France - Forgotten Weapons

France’s Ultimate WW1 Selfloading Rifle: The RSC-1918

September 14, 2017 Ian McCollum 23

The French RSC-1917 semiauto rifle was a major step forward in arms technology during World War One, offering a reliable and effective self-loading rifle for issue to squad leaders, expert marksmen, and other particularly […]

Chatellerault M24/29: France’s New Wave of Post-WWI Small Arms

August 26, 2017 Ian McCollum 28

France fought the Great War with an array of weapons which were all sub-par in one way or another – the Lebel rifle was obsolescent by 1914, the Berthier was a cavalry carbine forced into […]

French Rifle Ammunition: 8mm Lebel and 7.5mm French

August 7, 2017 Ian McCollum 67

Today we are going through the French rifle ammunition used in the Lebel, Berthier, and MAS series rifles – 8mm Lebel and 7.5mm French. The 8mm Lebel cartridge began as simply a necked-down version of […]

M34: The Berthier Converted to the 7.5mm Rimless Cartridge

August 3, 2017 Ian McCollum 15

With the end of World War One, it was finally possible for the French military to replace the 8mm Lebel cartridge with a modern rimless cartridge, and they wasted no time in doing so. By […]

The Berthier After World War One

July 31, 2017 Ian McCollum 36

In the aftermath of World War One, France would face the need to replace virtually all of its small arms, because nearly everything it had been using was either a wartime stopgap (like the Ruby, […]

The Berthier Gets an Upgrade: The Model 1916

July 26, 2017 Ian McCollum 26

The “Modifié 1916” update to the Berthier system of rifles and carbines marked a major improvement in the guns combat effectiveness – really the first substantial overhaul to the design since it was developed in […]

Model 1907/15 Berthier: The WW1 Standard Infantry Rifle

July 24, 2017 Ian McCollum 28

When World War One broke out in 1914, France mobilized millions of men into military service – and it became abundantly clear that a lot of new rifles would need to be manufactured. The 1886 […]

Literature Review: English-Language Books on French Firearms

July 23, 2017 Ian McCollum 24

Since we are in the middle of a series on French rifles, I figured it would be an appropriate time to take a look at what printed reference books are out there in English on […]

Colonial Berthiers: 1902 Indochina and 1907 Senegalese

July 21, 2017 Ian McCollum 13

The sharpshooters of the French colonial forces in Indochina (the Tirailleurs Indochinois) had never been issued Lebel rifles, and were still using single shot Gras rifles at the turn of the century. The Indochinese soldiers […]

Modele 1892 Berthier Artillery Musketoon

July 19, 2017 Ian McCollum 22

The original 1890 Berthier carbine was designed for cavalry, but a slightly modified version was produced (in small numbers) with a bayonet lug, for use by the Gendarmerie. In 1892, the French military would adopt […]