Light Machine Guns of the First World War

The First World War saw the machine gun come into its own, playing a large part in creating the unbreakable stalemate which gripped the Western Front. In an effort to harness the firepower of the heavy, water-cooled machine guns for offensive purposes many of the combatant nations turned to light machine guns. Some like the Madsen and the Lewis had been designed before the war began while others like the Maxim 08/15 were wartime developments.

The Lewis Gun

Lewis Gun (source)

Invented by Colonel Isaac Lewis, the Lewis Gun was used by a number of nations during the war including Belgium, the Russian Empire, the US Marine Corps and most famously by the British & Commonwealth forces. The British entered the war in 1914, with each battalion armed with just two Vickers Machine Guns. By 1916 the use of machine guns had evolved rapidly and in October 1915 the Machine Gun Corps was formed with the infantry’s Vickers guns being transferred to their command.

In replacement the infantry received and ever increasing number of Lewis Light Machine Guns - two guns per company by the summer of 1916 and at least one per platoon by 1917. They were lighter and more mobile and could better support the infantry in attack. The Lewis Gun was air-cooled but still weighty at 26 lbs and was more expensive to produce than the Vickers at £165. However, it proved reliable in the field and became well liked by troops. It was finally replaced in British service by the Bren gun.

Hotchkiss M1909

U.S. Automatic Machine Rifle M1909 (source)

Designed by Lawrence Benét and Henri Mercié and manufactured by the French Hotchkiss company. Adopted by the French army in 1909 as the Hotchkiss Mle 1909 chambered in 8mm Lebel, the US also adopted the Hotchkiss as the Benét–Mercié Machine Rifle, Caliber .30 M1909. The British Army followed suit adopting the Hotchkiss for use first with cavalry and later in tanks. Its compact size (just 47 inches long) and light weight (27 lbs) made it ideal for cavalry and tank use. They were fed by 30-round strips and despite being increasingly replaced by the Lewis Gun remained in service long after the war.



Browning Automatic Rifle M1918

Browning Automatic Rifle M1918 (source)

John Browning’s automatic rifle was not designed to act as a light machine gun in the strictest sense of the term. Instead like the French Chauchat it was intended to be used in a ‘walking fire’ role, suppressing the enemy during the advance. As such it was fed from 20-round box magazines and was not initially issued with a bipod, costing approximately $120 per gun with around 60,000 produced by the end of the war. The first B.A.Rs arrived in France in July 1918 and saw action for the first time in September.

Fusil Mitrailleur Modele 1915 CSRG ‘Chauchat’

Chauchat (source)

Widely vilified as one of the worst machine guns ever designed it was adopted by the French Army in 1915 the weapon had been in experimental development before the war but not adopted. The weapon was refined for production in 1915 and the first weapons reached French troops in 1916. It was the poor quality of the gun’s manufacture which led to problems. Screws which came loose during firing, some of the materials used were inferior and the weapon’s sights were frequently misaligned. The magazine was also found to have problems with dirt easily entering the action. The Chauchat had an extremely low rate of fire, firing just 250 rounds per minute and fed from a 20-round magazine. The arriving US forces, lacking an automatic rifle in 1917, were issued 16,000 Chauchats. An rechambered version firing .30-06 was also developed with an improved magazine however, the US service round was more powerful than French 8mm and strained the guns’ receivers.

Madsen Light Machine Gun

Madsen Gun (source)

First developed in 1904, the Danish Madsen is arguably the first light machine gun to be manufactured at a large scale. The Madsen was used by Imperial Russia, Austro-Hungary and the German Army during the First World War. The British also manufactured a version chambered in their rimmed .303 cartridge however, because of this it suffered issues with jamming. When chambered in rimless ammunition the Madsen functioned well. While it was produced for over 50 years and purchased in limited numbers by 30 countries it was never widely adopted by any nation.

Bergmann M1915 n.A

Bergmann M1915 n.A (source)

The M1915 n.A was developed as a prototype before the war but was accepted into service in 1916 for use by German troops fighting on the Italian front. It was an air cooled version of Bergmann’s MG10. It weighed 28 lbs and fed from a 200-round drum magazine. Compared to the MG 08/15 only a limited number were built before the end of the war.

Maxim MG 08/15

Maxim MG 08/15 (source)

The MG 08/15 represented Germany’s primary attempt at a light machine gun. Taking the standard tripod-mounted MG 08 and lightening by redesigning the receiver. However, the weapon retained its water jacket and added a large wooden buttstock resulting in the weapon weighing 33 lbs. It fed from a 50-round belt and had a bipod mounted near the receiver. During the latter phases of the war it was frequently used by German stormtroopers with some 130,000 being manufactured by the end of the war.

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