The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - How much of an advantage was the garand ?.

Art Eatman · September 24, 2008, 08:21 AM

A battlefield is a fluid situation. A rifleman can move around and seek to find a way past a fixed machine gun position. Even a machine gun nest can be suppressed by return fire, and troops on the move can have an advantage if they have semi-auto vs. an enemy with a bolt-action.

Sure, the MG42 was a helluva fine piece. Still, absent opening up as ambush, it's firing from a fixed postion and a fixed position is best known as "target for artillery".

September 24, 2008, 08:21 AM	#3
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	A battlefield is a fluid situation. A rifleman can move around and seek to find a way past a fixed machine gun position. Even a machine gun nest can be suppressed by return fire, and troops on the move can have an advantage if they have semi-auto vs. an enemy with a bolt-action. Sure, the MG42 was a helluva fine piece. Still, absent opening up as ambush, it's firing from a fixed postion and a fixed position is best known as "target for artillery".