"The third man, his name appeared in the previous story, but he did not appear. But his importance to the ending of the story is self-evident, even more than that of Commander Henry Lauck.
He is the inventor of Maxim's epoch-making rapid-fire weapon, the Maxim machine gun.
Maxim, whose full name is Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim, was born on February 5, 1840 in Maine, USA. He came from a poor family and became famous through diligent self-study. inventor.
He spent most of his time in England, and in 1901 he was knighted by Queen Victoria for his services. It was the eighth year since his weapons massacred natives in Matabele.
To be fair, Maxim was an excellent weapons designer. The Maxim machine gun he designed and invented ushered in a new era in the development of automatic weapons in the world. At the same time, he also made a great contribution to the development of smokeless gunpowder, which made his Machine guns are more effective.
Before the Maxim machine gun appeared, the guns people used were non-automatic guns, and bullets had to be loaded one by one. The decisive force of victory in the war depends to a large extent on the speed of loading. Many people were inexplicably killed before they had time to load the second bullet.
In 1882, when Maxim went to England for an inspection, he found that when soldiers were shooting, their shoulders were bruised and bruised due to the recoil of old-fashioned rifles. This shows that the recoil of the gun has considerable energy, which comes from the gunpowder gas generated when the bullet is fired.
Maxim found the ideal power for the automatic continuous shooting of weapons from the recoil phenomenon that people are accustomed to and turn a blind eye to. Maxim first conducted modification experiments on an old Winchester rifle. He used the gunpowder gas ejected by the bullet during shooting to complete a series of actions such as unlocking, ejecting the shell, feeding ammunition, and re-locking, thus realizing the single-barreled gun. Automatically fire continuously and reduce the recoil of the gun.
Maxim first successfully developed the world's first automatic rifle in 1883. Later, based on the experience he gained from the rifle, he further developed and perfected his barrel short-recoil automatic shooting principle.
He also changed the traditional way of supplying ammunition and made a 6-meter-long canvas ammunition chain. Feed the machine gun continuously. In order to cool down the barrel, which is heated due to continuous high-speed shooting, Maxim also uses water cooling.
Maxim built the world's first machine gun capable of automatic continuous firing in 1884, with a rate of fire of more than 600 rounds per minute. At the moment when the Maxim machine gun is fired, the machine gun and the barrel are buckled together, using the energy of gunpowder gas as power to open the cartridge chamber through a set of mechanisms. The bolt continues to recoil, ejecting the empty cartridge case and throwing it out of the gun, and then drives the ammunition supply mechanism. Compress the recoil spring, and under the action of the spring force, the bolt is pushed into place and fired again. In this way, once shooting starts, the machine gun can keep shooting until the bullets on the bullet belt are used up, which can save a lot of reloading time.
In addition to his earliest fame in World War I, Maxim was most famous in World War I. At that time, the German army was equipped with the MG08 Maxim heavy machine gun. In the Battle of the Somme, he killed 60,000 British troops in one day, becoming the first The deadliest day of World War I. Since then, armies of various countries have successively equipped the Maxim heavy machine gun, and the Maxim has become a famous murder weapon.
The fourth figure, who was closely related to Maxim, did not appear in this war.
His name is Benjamin Smith, a well-known craftsman and blacksmith in London. He is not only good at making copper and iron utensils, but also researches on gold and silver utensils.
Maxim was producing his greatest works in a cramped laboratory in London, but as an inventor of that era, Maxim in his early days was obviously not very talented.
He was able to imagine how his weapons should work internally, but his poor craftsmanship and rudimentary equipment made it difficult to process the most precise parts.
Maxim approached Smith and asked Smith to help solve his problem. Smith conquered the fledgling inventor with a series of genius creations and productions. In his hands, the steel was as soft and docile as plasticine, and all the parts seemed to appear out of thin air, yet each was perfect.
Maxim quickly applied for a patent for his first successful sample, but he never mentioned Smith's contribution.
Smith also died before his works came to prominence. Although his good craftsmanship and social reputation allowed him to leave a considerable legacy, allowing his wife and children to live a better life.
But Maxim became a millionaire through the patent of his joint work with Smith. He no longer thought about the skilled craftsman in London, who was dedicated to selling his weapons around the world in exchange for large sums of pounds, francs and dollars.
The fifth person, he participated in the most heroic Blockade of Shangani River and Blockade of Benbezi River, but he was the loser. He also did not leave his name. There will be no record of him in any historical materials. He is just Be summarized in numbers such as 6000 and 600.
His name is Mumguru, a very common name in the area.
He was not a Northern Ngeni from the Matabele Kingdom, but a conquered Tswana. He originally lived on the banks of the Vaal River, but when he was still a young man, he was grazed by his peers from the Matabele Kingdom. The legion captured it and then incorporated it into the legion.
Although he did not intend to join here, Mumguru, who became a warrior, liked this life very much. He ate well, had meat for every meal, and was well clothed. Each warrior is dressed in military uniform: a shawl woven with black ostrich feathers, a short skirt made of monkey skin, white oxtails tied around his elbows, knees and ankles, a quill on his neck, and a javelin with a wooden handle and a round-headed club. and cowhide shield.
This army was the most powerful army north of the Limpopo River and south of the Zambezi River. It had been effective in defending Zimbabwe from colonial invasions until the end of the 19th century, except against those of the Griqua and Kola people who used muskets. Except for the cavalry equipped with horses, they are almost always victorious. Even the Griquas and Korra were afraid of night battles and ambushes from the elusive legions of the same age.
Mumguru was shot and died during the blocking battle on the Shangani River, and did not experience the subsequent more bloody battle. He wailed on the battlefield until all his strength was exhausted, and no companions or enemies could rescue him or at least give him a break.
He could see the vultures spinning and wandering on the African savanna. Every time the regiment of the same age went on an expedition, many vultures would follow them foraging for food.
But this time, it was Mumguru himself who fell.”
The ant paused for a while: "I've finished telling the stories of the five people. Do you know what I want to express?"
