ It is in this matter of careful reconnaissance, of selecting ground and occupying or watching all neighbouring cover, that the successful use of machine guns in enclosed country mainly depends. The enemy is obliged by the nature of the country to move in close formation to pass defiles, roads, gaps, or to avoid crops, woods, and villages, and it is the intelligent anticipation of where this will occur that gives the machine gun its chance for decisive action. ”

“ When movements over the battlefield are contemplated, and the machine guns (unlimbered as soon as hostile fire is expected) are pulled or carried forward, they can utilise all cover which infantry is able to use. Cover that is barely sufficient for a section of infantry can protect an entire machine-gun detachment. The construction of the carriage on which guns, ammunition, and men can be conveyed, and the capabilities of the team, enable machine guns to keep up with mounted troops on the march. ”

“ Their power of all-round traversing and their great effect against deep targets make machine guns specially suitable for position on a flank, whence they can bring enfilade fire to bear. A position in the firing line is rarely suitable, as the fire of the guns may be masked and the enemy’s fire drawn on the firing line. ”

“ Machine guns, by reason of their concentrated fire and shallow beaten zone, are peculiarly suited for compelling troops to deploy at long range. They are also suited for quickly taking up a defensive position, and, when mobile, can instantly cease fire and move off in a few moments with considerable rapidity.
Their power for suddenly developing an intense fire will enable them quickly to overwhelm an enemy caught “emerging from a defile or difficult country.” It would appear therefore that the machine guns are far more fitted than infantry to perform the duties of a rear guard as quoted above. ”

“ When the assault commenced, at dawn, the machine guns opened fire with fatal accuracy on the parapets of our trenches and on our reserves, preventing them from coming up. We could do nothing with the enemy, because when the machine guns showed the least vulnerability, they were at once protected by shields of bullet-proof steel. ”

“ In minor operations where every available rifle is required with the fighting force, machine guns will be found invaluable to replace infantry. Their exact position with the convoy must depend upon its composition and length and the number of guns available. The principle of having a machine gun, or where possible a section, at the head and another at the rear end of the line of wagons or pack animals is sound, as these are the vital points, and an attack on the centre can be met by a cross fire from these positions. ”

“ It will seldom be possible to make much use of machine guns with the advanced guards, as mountaineers usually oppose the advance by bands of skirmishers who fire from the cover of rocks and scattered sangars, and while affording a bad target to the machine gun, can quickly put it out of action by concentrating their fire upon it. ”

“ When, however, concealment and protection from fire exist, it may sometimes be advisable to bring machine guns into action at decisive range. If a sufficiently large target be offered and the range be known, the concentration and rapidity of their fire will enable guns to be employed, with considerable effect, at long ranges. Machine guns should seldom engage artillery at long rifle range, for in such circumstances superiority of fire will always rest with the latter if the machines are located. ”

“ In the excitement of the moment the best infantry may fire unsteadily; but machine guns can be absolutely trusted to commit destructive havoc in the hostile throng, provided that their mechanism does not go out of order. ”

“ The enemy’s firing-line.
It may happen that machine guns are forced to open fire in self-defence, or to assist the advance of the infantry in spite of the target offered not being a suitable one for machine guns.
Any tendency, however, to open fire with machine guns without good reason must be suppressed.
Machine Guns and Artillery. Every effort must be made to prevent machine guns being located by artillery. ”

“ If machine guns are to engage artillery, the sleighs must be brought as near as possible to it. The rapidity of movement of machine guns due to their being horsed will enable them to start the action from a flank, and thus produce a sensible increase of effect. Scattering the fire from all the machine guns along the entire line of a battery is as useless as it is purposeless. ”

“ When machine guns have been skilfully employed, their action has been infinitely more effective than that of field artillery, more especially when they fire at infantry ranges.” The following is an example of their actual use in this way. “The Japanese,” says a Russian eye-witness of the fighting round Mukden, “brought up during the night dozens of machine guns with hundreds of thousands of cartridges to their front line of skirmishers, from 400 to 500 yards from our positions, and entrenched them there. ”

“ Para. 188.—The range and striking effect of the machine gun is identical with that of the infantry rifle. The rapid succession of shots and the narrow concentration of the cone of dispersion, together with the possibilities of uniting several guns on a limited front, render it feasible for machine guns to obtain rapidly a decisive success in certain positions, and even at long ranges to inflict heavy losses in a short [199] time on large and deep targets. Machine guns, however, are of small use to a commander fighting a protracted rifle-fire engagement. ”

