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Request for Q&A Questions: WW1 Specific (Patreon)

Published:
2018-12-31 15:53:10
Imported:
2021-03

Content

The next Q&A is going to be WW1 specific - what questions do you have that I can answer on that period?

Comments

Anonymous

Why didn‘t the Entente accept the Central Powers Peace offers?

Anonymous

Keeping in mind technology available of the time period, what would you have done to improve the impact of France's war efforts? Yes, I went with France because of, well, you.

Anonymous

WWI showed the value of rifle grenades, which most militaries used during the war - but always with adapters. Why was it not until decades later, after WWII in fact, that integral rifle grenade launchers were incorporated into rifle designs?

Anonymous

Ian, were you able to watch They Shall Not Grow Old? If so what did you think

Anonymous

How were territorial armies supplied with Weapons? Were they part of the standard supply chains or did they have to supply they're own weapons? Did this leave any room for variation or specialized gear for these forces? Mainly thinking of British colonial forces but French or others are also applicable. Thanks!

Anonymous

I am curious as to how much ammunition was used.

Anonymous

Can you talk a little bit about rationing in WW1?

Anonymous

What is the real story behind the Americans’ use of the shotgun in trench warfare? Did the Germans actually threaten to summarily execute anyone captured with one in their possession?

Anonymous

I always see the same pictures of the cut down pistols "used by the tunnelers" where rifles cut down into to pistols actually something that was somewhat common? Or where they just I weird one time deal?

Anonymous

If the war had gone on longer, especially into 1919, with all the new weaponry that was planned, such as the Pederson device, BAR, Browning 1919, RSC-1918, MP-18, Villar Perosa, and several others I’ve no doubt missed, how do you think the strategy for battle would’ve changed, if at all? Would you think there would have been more breakthroughs of the trenches?

Vityaz

Do you believe there would have been a major difference in how the war progressed if France had invested into large quantities of much heavier artillery instead of the 75mm before the war started? Or would the old tactics utilized at the start still have made heavy artillery a negligible benefit for them at the start.

Anonymous

Did any of your ancestors fight in the war? If so, what were their stories? (My great grandfather was a driver for HQ company, 102nd Infantry, 26th "Yankee" Division).

Anonymous

How did the machineguns firing through the propeller arc avoid shredding the prop?

Anonymous

Were any of the autoloading firearms available in 1914/1915 suitable for military purposes in the trenches? Assuming the logistics were all sorted out.

Ryan Butler

In the US Mausers, SMLEs, Springfields, M1917s, and Mosin Nagants are all over the place at gun shows and on the internet. But Manlicher 1895s seem to be relatively rare. Austria was a major powers with millions of troops in the field just like everyone else. Is there any specific reason so much less of their surplus made it to the US after the war?

Anonymous

Do you think the Axis powers, with there massive dependence on bolt action small arms, would have benefited from a Peterson device chambered in 9mm parabellum? And if so do you think it would’ve made the difference in the end? I think the Peterson device was an incredible feet of enengeering and believe it to be one of the least utilized devices in the great world war

Anonymous
>>18473503

US use of shotguns was minuscule and made basically no difference during the war. I doubt Germany even knew about them much less complained except in postwar propaganda.

Anonymous

If the entente were to standardise on 1 nations arms for better logistics which would have made the most sense?

Anonymous

Do you think you'll be able to do a video on the Huot Automatic Rifle? I think there are 3 or 4 still around in some Canadian museums.

Anonymous

The short to post but not so short to answer. The Mons canal and the "Mad Minute", comment.

Anonymous

Were Iron darts actually dropped from airplanes by either side in WWI and how effective were they?

Anonymous

Were the Italians the only nation to implement pistol caliber weapons onto their airplanes?

Anonymous

I've heard that Russian captured M95's were often fed with russian 54R..and i've heard of Nagants chambered in 8x50R Austrian. I find this type of thing fascinatin..what other interesting captured-converted WW1 rifles and calibers are there?

Jonathon Payne

Hopefully I can get this in on the second attempt. I was wondering why it took so long for anyone else outside of FN and Browning to create a pistol like the Hi Power. That is, a self loading double action pistol with a double stack, single feed "high capacity" magazine (15 rounds +/- 2) chambered in 9mm Parabellum. From the basic research that I've done it appears that nobody made any pistol even remotely like this from 1935 when the Hi Power was first introduced to about 1970 when the Steyr GB started to hit the market. Considering the obvious advantages of such a pistol I find it odd that literally nobody made anything even remotely close to this for 35-40 years.

Anonymous

Knowing what we now know about the chauchat both in 8mm lebel and 30*06. Do you still consider these the worst machine guns of WW1? Are there any worthy successors?

Andy Maidment

What was the rest of the world doing while the war was raging? Other than US manufacturers who were trying to get any contract they could before entering the war, were there other countries watching the war and trying to learn and/or sell things to the various powers? I'm sure Spain was. Who were the real innovators outside the fighting of that time?

Anonymous

What mistakes did the winning powers make to cause WW2 and the issues in the Middle East? Could the allies have done anything differently after the war?

Anonymous

Since we had pretty much developed all the various action types in pistols by about 1900, were there any attempts to make an intermediate cartridge or a self-loader in anything but 30-06/8mm? It seems like between about 1890 and 1940 the world forgot they could make a cartridge any size they wanted to.

Anonymous

What combat role would you prefer?

Anonymous

Why do you think that the French view of the war is so criminally under represented in American media? It seems that every large WWI film that enjoys a release here (War Horse, They Shall not Grow Old, etc.) is focused either on the Anglo-American contribution, or the German one. This isn't to say there aren't excellent films about the other nations in WWI, but to see them requires ordering a DVD from France or Russia, or getting lucky on a streaming service.

Anonymous

What is the most interesting/odd piece of gear or kit that you have come across?

