The great arms race of the late 19th - early 20th Century was a race of small arms as well as ships.  The smokeless powder bolt action and water-cooled machine gun dominated the First World War.  The Second World War further developed small arms and small arms production technology for higher rates of fire and ease of production.   American dominance of military technology begins to be achieved during this period.

Arms to be studied:

1903 Springfield

1898 Mauser

British Short Magazine Lee Enfield series

Maxim MG08 water-cooled machine gun - mpg clip of Maxim firing

US M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle

US M1 carbine

Russian 1891

British STEN sub-machine gun

US M1919A4 machine gun