The idea for an intermediate cartridge came with the German military making the StG-44. During World War II, the German miltary learned that most firefights happened in fewer than 300 meters. The bolt-action rifles used by most German soldiers were not good enough for short-range because they were too slow to fire, the bullets used for them were too heavy, and the guns kicked back too hard, causing soldiers to lose their accuracy when shooting quickly. Submachine guns were not good enough for medium range because they were less accurate and powerful at longer ranges. At medium-range, German soldiers needed a different kind of gun altogether. They needed a gun that could shoot accurately up to 300 meters, powerful enough to kill a person at that range, and could carry a bullet small enough that soldiers could carry a lot of them. The gun they made to meet these needs was called the StG-44. Rifles that fired these kinds of bullets are called assault rifles, and the StG-44 was the first of these.