“On reading this, I did a double-take and almost questioned my sanity. Surely, Hochschild must be aware that exactly at that point in time, the government of Germany had publicly proposed international peace talks without preconditions aimed at ending the war, suggesting that the massive, pointless slaughter be halted, perhaps largely on a status quo ante basis.
The Germans had recently won several huge victories, inflicting enormous losses on the Allies in the Battle of the Somme and also completely knocking Rumania out of the war. So riding high on their military success, they emphasized that they were seeking peace on the basis of their strength rather than from any weakness. Unfortunately, the Allies flatly rejected this peace overture, declaring that that the offer proved Germany was close to defeat, so they were determined to hold out for complete victory with major territorial gains.
As a result, many additional millions needlessly died over the next two years, while just a couple of months later in early 1917 Russia’s Czarist government collapsed, eventually leading to the Bolshevik seizure of power, a turning-point with fateful, long-term consequences.”
All you former infantryman out there might find this fact jaw dropping:
“The MG08 machine gun itself weighed approximately 60 pounds. Combined with its “Sled” (or Sledge) mount that used four legs, the whole affair weighed around 140 pounds, excluding the water can and ammunition supply. Along with the sled mount were extra barrels, tools, and oil containers, all attached to the sled. A team of four soldiers was required to move the entire gun and accessories.”
This BEAST weighed in at 140 pounds, not inclduing the water can, sled and ammo!!
This thing earned it’s name as a HEAVY machine Gun for sure.
The Tactical Hermit 
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