Maschinengewehr 1901
Bulgarian infantry with two MG 01s mounted with wheels, 1908.
TypeHeavy machine gun
Service history
In service1901-1919
Used byBritish Empire
German Empire
Kingdom of Bulgaria
Chile
WarsHerero Wars
World War I
Spartacist uprising
Balkan Wars
Production history
DesignerDeutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken
ManufacturerDWM
No. builtAt least 400 as of 1914.

The Maschinengewehr 1901, or MG 01, was the standard machine gun of the Imperial German Army from its introduction in 1901 to the adoption of its successor, the MG 08, in 1908.[1] After the introduction of the MG 08, the MG 01 was mainly used by German colonial soldiers.[2]

History

Adoption and development

In Navy Gazette of October 3rd, 1892, Kaiser Wilhelm II approved a supreme cabinet order allowing the introduction of the "8-mm Maxim machine gun into the naval artillery" for cruisers and landing parties, leading to the development and adoption of the MG 99, which was based on the M87 "World Standard" by the army in 1899.[1] An application for a UK patent on the sled carriage was filed by Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken in 1900.[3] The MG 01 added upon the MG 99 by introducing spoked wheels to the sled mount on some models which allowed it to be pushed and pulled. [4]

Service history

The MG 01 was first used in the Herero Wars by the German Empire against the Herero and Namaqua peoples. Afterwards, at least two MG 01s were exported to Bulgaria where they saw service in the Balkan Wars.[4] By the start of World War I, almost all of the MG 01s and other machine guns considered obsolete had been relegated to machine gun detachments in Germany's colonial possessions where they had started to be replaced by the MG 08. During World War I, it was used by the East and South West African Schutztruppe where it was commonly mounted on tripods and artillery carriages. In the Kiautschou Bay Leased Territory, it was used by the machine gun company of the III. Seebataillon and saw service during the Siege of Tsingtao.[2] After World War I, the MG 01 was used by German soldiers during the Spartacist uprising.

German soldiers during the Spartacist uprising occupying the Silesian train station in Berlin with an MG 01 and MG 08, 1919.
Machine gun detachment of the III. Seebataillon in the Mt. Bismark battery in Tsingtao with an MG 01, 1914.

Surviving examples

There are only 2 known surviving examples of the MG 01. The first is MG 01 No. 206 which was produced in 1902, located in the Bayerisches Armeemuseum in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, it belonged to the III. Bataillon 3. Infanterie Regiment, 1. Maschinengewehr Abteilung, located in Augsburg, Bavaria.[5] The second is MG 01 No. 626 which was produced in 1907 in Berlin, located in the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History in Brussels, Belgium, it was most likely one of the MG 01s delivered to the navy. Later, during World War I, it was captured by the British Empire.[6]

Postcard of the 1 Königlich Sächsische Maschinengewehr-Abteilung Nr. 12 (Royal Saxon Machine Gun Detachment No. 12) with MG 01 mounted on horse-drawn cart in Dresden, 1905.

Users

Chilean M1902 Maxim was essentially identical to MG 01 except for the caliber

References

  1. 1 2 Buchholz, Frank (November 1, 2019). "The beginning with Sir Hiram Maxim's guns: MG 99 and MG 01". Colonel J's. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Dale, Chris (April 22, 2022). "Machine Guns of the Schutztruppe and Overseas Forces". German Colonial Uniforms. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  3. ↑ GB 190021630A
  4. 1 2 3 4 Bull, Stephen (May 19, 2016). German Machine Guns of World War I, MG 08 and MG 08/15. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 12–13. ISBN 9781472815170.
  5. 1 2 Buchholz, Brüggen, Frank, Thomas (2019). Deutsche Maschinengewehre (in German). Vienna, Austria: Verlag Militaria. pp. 42–43. ISBN 978-3-902526-95-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. 1 2 3 Buchholz, Brüggen, Frank, Thomas (2019). Deutsche Maschinengewehr (in German). Vienna, Austria: Verlag Militaria. pp. 22–23. ISBN 978-3-902526-95-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ Stoker, Donald J.; Grant, Jonathan (30 August 2003). Girding for Battle: The Arms Trade in a Global Perspective, 1815-1940. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-275-97339-1.
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