Andy Maidment

We talk a lot about what the Army used in WWI, what was common for the Navy? Had they reached the point where the Navy just used what the Army used? My grandfather was on a sub chaser in the Mediterranean and I'm curious what they would have had used, besides the depth charges and the small deck gun.

Anonymous

Given its characteristics, would you consider the Winchester Model 1907/17 to be one of the first true "assault rifles" and how successful was it in military service?

Anonymous

Do you believe WW1 or WW2 had greater effect on firearms development?

Anonymous

Please comment on the issue and use of Enfield SMLE No 1 MK III to American infantry. What units and how wide spread was the actual combat use of SMLEs by the AEF.

Andy Maidment
>>18474323

<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lydonia_(SP-700)" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lydonia_(SP-700)</a>

Anonymous

Why do we never hear about German vs Japan in WW1? We The Brittish in Gallipoli, even the British with forces from India in egypt , Serbia,Russia, Romania &amp; of course Austria/Hungary......

Anonymous

What technology do you think represented the greatest leap forward during the war in small arms or otherwise?

Anonymous

Why did the British go away from requiring officers to provide their own sidearms? Seems like it would cost less to have officers provide their own pistol.

Will Sanders

As implied by your Secret Weapons shirts, do you expect the Farquhar-Hill rifle would have entered ground service or have been restricted to aircraft and/or balloon usage if the war had continued? Think they would have improved the mags so they were more soldier friendly? Related question on the same rifle, do you think the US would have adapted it to .30-06 or did the BAR fill that role already in the US doctrine?

Anonymous

Was the Madsen LMG used for walking fire/ raiding?

Anonymous

Why did the rest of the warring powers not adapt the ten round magazine like the British did with their SMLE No 1 MK III. Did this not give them the advantage of not having to load their rifles only half as often as most of the enemies rifles?

Ligma Dragoon

Ballistol was used by the German army for decades, but was it "standard issue" so to speak?(at least during WW1)

Anonymous
>>18474646

The external magazine (that wasn't seen as disposable) was seen as and was a weakness of the Lee Enfield. That is why they went back to an internal magazine when they wanted to go to the P13/P14 design.

Mike F

Left handed shooters in WWI? While viewing Peter Jackson's "They Shall Not Grow Old" there was a brief clip that showed British soldier shooting an SMLE left handed. He was one of several on the firing line, the others were all shooting right handed - so it wasn't a reversed film negative. Did the various militaries "allow" left handed shooting in WWI?

Gomoragor

If the peterson device had a chance to be used in the spring offensive of 1919, how innovative do you think it would have been?

Mark Becht

The Western Front always captures the imagination and horrors of WWI, but the Eastern Front was more fluid and mobile. Post WWI, Poland created itself from the ashes of three empires and had to face choices in how to outfit itself and continue forward (and become quite advanced in weapon design) what were some of the steps on the way?

Anonymous

I sometimes hear the SMLE referred to as being fed by a “detachable box magazine” however I rarely ever see anyone load it this way. How was ammunition issued and used with the SMLE during WWI?

Anonymous

Why were the the British so slow in incorporating Machine Guns into the BEF? In 1914 the British had 24 per division (as did the Germans who rectified this quicker).

Anonymous

If I recall, the British bought a bunch of arisakas from Japan during that time period. Were those ever fielded? How did the British like the cartridge and the rifle?

Anonymous

What was the most unexploited small arm in WW1. Like if there would have been more development or deployed in greater numbers it would have given one side an advantage

John S Wren

Why didn't the German Empire copy the French and attempt to field an automatic rifle for their infantry?

Anonymous

When the British and others created self loading conversions of their existing bolt action rifles, it looks like the complexity of design and manufacture of a conversion was just as much so as if they'd designed a whole new rifle. Was the decision to design conversions instead of a standalone rifle based in cost or concerns over logistics? How much money was saved with something like the Howell conversion vs. the RSC 1917/1918?

Anonymous

Were there any rationing schemes of comparable success to that of Lord Wolton's present in the first world war? If not, how successful were they on the whole?

Anonymous

Out of all the forgotten/rare/unusual WWI weapons you have gotten your hands on, which one would you take into combat and why would it still be the MP18 or RSC 1918 over all of them?

Anonymous

What was the most significant lesson learned about firearm design during WW1? My answer would be the shift from focusing purely on marksmanship and accuracy of a rifle, to appreciating the benefit of volume of fire.

Anonymous

Hello Ian, I have two Gewehr 98’s with dust cover and luminous sights. Of all the reference material I have, there seems very little information regarding these accessories. I know you did the video on the dust cover, and made mention of the sights once in another video, but would love it if you elaborated on these some more. The use of the sights on Gewehrs and Artillery Lugers, etc. I believe there were stamped and milled sights. Assuming the Milled variants were earlier. Let’s talk about it! Perhaps we could email each other directly if you choose not to talk about it in the Q an A vid. Thanks for your work sir!

Anonymous

Hi Ian. WW1 is one I'd my favorite historical topics for firearms as it is the period when semi auto handguns started to become relevant and tested. In your opinion, what is the best revolver of WW1? I would say either the Webley MkVI or the US M1917.

Anonymous

Why do you think the French were the only ones to field the Win 1907 351 SL carbine?

Anonymous

Hello, Ian! Were there any guns in development/planned that didn't get produced that might have had an effect on the war?

Anonymous

Hi. What was the general opinion on the schwarzlose machine gun, was it just as good as the maxim derived ones, or was it bad?

Anonymous

Was the straight pull action on the Mannlicher M1895 as good as it is sometimes hyped to be? If it had had a 10 round magazine like the SMLE would we be talking about it as one of the great rifles of the war? Why where so many nations happy with 5 round magazines when, on all but the Lebel, a 10 round magazine seems like an easy wartime fix?

Anonymous

Do you have a favorite artillery piece from WW1? If so, please discuss.

Kyle Clark

What's your favorite carbine of the First World War? I know there are a lot of choices, but I'd go with a Serbian Mauser 1908. It's svelte, handy and chambered in one of the milder rounds of its day, the 7mm. Mauser.

