Chauchat
Encyclopedia
The Chauchat was the standard light machine gun
of the French Army
during World War I
. Under the leadership of General Joseph Joffre
, it was commissioned into the French Army in 1916. It was also widely used by the US Army in 1917-1918 and by six other nations: Belgium, Greece, Poland, Russia, Serbia and Germany (who used captured examples) during and after World War I. Its formal designation in the French Army
was Fusil mitrailleur Mle 1915 CSRG (Chauchat Sutter Ribeyrolles Gladiator). It was also more simply known as the FM Chauchat, CSRG and Gladiator.
Relatively small and lightweight, the Chauchat significantly increased the firepower of the infantry offensive. Over 262,000 were produced, making it the most widely-manufactured automatic weapon of World War I (1914–18). A variant chambered to the US .30-06 cartridge is known as the CSRG M1918. It was specifically designed for the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), as a different weapon. However, the French 8mm Lebel caliber Chauchat was the model which was extensively used by the AEF. It was described in official AEF instruction manuals as the "Automatic Rifle Model 1915 (Chauchat)".
The Chauchat was one of the first light machine guns designed to be a mobile machine gun, carried and fired by a single operator and an assistant, without a heavy tripod or a team of gunners. It set a precedent for several subsequent 20th century firearm projects, being a portable automatic weapon built inexpensively and in very large numbers. The Chauchat combined a pistol grip
, an in-line stock, a large-capacity detachable magazine, and selective-fire capability in a compact package of manageable weight (20 pounds) for a single soldier. It could be fired from the hip and also while on the move.
In the muddy trenches of northern France, several operational problems came to light, caused by the economical construction which had been simplified to allow emergency mass production. These problems allowed for the ingress of dirt and were the cause of 2/3 of all stoppages. After the World War I, the French replaced the Chauchat as the standard light machine gun with the Mle 1924 and later with the Mle 1924/29 light machine gun. The AEF in France eventually replaced it with the Browning Automatic Rifle
, which appeared on the front lines of northern France in September 1918, barely two months before the Armistice of November 11.
Over time the Chauchat's poor reputation in the trenches because of the mud, dirt, and humidity to which the weapon was unadapted have led some modern experts to describe it as the "worst machine gun" ever fielded in the history of warfare . Furthermore, the gun's overall reputation was also damaged by the less than acceptable performance of the Mle1918 Chauchat, in US 30-06 caliber, a different model which had been specifically designed and manufactured for the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in France during World War I.
semi-automatic rifle of 1906, not (as so often repeated in the past) on the later designs (1910) of Rudolf Frommer
, the Hungarian inventor of the commercial Frommer Stop
pistol ( see:Demaison and Buffetaut,1995). The Chauchat machine-rifle project was initiated between 1903 and 1910 in a French Army weapon research facility located near Paris : the "Atelier de Construction de Puteaux
" (APX). This development was aiming at creating a very light, portable automatic weapon served by one man only, yet functioning with the 8mm Lebel service ammunition. The project was led from the beginning by Colonel Louis Chauchat, a graduate from Ecole Polytechnique
, assisted by the weapon designer Charles Sutter. Not less than eight trial prototypes were tested at the "Atelier de Construction de Puteaux" (APX), between 1903 and 1909. As a result, a small series ( 100 guns ) of 8mm Lebel "CS" (Chauchat-Sutter) machine rifles was ordered in 1912 and then manufactured between 1913 and 1914, at Saint Etienne (MAS) for the purpose of arming the observation crews of French military aircrafts. None of these "CS" machine rifles have survived, either in public museums or in private collections. Only a fairly complete photographic record of their past existence remains.
In 1914, when World War I broke out, French troops did not operate any light machine-gun. It was clear that this type of weapon had become indispensable in modern warfare, because of the increase in firepower it could provide to an infantry section. Spurred by General Joffre, it was decided to adopt the Chauchat, above all else because the pre-war "CS" (Chauchat-Sutter) machine rifle was already in existence, thoroughly tested and specifically designed to fire the 8mm Lebel service ammunition. Furthermore, due to its projected low manufacturing costs and relative simplicity, the newly adopted (1915) "CSRG" machine rifle could be mass produced by a converted peacetime industrial plant. The term "CSRG" is made up of the initials of : Chauchat, Sutter, Ribeyrolles and Gladiator, four terms which are self-explanatory. Paul Ribeyrolles was the general manager of "Gladiator" , a peacetime manufacturer of motor cars, motorcycles and bicycles located in Pre-Saint-Gervais (a northern suburb of Paris). The fairly large "Gladiator" factory was thus converted into an arms manufacture in 1915 and became the principal industrial producer of Chauchat machine rifles during WW-1. Later on, in 1918, a company named SIDARME located away from Paris ,also participated in the mass manufacture of CSRG's.
The Chauchat light machine gun, or machine rifle, functioned on the long barrel recoil principle
with a gas assist. The chronology of the patents makes it clear that Louis Chauchat had simply borrowed the mechanical principles of an already existing long barrel recoil, semi-automatic rifle filed by John Browning
in his milestone of October 16, 1900. This precursor was the Remington Model 8
semi-automatic rifle which was successfully marketed (80,000) between 1906 and 1936.
