A Withering Fire: American Machine Gun Battalions in World War I

A Withering Fire is the definitive history of American machine gun battalions in World War I. It describes the creation of these battalions, their training, equipment, and combat employment through official documents and firsthand accounts of the men who served in these units.

When the U.S. entered the war in April 1917 it had fewer than 450 machine guns, all of them obsolete, and no machine gun units larger than a platoon. In less than 17 months, the country produced nearly 50,000 modern ma...