Vive Le Fusil Français!

Nowadays it’s customary, especially among Americans, to look down on the French for their military prowess – or apparent lack thereof.  In addition to getting kicked out of Haiti in the early 1800s by local rebels, then out of Vietnam in 1954 by the Viet Minh, we came to their rescue in WWI and WWII.  But it’s easy to forget a few things – quite important things.

Napoleon.  First off, from his takeover in the late 1700s to his final defeat at Waterloo in 1815, Napoleon led France to dominate Europe.  The French Empire was indeed an empire.  He kept the English at bay and forced the Prussians, Austrians, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italians under his will.  He couldn’t defeat Russia or England, but it took a decisive alliance to bring him down once and for all – and Waterloo could have gone either way.  Granted, no one still alive can remember this, but it still matters. 

But there’s other issues to consider.  When it came to making weapons, the French were much less incompetent than their battlefield exploits might sometimes imply.  In fact, they were ahead of the game several times. 

Chassepot.  The French rifle of the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) was definitely superior to the Prussian Dreyse rifle – more than twice the effective range.  So much so, that the newly unified Germans recognized this and immediately concocted a new rifle – only to have the French beat them…again.

1886 Lebel.   Prior to the Lebel everyone used black powder.  It was inefficient and smokey.  The French developed something MUCH better: smokeless powder, and a rifle, the Lebel, to fire it.  This immediately made all black powder rifles obsolete and forced the Germans to change – again.  So in the late 1800s, the French were state of the art in infantry weapons. 

            Oddly, the Lebel had a tube magazine, in which rounds are inserted end-to-end rather than side by side, a setup usually associated with lever action rifles (Winchester cowboy rifles) and shotguns.  It wasn’t much of an issue when the rounds were round-nosed (Balle M), but when they switched over to spitzer (sharp point) (Balle D) in 1898 they had to work around it by circular grooves and convex primer covers – which actually worked quite well.  Most other rifles have an internal box magazine. 

            Here again, the French were the innovators.  Germany changed its 8mm Mauser round to a spitzer design, the S-Patrone, in 1904, the US upgraded its .30 caliber round in 1906 (thus the .30-06), Russia changed its 7.62x54 round in 1908, and finally England in 1910 with the .303 round. 

Fusil Automatic RSC M1917/18.   During WWI the French replaced the Lebel with the Berthier, but came up with something even better:  a semi-automatic rifle.  20 years before the M1 Garand, and longer still before the Russians developed the SVT40 and the Germans their Gewehr 41 and 43, the French had a semiauto infantry rifle.  The M1917 wasn’t very popular, though, and its replacement, the M1918, while resolving the issues which made the M1917 unpopular, didn’t come out in time for the war. 

75mm.  Officially the M1897, colloquially the “soixante-quinze” (75) this gun had a revolutionary hydro-pneumatic recoil system which allowed it to remain on target after being shot, without having to be re-aimed.  This raised its effective rate to 15 rounds per minute – 30 under stress.  The gun featured heavily at The Marne (1914) and Verdun (1916).  The “75” was also the main armament on France’s less successful WWI tank, the St-Chamond.  Its rounds were highly effective against German infantry but less so against fixed fortifications.  The French did not adapt the recoil mechanism to their heavier caliber guns.  By WWII it was obsolete, but it was the top light infantry gun of WWI. 

MAS-36.  One of the ugliest bolt-actions ever made, but remarkably reliable.  MAS stands for Manufacture des Armes St-Etienne, the caliber is 7.5x54mm, a rimless cartridge.  It came out shortly before WWII but only 250,000 made at that time.  For the First Indochina War (1946-54) (ending in Dien Bien Phu), Algerian War and Suez Crisis it came around in greater numbers, produced until 1956 alongside the semi-auto MAS 49.  Very reliable and very popular with the troops.  I'm not keen on its forward leaning bolt or its switch-around-backward spike bayonet, but that's my deal.  

Chatellerault M24/29 LMG.  Designed immediately after WWI to replace the Chauchat, which they knew was not a good design.  This was the first weapon chambered in 7.5x54mm, likewise designed after WWI to replace the 8mm Lebel cartridge.  They shortened it from 7.5x58mm to avoid confusion with 8mm Mauser (7.92x57).  It's comparable to 7.62mm NATO (.308), which came out 30 years later.  This machine gun was so well designed it continued in service until 2004, and the Germans used it as well (captured weapons).

By the way:  unlike the FN armory in Belgium, Saint-Etienne was in the unoccupied Vichy section of France and was never taken over by the Germans during the occupation.  

Mauser Rifles

From the late nineteenth century, all the way up to World War II, the most commonly used military rifles in the world were designed and built by Mauser.

One of the three bolt-action rifles I own is a German World War II issue Mauser 98K.

