An infantry rifle designed for combat, with selective fire capability. The German StG44 was the very first mass-produced assault rifle ever designed and introduced in battle.
In the strictest of definitions for a firearm to be considered an assault rifle, it must at least follow these characteristics:
It must be an individual weapon with provision to fire from the shoulder (i.e. a buttstock);
It must be capable of selective fire (semi and full auto, some models may feature burst fire mode);
It must have an intermediate-power cartridge, which has more power and velocity than a pistol round but less than a standard full-power ones (i.e. 5.56×45mm NATO);