“ Both in attack and defence it is necessary to remember that machine guns are not suitable [191] for a continuous fight of long duration. If during the preparatory fight the machine guns have found opportunities of opening fire, they ought, when the general engagement has begun, to be withdrawn from the firing line and held ready to act again under certain circumstances of importance. ”

“ As the accomplishment of this duty depends essentially on the rapid occupation of favourable points on the ground, the allotment of machine guns to the advanced guard will be highly advantageous. On the arrival of the infantry the machine guns must be withdrawn from the firing line, and kept in readiness for further employment. ”

“ Even if a long range Mauser or other automatic pistol of the latest type be employed, two hands are necessary for firing purposes, more particularly as, under such conditions, the machine, if not kept under control, is apt to lurch and pitch disconcertingly.
Even a colleague carried for the express purpose of aggression is handicapped. If he has a machinegun, such as a Maxim or a mitrailleuse, it is almost out of the question to train it vertically. ”

“ On the other hand, when these principles were neglected or ignored, the machine guns merely wasted ammunition and were impotent to affect the situation. The lesson to be learned is this: that machine guns are only useful when their tactical handling is thoroughly understood, and then their effect is more decisive than that of any other arm. ”

“ Machine guns will be especially valuable in bringing a sudden fire to bear from such positions, both in order to cover a further advance and to assist in defeating counter-attacks. Machine guns can normally support an attack most efficiently from well-concealed positions provided with good cover, and within effective infantry range of the enemy. Occasionally, when good opportunities for a concealed advance present themselves, they may be established within close infantry range of the objective. ”

“ Should the machine guns or one of them succeed in stalking the led horses of the enemy, their action will probably be decisive, as nothing affords a machine gun such an easy and effective target as the horses of a dismounted squadron, while the effect of fire on them is to render the squadron immobile and to place them out of action as cavalry altogether. ”

“ Machine guns will usually find opportunities for employment in the attack in assisting the advance of their infantry by means of covering fire; in protecting attacking infantry against counter-attack or against cavalry; in assisting the infantry in the fire fight, and in preparing for the assault by sudden bursts of converging fire against the objective of the attack. ”

“ The machine gun cannot yet be regarded as a separate “arm” in our service, nevertheless it possesses a power peculiar to itself; and until this power is studied and thoroughly understood, the principles that should govern its employment in the field cannot be grasped, and consequently its effective use is dependent on chance or accident, and for every success scored a dozen failures will occur, any one of which may be fatal. ”

“ It is easy to imagine how machine guns might have been used here, and how their presence might even have rendered the reinforcements unnecessary; but unless they are capable of coming into action and opening fire in thirty seconds, and of packing up and moving off again after ceasing fire in the same time, the rear guard in mountain warfare is no place for them and they had best march with the baggage. ”

“ If we only had a machine gun, we could wipe them out! Here they come, get ready, men.”
Just as he finished speaking, the welcome “pup-pup” of a machine gun in their rear rang out, and the front line of the onrushing Germans seemed to melt away. They wavered, but once again came rushing onward. Down went their second line. The machine gun was taking an awful toll of lives. Then again they tried to advance, but the machine gun mowed them down. Dropping their rifles and bombs, they broke and fled in a wild rush back to their trench, amid the cheers of “D” Company. ”

“ Here, again, machine guns will be most useful in defending the bivouac after dark if trained by daylight to sweep approaches, while [173] the morale effect of its accurate fire in the dark will be considerable. There are many instances from our wars on the North-West Frontier where machine guns might have been used profitably in covering the retreat; but to be successfully employed in such cases, they must be far more mobile and better trained for rapid-fire practice than they have been in the past. ”

“ They constitute a highly mobile reserve at the disposal of the G.O.C., which may be used for the speedy reinforcement of threatened points, for acting against the flanks of an enemy, and for the preparation of an attempt to break his line. The attack in view has a chance of success only when superiority of fire is established. For this purpose machine guns possess ample mobility to enable them to follow infantry advancing to the attack. That they should join in the rushes of the firing line is no more required of them than that they should join in the charge. ”