Dan Labus

11/14/16
Mr. Harkins

The Machine Gun

World War I was impacted by countless advances in weaponry.
However, the most influential weapon in World War I was the machine gun.
The machine gun was most impactful because it was portable, lethal, and it
forever changed the way wars were fought.
The machine gun was relatively portable considering how destructive it
was. They weighed 50 pounds, and they usually had a mount that was 70
pounds. These were carried separately. This may not seem very portable for
todays standards, but it allowed a small group of people to bring an
extremely effective killing machine to the battlefield.
The machine gun was simply the most lethal weapon of World War I.
The machine guns ability to kill was responsible for approximately 85% of the
total deaths in World War I. With 38 million total casualties, that come out to
approximately 32 million combatants killed by the machine gun.
The machine gun was ahead of its time as the tactics of war were not
designed for such a weapon. For the most part, World War I was fought in
trenches. The strategy for trench warfare was to establish a trench about 100
yards away from any enemy trenches. Then when the time was right, one
side would charge the other in an attempt to take over the oppositions

trench. However, with machine guns, a successful charge was virtually

impossible. Regardless, these futile tactics were implemented as it was seen
as the only option. As a result, millions of lives were lost fighting over inches
of a battlefield.
The machine gun forever changed the tactics of war. It was portable
and devastatingly lethal. It was responsible for the majority of the carnage in
one of the most devastating wars in the history of the World. There is no
doubt that the machine gun was, in fact, the most impactful weapon in World
War I.