The Germans were equipped with two excellent machine guns in the MG34 and rapid-firing MG42 - known to Allied troops as 'Hitler's Buzz Saw' because of its distinctive noise, or 'Spandau'.
Unlike other armies, the Germans used the same machine gun both as a squad weapon from its bipod and as a tripod-mounted support weapon. The tripod mounted provided a much more stable firing platform and made it easier to keep up a sustained fire using a belt feed.
