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Hi, Mike,
I am confused as to which side you are taking vis-a-vis the Pedersen device. I agree that nothing fired by advancing troops would make a bit of difference to a defensive force behind entrenched machineguns. The fact that men were sent to attack under those circumstances only served to emphasis the backwardness and total lack of imagination of the military leaders of the day.
I didn't invent the idea that "marching fire" would keep the enemy's heads down, that was the whole assumption behind it; Pedersen (who AFAIK had no combat experience) did not invent the idea either, he simply gave the generals what he thought would be needed if/when the tactic was used. My point was that the "device" would have been even less effective at that job than the standard infantry rifle.
As to those great ideas, there have been many. One, the great Panjandrum, was plain silly. The Liberator pistol was based on a fiction story that was based on the idea that every person in an occupied country is eager, willing, able, and fearless enough to fight the enemy. No student of psychology would have agreed.
Then there was the glove gun, the pen gun, and dozens of other neat gadgets that were rejected without costing too much money.
My personal favorite, dating from c. 1900, was the electric cannonball. A hollow ball containing a battery, it could be fired out of a cannon and on striking an enemy a switch would close, electrocuting him. Anyone who thinks about that for more than 3 milliseconds and still considers it sensible, needs professional help.
Jim
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