MG 34 and MG 42 Machine Guns
MG 34 and MG 42 Machine Guns

Author: Chris McNab

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2012-10-20

Total Pages: 155

ISBN-13: 1782003096

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With the MG 34, the German Wehrmacht introduced an entirely new concept in automatic firepower – the general-purpose machine gun (GPMG). In itself the MG 34 was an excellent weapon: an air-cooled, recoil-operated machine gun that could deliver killing firepower at ranges of more than 1,000m. Yet simply by changing its mount and feed mechanism, the operator could radically transform its function. On its standard bipod it was a light machine gun, ideal for infantry assaults; on a tripod it could serve as a sustained-fire medium machine gun. During World War II, the MG 34 was superseded by a new GPMG – the MG 42. More efficient to manufacture and more robust, it had a blistering 1,200rpm rate of fire. Nicknamed 'Hitler's buzzsaw' by Allied troops, it was arguably the finest all-round GPMG ever produced, and alongside the MG 34 it inflicted heavy casualties. Featuring specially commissioned full-colour artwork and drawing upon numerous technical manuals and first-hand accounts, this study explores the technological development, varied roles and lasting influence of the revolutionary MG 34 and MG 42 machine guns and their postwar successors.

Soviet Submachine Guns of World War II
Soviet Submachine Guns of World War II

Author: Chris McNab

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2014-05-20

Total Pages: 82

ISBN-13: 1782007954

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The submachine gun (SMG) came to be the embodiment of the Soviet fighting spirit during World War II. From 1943 the Red Army's preference for close-quarters combat resulted in entire infantry units being equipped with nothing but SMGs. By deploying multiple SMG-armed companies and battalions, the Red Army was able to develop ferocious firepower in urban warfare and position assaults, the soldiers keeping within the SMG's effective range of about 150m to nullify the German skills in armoured and manoeuvre warfare, artillery support and aerial bombardment. Featuring expert analysis and an array of specially commissioned full-colour artwork, this engaging study explains the history, use and development of Soviet wartime SMGs in detail. It gives particular focus to the tactical applications of these weapons in combat, and how they compared to firearms wielded by their German opponents. With numerous first-hand combat accounts, and detailed technical explanations, this book is ideal for both the general reader and the firearms enthusiast.

The Stuff of Soldiers
The Stuff of Soldiers

Author: Brandon M. Schechter

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 2019-10-15

Total Pages: 503

ISBN-13: 1501739816

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The Stuff of Soldiers uses everyday objects to tell the story of the Great Patriotic War as never before. Brandon M. Schechter attends to a diverse array of things—from spoons to tanks—to show how a wide array of citizens became soldiers, and how the provisioning of material goods separated soldiers from civilians. Through a fascinating examination of leaflets, proclamations, newspapers, manuals, letters to and from the front, diaries, and interviews, The Stuff of Soldiers reveals how the use of everyday items made it possible to wage war. The dazzling range of documents showcases ethnic diversity, women's particular problems at the front, and vivid descriptions of violence and looting. Each chapter features a series of related objects: weapons, uniforms, rations, and even the knick-knacks in a soldier's rucksack. These objects narrate the experience of people at war, illuminating the changes taking place in Soviet society over the course of the most destructive conflict in recorded history. Schechter argues that spoons, shovels, belts, and watches held as much meaning to the waging of war as guns and tanks. In The Stuff of Soldiers, he describes the transformative potential of material things to create a modern culture, citizen, and soldier during World War II.

The Gun
The Gun

Author: C. J. Chivers

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2011-09-06

Total Pages: 496

ISBN-13: 0743271734

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The author, a New York Times reporter, traces the invention and mass distribution of the AK-47 assault rifle, and its effects on war. He traces the invention of the assault rifle, following the miniaturization of rapid-fire arms from the American Civil War, through World War I and Vietnam, to present-day Afghanistan, where Kalashnikovs and their knockoffs number as many as 100 million, one for every seventy persons on earth. It is the weapon of state repression, as well as revolution, civil war, genocide, drug wars, and religious wars; and it is the arms of terrorists, guerrillas, boy soldiers, and thugs. From its inception to its use by more than fifty national armies around the world, to its role in modern-day Afghanistan, he discusses how the deadly weapon has helped alter world history.

World War II Soviet Armed Forces (2)
World War II Soviet Armed Forces (2)

Author: Nigel Thomas

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2011-07-20

Total Pages: 49

ISBN-13: 1849084211

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In this second volume of a three-part series on the Soviet Armed Forces in World War II, author Nigel Thomas turns his attention to the mid-war period. Focusing on the uniforms and organization of Soviet troops during the campaigns of the Caucasus, Stalingrad and Kursk, this book offers a detailed breakdown of all the armed forces which conducted the valiant defensive campaigns, including the army, air force, paratroopers, navy and NKVD troops. It also covers equipment and insignia and the changes brought about by the new regulations of 1943.

German Machine Guns of World War I
German Machine Guns of World War I

Author: Stephen Bull

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2016-05-19

Total Pages: 163

ISBN-13: 1472815181

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World War I's defining weapon for many, Germany's MG 08 machine gun won a formidable reputation on battlefields from Tannenberg to the Somme. Although it was a lethally effective weapon when used from static positions, the MG 08 was far too heavy to perform a mobile role on the battlefield. As the British and French began to deploy lighter machine guns alongside their heavier weapons, the Germans fielded the Danish Madsen and British Lewis as stopgaps, but chose to adapt the MG 08 into a compromise weapon – the MG 08/15 – which would play a central role in the revolutionary developments in infantry tactics that characterized the last months of the conflict. In the 1940s, the two weapons were still in service with German forces fighting in a new world war. Drawing upon eyewitness battlefield reports, this absorbing study assesses the technical performance and combat record of these redoubtable and influential German machine guns, and their strengths and limitations in a variety of battlefield roles.

The Encyclopedia of Infantry Weapons of World War II
The Encyclopedia of Infantry Weapons of World War II

Author: Ian V. Hogg

Publisher: Horizon Book Promotions

Published: 1987

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 9780861241552

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Discusses the origins, developments, and effectiveness of pistols, rifles, machine guns, mortars, grenades, and other weapons used during World War II, on a country by country basis