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The Maxim Machine Gun.

Developed in England and employed by the German army, the "grim reaper" changed the military perception of automatic weapons.

"The battle of the Somme has again shown the decisive value of machine guns in defense. If they can be kept in a serviceable condition untill the enemy's infantry attacks and are then brought up into the firing position in time, every attack must fail. The greater the efforts the enemy makes in the future to destroy our trenches before his assault by an increased expenditure of artillery ammunition, the greater the extent to which we must rely on the employment of machine guns for repulsing attacks. These should be brought into action unexpectedly and continue the fight when the greater part of the garrison of the front-line trenches is out of action and the enemy's barrage fire renders it difficult to bring up reinforcements." v. Hoehn

European nations at the beginning of the 20th century were rapidly arming themselves and aligning with one another against their enemies, both real and suspected. Hiram Maxim's guns, made and sold by Vickers Sons & Maxim of London, were clearly the finest available and were being sold to all comers faster than they could be produced. Curiously, Germany was slow in adopting the gun, even though today we cannot think of the Maxim without associating it with "The Hun."

Best Of The Bunch

Kaiser Wilhelm II had witnessed a comprehensive field trial of the prominent contenders of the day at Spandau in 1890. With the Maxim easily out-performing the Gatling, Gardner, and Nordenfeldt entries, the Kaiser is reported to have walked over and placed his hand on the gun and declared, "That is the gun -- there is no other!"

This was more than a dramatic gesture. According to Musgrave and Oliver in German Machine guns, "Kaiser Bill" had to buy Germany's first few guns himself, presenting them to each elite Dragoon Regiment of the Guards.

The Prussian General Staff was not yet convinced of the utility of the machine gun. This, however, was to change dramatically as a result of the adoption of Maxim guns by rival powers and by battlefield reports from German observers to British colonial expeditions in Africa and India. Also, German Marines had participated in the multi-national suppression of the Boxer Rebellion in China in which machine guns -- notably those of Mr. Maxim -- played a key role.

The German Maxim

The first widespread use of the Maxim gun by the German army came in 1901 as a result of a licensing agreement for production of the gun in Germany by the firm that was to become Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM) of Berlin. It was called the Maschinengewehr 01, and a limited number of guns were turned out both for army use and for export sales.

Detailed field manuals were drawn up to standardize the training and battlefield employment of the new weapon. Gunners and other crewmen were thoroughly trained and concepts of use were explored including direct and indirect fire, prezeroed night fire, and overhead support fire. As early as 1903, 11 machine gun detachments had been formed with each consisting of six MG 01 Maxim guns, with horse drawn gun and ammunition wagons.

Because of prevailing misconceptions, these guns were considered to be light artillery for cavalry units. They would move with great speed and set up as needed, providing supporting fire until sufficient numbers of reinforcements could be brought in to take the objective. However, bloody lessons of the Boer War and the Russo-Japanese War, where enemy artillery easily out-ranged and destroyed the machine guns, forced a change in attitude by the General Staff.

DWM was ordered to lighten the gun and develop a more manageable mount. Designers shaved 17 pounds from the resulting MG 08, and more from its elaborate and unwieldy "sled" quadripod.

Curiously, Maxim's original mechanism was essentially untouched, although DWM engineers undoubtedly knew about success at Vickers with an inverted lock mechanism that allowed substantial reduction in receiver size and weight.

Along with gradual fielding of this new variant came a better understanding by German tacticians that the machine gun was an important tool not so much as "light artillery" for the cavalry, but primarily for use by infantry, and in permanent fortifications.

The War to End All Wars

When Germany declared war on France on August 3, 1914, every Jager battalion and infantry regiment had a special company with six Maxims, for an army-wide total in excess of 1,600 guns. No other combatant power could match the Germans' firepower. The grisly effect the Maxim had on the massed infantry and cavalry assaults of the early months of the war was almost unimaginable.

In spite of heavy censorship, newspapers recounted innumerable instances of horrendous casualties on both sides as the battle lines sank into trench networks and the importance of massed artillery and machine gun fire became obvious to all hut the most obstinate generals.

At the same time, the Germans were observing that one machine gun company could often do the work of an entire infantry battalion in the defense. Capitalizing on this, they astutely moved up the guns held in reserve to the front lines and concentrated them in dominant positions along the trench networks.

In the hysteria of the period, reports of the number of German guns were greatly exaggerated in the press. These inflated figures have been picked up and repeated even today with some references preserving the myth of as many as 25,000 German heavy machine guns in use during the first year of war. Certainly, clever tactical concentration of the Kaiser's 1,600 to 2,000 guns contributed to the carnage and subsequent misinformation.

By 1916, there was a standardization of support elements in each infantry division. These new units were called machine gun sharpshooter detachments comprising roughly a light battalion of three machine gun companies. Each company consisted of four officers, 133 NCOs and enlisted men, and six MG 08 Maxims. Add to this the detachment of six guns per infantry battalion that was already in place and it's clear the density of machine guns at the front was indeed formidable!

Production of the MG 08 guns increased rapidly during each year of the war and by the end some 57,000 had been fielded.

