The topic of armaments is always interesting and relevant. Training, morale and tactics of troops play an important role in war, but often victory depends on the quality, quantity and power of weapons. In my work, I will highlight a topic that has not yet received significant attention from the scientific community.
Introduction
After World War II, the armament of the French army was characterized by a great quantitative diversity. Along with weapons of its own French production, American, British and German were used. Such diversity was caused by the fact that after the capitulation of France, its army was first supplied by British allies, and later by American ones. The French themselves did not disdain to use trophies. According to photographs of World War II, in the hands of the regular army there are such specimens as the MP40 or Beretta MAB 38. However, this phenomenon was not widespread enough, since according to the same photographic documents we see that British and American models and ammunition were in abundance.
In October 1945, France began to send troops into Indochina to regain control of the region. As of December 31, 1945, the contingent numbered 27,907 combatants [1. p.33]. All these troops had a wide variety of equipment, uniforms, and small arms. A single unit could have French MAS36 rifles, British Sten submachine guns, and an American Browning M1919 machine gun. Along with this, in the photographs we also see captured German weapons brought from Europe. Here it is worth directly addressing the myth that has arisen around this issue. When talking about German weapons during the war in French Indochina, almost all the models that were in service with the German army are often attributed. From the Luger P08 pistol to the MG34 machine gun. But if we conduct a detailed and thorough analysis of photographic sources, we will see specific examples of weapons and be able to identify their prevalence in the troops.
MP-40 sub-machine guns
The most common example of German weapons in Indochina, which was in the arsenal of the French army, is considered to be the MP40 submachine gun. It can be regularly seen in photos of paratrooper and commando units. For example, the photo of Commandos marine (marine commandos) from October 1950 shows fighters armed with MP40s while performing a task.
Although at that time the army began to actively rearm with the MAT49 submachine gun of its own production (see photo 1). An interesting and revealing photo, also dated 1950, shows 5 BCCP (Le 5 bataillon colonial de commados parachutistes/5th battalion of colonial paratroopers commandos) fully armed with MP40s as the main weapon of the unit (see photo 2) [3. p. 81].
Such a mass of MP40 in the French army is primarily due to its presence in sufficient quantities. After the end of World War II, France received the occupation zone and German production facilities, as well as directly samples of weapons. An equally important factor is the availability of 9 mm cartridges, which were supplied to the French army and were directly produced in France. And we must not forget about the needs of the army, especially special units, which, due to the specifics of the tasks performed, required specialized weapons.
Putting all these factors together, it is possible to conclude that the fairly reliable, compact and convenient MP40 submachine gun was best suited for the performance of official duties. Even the French MAT49 did not completely replace the German MP40 and until the end of the war, certain units continued to use it in the First Indochina War.
Mauser 98k rifle
Judging by publicly available photographic sources and newsreels, we can note that the saturation of its own MAS36 rifle was sufficient. Throughout the Second World War, the French army fought mainly with the MAS36 rifle. And during the war in Indochina, the production of this rifle was resumed and almost all units were fully equipped with it. However, by the end of the Second World War, the French army had both rifles received from the Allies, such as: Springfield M1903 rifles, SMLE Mk 1/№4, Enfield P1914, and captured German Mauser 98k rifles. Most of these rifles went to the French army at the end of the war from the hands of partisans, who often captured them from the German army, and from trophies after the surrender of the Reich.
Starting from 1946. we can see a sufficient number of MAS36 and Enfield P1914 and Springfield M1903 rifles. For these types of weapons, either France itself produced cartridges, or the allies sent them. The German rifle was no better than the above-mentioned models and there was no hope for it. There was also no possibility or need to continuously supply cartridges. Therefore, in photographs of the Indochina war period, we rarely see this rifle, but in the hands of such units as “supplétif” (auxiliary units from the local population) (see photo 3).
