Deleted member 1487
What if LMGs were pretty common all major armies by the start of WW1? How would it influence tactics, combat actions, and the outcome of the mobile campaigns of 1914? Defenders during mobile fighting had quite and advantage if they could get their MGs in action or fire from cover against attacking infantry, who often couldn't bring up their heavy MGs quickly enough to support attacks. LMGs mostly showed up in the 2nd half of the war and dramatically changed the way infantry fought, as it gave them a base of fire on the attack, while defenders could maneuver MGs around as needed, rather than being stuck in place once fighting started. Would tactics have been different if LMGs were present then pre-war? I know from some reading about the arms race pre-WW1 that everyone understood the utility of LMGs from the Russo-Japanese war, but armies still did not invest until after WW1 started. Suppose they invest in developing them in the post-Russo-Japanese war instead as a POD.