More Than A Machine Gun

Water cooling provided the sustained fire capability of the Maxim, allowing at times tens of thousands of rounds to be fired almost continuously by multi gun sections. Coupled with its highly stable and precisely adjustable sled mount, the MG 08's 4,400 yard maximum range was put to diabolical use.

Aerial photos and detailed maps allowed combatants to identify enemy positions, support areas, and established avenues of resupply and reinforcement. Using sophisticated mathematics, geometry, and specially designed aiming equipment, highly trained officers could adjust the "beaten zone" of concentrated machine gun fire directly onto specific enemy strongpoints without the use of forward observers. Gun direction and elevation for several targets could be prepared ahead of time and carried out regardless of darkness, smoke, or foul weather.

Too far away to hear the roar of the machine guns and without benefit of the characteristic whistling sound preceding incoming artillery, unlucky enemy troops would suddenly beset upon by a deadly hail of bullets. Their high angle trajectory often gave little chance of escape even in trenches and shell holes.

Similarly, supporting machine guns could be aimed at high angle over the heads of friendly troops as they charged across "no man's land." The bullets would plunge downward into the defenders' trenches, disrupting their ability to repel the attackers. This protective fire would be lifted as the lead elements came within a few dozen yards of the objective and "walked forward" to kill any retreating enemy or reinforcements.

Stalemate

Artillery, poison gas, and the heavy machine guns used by all of the combatant powers completely locked the Western Front into vast networks of zigzag trenches and deep underground bunkers. In spite of bigger guns and barrages lasting for days and days without end, it was still up to the poor infantryman to scramble up from his hole and stagger across vast expanses of shell-blasted mud and wire into a maelstrom of flying steel.

The machine gun was king of the last few hundred yards of "no man's land" and Maxims were the most deadly and efficient of them all in the hands of British, German, American and Russian gunners. It has been said that, with the exception of the sword, more men have been killed by Hiram Maxim's guns than any other weapon of war, including the atomic bomb.

The deadlock was finally broken by the invention of slow and awkward armored tractors, forevermore to be called simply "tanks." It is somewhat ironic that the main weapon of these first moving piliboxes was the machine gun itself, used to sweep enemy trenches and machine gun nests as the tank roared and clanked past forward defenses, flattening thickets of barbed wire into the mud.

Inside The Maxim

The action of the Maxim MG 08 can be likened to a cartridge-powered internal combustion engine. Although functioning on the simple principle of "short recoil," its cycle of operation is a complicated series of movements of parts that require precision manufacture, meticulous adjustment, and constant lubrication and cleaning.

Indeed, the wartime German school for gunners and crewmen lasted a full month, with a relatively small portion of the instruction devoted to actual live fire marksmanship. Most of the student time was consumed in care and feeding of the beast, as well as correcting a daunting catalog of "stoppages."

Perhaps this was well suited to the German temperament, but it also meant that these men weren't quickly available to replace inevitable and mounting casualties in the trenches. More immediately of concern to tactical leaders was that untrained men were not able to take over critically important guns in the heat of battle when their crews were killed or driven off. The problem became increasingly acute as the war ground on, compounded by the difficulty of mass manufacturing these marvelously complex guns from increasingly scarce high-quality steel, and semi-skilled labor using deteriorating machine tools.

Troubleshooting the MG 08 is an art in itself, but the position of the cocking handle when the gun jams gives a good indication of the probable cause. Manuals detail four principal positions, and a host of other eccentricities and pitfalls.

Among other possibilities, the gun is prone to stoppages from too much muzzle and asbestos string packing, shrunken cloth belts, worn or burred lock parts, weak or improperly adjusted springs, and even the corrosive effects of poison gas as well as all the usual problems with dirt, moisture and cold.

Shooting the MG 08

Our live fire session began on a particularly fine fall morning near Fredericktown, Penn., in an abandoned mine pit.

With the shooting site prepared we turned our attention to unloading the gun, sled, ammunition and accessories from the truck belonging to noted machine gun manufacturer, gunsmith and enthusiast Charles Erb and humping it all a short distance up a small hillside. This provided more practical evidence of why there were so many men in the German MG 08 crews, and why more mature guys who like beer and television are not ideal combat troops.

After several trips and an alarmingly long break to allow heartrates to drop back to normal, Erb began to assemble the many sturdy components of his own personal "Grim Reaper" into a functioning engine of war. The sheer size and complexity of the German Maxim and its sled takes some serious mental adjustment for those of us who are most familiar with the relatively puny and simplistic modern "general purpose machine guns."

Fortunately, Erb was quite well versed in the workings of his gun and sled system. Starting with the basic operations of emplacing the sled and then locking the gun to it, he moved on through water jacket filling, loading, test firing, "fusee spring" adjustment, sight setting and use of the traversing and elevating system. This quickly demonstrated not only that there is a great deal of both Yankee ingenuity and Teutonic logic in how everything is situated on the gun and mount, but also that a great deal of technical knowledge and specific training is needed for successful operation.