Anonymous

We often see the trenches from the triple alliance in media material. The Germans ones were more solid and built to last. Any idea where to find some today? And how come so few survived if they were concrete reinforced and solidly built?

Anonymous

When are we getting a "Paris Gun at the range live fire" video?

Anonymous

I would love to know.... how did the Webley revolvers preform in combat? Is there any writings or reports about them? Cool to hear any info👍

Anonymous

Why was trench war a thing. What was the catalyst that made one commander turn to another and say "I've got it, DIG! That's how we'll beat them." Was it machine guns? Artillery? Stupidity?

Anonymous

How did the Spanish Flu impact WWI? Did it turn the tide for the allies or were they on their way to victory before that and the flu just sealed the deal?

Anonymous

I understand that the German army had a number of Madsens, but when they run out of them they started to use captured Lewis guns and went on to develop the MG08/15. Was there any reson against just cloning the Madsen or, with due bribes, smuggling its specs from Denmark?

Anonymous

What type of firearms - handguns, carbines, machine guns, rifles, etc. - evolved the most through the crucible of The Great War? I wonder if semi-auto handguns and rifles and sub-machine guns would have evolved as quickly without the war, so do you think one type of firearm benefited the most from WWI?

Anonymous

Hand grenades often tend to be overlooked when we think of weapons of the great war. How much did hand grenade designs differ between belligerents and how did they evolve or improve over the course of the war?

Anonymous

Now that the centennial is over, Battlefield 1 isn't as popular as it had been and the Great War is covering World War II, Do you worry that interest in World War 1 will slow. Will it return to being the forgotten war in the US like it had prior to all of the things mentioned above brought it to popular culture?

Anonymous

With a 100 years of hindsight, is there any contemporary to world war 1 tech that if it was used differently could have altered the course or outcome of the war? Something that they had then, but didn’t no how to exploite to it’s best advantage.

Anonymous

What would be your preferred weapons of choice for a handgun, rifle, submachinegun and machinegun if you had to fight in the trenches? Also would you prefer to rechamber them from their original nominal cartridge to some better alternative which existed at the time? For example the Vickers gun in 8mm Mauser, the RSC1917 in 30-06, the 1911 in 9mm Luger, etc.

Anonymous

Was their any serious research into intermediate cartridges prewar or was it WW1 itself which started the drive?

Anonymous

We all know that hand-to-hand fighting was a big part of daily combat in WWI, and that the infantry made great use of what little they had to create makeshift fighting tools. Is there any documentations as to what high command officers (commissioned officers), such as diaries, reports, etc., thought about the use of such medieval tactics?

Anonymous

In WW1, Snipers started to emerge on the battlefield as a legitimate part of many army's at the time, we also know that they mounted scopes offset to the rifle to accommodate for stripper clip feeding, my question is whether they ever experimented with making the ammunition be fed at an angle such 45 degree's so that the scope can be in line with the barrel. Thx

Anonymous

There were many black powder firearms being used with rear echelon troops. Did the warring powers resume/start up the manufacter of black powder cartridges, or did they only use old stock?

Anonymous

Have read stories and watched movie about hill 60. How often was tunneling under enemy lines used and to what success.

Tiger in man's clothing

At what point, historically, does it become very difficult to research firearms? Are there periods that are equally undocumented?

Anonymous

Was there any pressure to adopt the Ross rifle in other theatres (Middle East?) or for other dominions?

Anonymous

Ian since you are a Francophile of sorts I have often wondered what the French really thought of US soldiers,and were we really trusted,liked or outright despised.

Anonymous

What’s the best weapon you’ve NOT seen used in a WW1 computer game?

Anonymous

What’s the best air to air firewa

Anonymous

its NY eve im

Anonymous

lashed

Anonymous

Whats the best air to air weapon in WW1?

Anonymous

did a .455 round finish off Rasputin?

Tiger in man's clothing

A suggestion, listen to Dan Carlin's "Countdown to Armageddon" podcast.

Anonymous

Did anyone ever try to make a better magazine for the Chauchat?

Anonymous

To what extent were shotguns actually used in trench warfare?

HammerBaird

How extensively was sniping used in the first world war, and has anything about it changed drastically, technique wise, not technology.

Anonymous

If the allies had implemented weapon conversions like the Pederson device or the howell automatic rifle early in on then how would it have affected the war?

Anonymous

Hello Ian, In your opinion which would be better for trench clearing - Winchester Pump shotgun or Winchester Lever Rifle in a pistol caliber?

Anonymous

What were some of the popular field modifications the troops applied to their firearms?

Anonymous

If artillery, gas and disease was taken out of the picture, what forces would have prevailed in fighting with small arms warfare and to what benefit with those weapons technology.

Anonymous

Hi Ian, I read a lot on French forum and even on documentary that the US came very late in the war, when germany was already dying, with inexperienced troops and not good equipment and they were not very efficient on the field. And even more : some people said that US grows the number of dead in battlefield to not being "ridiculus" in front of French, Uk and others who fougth since 1914. What is your feeling about this ?

Anonymous

Reloading box magazines in combat It seems like light machine guns on the WW1 battlefield would chew through all the nearby loaded magazines fairly quickly, especially when pressed into a sustained role such as repelling a counter attack before heavy MGs could be brought up. Would units spare half a dozen soldiers to sit by a Lewis Gun hand loading pan magazines one round at a time while the Gerrys were pressing an assault? How did militaries deal with this problem? Did magazines come preloaded in big crates ready for immediate use? Did they issue special quick loading tools? Were vast numbers of magazines issued and loaded before hand and stashed by each gun or carried with them? Or was this a major problem with no good solution? Are there any stories of this problem deciding a battle or stalling an advance?

Anonymous

How important are small arms when most casualties are inflicted via indirect fire? Did the capability differences between an SMLE No 1 Mk3 and a Mauser K98a make any difference in the grand scheme of daily combat losses? You have said repeatedly that small arms almost never make a difference in combat (other than breech vs. muzzle loaders)... how does WW1 differ? Everyone seems to have had parity until the tank was introduced.

