How Did The Machine Gun Change The World

Between the years 1865-1914, many advancements were being made in the world. Some of these advancements or better yet, inventions, would lead to better ease of living for some in the world. The inventions would also lead to greater destruction as well. One of these inventions was the Hiram Maxim Machine Gun. I will attempt to analyze and acknowledge this invention from three key points; technological, sociological, and political. The machine gun was a very big technological advancement in 1881, and brought about a huge change in how wars were fought. Taking some of the thought of the Gatling Gun, Maxim upgraded and made the machine gun more portable. One of the improvements was the way the gun fired. Taking away the rotating barrels of the Gatling Gun, Maxim’s utilized the recoil force to feed the ammunition through the gun. This made the functionality of the gun more “user” friendly, and could be operated by a single person. Another improvement was the size of the gun. Maxim’s guns were smaller in stature than that of the contemporaries in its field, but still maintained some aspects of its predecessors as well. This gun was able to shoot 600 plus rounds a minute. Far more than 80-90 riflemen standing shoulder to shoulder. This invention revolutionized warfare for
Much like the advancement of the rifled musket had on how troops in the field fought, whereas Maxim’s machine gun also changed how the troops fought in the field. Even though troops remained in linear form during most battles following the invention of the rifled musket, trench warfare became the norm with Maxim’s machine gun. Troops would dig hundreds of yards, maybe even miles, of trenches to keep them out of sight from troops utilizing the machine gun. War became more strategic to prevent mass killings. Commanders of armies during these battles would have to outsmart, outmaneuver, and outthink their contemporary they were going