France - Forgotten Weapons

Vietnamese soldier in French service working on his MAT-49 SMG.

Vietnamese Guns for Algeria

October 18, 2016 Ian McCollum 42

I was pointed to this interesting snippet of a document about one particular shipment of arms to the Algerian rebels fighting French colonial occupation in the 1950s – from Vietnam. Can’t say I would have […]

French and British troops on the Somme, 1918

Vintage Saturday: Lined up on the Somme

October 15, 2016 Ian McCollum 86

Actions of the Somme Crossings. Men of the 20th British Division and the 22nd French Division in hastily dug rifle pits covering a road, Nesle sector, 25th March 1918. the Frenchman in the foreground […]

RIA: Russian M1870 Galand Revolver (Video)

September 5, 2016 Ian McCollum 40

The Galand was an innovative revolver design created by Frenchman Charles Francois Galand and patented in 1868. It is most notable for using a long lever system to eject cartridges by throwing the cylinder and […]

RIA: Semiauto FAMAS

August 9, 2016 Ian McCollum 134

The French FAMAS was one of the first bullpup rifles to be adopted and built in large numbers by a military power. It was adopted by France in 1978 at right about the same time […]

Vintage Saturday: Life and Death in the Mud

July 16, 2016 Ian McCollum 54

The kit of a French Private Soldier in the Battle of Verdun, 1916

World War One Soldiers’ Loadouts

July 5, 2016 Ian McCollum 54

A reader sent me a link to a pretty cool image gallery showing the basic clothing and equipment of five different major combatant powers from mid-WWI. I have re-uploaded the individual photos in case the […]

Vintage Saturday: Folding Transport

July 2, 2016 Ian McCollum 35

Not just any bicycle, but a folding Gladiator bicycle! You can see the entire 13-photo set here. Thanks to Denny for pointing these pictures out!

French soldiers attacking in the Argonne in 1915

Vintage Saturday: Fixed Bayonets

June 25, 2016 Ian McCollum 61

RIA: Cripple Stock Shotgun

June 17, 2016 Ian McCollum 16

Okay, so the name may not be considered very PC today – you could also call this a cross-dominant stock. The concept was to allow a shooter to mount the gun in one shoulder but […]

RIA: Darne 1892 Rotary Shotgun

June 6, 2016 Ian McCollum 28

The most popular shotgun made by the French Darne company was their 1897 sliding breech side-by-side, which saw sales and use worldwide. Before that, however, Darne invented a rotating breechblock system – first a series […]