Browning's long barrel recoil principle was also applied in 1907 to autoloading shotguns: the classic "Browning Auto-5
" and the "Remington Model 11". Following behind these commercial developments, Lt. Colonel
Louis Chauchat and armorer Charles Sutter, at Atelier de Construction de Puteaux (APX) arsenal since 1903, proposed a portable light machine gun based on the working principles applied in Browning's Remington Model 8 rifle. In 1908 it was dubbed Fusil-Mitrailleur C.S. ("C.S. Machine Rifle") and it used the 8 mm Lebel service cartridge. An improved version of the "CS" was also tested in 1913 with promising results. After the war had started in August 1914, the realization sunk in that automatic weapons had become essential for success on the battlefields. General Joffre, the Commander in Chief, pressed to adopt a portable automatic weapon for the infantry. The only thoroughly tested light machine gun which also fired the 8 mm Lebel
cartridge was the "CS" machine rifle. It was quickly modified into the Fusil Mitrailleur Mle 1915 CSRG and adopted in July 1915. The "R" in CSRG stands for Ribeyrolles, manager of the Gladiator ("G") cycle factory, in the Paris suburb of Pre-Saint-Gervais. Manufacturing of the CSRG begun there in early 1916 and ended in December 1918. Another facility away from Paris (SIDARME) also manufactured CSRG's beginning in 1917. The Chauchat machine rifle (CSRG) delivered to the French Army
fired the 8 mm Lebel cartridge at the slow rate of 250 rpm. At 9 kilograms (19.8 pounds), the gun was much lighter than the contemporary portable light machine guns of the period, such as the Hotchkiss M1909 Benet-Mercie machine gun
(12 kg/26 lb) and the Lewis Gun
(13 kg/29 pounds). It was a select fire weapon, either automatic or semi-automatic mode. The gun's ergonomics, rather than its recoil, were difficult to cope with but could be tamed by well-trained gunners.
The Chauchat's construction was composite thus not fully consistent in terms of parts quality. The recoiling barrel sleeve as well as all the bolt moving parts were precision milled from solid steel and always fully interchangeable. The barrels were standard Lebel barrels that had been shortened from the muzzle end. The barrel radiators were made of ribbed cast aluminum. On the other hand, the outer breech housing was a simple tube, betraying Gladiator's pre-war activities in motorcycle manufacturing. The rest of the gun was built of stamped metal plates of mediocre quality. Side plate assemblies were held by screws that could become loose after prolonged firing. The sights were often misaligned on the Gladiator-made guns, creating aiming problems that had to be corrected by the gunners. The exact number on record of Chauchat machine gun manufactured between 1916 and the end of 1918 is 262,300. The Gladiator factory manufactured 225,700 CSRGs in 8 mm Lebel plus 18,000 in the US caliber .30-06 between April 1916 and November 1918. SIDARME manufactured 18,600 CSRGs, exclusively in 8 mm Lebel, between October 1917 and November 1918. The SIDARME manufactured Chauchats were generally better finished and better functioning than those made by Gladiator. The French Army had a stock of 63,000 CSRG's just before the Armistice.
The French military at the time considered the Chauchat's performance as inferior in comparison to the reliable heavy Hotchkiss M1914 machine gun
. However, whereas the Hotchkiss was a weighty, tripod-mounted weapon, the Chauchat was a light gun that could be mass-produced quickly, cheaply and in very large numbers. It was also never intended to take the role of static defense of the heavy machine gun but to be a portable weapon that would increase the firepower of infantry squads moving forward during the assault. A significant plus is that it could easily be fired while walking, by hanging the Chauchat's sling over a shoulder hook located onto the gunner's upper left side of his Y strap. The other light squad automatic weapons available at the time included the Hotchkiss M1909 Benet-Mercie machine gun
, the Madsen machine gun
or the Lewis Gun
, but of these only the Hotchkiss M1909 could be successfully converted to accept 8 mm Lebel ammunition.
The Mle 1915 Chauchat's performance on the battlefields drew mixed reviews from the users when the war was stagnating in the mud of the trenches in 1916. This brought about a survey, regiment
by regiment, requested by General Pétain
in late 1916 - the survey's essential conclusion was that the open sided magazines were defective and caused about two thirds of all stoppages. Loose earth, grit and other particles easily entered the gun through these open-sided magazines, an ever present risk in the muddy environment of the trenches. Its long recoil action is often cited as a source of problems for the shooter. However recent firing tests have demonstrated that it is the Chauchat's ergonomics and its loose bipod, rather than its recoil, that makes it a difficult gun to keep on target beyond very short bursts. On some of the Gladiator-made guns, the sights also made the Chauchat shoot systematically too low and to the right. Overheating after long continuous firings (about 400 rounds) dilated the recoiling barrel sleeve to the point where it refused to return forward until the gun had cooled off, thus creating a stoppage that could last 10 minutes. Hence, the manuals recommended firing only in short bursts or semi-auto and insisted that only good magazines should be used.
Several prototypes of dirt-proof, fully enclosed Chauchat magazines were successfully tested in May and June 1918, but came too late. Stronger but still open-sided standard magazines as well as tailored canvas gun covers protecting the gun against mud during transport had previously been issued to all Chauchat gunners in 1917. The initial two-man Chauchat team was also found insufficient and eventually grew to a four-man squad by October 1917 (the squad leader, the gunner, the assistant gunner who handled the magazines plus one additional magazine carrier).