Anonymous

If you saw it, what did you think of they shall not grow old?

Anonymous

Had a question prompted by The Peter Jackson "They will never grow old" film. They mentioned commonwealth soldiers using the Vickers gun to generate boiling water for Tea; how clean would the water be coming out of that, and can you comment if that was a common occurrence?

Brian Reddeman

Can you roll pizza dough with a Lewis Gun radiator casing? :)

Anonymous

Can you speak about the use of flamethrowers in WW1? How were they used and to what extent? How did their use in WW1 afffect their use in later conflicts?

Anonymous

Can you speak to the magazine-feed, sub-gun conversion for the 03A3 which used a 30 carbine like round? Supposedly to help with higher volume of fire travelling across no-man's land?

Anonymous

Due to the demands of total war many countries were forced to call into service obsolete black powder rifles. Are you aware of any attempt to develop “smokeless” versions of the ammo or did they just rely on old stocks of ammo?

Anonymous

Why weren’t Madsen LMG more widely used in WWI? I realize exporting the guns themselves, at least to the Allies, could be problematic, but manufacturing could have been licensed as happened with the Bofors and Oerlikon In WWII.

Anonymous

In the C and R senal episode about the Ross rifle, they spoke of the posibilty that some MkIII Ross's had their barrels shortend to a "short rifle" configuration. Possibly by field armourers. Have you ever run across any evidence of this in your travels?

Anonymous

Lever action rifles and gattling guns were just a few years too late to be widely employed in the American Civil War. In your opinion, what's the biggest small arms timing "near miss" of WW1?

Anonymous

How did metallurgy and manufacturing processes effect WW1 small arms designs compared to today?

Deviant Ollam

If many fictional accounts and anecdotes from the trenches are to be believed, one is always given the impression that should a person be foolhardy enough to pop up above the ridge for even a moment they risked an enemy sniper sending a bullet right into their helmet. But doesn't this beg the question, then... how were snipers' nests arranged so that opposition soldiers could man their rifle and be constantly on the watch, ready to prosecute a target that was visible only briefly? Were all such soldiers equipped with periscope style rifles like the Cameron-Yaggi and trench Mauser that you've shown? Or was it more common to rely on other forms of concealment and emplacement? (I've even seen museum exhibits showing fake trees, etc) (or maybe we've all just been led to believe that the threat felt due to snipers exceeded the actual prevalence of snipers... which would be the goal of such tactics to begin with, no?)

Anonymous

Did you get the chance to check out the new WW1 documentary "They Shall Not Grow Old"? There were only two screening dates, and I know you have very limited free time, so I understand if you were not able to see it. I was just wondering what your general thoughts on it were, if any.

Anonymous

All we tend to see of WW1 history is the trench warfare in France and Belgium, which other theatre would you say you find most interesting? e.g. The eastern front, Middle East, Italian mountain warfare etc.

Deviant Ollam

just a note to Ian and anyone else talking about "They Shall Not Grow Old"... there appear to be many releases on torrent sites of this film. so if it's not in your area or if you missed it somehow, that's an option. (I just grabbed the BluRay rip by Snake of the limited release and it looks quite nice)

Landric Hakon

What impact did the advent of armor (tanks) have on small arms development during the war? Did the Puteaux SA 18 37mm cannon see use by infantry? Any chance you will do a video on the Puteaux SA 18 in the future?

Andrew MacKenzie

If for example Germany had issued all of their troops with something like stürmgewehrs early in the war, do you think that it would have changed the war?

Anonymous

A while back you did a video on the Sunngrad Automatic Pistol, with it's astounding 50 capacity in 1909. Something that I never understood was why the Sunngrad's designer didn't simply lengthen the barrel, add a stock and a frontal grip of some kind, and then market it as a high capacity carbine. With a longer barrel he could have upped the bullet weight well still retaining the high velocity of the round. Infact having just rewatched the video the firearm really seems to fit the role much better as the forward slating grip could possibly assist in pulling the weapon further into the shooter's shoulder. Such a weapon seems like it would be the favorite of artillery and MG crews, raiding parties, and truck drivers everywhere. Can you think of any reason why such a redesign wouldn't work?

Anonymous

Could you please discuss how the various major powers dealt with rations and food. Russia, France, England, Germany and maybe Italy? Were they rations as we know them. Or was it all field kitchens? A mix of the two? In many ways I find the ways soldiers were kept alive and fighting more impressive than how they died. Thanks Ian.

Anonymous

Is there a specific advancement in small arms from world war two (such as the STG-44) which would have had a dramatic affect on the outcome of world war one? or would an advantage in small arms for either side simply delay or hasten the inevitable conclusion?

Anonymous

Would the Winchester self loaders have been a good choice for a sub machine gun gap filler or was it just too complicated and delicate?

Anonymous

Were straight-pull rifles a viable upgrade to conventional bolt action rifles, like a stepping stone to semi-autos, or were they generally not worth the cost of upgrading?

MattC10/63

What would be your ultimate load out of all weapons available during the Great War for going over the top?

Anonymous

Any plans on looking at some of the improvised weapons coming out of places like the Brazilian Favelas?

Anonymous

What sort of "lessons learned" do you think the major powers took away from the Great War and were there any issues that you think they overlooked?

Anonymous

I am interested in the development and implementation of the 20 round "trench" magazine for the Gew. 98; can you provide some history? It seems as if it was a good idea and would provide the front line conscript the same firepower advantage as seen by British units armed with the SMLE and it's 10 round capacity magazine. Yet it was never fully adopted nor did it see any appreciable use in the subsequent conflict 21 years later fomented by "The Corporal." In your assessment what were the problem(s) which prevented large scale implementation?

Anonymous

As the British stopped and broke the German March offensive in 1918 (the blackest day for the German forces) how much did the American forces contribute to the the ending of the war in November.