[Update 1/27/24:]  A few months ago I saw pictures of Vladimir Putin visiting Germany, and the Bundeswehr honor guard were presenting Mauser 98K rifles.  Well, an honor guard isn't a combat unit (at least not in that context) so the rifles are purely ceremonial.  Are they issued live ammunition?  Somehow I doubt it.  In any case it was amusing to see a familiar WWII rifle in a contemporary context.  

In the beginning.   Shortly after the Franco-Prussian War (1871) the Mauser Brothers developed a new rifle.  It seems the Prussian’s Dreyse “needle gun” was much inferior to the French Chassepot design.   Rifles by this point were finally breech-loaded, but it was Mauser which developed a gun firing a fully-enclosed metallic cartridge (the Dreyse and Chassepot used a packet of powder which disintegrated when the round was fired) – although still in black powder.

Early designs (pre-WWI):

1871.  The first design.  11mm black powder metallic cartridge, single shot.  Not a winner.

1871/84.  Second design, but with an 8 round tubular magazine (like lever action rifles have, and the Lebel has – see below). 

1886 Lebel.  Not a Mauser, but still important: The French – damn them! – yet again topped the Germans by making the first rifle which fired a metallic cartridge with smokeless powder.  Smokeless powder, as opposed to black powder, made no smoke, was three times as powerful, and overall much better.  It definitely made black powder weapons obsolete and pushed everyone to upgrade immediately.  The initial Lebel round was 8x51mm round nose, “Balle M”. 

1888 Commission.  The first rifle in 7.92x57mm (aka 8mm Mauser) - with smokeless powder.  This had an internal box magazine instead of a tubular magazine.  This was actually NOT a Mauser rifle, but is of historical significance because it established the caliber.  The Germans mass-produced this design in a panic before the kinks were worked out.    

Belgian Mausers.  These were Mauser’s first response to the Lebel.  Fabrique National (FN), the famous Belgian arms maker, produced the 1889 model Mauser, in 7.65mm and it came into service in 1892.  This was the first design to use a charger (clip which holds 5 rounds together).

Spanish Mausers.  The next design, in 7mm (7x57) Mauser, M1893.  The 5 round box magazine was double-stacked, so the bottom was flush with the bottom of the rifle. 

Turkish Mausers.  The Turks initially ordered 71/84s chambered in their own black powder caliber, then switched over to M1889s in their own smokeless powder caliber, 7.65x53mm (actually the same as the Argentinians used), and by WWI had switched over to 8mm Mauser.    

 

Spanish-American War (1898).  I mentioned this earlier; the US forces were using the Krag-Jorgenson bolt action rifle and were unhappy with its performance relative to the Mausers the Spanish were using.  The 7mm Mauser round had a higher muzzle velocity and flatter trajectory than the .30-40 caliber of the Krag, moreover, the Mauser could be loaded by stripper clips while the Krag had to be loaded round-by-round.  At San Juan Hill, the normally outmatched Spanish (who surrendered without a fight on Puerto Rico) gave the US a bloody nose they would not forget – thanks to the damn Mausers.

            Note that these 1893 model Spanish Mausers also saw service during their civil war from 1936-39, in addition to Kar98Ks supplied by the Germans contemporaneously.  The MG34 made its combat debut in Spain.   

Boer War (1899-1902).  The Boers got their hands on Mauser rifles, similar to the Spanish 1893 models.  They also captured Lee-Enfields from the British. 

China.  The German troops fighting against the Boxer Rebellion in 1900 brought along the Gewehr 98.  During the Warlord Period (1911-1927) many of the Chinese warlords imported Mausers or made them under license in China.  They were so numerous in China that “Mauser” became the word for rifle.  As noted below, Mao equipped many of the “volunteers” in Korea (1950-53), who themselves were leftover Nationalist armies, with leftover Mauser rifles.

**         The Poles, Czechs, Bolivians, Paraguayans, Argentines, and Persians also have a well-known association with Mausers.

WWI:

Gewehr 98.   First used by German troops in the Boxer Rebellion in 1900.  Bolt action with straight bolt handle, breach loading, smokeless powder, 5 round internal box magazine, with a bayonet lug, in 8mm Mauser: It was upgraded to the spitzer design bullet in 1905.  This was the Imperial German Army’s standard weapon in World War I, and as such was Mauser’s first mass-produced and successful design.  Since it was so long, they also developed a carbine version of it, which became popular not merely with the cavalry, but also the storm troops.

1903 Springfield.  While not made by Mauser, it was copied from them.  After the Spanish-American War, the US wanted a decent bolt-action like the Spanish Mauser, and decided to copy the design.  Mauser sued them, so they had to pay the Germans a royalty.  But the Springfield wound up as an excellent weapon and well-liked by the troops.  They repaid the Germans the favor when they went “over there” and shot these rifles at the Huns in 1918. 

