"Describe the early history of a modern warfare weapon." My essays about the history of the Machine gun, describing when it was invented, by who and how it works.

The first automatic portable machinegun in the world was invented and created by Hiram Maxim in 1884. Maxim used the energy of each bullet's recoil force to eject the spent cartridge, insert the next and fire it. This allowed the Machinegun to shoot as long as the shooter wanted to shoot, or until the bullet belt would run out of bullets.                  The Maxim Gun was adopted by the British Army in 1889. The machinegun was first used …

…three to six men and were positioned on a flat tripod. For added protection, German machineguns were often housed inside concrete blockhouses so that they would be atleast a bit protected from bombs.         Both sides also used smaller machinegun posts. Germans built them in large numbers all along the line at Ypres and Messines. Machinegunners were deeply hated by the infantry and they were more likely to be killed than any other soldier when captured.