Anonymous

How well did the Steyr Mannlicher M95 (or FEG made M95) straight-pull acquit itself on the Eastern Front in the eyes of the typical conscript of the Austro-Hungarian Empire? I am interested in whether it's design performed well in snow, dirt, mud, sand, and dust found on the various fronts of that theatre.

Christian Hanes

Obviously you saw "They Shall Not Grow Old", what did you think of it? What was your favorite part? Mine would have to be the 30 min documentary on how it was made, showing the contrast on film that was over-exposed or under-exposed and fixing those films showing all the little details that you wouldn't have been able to see without those enhancements.

Anonymous

Where countries get black powder ammo for their guns during WWI? Were those still in production or did countries start producing those or just old ones and thought not to be fire so much? Thank for great content and happy new years (and sorry for bad English)

Anonymous

Was the RSC 1917 rifle well received on the frontline? Was any special doctrine formed around that new type of rifle?

Anonymous

Timely! I’m currently watching a documentary YouTube channel called The Great War. It’s the first broad documentary I’ve been able to find on the first great attempt of humanity to extinguish itself. But the mind refused to comply with the sheer numbers. It seems like we lose a couple of millions of lives every week.

Anonymous

I know you and Karl have said several times that the M1917 Enfield was in your opinion the best rifle of the war, I was curious what you think it's closest competitor was and what specific features set them apart.

Anonymous

To get to a real question, it seems to me, in spite of the world changing technology and tactics on sea air and land, the simple machine gun and the failure of many leaders to gauge its capabilities caused much of the scale of the loss of life. Would you care to comment?

Anonymous

How were guns that were produced in limited numbers (RSC, BAR, etc) issued to frontline troops? Was it simply the next unit up that needed rifles were the ones who got them, or were they issued to a specific unit based on the unit’s location on the front, combat experience, or some other factor?

Anonymous

What kinds of foods were sent by the families of soldiers to the front lines? I know that ANZAC biscuits were sent in very large quantity to Australian and New Zealand troops and i'm curious if there were other foods sent by other nations.

Anonymous

Have you listened to Dan Carlin's podcast series on World War One? And if you have, what is your opinion of it?

Jonathan

Do you think the Pederson device would have made the impact it was expected to if the war had continued into 1919?

Anonymous

While semi auto anything was almost always better than a bolt action in the trenches, would it have been worth it for the Central Powers to have switched rifle production to stocked handguns in order to arm as many soldiers as possible with a semi auto firearm? While I doubt it would have won them the war, it would have greatly increased the practical firepower of the standard soldier to have 10/20 rounds in a C96 or 7/32 rounds in a Luger.

Anonymous

The Madsen light machine gun seems to be one of the very best light machine guns prior to WW1 yet none of the parties involved set up local production . Why is this ? Greetings from windy Denmark

Anonymous

G'day Ian. I've noted you have mentioned that you've never gotten through a match using an SMLE without it going wonky on you in some fashion. I understand it's an inherently less robust action than, say, a contemporary Mauser, but easier &amp; perhaps faster to operate due to that same action/locking/cocking design. Are you aware of reports from WWI (or later) of this potential weakness making itself known in field use? If so, was it just accepted as a reasonable trade-off? Thanks again for your work on FW (&amp; InRangeTV).

Horse With No Name

Hi Ian, hope you've started the new year off well: I was wondering; what was arguably the most antiquated weapon to actually be issued to frontline troops during WWI - most of the discussion is focused on how WWI forced technology forwards, very little to do with how unprepared a lot of nations actually were for the conflict?

Anonymous

Which nation do you believe had the best combat Helmet?

Anonymous
>>18489886

Sort of wondering that myself. It seems like detachable mag-fed, kinda-intermediate-ish cartridge in a compact rifle would be popular in the trenches, unless there were durability issues. Perhaps a mud test is in order?

Anonymous

What were reliability and accuracy standards like at the time? I know generally standards of reliability have gotten better over time, but how easily was someone able to keep their rifle in working order?

TJ

Here´ s one WW1 question, why the Russians ordered Colt 1911 pistols? From their side, would it make more sense to order revolvers in 7.62 Nagant caliber? New pistol and new caliber makes logistics more complicated, if just ordering revolvers in 7.62 caliber it would keep ammunition supply and training the troops easier. I know 7.62 Nagant is bit wimpy caliber but sidearm was not primary fighting weapon of choice by anybody already back then.

Anonymous

During WWI, how did the Germans accommodate the large quantities of 8mm Gewehr 1888 Commission Mausers (firing the Patrone 88 bullet), when the majority of the arsenal was using the newer 7.92mm x 57mm general purpose round (S Patrone)? Were the 88's modified to the new cartridge or was a separate logistic trail maintained?

Anonymous

Given the secrecy surrounding the Pederson Device, and subsequent lack of true military testing for durability, accuracy, stopping power etc, how effective do u believe it would have been if the war had continued on into 1919?

Anonymous

what if Mauser Had made a schnell feurer C96 during the war. How effective do you believe it could have been in the hands of the storm troopers?

Anonymous

We've heard that while soldiers may desire a handgun, typical combat doesn't really need them. Would WWI trench raiding have been an exception where a military would have benefited from standard issue of a handgun to the infantry?

Anonymous

Why did most countries at that time decide for large cartridges such as 8x57 IS, 30-06 etc? Given how precious copper was, and transportation was often done by foot, even a slight reduction in case and bullet size would have brought a tremendous advantage with it?

Anonymous

Could the Luger P08L have been adapted for full auto fire in conjunction with the trommelmagazin to be used as an early trench broom? It would seem that the high rate of fire resulting from the toggle lock system would be optimal for close combat indicative of WW1 trenches. This concept seems to also make sense considering Luger production line was already underway at DWM, and retooling for auto seers, selectors, rate reducers, etc would be seemingly minimal.

