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Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Machine gun sidecar vs. tank

We have written about machine guns in motorcycles, in particular Enfields in World War I. Here is a discussion of the advantages machine gunned motorcycles vs. tanks in "The Motor Cycle" June 8th 1916. One would expect such a magazine to be partial towards motorcycles, but I'm afraid history has settled this debate against the opinion of the magazine.... As for the quoted "Papa Joffre", at that time he was still basking in the glow of his "miracle at the Marne", but already the battle of Verdun was starting to turn against him, ending eventually with his removal as supreme commander of the French Army and promotion to the largely ceremonial post of Marshal of France.


1 comment:

  1. Horrible stuff. The motorcycle sidecar could kill, but it wasn't going to win that war. A light vehicle, with just one more wheel (the Jeep) was instrumental in winning the next one. I've read that the complicated German sidecar outfits of World War II cost more to produce than Jeeps, for far less utility.

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