Later on, during the German spring offensive of 1918, the war had moved out of the mud of the trenches and into open fields, thus making the guns more reliable and easier to maintain. Furthermore, French infantry regiments had been reorganized into multiple small (18 men) combat groups ("Demi-Sections de Combat"). Those were made up of a full Chauchat squad plus four VB (Viven-Bessiere) rifle grenade
specialists and eight conventional grenadiers/riflemen. At this point in time, in 1918, the preserved French regimental records and statistics of medals given to Chauchat gunners document that they had contributed in no small part to the success of the new infantry tactics. Those were focused on the suppression of enemy machine gun nests by the combined action of portable (Chauchat) automatic fire plus the VB rifle grenades, always used within a range of less than 200 yards.
s of World War I, which used pistol rather than rifle ammunition and were thus less powerful. The Italian Villar-Perosa
and Beretta Model 1918
, the first two submachine guns to appear in World War I, fired the 9 mm Glisenti (a less powerful version of the 9mm Parabellum). The MP18
Bergmann, a German Army
submachine gun fielded during the spring of 1918, fired the 9 mm Luger cartridge. Compared to the Chauchat, these early submachine guns were used in relatively small numbers (thousands rather than hundreds of thousands), and had much shorter effective ranges.
Unlike much heavier air-cooled and water-cooled machine guns (such as the Hotchkiss machine gun
and the various belt-fed Maxim gun
derivatives), and in common with the Lewis Gun
, the Chauchat was not designed for sustained defensive fire. The tactical edge expected from the Chauchat was to increase the infantry's offensive firepower during the assault.
(AEF) arrived in France without automatic weapons or field artillery
. It turned to the French ally rather than to the British to purchase ordnance. General Pershing chose the Hotchkiss M1914 medium machine gun and the Chauchat light machine gun (dubbed "automatic rifle" by the AEF and nicknamed the "Sho-Sho" by the troops) to equip the U.S. infantry and if handled properly served the soldiers well. Between August 1917 and the November 11, 1918 Armistice
, the Gladiator factory delivered to the AEF 16,000 Chauchat "automatic rifles" in 8 mm Lebel and, late in 1918, 18,000 Chauchats in .30-06.
While the performance of the M1915 Chauchat in 8MM Lebel was considered acceptable at the time, the performance of the M1918 Chauchat in .30-06 was soon recognized as abysmal (and in large part the reason for the gun's bad reputation) : the common problem was a failure to extract after the gun had fired only a few rounds and became slightly hot. A modern-day firing test of the Mle 1918 30-06 Chauchat was performed at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in July 1973 but no particular problem was described in the official report. Conversely, an exhaustive firing test of the Model 1918 Chauchat in 30-06 was also carried out in 1994 near Chambersburg ,PA, by R.Keller and W.Garofalo. Their testing, which is reported in "The Chauchat Machine Rifle" volume, did expose very severe extraction problems caused by incorrect chamber measurements and other sub-standard manufacturing . During World War I, in 1918, the preserved U.S. archival records also document that the American inspectors at the Gladiator factory had rejected about 40% of the 30-06 Chauchat production while the remaining 60% proved problematic whenever they reached the front lines. Supplies of the newly manufactured and superior Browning Automatic Rifle
(BAR) were allocated sparingly and only very late, during the Meuse-Argonne offensive
which begun in late September 1918. Therefore about 75% of the U.S. Divisions were still equipped with the Chauchat - in its original French M1915 version in 8mm Lebel- at the Armistice of November 11, 1918. It is also well documented that General Pershing had been holding back on the BAR until victory was certain, for fear it would be copied by Germany (Ayres, 1919). (Other accounts, however, state that the reason that the BAR didn't see much combat was because the first units equipped with them simply didn't arrive until September.) However, it is also known that the very first BAR's delivered had improperly tempered recoil springs and had these guns been prematurely introduced during the summer of 1918, they might have also been viewed as problematic.
As to the U.S. Marines
, they had initially received .30-06 chambered Lewis Gun
s, but had to exchange them for Chauchats after their arrival in France (This was the result of an old feud between Mr. Lewis
and the superior officer in charge of the U.S. Ordnance Department
).
As a matter of interest and as documented by World War I veteran Laurence Stallings (in "The Doughboys", 1963) and by U.S. Divisional Histories, Medal of Honor
was awarded to three American Chauchat gunners in 1918: 1) Private Nels Wold
(35th Division, 138th Infantry). 2) Private Frank Bart (2nd Division, 9th Infantry) and 3) Private Thomas C. Neibaur
(42nd Division, 107th Infantry).
: 11,869 (1917–1918): 16,000 in 8mm Lebel plus 18,000 in U.S. 30-06, the latter model being unsatisfactory.
A number of captured Chauchats were used by German frontline infantrymen in flamethrower units because they had no light machine guns of their own until the portable Maxim MG 08-15 light machine guns were issued to them during early 1917. http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resources/csi/House/House.asp Most of the Belgian Chauchats were converted to fire their 7.65 mm Mauser ammunition. Poland received French military assistance after World War I and received over 2,000 Chauchats as part of a weapon transfer and used them during the Polish-Soviet war
. After the war Poland bought more of them and their number reached 11,869, becoming a standard Polish light machine gun in the 1920s. According to some publications, a small number were modified in the 1920s to use German 7.92mm Mauser ammunition, but there is no clear confirmation. In 1936-1937, 8,650 were sold abroad, probably to Republican Spain. During the Winter War
between Soviet Union and Finland, over 5,000 Chauchats were donated to Finland which lacked automatic weapons. Some remnants of the Chauchat design are reported to have appeared in the 1960s during the Vietnam War
.