Anonymous
>>18489752

Germans soldiers were issued an iron ration made of Erbswurst. You can still buy Erbswurst today if you are interested. In theory, the soldiers were only allowed to touch their iron ration when ordered to do so.

Anonymous

Did any fighting countries during WWI other than Russia adopt the Madsen Light Machinegun, I have seen one or two in 8x50r (Lebel), but all of the info about them just said that they where trials guns.

Anonymous

Another question that bothers me since long time...why does a WW1 type machine gun perform so much better than a similar sized cannon which has canister shot, timed shrapnel and HE shells?

Pete
>>18473613

This is pretty well documented. Early in the war they just armoured the back of the blades where they passed in front of the guns and let the bullets ricochet off wherever, but quite quickly they moved on to synchroniser or interrupter gear that used cams on the propellor shaft (or on the back of a rotary engine) to interact with a linkage to the machine-gun mechanism and ensure it only fired when the blades were out of the way.

Anonymous

Hi Ian! This is sort of a repeat question, but why didn't lever action guns see more use during WW1? I should think they would offer an appreciable increase in firepower over a bolt action, and would likewise be much easier and quicker to develop and put into production than a semi-auto. For that matter, why did militaries in general settle on bolt action systems in the first place rather than lever actions?

Anonymous

Had the first iteration of the Thompson been adopted and used as was Thompson’s plan, how effective do you think this weapon system would have been considering its design flaws that would be addressed in the M1A1 years later?

Anonymous

Are there any other weapons that have a similar reputation to the Chauchat from this time period that we may not remember today?

Anonymous

A lot of Entente countries got Central Powers weapons as war loot/reparations after the war. Did the United States get any? What did the U.S. do with the stockpiles of German guns they captured?

Chris M

Question from a collector/recreational shooter's perspective: I have a curious fondness for WWI ear (and the surrounding years) .32 and. 380 pistols, such as the (very stylish) Savage pistols, the Ruby, the Frommer Stop, even the Colt Pocket Hammerless, and similar. Taking into account the three factors of 1) shootability, i.e. how it would be to shoot on the range, 2) value/budget and 3) looks/"cool factor"/history, which WWI era .32 or .380 pistol would you pick if you could only own one? Thanks.

Anonymous

I've asked this a few times, but I'll try again anyway. If World War One started earlier, say 1886-1887, would the Lebel rifle have given the French enough of an advantage over the other powers to have a substantial effect on the war? Smokeless powder obviously has huge advantages over black, but would doctrine and supply chains have outweighed them?

Andy Whyberd

How good was the Colt-Vickers M1915 HMGs in relation to its .303 sister?

Scott Watrous

It is often mentioned that particularly accurate rifles would be set aside to be made into sniper configurations. What were these tests like and did any country or manufacturer have notable or more difficult tests than others?

Anonymous

How did the forces engaged in the conflict keep their weapons clean and functional. Some rifles of the era had built in cleaning rods, oilers etc, but given the mud, rain, etc of the Western Front did they had specialized cleaning kits? Were armorers close by the front to maintain machine guns and other new technologies?

Anonymous

Why do you think the European powers failed to learn the costly lessons from earlier wars about the effects of improved weapons technology and trench warfare causing massive casualties due to obsolete unit formations, tactics and strategic thinking? I’m specifically thinking about the US Civil War and the Boer Wars.

Anonymous

Did a storm troopers personal armament differ from the general infantry, and if so how?

Anonymous

Hi Ian, first time asking. You have looked over several weapons designed around the time of WW1, particularly the semi-automatic rifles that were developed but never replaced the bolt action rifles. How far did the different countries actually get in firearms development before the war ended (and the need for new guns disappeared)? Would we have seen something like the Garand or the SVT-40 if the war had continued a few more years? Thanks and happy new year.

Anonymous

Would you consider doing some videos on WWI aircraft machine guns? Especially those that shot through the propeller. Thanks

Anonymous

How common was it to see troops from either power to have night sights on their rifles? If not so common then what deemed troops to have them &amp; would it be troops that were going to be in a night attack or just issued randomly across different lines? Thanks Ian &amp; Happy New Year.

Anonymous

Why were receiver mounted sights so uncommon in WWI rifle designs?

Alex H

Why were lever action rifles so uncommon in WWI

Bruce Brodnax
>>18478072

Artillery and machine guns. The stupidity came in with general officers ordering mass assaults on virtually impregnable entrenched positions "because that was the way it's always been done..."

Bruce Brodnax
>>18478125

Sealed the deal: the Austrians were already beaten before the flu became a thing; the Germans ran out of gas after operation Michael and it would have all been through in 1919 but the flu brought the collapse a few months sooner...

Bruce Brodnax
>>18478268

Submachine guns, clearly, as they are a direct development of that conflict!

Bruce Brodnax
>>18478465

Don't forget to cover the development of grenade launchers on this one as well, Ian!

Bruce Brodnax
>>18478992

WW1: the Brits gave up on their planned switch to a 7mm magnum in the Pattern '13 Enfield because of the start of the conflict; everyone else basically looked at what the U.S. had in the .30-'06 with a bit of "Hey, look what they did!" in their eyes prior to the war &amp; the post-conflict analysis...

Bruce Brodnax
>>18480198

If you were supposed to have been given leave to return home *years* before, how exactly would you view the guys coming on the line to replace you? I'm certain there was a bit of jealousy of the green soldiers who so far had missed out on the meat-grinder, but I seriously doubt there was anything but relief that the doughboys had finally arrived...

Bruce Brodnax
>>18480344

No; it is well documented that Rasputin drowned after being thrown in the Moscow river...

Bruce Brodnax
>>18480377

Unlikely; once the war was over the French immediately began to pursue a replacement, recognizing that the gun was a flawed design and they were going to replace the cartridge anyway...

Bruce Brodnax
>>18480563

Strongly recommend reading of Herbert McBride's _A Rifleman Went to War_. Bottom line: the Boche seemed to have the lead in that area, but the British began to take it seriously &amp; catch up. In technique, the two-man scout-sniper team methodology as used by U.S Marines, etc. didn't evolve until later.