As a result, the Mauser rifle was in Indochina in small quantities, but not in the main units. This rifle was issued, as we can see, mainly to auxiliary units. The above photo shows only conscripted soldiers. Their functions included patrolling the territory, performing guard duty, and working with the local population. That is, they did not conduct active combat operations, like, for example, their colleagues from the Vietnamese commandos. That is why this rifle could fully cover the needs of these units [5. p.18–23].
Other examples of German weapons during the Indochina War
Along with the fairly widespread use of the MP40 and the Mauser 98k, such samples of German weapons as the Luger P08, Walter P38 pistols and the Gewehr 43 semi-automatic rifle were also used less widely or almost exclusively. It is quite difficult for us to even roughly estimate the prevalence of the Luger and Walter pistols. Due to the fact that most holsters were of the closed type, it is difficult to say from the photo which pistol a soldier has. However, there is still a photo where, for example, the Luger P08 pistol of the commander of the parachute unit with a Luger P08 pistol during Operation "Castor" in 1953
is clearly visible.
Another interesting example of German weapons in Indochina was the Gewehr 43 semi-automatic rifle. To date, I have only discovered one photograph of this rifle (see photo 5). It is clearly visible in the center of a soldier of the 3rd Colonial Battalion of Parachutist Commandos (3e Bataillon Colonial de Commandos Parachutistes). It is interesting that it is presented as a sniper rifle. It can be assumed that for some time a soldier could use it because a sniper's ammunition consumption is much lower than that of ordinary soldiers, and there were enough cartridges for some time. We also see a large number of MP40s in the photo.
Summarizing the above, we can say that the most common type of German weapon was the MP40 submachine gun. We can see it in a large number of photographs, available not only in specialized literature, but also in general access. This was due to its prevalence, reliability, compactness and, most importantly, the availability of ammunition in the French army. All other types of weapons were quite small. And the Gewehr 43 rifle occurs only in one photo [7, p.50]
Such a model as the STG44, which, for example, is mentioned by A. de Quesada [8, p.66], was not discovered during the research. No photographs or memories of it have been recorded so far. Its use is also extremely doubtful due to the peculiarity of the 7.92 x 33 mm cartridge, which was impossible to provide the army with. For the French forces in the Far East, it was easier and cheaper to equip the troops with automatic weapons available in sufficient quantities for the available cartridges than to look for rare ammunition and spare parts for a small-numbered model of weapons.
We see the same situation with the MG34 and MG42 machine guns. The saturation of various samples of machine gun weapons was sufficient. In a large number of photos we can see that on the bases in raid groups and paratroopers used their own MAC Mle 1924/29 light machine gun, which was more convenient to use in the dense jungle on the move than a belt-fed machine gun. The general role of the machine gun was successfully performed by the American Browning M1919 model, which was in abundance. Therefore, there was no need for a machine gun for a cartridge that is not supplied and not produced in the metropolis.
At the moment, we cannot completely deny or confirm the use of the STG44 and MG34, MG42 by the French Expeditionary Corps in the Indochina War. Since this requires further, longer research of both photographic and documentary sources, it is possible to conclude that the proportion of the specified weapon in comparison with other samples is qualitatively insignificant.
List of sources and literature used:
1. Dutrône C. Indochine 1945–1946 le rendez-vous raté. L'Histoire militaire du XX siécle Batailles
Hors-Série. 2004. №1. p. 81.
2. ARCHIVES E.C.P.A.D. URL: https://www.ecpad.fr/?s=indochine
3. Indochine Paras Colo. Armes Militaria. 2008. №279. p. 81.
4. LES TROUPES AÉROPORTÉES FRANCESES EN INDOCHINE 1945/1956. Gazette des
Uniformes. 2004. №17. p. 77.
5. INDOCHINE 1939–1954. Revue Historique des Armées. 1994. №1. p. 143.
6. Dufour P. La legion en Indochine 1945–1955. Panazol, 2001. p. 197.
7. Indochine 1950, combats sur la RC4. Militaria. 2009. №292. p. 81.
8. Quesada A. de. Osprey MP38 and MP40 Submachine gun. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2014, p. 82.
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