. The new light portable machine gun was developed at the "Manufacture d'Armes de Châtellerault" during the early 1920s, culminating in the adoption of the F.M.Mle 1924. The new light machine gun (in French :fusil-mitrailleur) had been designed by Lt. Colonel Reibel and Controller Chosse and was gas operated, like the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) which had inspired the new gun's internal features. The venerable 8 mm Lebel round, which was one of the major handicaps of the Chauchat, had been discarded for a 7.5 mm rimless cartridge resembling a necked down 7.92 mm German Mauser round. The F.M. Mle 1924 featured a bipod, an in-line stock, a pistol grip, a top-mounted 25 round magazine and a bolt hold-open after the magazine's last round had been fired. Protection of all the openings against mud and dust was excellent. The cyclic rate was 450 rounds per minute. It was modified in 1929 to accept a slightly shorter 7.5 mm cartridge that could not be mistaken for a German Mauser round or a Swiss 7.5 mm round. The new weapon and modern rimless ammunition had finally corrected all the problems associated with the Chauchat. The reliable and well-liked FM (Fusil-Mitrailleur) Mle 1924 was manufactured in large numbers (187,000) and widely used by the French Army until the late 1950s. The Gendarmerie Nationale used it until the late 90s when it was phased out after all 7.5mm ammunition stocks were depleted.
Light machine gun
A light machine gun is a machine gun designed to be employed by an individual soldier, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. Light machine guns are often used as squad automatic weapons.-Characteristics:...
of the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Under the leadership of General Joseph Joffre
Joseph Joffre
Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre OM was a French general during World War I. He is most known for regrouping the retreating allied armies to defeat the Germans at the strategically decisive First Battle of the Marne in 1914. His popularity led to his nickname Papa Joffre.-Biography:Joffre was born in...
, it was commissioned into the French Army in 1916. It was also widely used by the US Army in 1917-1918 and by six other nations: Belgium, Greece, Poland, Russia, Serbia and Germany (who used captured examples) during and after World War I. Its formal designation in the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
was Fusil mitrailleur Mle 1915 CSRG (Chauchat Sutter Ribeyrolles Gladiator). It was also more simply known as the FM Chauchat, CSRG and Gladiator.
Relatively small and lightweight, the Chauchat significantly increased the firepower of the infantry offensive. Over 262,000 were produced, making it the most widely-manufactured automatic weapon of World War I (1914–18). A variant chambered to the US .30-06 cartridge is known as the CSRG M1918. It was specifically designed for the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), as a different weapon. However, the French 8mm Lebel caliber Chauchat was the model which was extensively used by the AEF. It was described in official AEF instruction manuals as the "Automatic Rifle Model 1915 (Chauchat)".
The Chauchat was one of the first light machine guns designed to be a mobile machine gun, carried and fired by a single operator and an assistant, without a heavy tripod or a team of gunners. It set a precedent for several subsequent 20th century firearm projects, being a portable automatic weapon built inexpensively and in very large numbers. The Chauchat combined a pistol grip
Pistol grip
On a firearm or other tool, the pistol grip is that portion of the mechanism that is held by the hand and orients the hand in a forward, vertical orientation, similar to the position one would take with a conventional pistol such as the M1911....
, an in-line stock, a large-capacity detachable magazine, and selective-fire capability in a compact package of manageable weight (20 pounds) for a single soldier. It could be fired from the hip and also while on the move.
In the muddy trenches of northern France, several operational problems came to light, caused by the economical construction which had been simplified to allow emergency mass production. These problems allowed for the ingress of dirt and were the cause of 2/3 of all stoppages. After the World War I, the French replaced the Chauchat as the standard light machine gun with the Mle 1924 and later with the Mle 1924/29 light machine gun. The AEF in France eventually replaced it with the Browning Automatic Rifle
Browning Automatic Rifle
The Browning Automatic Rifle was a family of United States automatic rifles and light machine guns used by the United States and numerous other countries during the 20th century. The primary variant of the BAR series was the M1918, chambered for the .30-06 Springfield rifle cartridge and designed...
, which appeared on the front lines of northern France in September 1918, barely two months before the Armistice of November 11.
Over time the Chauchat's poor reputation in the trenches because of the mud, dirt, and humidity to which the weapon was unadapted have led some modern experts to describe it as the "worst machine gun" ever fielded in the history of warfare . Furthermore, the gun's overall reputation was also damaged by the less than acceptable performance of the Mle1918 Chauchat, in US 30-06 caliber, a different model which had been specifically designed and manufactured for the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in France during World War I.
History
The design of the Chauchat dates back to 1903 and its long recoil operation is based on the designs of the Remington Model 8Remington Model 8
The Remington Model 8 is a centerfire, recoil-operated, semi-automatic rifle designed by John Browning and produced by Remington Arms beginning in 1906.John Browning was granted on October 16, 1900 for the rifle, which he then sold to Remington...
semi-automatic rifle of 1906, not (as so often repeated in the past) on the later designs (1910) of Rudolf Frommer
Rudolf Frommer
Rudolf Frommer was a Hungarian weapon designer. He was raised to the Hungarian nobility with the pre-name 'fegyverneki' by Franz Joseph I for his achievements in weapons design. He had over 100 patents, among them was the Frommer Stop and the 37M....
, the Hungarian inventor of the commercial Frommer Stop
Frommer Stop
The Frommer Stop is a Hungarian long-recoil pistol manufactured by Fémáru-, Fegyver és Gépgyár [Metalware, Weapons and Machine Factory] in Budapest. It was designed by Rudolf Frommer, and its original design was adopted as the Pisztoly 12M in 1912, created for the Honvédség. The handgun was...
pistol ( see:Demaison and Buffetaut,1995). The Chauchat machine-rifle project was initiated between 1903 and 1910 in a French Army weapon research facility located near Paris : the "Atelier de Construction de Puteaux
Puteaux
Puteaux is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the heart of the Hauts-de-Seine department from the center of Paris....
