Читать книгу Gun Digest 2011 онлайн

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Within the confines of the trenches, a stout club often proved more useful than an unwieldy rifle. On exhibit in London’s Imperial War Museum is a collection of brutal looking, improvised clubs used by British soldiers for hand-to-hand trench combat during the First World War. Britain’s military leadership astutely concluded that while a club might be handier than a rifle under these constrictive battle conditions, it was still not the ideal tool for such work. But the English eschewed the shotgun as a weapon of war and the submachine gun had yet to be invented.

Traditionally, the British regarded handguns as being of minor tactical importance in warfare. They were considered strictly defensive weapons and the few soldiers who carried them received minimal training in their use. However, the engagement in which England found herself from August of 1914 until November of 1918 was anything but traditional. Representing a rare departure from conventional military wisdom, the combat status of the handgun was upgraded. A large caliber revolver was deemed the logical offensive weapon for fighting in the trenches.