I think it’s about time we start showcasing some heavy ordnance on Weird Gun Wednesday, don’t you? After all, nothing matches the sheer awe and mystique of a heavy machine gun from yesteryear. The MG08 has both in spades; it looks like a patchwork of car parts held together by industrial revolution-style welding and riveting.
Where you’ve seen it:
The MG08 has been showcased in dozens of films dating back to the 1950s, but its most recent portrayal was in Steven Spielberg’s War Horse
(right).
History:
Often referred to as the “Maxim” MG08, this weapon was a direct copy of the archetypal machine gun, the Maxim gun. Introduced to the German military in 1908, the MG08 was produced just in time for use in World War I. As I’ve said before, one of the reasons the turn of the 19th century is so fascinating is because it proved to be the juncture between archaic weapons and battlefield tactics, and incredibly advanced and destructive technology. The MG08 falls into the latter category. Though heavy and clumsy (it required a 4-man team to operate effectively and weighed 150 pounds), the chattering bark of a few of these bad boys had a powerful psychological effect on an enemy and could cut a charging cavalry unit to ribbons in short order. During its time in service (it wasn’t retired from frontline use until after World War II), the MG08 was even reconfigured to an air-cooled variant added to German Fokker biplanes.
The design: 
The MG08 operated on a short-barrel recoil and a toggle-lock system where, once cocked and fired, the weapon spewed rounds until the trigger was released or the 250-round belt was consumed. Sometimes equipped with telescopic sights, the MG08 had a functional range of between 2,200 and 3,900 yards, and if used with a separate-attachment sight and range calculator, the weapon could be operated from cover. With a rate of fire of 400 rounds per minute, the MG08 was a bit slow compared to the 1200 rounds per minute of its replacement, “Hitler’s Zipper”—the MG42. But steady fire, even at such a rate, can burn an air-cooled barrel out quickly. The tubular barrel shroud that gives the MG08 its distinct appearance functions as a coolant reservoir, holding a gallon of water (or urine when a crew was in a pinch) to dissipate the barrel’s heat.
The cartridge:
A rimless, bottlenecked cartridge, the 8mm Mauser was adopted for use in 1905 and shares the distinction of being one of the few calibers used by both Allied and Axis powers during World War II. (The Brits used it in their Besa machine gun.) The 8mm Mauser round delivers approximately 3000 ft/lbs of energy using a 196-grain bullet.
The verdict:
If I were an American doughboy in 1917, clutching my M1903 Springfield to my chest as I hid in the muddied trenches, the notion of charging toward a Kraut MG08 nest might just be my worst nightmare come to life. It was certainly a fearsome weapon for the time, and an unusual, interesting one for us to admire, now.
Belt guns are really badass!
Belt guns are really badass!
Great stuff these old warhorses are good to look at now but a nightmare to face. Every village in Scotland has a War memorial filled with names from both wars.Lions led by Donkeys.
Great, ingenious, classic MG absent a single doubt. However, JMB would soon follow and make us all proud with a plethora of his own…
Great write up, and I agree lets get some heavy weapons in “WGW”.
Great write up, and I agree lets get some heavy weapons in “WGW”.
Excellent article once again Nate Granzow! These Maxims were absolutely devastating during the First World War. They were typically deployed along the trench line at pre-determined defensive fighting positions and had interlocking fields of fire with the next Maxim along the line. This would put up the proverbial “wall of lead” and led to unimaginable carnage on the battlefield. The British Army, for example, had it’s worst day ever as they lost 60,000 men in the very first day at The Battle of the Somme. A good deal of these casualties came from the withering machine gun fire put out by German gunners behind the triggers of their Maxims. In a time in history where military units were still largely formed by where the soldiers lived, there were British towns that had their entire generation of young men wiped out. The cost of inept commanders using outdated tactics, i.e. massed infantry head on assaults against machine gun-defended trench lines, was a horrible human tragedy. Peter3101 sums up the First World War brilliantly, “Lions led by Donkeys”. Thanks for the article Nate, I sure enjoy reading them.
Excellent article once again Nate Granzow! These Maxims were absolutely devastating during the First World War. They were typically deployed along the trench line at pre-determined defensive fighting positions and had interlocking fields of fire with the next Maxim along the line. This would put up the proverbial “wall of lead” and led to unimaginable carnage on the battlefield. The British Army, for example, had it’s worst day ever as they lost 60,000 men in the very first day at The Battle of the Somme. A good deal of these casualties came from the withering machine gun fire put out by German gunners behind the triggers of their Maxims. In a time in history where military units were still largely formed by where the soldiers lived, there were British towns that had their entire generation of young men wiped out. The cost of inept commanders using outdated tactics, i.e. massed infantry head on assaults against machine gun-defended trench lines, was a horrible human tragedy. Peter3101 sums up the First World War brilliantly, “Lions led by Donkeys”. Thanks for the article Nate, I sure enjoy reading them.
Don1974 As always, thank *you* Don. And some excellent supplemental information in your comment, too! Clearly a student of history as well as a fellow firearms enthusiast.