" (APX). This development was aiming at creating a very light, portable automatic weapon served by one man only, yet functioning with the 8mm Lebel service ammunition. The project was led from the beginning by Colonel Louis Chauchat, a graduate from Ecole Polytechnique
École Polytechnique
The École Polytechnique is a state-run institution of higher education and research in Palaiseau, Essonne, France, near Paris. Polytechnique is renowned for its four year undergraduate/graduate Master's program...
, assisted by the weapon designer Charles Sutter. Not less than eight trial prototypes were tested at the "Atelier de Construction de Puteaux" (APX), between 1903 and 1909. As a result, a small series ( 100 guns ) of 8mm Lebel "CS" (Chauchat-Sutter) machine rifles was ordered in 1912 and then manufactured between 1913 and 1914, at Saint Etienne (MAS) for the purpose of arming the observation crews of French military aircrafts. None of these "CS" machine rifles have survived, either in public museums or in private collections. Only a fairly complete photographic record of their past existence remains.
In 1914, when World War I broke out, French troops did not operate any light machine-gun. It was clear that this type of weapon had become indispensable in modern warfare, because of the increase in firepower it could provide to an infantry section. Spurred by General Joffre, it was decided to adopt the Chauchat, above all else because the pre-war "CS" (Chauchat-Sutter) machine rifle was already in existence, thoroughly tested and specifically designed to fire the 8mm Lebel service ammunition. Furthermore, due to its projected low manufacturing costs and relative simplicity, the newly adopted (1915) "CSRG" machine rifle could be mass produced by a converted peacetime industrial plant. The term "CSRG" is made up of the initials of : Chauchat, Sutter, Ribeyrolles and Gladiator, four terms which are self-explanatory. Paul Ribeyrolles was the general manager of "Gladiator" , a peacetime manufacturer of motor cars, motorcycles and bicycles located in Pre-Saint-Gervais (a northern suburb of Paris). The fairly large "Gladiator" factory was thus converted into an arms manufacture in 1915 and became the principal industrial producer of Chauchat machine rifles during WW-1. Later on, in 1918, a company named SIDARME located away from Paris ,also participated in the mass manufacture of CSRG's.
Design details
Recoil operation
Recoil operation is an operating mechanism used in locked-breech, autoloading firearms. As the name implies, these actions use the force of recoil to provide energy to cycle the action...
with a gas assist. The chronology of the patents makes it clear that Louis Chauchat had simply borrowed the mechanical principles of an already existing long barrel recoil, semi-automatic rifle filed by John Browning
John Browning
John Moses Browning , born in Ogden, Utah, was an American firearms designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms, many of which are still in use around the world...
in his milestone of October 16, 1900. This precursor was the Remington Model 8
Remington Model 8
The Remington Model 8 is a centerfire, recoil-operated, semi-automatic rifle designed by John Browning and produced by Remington Arms beginning in 1906.John Browning was granted on October 16, 1900 for the rifle, which he then sold to Remington...
semi-automatic rifle which was successfully marketed (80,000) between 1906 and 1936.
Browning's long barrel recoil principle was also applied in 1907 to autoloading shotguns: the classic "Browning Auto-5
Browning Auto-5
The Browning Automatic 5, most often Auto-5 or simply A-5, is a recoil-operated semi-automatic shotgun designed by John Browning. It was the first successful semi-automatic shotgun designed and remained in production until 1998...
" and the "Remington Model 11". Following behind these commercial developments, Lt. Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Louis Chauchat and armorer Charles Sutter, at Atelier de Construction de Puteaux (APX) arsenal since 1903, proposed a portable light machine gun based on the working principles applied in Browning's Remington Model 8 rifle. In 1908 it was dubbed Fusil-Mitrailleur C.S. ("C.S. Machine Rifle") and it used the 8 mm Lebel service cartridge. An improved version of the "CS" was also tested in 1913 with promising results. After the war had started in August 1914, the realization sunk in that automatic weapons had become essential for success on the battlefields. General Joffre, the Commander in Chief, pressed to adopt a portable automatic weapon for the infantry. The only thoroughly tested light machine gun which also fired the 8 mm Lebel
8 mm Lebel
The 8×50mmR French rifle cartridge was the first smokeless gunpowder cartridge to be made and adopted by any country. It was introduced by France in 1886. Formed by necking down the 11 mm Gras black powder cartridge, the smokeless 8 mm Lebel cartridge started a revolution in military rifle...
cartridge was the "CS" machine rifle. It was quickly modified into the Fusil Mitrailleur Mle 1915 CSRG and adopted in July 1915. The "R" in CSRG stands for Ribeyrolles, manager of the Gladiator ("G") cycle factory, in the Paris suburb of Pre-Saint-Gervais. Manufacturing of the CSRG begun there in early 1916 and ended in December 1918. Another facility away from Paris (SIDARME) also manufactured CSRG's beginning in 1917. The Chauchat machine rifle (CSRG) delivered to the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
fired the 8 mm Lebel cartridge at the slow rate of 250 rpm. At 9 kilograms (19.8 pounds), the gun was much lighter than the contemporary portable light machine guns of the period, such as the Hotchkiss M1909 Benet-Mercie machine gun
Hotchkiss M1909 Benet-Mercie machine gun
The Hotchkiss M1909 machine gun was a French designed light machine gun of the early 20th century, developed and built by Hotchkiss et Cie. It was also known as the Hotchkiss Mark I and M1909 Benet-Mercie....
