Flame — HabitableZone

Flame » in reply to "terror is as terror does"

Shotguns were widely used by American troops in Vietnam...
Larry J — (archived)

and I was trained in their use during Infantry training. Shotguns aren't expressly prohibited by the rules of war, or at least they weren't then.
Shotguns were often carried by point men and were very effective at the close ranges of jungle warfare. They even developed a shotgun round for the 40mm grenade launcher, the M-576 buckshot round. They were wickedly effective if your squad was ambushed at close range. The point man would often be allowed to pass the ambush's primary kill zone to get as many of the squad into the line of fire. In that case, the point man would try to circle around and hit the ambushers from the side or rear with his shotgun.

Most military weapons are gruesome. There are some pretty sick-minded individuals out there who design things like landmines, flame throwers, cluster bombs, and yes, napalm bombs. The purpose of these weapons (and the military, for that matter) is to kill the enemy and break his stuff. While the technology has changed, the overall beastliness of war has not changed very much in thousands of years.

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