British Army during the First World War: Difference between revisions

In September 1915, the Machine Gun Corps was formed to provide heavy machine gun teams, after a definite proposal was made to the War Office for the formation of a single specialist Machine Gun Company per infantry brigade, by withdrawing the guns and gun teams from the battalions.<ref name=mcg>{{cite web|author=Chris Baker|accessdate=2009-06-13|title=The Machine Gun Corps of 1914&ndash;1918||url=http://www.1914-1918.net/mgc.htm}}</ref> The [[Machine Gun Corps]] (MCG) was created in October 1915, it consisted of infantry Machine gun companies, cavalry machine gun squadrons and motor machine gun batteries.<ref name=mgcmcg/> In the trenches the Corps guns were deployed with an interlocking field of fire and were devastating defensive weapon against attacking infantry.<ref name=mcg/> They were also used offensively to fire an indirect barrage over the heads,<ref namemcgname=mcg/> and from the flanks,<ref>Connelly, p 66</ref> of the advancing infantry and behind the German trenches, to stop reinforcements and supplies getting to the front.<ref name=mcg/>