(12 kg/26 lb) and the Lewis Gun
Lewis Gun
The Lewis Gun is a World War I–era light machine gun of American design that was perfected and widely used by the British Empire. It was first used in combat in World War I, and continued in service with a number of armed forces through to the end of the Korean War...
(13 kg/29 pounds). It was a select fire weapon, either automatic or semi-automatic mode. The gun's ergonomics, rather than its recoil, were difficult to cope with but could be tamed by well-trained gunners.
The Chauchat's construction was composite thus not fully consistent in terms of parts quality. The recoiling barrel sleeve as well as all the bolt moving parts were precision milled from solid steel and always fully interchangeable. The barrels were standard Lebel barrels that had been shortened from the muzzle end. The barrel radiators were made of ribbed cast aluminum. On the other hand, the outer breech housing was a simple tube, betraying Gladiator's pre-war activities in motorcycle manufacturing. The rest of the gun was built of stamped metal plates of mediocre quality. Side plate assemblies were held by screws that could become loose after prolonged firing. The sights were often misaligned on the Gladiator-made guns, creating aiming problems that had to be corrected by the gunners. The exact number on record of Chauchat machine gun manufactured between 1916 and the end of 1918 is 262,300. The Gladiator factory manufactured 225,700 CSRGs in 8 mm Lebel plus 18,000 in the US caliber .30-06 between April 1916 and November 1918. SIDARME manufactured 18,600 CSRGs, exclusively in 8 mm Lebel, between October 1917 and November 1918. The SIDARME manufactured Chauchats were generally better finished and better functioning than those made by Gladiator. The French Army had a stock of 63,000 CSRG's just before the Armistice.
The French military at the time considered the Chauchat's performance as inferior in comparison to the reliable heavy Hotchkiss M1914 machine gun
Hotchkiss M1914 machine gun
The Mle 1914 Hotchkiss machine gun became the standard machine gun of the French Army during World War I. It was manufactured by the French arms company Hotchkiss et Cie, which had been established in the 1860s by American industrialist Benjamin B. Hotchkiss...
. However, whereas the Hotchkiss was a weighty, tripod-mounted weapon, the Chauchat was a light gun that could be mass-produced quickly, cheaply and in very large numbers. It was also never intended to take the role of static defense of the heavy machine gun but to be a portable weapon that would increase the firepower of infantry squads moving forward during the assault. A significant plus is that it could easily be fired while walking, by hanging the Chauchat's sling over a shoulder hook located onto the gunner's upper left side of his Y strap. The other light squad automatic weapons available at the time included the Hotchkiss M1909 Benet-Mercie machine gun
Hotchkiss M1909 Benet-Mercie machine gun
The Hotchkiss M1909 machine gun was a French designed light machine gun of the early 20th century, developed and built by Hotchkiss et Cie. It was also known as the Hotchkiss Mark I and M1909 Benet-Mercie....
, the Madsen machine gun
Madsen machine gun
The Madsen was a light machine gun developed by Julius A. Rasmussen and Theodor Schoubue and proposed for adoption by Captain Vilhelm Herman Oluf Madsen, the Danish Minister of War and adopted by the Danish Army in 1902...
or the Lewis Gun
Lewis Gun
The Lewis Gun is a World War I–era light machine gun of American design that was perfected and widely used by the British Empire. It was first used in combat in World War I, and continued in service with a number of armed forces through to the end of the Korean War...
, but of these only the Hotchkiss M1909 could be successfully converted to accept 8 mm Lebel ammunition.
Battlefield performance
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
by regiment, requested by General Pétain
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...
in late 1916 - the survey's essential conclusion was that the open sided magazines were defective and caused about two thirds of all stoppages. Loose earth, grit and other particles easily entered the gun through these open-sided magazines, an ever present risk in the muddy environment of the trenches. Its long recoil action is often cited as a source of problems for the shooter. However recent firing tests have demonstrated that it is the Chauchat's ergonomics and its loose bipod, rather than its recoil, that makes it a difficult gun to keep on target beyond very short bursts. On some of the Gladiator-made guns, the sights also made the Chauchat shoot systematically too low and to the right. Overheating after long continuous firings (about 400 rounds) dilated the recoiling barrel sleeve to the point where it refused to return forward until the gun had cooled off, thus creating a stoppage that could last 10 minutes. Hence, the manuals recommended firing only in short bursts or semi-auto and insisted that only good magazines should be used.
Several prototypes of dirt-proof, fully enclosed Chauchat magazines were successfully tested in May and June 1918, but came too late. Stronger but still open-sided standard magazines as well as tailored canvas gun covers protecting the gun against mud during transport had previously been issued to all Chauchat gunners in 1917. The initial two-man Chauchat team was also found insufficient and eventually grew to a four-man squad by October 1917 (the squad leader, the gunner, the assistant gunner who handled the magazines plus one additional magazine carrier).
Later on, during the German spring offensive of 1918, the war had moved out of the mud of the trenches and into open fields, thus making the guns more reliable and easier to maintain. Furthermore, French infantry regiments had been reorganized into multiple small (18 men) combat groups ("Demi-Sections de Combat"). Those were made up of a full Chauchat squad plus four VB (Viven-Bessiere) rifle grenade
Rifle grenade
A rifle grenade is a grenade that uses a rifle-based launcher to permit a longer effective range than would be possible if the grenade was thrown by hand...
specialists and eight conventional grenadiers/riflemen. At this point in time, in 1918, the preserved French regimental records and statistics of medals given to Chauchat gunners document that they had contributed in no small part to the success of the new infantry tactics. Those were focused on the suppression of enemy machine gun nests by the combined action of portable (Chauchat) automatic fire plus the VB rifle grenades, always used within a range of less than 200 yards.
