World War II
The conflict that produced general-purpose light machine guns, mass-issued SMGs and the first assault rifle (StG 44).
Context and course
The Wehrmacht inaugurated the general-purpose machine gun concept with the MG34 and MG42 (900–1,200 rpm), shifting fire volume down to the squad level. Soviets and Americans answered with mass production of cheap submachine guns: PPSh-41 (over 6 million produced), Thompson, M3 'Grease Gun'.
In 1943–44 Germany introduced the Sturmgewehr 44, the first rifle using an intermediate cartridge (7.92×33 Kurz) with selective fire — the conceptual ancestor of the AK-47 and every modern assault rifle. The Allies ended the war still using semi-auto (M1 Garand) and bolt-action rifles (Lee-Enfield, Mosin), but the intermediate-caliber paradigm was already written.
Belligerents
USSR, USA, UK, Free France, China and others
Germany, Italy, Japan and satellites
Iconic weapons of the conflict
- StG 44
First assault rifle in history, intermediate 7.92×33 caliber.
- MG42
German 1,200 rpm machine gun, nicknamed 'Hitler's buzzsaw'.
- PPSh-41
Soviet SMG produced in over 6 million units.
- M1 Garand
First semi-auto rifle adopted as standard issue.
- Thompson M1928 / M1A1
Iconic American SMG, from gangsters to the Pacific.
- Walther P38, Luger P08, Colt M1911
Sidearms of the major armies.
In the ARSENALIS catalog (6)
Doctrinal legacy
Three revolutions: the general-purpose machine gun, the mass-issued SMG, the intermediate-caliber assault rifle. All three still define infantry armament today.