Amazingly, it didn't take but a bit of tinkering amid short burst trial and error before Erb had the old gun steadily pumping out 8mm bullets at a staid 450 rounds per minute, kicking up great showers of slate trailings from the far side of the mine pit bank.

To load the Maxim, a box is opened and a belt is partially withdrawn so the brassbound leader tab can be inserted in the feedway. With the cover open to the gunner's inspection, the operating handle is cycled to extract the first round and chamber it with a satisfying "clack" not unlike that of the closing of a bank vault door. Then, the feed cover is closed and automatically latched in place.

A target is aligned in the 2.5x optical sight that is remarkably clear after more than 70 years since manufacture. Moving the safety lever to one side with slight thumb pressure, the trigger bar is depressed, immediately resulting in a rapid series of explosions.

Instantly, the area seen in the scope is obscured by thick dust and flying bits of rock as the 154 gr. bullets, flying at 2,800 fps impact. The gun itself barely moves, and the sharp sound of the report echoes through surrounding hills and dies away.

The sewn canvas belt moves like the sweep-second hand of a fine watch delivering its cartridges to the machine. The arc described by the crank handle is only a blue-gray smear as empties squirt out of the ejection tube, raining forward and down. Deflected shock waves from the muzzle booster blast the dirt from sandbags and surrounding ground, raising a fine cloud of dust.

Again and again, long bursts are fired without the hint of a problem. At the end of the 250 round belt, water in the jacket has heated only slightly, producing a thin wisp of steam from the release valve. If there was unlimited ammo, water, and spare barrels, this Maxim could just keep firing and firing for hours on end.

Gunner's Notes

After cursing the 77 lb. sled mount when carrying it into position, I took it all back in marveling at its rock steadiness. There is no discomfort in pressing your eye right up against the soft leather cup of the optical sight and blasting away. Virtually no recoil is transmitted to spoil your observation of the impact of each burst.

When not using the optics, the metallic sights are entirely satisfactory. The leaf rear sight features a sliding bar with a V notch offset to the left, and is graduated in 50 meter increments out to 2,000 meters. It is not readily adjustable for windage.

Although unprotected, the front post is quite sturdy and is offset to the left to match the line of the rear sight. This style and arrangement is good under a variety of light conditions.

Much hand fitting went into the production of major assemblies for each weapon. That's why key parts such as the feed block and lock assembly of any MG 08 are serial numbered to a specific gun and don't necessarily interchange among others.

Imagine the difficulty, if you will, of crouching in a crowded, dimly lit, smoky bunker while trying to strip, clean and reassemble your Maxim gun as the concussion of allied shells causes dirt to rain down on you from the roof. The damnable lock has more than 20 parts; then there's the feed block, barrel extension plates, back-plate, fusee spring assembly, etc. Even small mistakes could mean a jammed gun in the face of onrushing enemy bayonets.

Functioning is further inhibited by extreme cold causing lubricants to gum up, the recoiling action of the barrel to become sluggish, and sometimes even freezing the water in the cooling jacket. In addition to use of glycerine to retard freezing, an amusing but quite necessary heater box was issued that clamped onto the water jacket. Alas, the heater box could do nothing to thaw and dry a frozen cloth ammunition belt, or the mere humans who were there to pamper and fire it.

Early battle experience showed that armor protection was necessary for both the gunner and the gun. A single rifle bullet through the water jacket would quickly put the gun out of service, and another through virtually any body part would immediately do the same for the gunner.

Four pieces of armor were available: water jacket front, water jacket top and sides, sled front undershield and a sled top gunner's shield. The heavy and awkwardly wide top plate on the gun was abandoned early on, eventually replaced by a segmented breastplate and helmet plate worn by the gunner and other key

crewmen in defensive positions.

Last Days Of The Maxim

By the end of World War I some 72,000 MG 08s are said to have been produced by Spandau and DWM. Another 130,000 of the somewhat lightened MG 08/15s had also been made. These, along with countless numbers of captured allied light and heavy machine guns, saturated the battlefield in the last months.

Despite nearly superhuman German efforts in the great offensives of 1918, the trench deadlock could not be broken. Allied superiority in men and materiel prevailed and Germany was forced into a particularly humiliating capitulation. Guns all over Europe -- including the Maxim -- fell silent at 11 a.m. on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918.
 Maxim MG 08
 Manufacturer: Gewehrfabrik Spandau and
 Deutsche Waffan und Munitions Fabriken
 (DWM)
 Caliber: 7.92 x 57mm Gewehr Patrone '98
 Ammunition: Ball, armor piercing, tracer
 System of operation: Short recoil
 Cooling: Water. Jacket capacity 10 pints
 Feed: 250 round cloth belts
 Length: 44"
 Weight of gun: 49 lbs. (water jacket filled, no armor)
 Weight of mount: 77 lbs.
 Barrel: 28.35"
 Sights: Metallic V notch rear and post front.
 4x optical scope.
 Rate of fire: 400 to 500 rpm
 Muzzle velocity: 2,800 fps
Maximum effective range: 4,400 meters
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Article Details
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Author:Robert I, King of Scotland
Publication:Guns Magazine
Date:Jun 1, 2000
Words:3054
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