Comparison
The Chauchat was not comparable to the submachine gunSubmachine gun
A submachine gun is an automatic carbine, designed to fire pistol cartridges. It combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol. The submachine gun was invented during World War I , but the apex of its use was during World War II when millions of the weapon type were...
s of World War I, which used pistol rather than rifle ammunition and were thus less powerful. The Italian Villar-Perosa
Villar-Perosa aircraft submachine gun
The Villar-Perosa aircraft submachine gun was an Italian double barreled light machine gun designed by Bethel Abiel Revelli, a Major in the Italian Army in 1914. The weapon fired pistol calibre 9 mm Glisenti ammunition, a reduced-power version of the famous 9 mm Para, at the extremely high rate of...
and Beretta Model 1918
Beretta Model 1918
The Beretta Model 1918 was a submachine gun that entered service in 1918 with the Italian armed forces and came with an overhead inserted magazine. Another variant was the Model 1918/30 with the magazine inserted underneath and came with a bayonet...
, the first two submachine guns to appear in World War I, fired the 9 mm Glisenti (a less powerful version of the 9mm Parabellum). The MP18
MP18
The MP18.1 manufactured by Theodor Bergmann Waffenbau Abteilung was the first practical submachine gun used in combat. It was introduced into service in 1918 by the German Army during World War I as the primary weapon of the Stosstruppen, assault groups specialized in trench combat...
Bergmann, a German Army
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
submachine gun fielded during the spring of 1918, fired the 9 mm Luger cartridge. Compared to the Chauchat, these early submachine guns were used in relatively small numbers (thousands rather than hundreds of thousands), and had much shorter effective ranges.
Unlike much heavier air-cooled and water-cooled machine guns (such as the Hotchkiss machine gun
Hotchkiss M1914 machine gun
The Mle 1914 Hotchkiss machine gun became the standard machine gun of the French Army during World War I. It was manufactured by the French arms company Hotchkiss et Cie, which had been established in the 1860s by American industrialist Benjamin B. Hotchkiss...
and the various belt-fed Maxim gun
Maxim gun
The Maxim gun was the first self-powered machine gun, invented by the American-born British inventor Sir Hiram Maxim in 1884. It has been called "the weapon most associated with [British] imperial conquest".-Functionality:...
derivatives), and in common with the Lewis Gun
Lewis Gun
The Lewis Gun is a World War I–era light machine gun of American design that was perfected and widely used by the British Empire. It was first used in combat in World War I, and continued in service with a number of armed forces through to the end of the Korean War...
, the Chauchat was not designed for sustained defensive fire. The tactical edge expected from the Chauchat was to increase the infantry's offensive firepower during the assault.
American Chauchats
After the USA had entered World War I, in April 1917, the American Expeditionary ForceAmerican Expeditionary Force
The American Expeditionary Forces or AEF were the United States Armed Forces sent to Europe in World War I. During the United States campaigns in World War I the AEF fought in France alongside British and French allied forces in the last year of the war, against Imperial German forces...
(AEF) arrived in France without automatic weapons or field artillery
Field artillery
Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, long range, short range and extremely long range target engagement....
. It turned to the French ally rather than to the British to purchase ordnance. General Pershing chose the Hotchkiss M1914 medium machine gun and the Chauchat light machine gun (dubbed "automatic rifle" by the AEF and nicknamed the "Sho-Sho" by the troops) to equip the U.S. infantry and if handled properly served the soldiers well. Between August 1917 and the November 11, 1918 Armistice
Armistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
, the Gladiator factory delivered to the AEF 16,000 Chauchat "automatic rifles" in 8 mm Lebel and, late in 1918, 18,000 Chauchats in .30-06.
While the performance of the M1915 Chauchat in 8MM Lebel was considered acceptable at the time, the performance of the M1918 Chauchat in .30-06 was soon recognized as abysmal (and in large part the reason for the gun's bad reputation) : the common problem was a failure to extract after the gun had fired only a few rounds and became slightly hot. A modern-day firing test of the Mle 1918 30-06 Chauchat was performed at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in July 1973 but no particular problem was described in the official report. Conversely, an exhaustive firing test of the Model 1918 Chauchat in 30-06 was also carried out in 1994 near Chambersburg ,PA, by R.Keller and W.Garofalo. Their testing, which is reported in "The Chauchat Machine Rifle" volume, did expose very severe extraction problems caused by incorrect chamber measurements and other sub-standard manufacturing . During World War I, in 1918, the preserved U.S. archival records also document that the American inspectors at the Gladiator factory had rejected about 40% of the 30-06 Chauchat production while the remaining 60% proved problematic whenever they reached the front lines. Supplies of the newly manufactured and superior Browning Automatic Rifle
Browning Automatic Rifle
The Browning Automatic Rifle was a family of United States automatic rifles and light machine guns used by the United States and numerous other countries during the 20th century. The primary variant of the BAR series was the M1918, chambered for the .30-06 Springfield rifle cartridge and designed...