Bruce Brodnax
>>18480850

I think it has been established that the pump shotgun's handicap in the trench warfare role was the paper-hulled ammo; you might want to restate your question as "Pump shottie w/ brass hulls vs. lever PCC?"

Bruce Brodnax
>>18481898

While the U.S. troops were green and we had to equip them by buying materiel from the Entente allies, the fact that the Entente were just as much exhausted from the preceding 3 years of combat as the Germans meant that the number of fresh troops provided by U.S. manpower came at the critical time needed to tip the scales: no U.S. involvement, who knows how many more years of stalemate on the Western Front? If the stalemate continued, Germany may have been able to consolidate their territorial gains at the expense of Czarist Russia and turn it into adequate food supplies. No U.S. troops shipped to Yurp, the flu stays stateside &amp; maybe the whole world evades a pandemic? [&amp; Spain doesn't get the rap for something they never had anything to do with! ;-D ]

Bruce Brodnax
>>18482527

Given logistical issues, no officer is going to condone ammo wastage in that manner; I submit the tale is apocryphal. Nor would the water taste any good.

Bruce Brodnax
>>18483210

The Pedersen Device. Suggest C&amp;Rsenal's profile for more info: <a href="https://youtu.be/M637KpEP1_E" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/M637KpEP1_E</a>

Bruce Brodnax
>>18483993

Suspect there was a lot of "NIH" behind their minimal use by other nations, and Denmark's proximity to Germany and reliance on shipping &amp; trade w/ the Entente nations for them not wanting to jeopardize their status as a "neutral" later in the war has a lot to do with it...

Bruce Brodnax
>>18485009

Probably sub-guns: if the war had lasted another year, there likely would have been a major leapfrog in their development...

Bruce Brodnax
>>18485645

Metallurgy: it's steel or it's not happening [lots more options today]; aluminum alloys were all pretty much pure aluminum, which is why even aircraft engines of that time were pretty much all steel &amp; cast iron... Manufacturing: it affected the designs in that pretty much everything was "old world production" methods, aside from rare exceptions like the CSRG "Chauchat..."

Bruce Brodnax
>>18487507

You might want to delete your comment if you're Stateside: you just publicly confessed to violating the DMCA... 8-\

Bruce Brodnax
>>18487763

Well, tanks directly led to the development of the Mauser TuF rifle [&amp; ammo] and the Browning .50BMG [machine gun &amp; ammo] for starters...

Bruce Brodnax
>>18488423

That's a WW2 question, since assault rifles are from 20 years later and can't really be fit into the conflict in question...

Bruce Brodnax
>>18489593

Well, only 25rd per magazine capacity, really. Flaws w/ your idea: blowback action limits the power potential of the cartridge, and the unnecessary complexity of the funky mag change in the pistol would be avoided by just going to a larger cap magazine [which in a carbine wouldn't be a very big issue, as you're no longer stuck w/ hiding mag in grip...]

Bruce Brodnax
>>18491707

You're neglecting the U.S. reinforcement of French positions elsewhere on that front may have dictated the German choice of where to make their March assault...

Bruce Brodnax
>>18501616

I believe Ian &amp; Karl answered this on In-Range: that would be the Germans w/ the Stahlhelm...

Bruce Brodnax
>>18506248

Given the vast size of the Russian army and their inability to equip them, it is likely a case of "What can we get &amp; how soon?" that was the determining factor...

Bruce Brodnax
>>18510273

It was what was already in production; they were too busy fighting a war to contemplate altering issue cartridge &amp; associated firearm to something different, regardless of how much raw materials might be saved. OTOH, the exigencies of WW2 led to the development of steel-cased ammo for precisely that reason...

Bruce Brodnax
>>18512985

2nd question 1st: robustness; a bolt-action is far more reliable &amp; resistant to abuse than a lever rifle. As to your 1st question: there were few lever rifles available at the time that could handle the power &amp; size of the standard cartridge(s) of the belligerent powers involved [the m1895 Winchester and the Savage '99 are the only two I can think of, and the Savage might not have been long or strong enough at that...]

Bruce Brodnax
>>18518023

Savage 1915 or Remington model 51 [altho' it's a bit late on the scene...]

Anonymous

If Messer's Stoner &amp; Kalashnikov hopped into a time machine back to 1914 what would have been the biggest barriers to them producing the AR &amp; AK? Would either have been a possibility, even in a compromised way?

Anonymous

What did you think of Peter Jackson's "They Shall Not Grow Old"? And (I asked this a couple months ago, its WWI weapon related but I get skipping it if you don't have time, I'll just keep asking), why are the locking lugs on the Berthier and the Lebel in different configurations, as you and Tony Neophytou mentioned.

Anonymous

Hi Ian. Any thoughts on handguns of the period in their role as cavalry sidearms? Obviously, by modern metrics as a service, defensive, or competition pistol, the M1911 seems substantially advanced over other handguns of the time, but how does it compare to the P.08 Luger, Steyr M1912, Roth-Krnka M1907, Webley Mk. V and VI, etc., when evaluated specifically as a cavalry weapon, and might any of those others have some particularly useful features from the viewpoint of a cavalryman, for example the M1907's unique trigger? Thanks and keep up the great work!

Timothy Conklin

Would it have been better for Germany to adopt the Gewehr 98 in Paul Mauser’s own 7x57mm cartridge rather than the existing 8x57mm cartridge of the Gewehr 88 “commission rifle,” especially considering the eventual changes that were made to 8x57mm anyway (i.e. bore diameter and bullet design) before the Great War? Also, would standardizing on 7x57mm have affected machine gun performance during the war?

Anonymous

What side had the best web gear and uniforms?

