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My paper on NRA and US during WWI
Just found a link to a paper I wrote a few years ago, on NRA's involvement in American tactics in WWI (it was significant, perhaps pivotal) and rifle tactics until then. Believe it or not, there had been a serious push to essentially eliminate marksmanship (down to inventing devices that would triggerlock a rifle unless elevated in accord with an officer's instructions, and proposals to eliminate the front sight). During WWI, British and French tactics called for preventing troops from shooting during an advance, since then they would be tempted to go prone and the assault would bog down. Close with cold steel, and nevermind the barbed wire and machineguns! Worked great at the Somme and other fights -- 40,000 casualties in the first day.
And the US might have gone into WWI the same way, if the Secretary of War had his way. But then there was the NRA president, a personal friend of Woodrow Wilson, and a competitive shooting champion named Pershing....
Comments
Its always the general's fault-or-credit in General Pershing's case. Might expl;ain why the Libs want us disarmed. Might make it easier to push around a disarmed populace. BTW, they found a .22 short in Great Britain:
http://www.trapshooters.com/cfpages/thread.cfm?threadid=106401&messages=16
Posted by: The Mechanic at November 15, 2006 07:01 PM