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,
while its more mobile successor, the MG 08/15, played a central role in
the revolutionary developments in infantry tactics that characterized
the last months of the conflict. Even in the 1940s, the two weapons
would be pressed into 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, as well as their
strengths and limitations in a variety of battlefield roles.