Ferrous

Sorry if this has been answered before, but let's say, hypothetically, you wound up on a World War 1 Battlefield. After changing your shorts, what would your ideal weapons loadout be? Keep up the good work, and happy new year

Anonymous

What (if any) developments in weapons were great in trench warfare but turned out to be niche developments unsuited to more open warfare? Similarly, what developments heading into WWI were rendered irrelevant/impractical by trench warfare?

Anonymous

If the American soldiers and Marines had been armed with M1s instead of M1903s and M1917s, would it have made a huge difference?

Anonymous

Do you know of any particularly interesting World War 1-era innovations in small arms technology that never panned out? If so, why was this?

Anonymous

What do you think was a the worst/outdated tactic or mindset from WW1 that was brought into WW2

Anonymous

Hi Ian! Thank you for putting on awesome content that I consume daily. I am very interested in WWI bolt action rifles and would like to start collecting them. However I don’t know enough about them to really know what I am looking for. Do you have any suggestions for reference materials concerning them? If you want specifics, the firearms I am most interested in include the Springfield 1903, Enfield 1917, Lee-Enfield, Mausers, Lebels, Swiss Straight Pulls and Styer Straight Pulls. Thank you very much and keep up the excellent work.

Anonymous

If the Germans were armed with Lebel 1886's and the Fremch armed with K98's, would there have been any significant change in the course of the war? (My thinking is no but would love to hear your thoughts)

Edmond Griffith-Jones

Ian, please could we hear about the early 50 cal calibers, browning, vickers the german 13mm? and the other 1918 wunder calibers

Anonymous

Had development of the P13 been completed and general issue had occurred by the outbreak of war, do you think it would have had a significant impact on the effectiveness of the British troops? As always, many thanks for your hard work!

Anonymous

How viable were the different semi-auto rifles of the time period? RSC (17/18), Winchester 1908, Model Eight, etc?

Anonymous

What level of success or failure did Germany have in attempting to get Mexico to attack the US?

John P

Is there anything about the development of tanks and their tactical or strategic use that you think the Allies or Axis ought to have learned by the opening of WW2 that they did not learn?

Anonymous

How pleasant would the Obrez pistol be to shoot and are there any other examples of a bolt action pistol?

Anonymous

As someone who is going to be attending the Evolution of the Western Front tour in September, what books would you recommend in order to get a better understanding of the history of the Western Front of WW1?

Anonymous

Bo LindseyEver consider WW1 grenade launchers, are any still to be seen in museums, at least 1 was patterned in England.

Anonymous

I believe you have addressed this question in numerous individual weapon videos but not all in a single lump. If you were an infantryman, what would be your weapon of choice as an American, Frenchman, Brit., German, Italian, Austrian or Turk and why? Too long to answer all in a lump? Probably so and needs its own show. Also of interest, your personal weapon an Artilleryman or Support troop such as railway, truck driver, signalman, etc. and why?

Anonymous

Can roller delayed blowback been made with WWI technology?

Anonymous

Love your work,keep it going OwO

ForgottenWeapons
>>18622257

I will actually be sending out a suggested reading list for folks, but a great one to start with is Alistair Horne's "The Price of Glory" about Verdun: <a href="https://amzn.to/2SyIJxP" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://amzn.to/2SyIJxP</a>

Anonymous

Would the Chauchat have been better off as a top feed system?

Lurker45

How did generals in 1913 EXPECT a major European war would be fought?

Anonymous

Was a batch of Thompson guns produced and ready for shipment before the armistice went into effect? I have heard varyingly that they were not ready until 1919, and conversely that a batch ( unknown number) were on the docks about to be loaded on board ship at 11 am Nov 11th.

Anonymous

Hey Ian love the show! In your opinion, what would you say was the best caliber/weapon combination best suited to trench warfare? Also if you were able to bring any weapon from WWII to a WWI battlefield what would it be?

Anonymous

How common where it for soldiers to pick up and use the enemies weapons? was this allowed at all?

Anonymous

How often did WW1 soldiers keep their service weapons?

Anonymous

The British mounted a volley sight on the side of their Enfield rifles. As a cost saving measure this was deleted about 1916. Given how the sights were set up on rifles of the period anyway, did the volley sight provide any practical value? I don't know of any other nation, Commonwealth excepted, that used the volley sight did anyone else try this concept?

Anonymous

By the early 19-teens, locked breech pistols were well understood and several designs could have been easily scaled up to rifle calibers. By all accounts, the Luger test rifle worked perfectly fine. So why were European nations so reluctant to adopt a semi auto battle rifle, when just a few decades earlier they were in a mad dash to adopt the latest repeating bolt action rifles and smokeless powder cartridges?

Anonymous

Would lever guns be good in the trenches? I'd like your thoughts. Seem better than bolt actions to me.

Matteo Manino

Thanks for the wonderfull contents! How much was known to other entente powers of the Fedorov rifle development? Do You think a general adoption, like freedom tanks, was proposed at some point?

Anonymous

My second question, did you "supposedly" help the developers of the game Battlefield 1, according to a couple of videos I watched and are you aware of how they portrayed the mg-42 barrel change with a cartridge tip from the game Battlefield V/5, based on your video of it, last question, pinky promise.

Anonymous

Why did puttees, which almost all major armies in the great war used, fall out of favor by the time of the Second World War? As far as I'm aware, only the French, amnong the major powers, still issued them at the outbreak of World War II.

Anonymous

Did the Germans use native colonial troops in Europe like the French did ?

Anonymous

Would you argue that 45. ACP is a revolver cartridge.

Anonymous

In your opinion which country was able to practically and effectively best put to use all the advances (smokeless powder, machine guns, snipers/sniper rifles, tanks, planes, advances in artillery, manufacturing technology) made right before and during WW1?

Anonymous

Do you have any insights, after visiting specific WWI sites and understanding the misery that took place there, that they could have used to mitigate the misery that took place there? Hindsight being 20/20, and all.

Anonymous

Considering the simplicity of a blowback submachine gun, the changed nature of warfare in WWI (reduced range combat) are you surprised that submachine guns didn’t appear earlier?