(BAR) were allocated sparingly and only very late, during the Meuse-Argonne offensive
Meuse-Argonne Offensive
The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, or Maas-Argonne Offensive, also called the Battle of the Argonne Forest, was a part of the final Allied offensive of World War I that stretched along the entire western front.-Overview:...
which begun in late September 1918. Therefore about 75% of the U.S. Divisions were still equipped with the Chauchat - in its original French M1915 version in 8mm Lebel- at the Armistice of November 11, 1918. It is also well documented that General Pershing had been holding back on the BAR until victory was certain, for fear it would be copied by Germany (Ayres, 1919). (Other accounts, however, state that the reason that the BAR didn't see much combat was because the first units equipped with them simply didn't arrive until September.) However, it is also known that the very first BAR's delivered had improperly tempered recoil springs and had these guns been prematurely introduced during the summer of 1918, they might have also been viewed as problematic.
As to the U.S. Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
, they had initially received .30-06 chambered Lewis Gun
Lewis Gun
The Lewis Gun is a World War I–era light machine gun of American design that was perfected and widely used by the British Empire. It was first used in combat in World War I, and continued in service with a number of armed forces through to the end of the Korean War...
s, but had to exchange them for Chauchats after their arrival in France (This was the result of an old feud between Mr. Lewis
Isaac Newton Lewis
Isaac Newton Lewis was an American soldier and inventor. He was graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1884 and was commissioned second lieutenant in the Second Artillery...
and the superior officer in charge of the U.S. Ordnance Department
Ordnance Corps
The United States Army Ordnance Corps is a Sustainment branch of the United States Army, headquartered at Fort Lee, Virginia.-Mission Statement:The U.S...
).
As a matter of interest and as documented by World War I veteran Laurence Stallings (in "The Doughboys", 1963) and by U.S. Divisional Histories, Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
was awarded to three American Chauchat gunners in 1918: 1) Private Nels Wold
Nels Wold
Nels T. Wold was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War I.-Military service:...
(35th Division, 138th Infantry). 2) Private Frank Bart (2nd Division, 9th Infantry) and 3) Private Thomas C. Neibaur
Thomas C. Neibaur
Thomas Croft Neibaur was the first Latter-day Saint to receive the Medal of Honor. He as also the first soldier from Idaho to be awarded America's highest decoration, which occurred during World War I....
(42nd Division, 107th Infantry).
Users
: 6,935: 5,000: over 120,000 placed in actual front line service at the squad level between April 1916 and November 1918.: 3,980: 1,729: 7,200: 5,700: 3,838 Blue ArmyBlue Army
The Blue Army, or Haller's Army, are informal names given to the Polish Army units formed in France during the later stages of World War I. The army was created in June 1917 as part of the Polish units allied to the Entente. After the Great War ended, the units were transferred to Poland, where...
: 11,869 (1917–1918): 16,000 in 8mm Lebel plus 18,000 in U.S. 30-06, the latter model being unsatisfactory.
Polish-Soviet War
The Polish–Soviet War was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine and the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic—four states in post–World War I Europe...
. After the war Poland bought more of them and their number reached 11,869, becoming a standard Polish light machine gun in the 1920s. According to some publications, a small number were modified in the 1920s to use German 7.92mm Mauser ammunition, but there is no clear confirmation. In 1936-1937, 8,650 were sold abroad, probably to Republican Spain. During the Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
between Soviet Union and Finland, over 5,000 Chauchats were donated to Finland which lacked automatic weapons. Some remnants of the Chauchat design are reported to have appeared in the 1960s during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
Replacing the Chauchat: the "Fusil-Mitrailleur (FM) Mle 1924-29"
The French military decided during the post-war years to urgently upgrade with a more reliable light squad automatic weaponSquad automatic weapon
A squad automatic weapon is a weapon used to give infantry squads or sections a portable source of automatic firepower. Weapons used in this role are selective-fire rifles, usually fitted with a bipod and heavier barrel to perform as Light machine guns...
. The new light portable machine gun was developed at the "Manufacture d'Armes de Châtellerault" during the early 1920s, culminating in the adoption of the F.M.Mle 1924. The new light machine gun (in French :fusil-mitrailleur) had been designed by Lt. Colonel Reibel and Controller Chosse and was gas operated, like the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) which had inspired the new gun's internal features. The venerable 8 mm Lebel round, which was one of the major handicaps of the Chauchat, had been discarded for a 7.5 mm rimless cartridge resembling a necked down 7.92 mm German Mauser round. The F.M. Mle 1924 featured a bipod, an in-line stock, a pistol grip, a top-mounted 25 round magazine and a bolt hold-open after the magazine's last round had been fired. Protection of all the openings against mud and dust was excellent. The cyclic rate was 450 rounds per minute. It was modified in 1929 to accept a slightly shorter 7.5 mm cartridge that could not be mistaken for a German Mauser round or a Swiss 7.5 mm round. The new weapon and modern rimless ammunition had finally corrected all the problems associated with the Chauchat. The reliable and well-liked FM (Fusil-Mitrailleur) Mle 1924 was manufactured in large numbers (187,000) and widely used by the French Army until the late 1950s. The Gendarmerie Nationale used it until the late 90s when it was phased out after all 7.5mm ammunition stocks were depleted.
See also
- Chauchat-Ribeyrolles 1918 submachine gunChauchat-Ribeyrolles 1918 submachine gunIn 1917 the French Army adopted the Mle. 1917 semi-automatic rifle made by Ribeyrolles, Sutter and Chauchat , who already developed the "Chauchat" Mle. 1915 LMG....
- Hotchkiss M1909 light machine gunHotchkiss M1909 Benet-Mercie machine gunThe Hotchkiss M1909 machine gun was a French designed light machine gun of the early 20th century, developed and built by Hotchkiss et Cie. It was also known as the Hotchkiss Mark I and M1909 Benet-Mercie....
- List of individual weapons of the U.S. Armed Forces
- List of infantry weapons of World War I