OUR DEADLIEST WEAPON.

Hokitika Guardian, 3 July 1918, Page 4

OUR DEADLIEST WEAPON.

Of all lethal weapons the machine gun is unquestionably the most efficient “ man-stopper- Probably the greater proportion of the enormous losses recently suft'eiecl by the Germans were caused by this weapon. Any type of machine gun in the liands of a skilful operator lias the same destructive effect upon men moving in massed tormation as a keen-edged scythe has in a field of ripened "corn. ’ Ttcnts broad swathes; nothing can stand against it. The function of heavy artillery is to put up long-distance barrages and hammer back areas. Mostly the targets upon which this sort of ordnance is laid are out of the sight of all except aerial observers. Hut when ihe attack rolls on to dost quarters the "heavies’’ fall back and ihe IS-poundci s and the machine guns get their chance.

Of the latter there .are various types, sneli as the Lewis, the Maxim, the Viekeis. and the Hotchkiss. All are rery mobile. They can be moved from one place to another expeditiously, advantage being taken of any cover that offers.

Each class of machine gnn has with it a squad of about 10 men. Should these find themselves pressed too closely they pick up their weapon, fall hack with it, and reopen tiio upon the enemy Lorn' i her. ext favourable position.

One often hours it said in the field that one wcll-li nulled machine gnn is wort'll a v\ hole !> 11 tulion of men armed with rifles. Ami there is some truth in ihe nsMition. For while i>>mpaiatively fC'V soldi, rs can keep up their 15 iv-nmls p. r minute rapid tire with a rifle, a. machine gnu can discharge Cm i mini's in this n.iet period, and the \ iekt'-i s can get oil i ,(.suo witlm ,t .-topping. Hallets pun from the un /.Me.s of these guns in a rapid, devastating stream, and as t ley ns; 3 the same kind of ammunition as rifles these exids n > diili mUy us keeping Hum fed.

# * * ■* The Lewis gun is the. most ir.obih of all. One mail fires it, loosing 47 rounds in succession Beside him i ■ another man. who puts on iiesh trays of anunnni:ion as required. the change being made in a couple of seconds. Meanwhile other men are hard at work tilling frays and passing them on for use. This gun has an effective range of about 1,200 yards, and can he fired either from a stand or a parapet, the gunner putting the piece to his shoulder as he pulls the trigger. Maxims and V ickers are tired from a tripod, the gunner squatting, with legs straddled, cm the ground behind t hem and pns.-ing a key So long as ho does this the gain continues streaming out death with a “ t-r-r-rippiug ” sound, as the belt-, each of which holds 250 cartridges, tty through it. Grioping ihe handles with both hands, the gnnuc-r mov- s his weapon backwards and forwards, playing on the advancing Loops much ns a fireman plays a hose upon a burning building, and the men thus attacked go down in heaps. A well-served machine gnu is the most formidable tiling at tacking battalions have to face, for it is not the front ranks alone that sulfur. At anything approaching close ranges the bullets will go through the lioutrank men, often through the second rank too, and kill or wound those immediately behind them. Guns of till; kind can he used for putting up barrages, and it is possible to attack with them targets ore cannot see. The Hotchkiss differs fcoin some other machine guns in that it fires single shots at the into of 1 0j per minute, and can keep this up almost indefinitely, while the movement of a lever converts it instantly for repetition lire.

As isgeneiaily known machine guns are largely used in aeroplanes, particularly f lie Lewis and the Vickers types. The mini her of them employed by cavalry and infantry grows rapidly. When the war began we had two machine guns to each infantry battalion. Now we have many more. In addition, a special Machine Gun Corps has been formed, and will henceforth take permanent place among our Army units, in fact, the part which the machine-gun plays in all theatres of war, more particularly on the western front, is one of con tinnally increasing importance. Already it has put out of action more men than probably any other kind of artillery in use there. As a liiler of graveyards and hospitals it holds a pre-emininent position on both sides of the line.