Later Designs (WWII)

Kar98K.  In the mid-1930s, as Germany re-armed, the weapons whizzes decided to split the difference between the Gewehr 98 and the carbine and make one model in between the two in length.  This became the standard infantry rifle of the Wehrmacht (and Waffen SS) and remained in production throughout WWII.  Not only Mauser but other manufacturers combined to produce around 14 million of them by 1945.  In addition to the shorter length, the other major change from the earlier Gewehr 98 is that the Kar98K’s bolt handle is turned down.  This is the model I have, built in 1942 by Steyr, possibly using camp workers from Mauthausen.  Oops.

The following three designs were not Mauser, but worth discussing as they’re related to this topic.

Gewehr 43.  This was designed by Walther, not Mauser, but is significant nonetheless.  Remarkably, after all this time (1943), the Germans finally got around to developing a semi-auto rifle – long after the US perfected the M1 Garand and the Soviets had (not quite) perfected the Tokarev SVT-40.  It didn’t work as well as expected, and they didn’t produce nearly enough (400,000) to replace the Kar98K or make a difference on the battlefield.  After the war the Czechs used it as a sniper rifle.  Nowadays they’re hard to find, and expensive when you do:  I saw one at a gun show in Chantilly, and the asking price was $2400.  This model has a 10 round detachable box magazine. 

FG42.   The Fallschirmjager Gewehr (Paratrooper Rifle) was actually a full-auto design in 8mm Mauser, which fired from a 20 round box magazine.  As such it could be considered Germany’s equivalent of the BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle).  However, its light weight meant the recoil was a bitch and it was hard to control.  It was not popular and not many were made.

StG44.  Formerly known as the MP43 (to fool Hitler), and designed by Haenel.  This model fired a shorter version of the 8mm round (7.92x33).   Since it’s a select-fire weapon (semi- or full auto) shooting a shortened rifle round, it’s considered the first assault rifle.  Like the Gewehr 43 it was produced in modest numbers (about 426,000) but unlike that weapon it was highly effective and popular with the troops who received them.  It served to inspire Kalashnikov with his design. 

           

Post-war.   Although Germany lost World War II, VE Day in May 1945 did not stop the Mauser.  All those 14 million Kar98Ks, plus all the variants produced by other countries, remained in circulation.  They were damn good rifles, and the ammo was still available.

Yugoslavia.   Not only did the Yugoslavs inherit tons of Mausers, they even went into business making their own copy, the M48.  Apparently these were still in use as late as the 90’s Balkans wars.  Many of the Kar98Ks sold at gun shows, or by Mitchell’s Mausers, are actually Yugoslav M48s – so check the codes. 

Israel.   How ironic:  the Jewish state used former Nazi weapons to defend itself against the Arab onslaught in 1948.  The Kar98K was the initial standard weapon of the Israeli Army (before they developed the Uzi).

Korea & Vietnam.  The Chinese and Russians had plenty of Mausers left over from WWII, so they shared them with the North Koreans and North Vietnamese.  Back in Paris, one of our friends’ father had served in the US military in Vietnam.  Our friend showed us the Mauser Kar98K his father brought back from that war. 

8mm Mauser.  7.92x57mm, also known in the US as 8mm Mauser, though Mauser itself did not design that particular caliber; it was developed by a commission in 1888 and originally had a round nose, the Patrone 88.  In 1898 the French upgraded their Balle M into a spitzer design, the Balle D, and guess what: by 1905 the Germans also changed to a sharp-pointed “spitzer” design (S-Patrone) and kept with that since.  The US liked that design so much it changed its own .30 caliber round into a spitzer design in 1906, thus “.30-06”.   Chassepot?  Lebel?  Balle D?  Who knew the French could be cutting edge in weaponry?  Bravo for the Chauchat, which changed all that. 

            Although this was for the most common, other calibers were 11mm, 7.62mm, plus some later conversions to .30-06 and .308/7.62mm.  Since the Polish produced their own Mausers, in 8mm Mauser, they actually converted a substantial number of Mosin-Nagants to that caliber as well. 

            In any case, 8mm Mauser is comparable in ballistics to other .30 rounds such as .303 (British), .30-06 (American), 7.62x54R (Russian), and 7.62/.308 (NATO).  It was the caliber used in Germany’s machine guns, the Spandau, the MG08, the MG34 and MG42.  Fortunately it’s still commonly available (I scored some surplus Romanian ammo) but not as cheap as more popular calibers such as .223/5.56mm or 7.62x39 (AK47). 

8mm Kurz.  Although there is only one weapon which fires this round, and I’m not aware of any military which used the StG44 after WWII, apparently Partisan still sells this caliber. 

Accessories.  The Germans made bayonets and rifle grenade launchers for these rifles as well, plus sniper versions.  The WWI sawback bayonet was intended for engineers for cutting, but the Allies didn’t know that: soldiers refused to carry it, fearing nasty treatment if captured with it.  I purchased a standard Kar98K bayonet in Paris in the 80s, long before purchasing my Kar98K in the 90s: but it fit perfectly. 

An excellent source book, to which I referred substantially for this blog entry, is Mauser Military Rifles, by Neil Grant.