Most Dangerous Guns In The World

National Interest named the Maxim 08 machine gun as one of the five deadliest weapons in World War I, a conflict that killed 9.7 million military personnel (via Centre Robert Schuman). On 1 July, 1916 — the first day of the Somme — some 20,000 British troops died, making it the deadliest day in British military history (via History).

Many of these soldiers were killed by the Maxim MG 08, the German variant of Hiram Maxim's original design, which had the equivalent firepower of a hundred soldiers with bolt-action rifles (via National Interest).

The MG 08 was so effective at the Somme because the British had overestimated their artillery power. After smashing the German position with shells for a straight week, British troops walked towards the German line at "a steady pace," following orders given by the Fourth Army, who believed the Germans to be crushed (via Britannica).

As the infantryman covered ground in their dense and wide formations, German troops emerged from their bunkers, waited for the right moment, and opened fire with their MG 08s, spraying the fields with 450 rounds a minute, killing scores of men (via Royal Armouries).

Many grim facts would emerge from that terrible day, which war poet Siegfried Sassoon described as a "sunlit picture of hell." Among them are that one man was killed every 4.4 seconds, and 37 sets of British brothers perished (via History).

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