“Uncovering the Hidden Genius: The Surprising Origins of the World’s First Machine Gun!”
While today machine guns are mainly used like rapid-firing rifles for laying down suppressive fire or engaging quick-moving targets, the operational doctrine for the mitrailleuse was somewhat different. For much of history, artillery was equipped to fire not only single solid cannonballs or explosive shells, but also large numbers of smaller projectiles called grapeshot or canister shot for use against infantry at close range – effectively turning them into giant shotguns. In French, this type of ammunition is known as mitraille – hence the name mitrailleuse. However, in 1858 the French Army adopted a Beaulieu 4-pounder rifled field gun, which while considerably more accurate and long-ranged than earlier artillery, was not well-suited to firing anti-personnel rounds. Consequently, as Reffye pointed out:
“In combat are found many circumstances where infantry, finding itself within range of artillery, the latter cannot resist the rapid fire of the rifle and, if the infantry, not letting itself be intimidated by the detonations of the pieces and the bursting of the shells, marched resolutely towards batteries themselves undefended by infantry, it would soon reduce them to silence by eliminating their crews…Since the war of secession in America, one has sought to build a weapon which could imitate the rapidity of fire of the rifle, while surpassing it in range, reliably striking infantry and cavalry at distances where canister loses its effectiveness. The bullet-canon has thus been developed to go into action between 900 and 2500 metres, with more accuracy than the old grape-shot which seems almost to have fallen into disuse nowadays.”
