What were machine guns used for in WW1?
As others said, machine guns in WWI were used for the same things as they are now…killing people faster. From http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-weap… “The Vickers Machine Gun was virtually a lightened Maxim Gun built under license by Britain and throughout the Commonwealth. It was the standard medium/heavy machine gun of the British army from before World War 1 and up to 1960. While most armies had adopted some kind of air cooled machine gun for their principle MG, the British continued to rely on the water cooled Vickers. Despite its weight it was unsurpassed in reliability. As long as the condenser was kept filled with water, the Vickers could be fired for an indefinite period of time.” Also FYI, the M-16 wasn’t put into service until 1964.