Zvezda 3511 German machine-gun crew

Based on the experience of World War I, the German army paid a lot of attention to the development of both light and heavy infantry machine weapons in the interwar period. The result of these efforts was the introduction into service in 1934 of the very successful MG34 machine gun, which replaced the less handy and much heavier MG08 or leMG 08/15 rifles. During World War II, another, equally successful, but cheaper to produce design was introduced - the MG42. Both of these rifles were de facto the basic machine weapons of the German infantry and armored grenadiers during World War II. Their very high rate of fire and high ballistic parameters meant that they were perceived as the basic support weapon at the level of a platoon or company, and often even a team. Interestingly, thanks to the relatively low weight, they could be successfully used both in offensive and in defense. Very often, in the course of combat operations, the soldier responsible for servicing the MG34 or MG42 was assigned from 2 to 3 ammunition to ensure that the rest of the team was firing machine guns uninterruptedly.