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French automatic rifle/Light machine gun

The Chauchat ("show sha", ʃoʃa) was the standard light machine gun or "machine rifle" of the French Army during World War I (1914–18). Its official designation was "Fusil Mitrailleur Modele 1915 CSRG" ("Machine Rifle Model 1915 CSRG"). Beginning in June 1916, it was placed into regular service with French infantry, where the troops called it the FM Chauchat, after Colonel Louis Chauchat, the main contributor to its design. The Chauchat in 8mm Lebel was also extensively used in 1917–18 by the American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.), where it was officially designated as the "Automatic Rifle, Model 1915 (Chauchat)". A total of 262,000 Chauchats were manufactured between December 1915 and November 1918, including 244,000 chambered for the 8mm Lebel service cartridge, making it the most widely manufactured automatic weapon of World War I. The armies of eight other nations—Belgium, Finland, Greece, Italy, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Serbia—also used the Chauchat machine rifle in fairly large numbers during and after World War I. The Chauchat was one of the first light, automatic rifle caliber weapons designed to be 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, yet full power automatic weapon built inexpensively and in very large numbers. The Chauchat combined a pistol grip, an in line stock, a detachable magazine, and a selective fire capability in a compact package of manageable weight (20 pounds, 9 kilograms) for a single soldier. Furthermore, it could be routinely fired from the hip and while walking (marching fire). The Chauchat is the only mass produced fully automatic weapon actuated by long recoil, a Browning designed system already applied in 1906 to the Remington Model 8 semi automatic rifle: extraction and ejection of the empties takes place when the barrel returns forward, while the bolt is retained in the rear position. Afterwards the barrel trips a lever which releases the bolt and allows it to chamber another round. The muddy trenches of northern France exposed a number of weaknesses in the Chauchat's design. Construction had been simplified to facilitate mass production, resulting in low quality of many metal parts. The magazines in particular were the cause of about 75% of the stoppages or cessations of fire; they were made of thin metal and open on one side, allowing for the entry of mud and dust. The weapon also ceased to function when overheated, the barrel sleeve remaining in the retracted position until the gun had cooled off. Consequently, in September 1918, barely two months before the Armistice of November 11, the A. E. F. in France had already initiated the process of replacing the Chauchat with the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle. Shortly after World War I, the French army replaced the Chauchat with the new gas operated Mle 1924 light machine gun. It was mass manufactured during World War I by two reconverted civilian plants: "Gladiator" and "Sidarme". Besides the 8mm Lebel version, the Chauchat machine rifle was also manufactured in U. S. .30 06 Springfield and in 7.65×53mm Argentine Mauser caliber to arm the American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) and the Belgian Army, respectively. The Belgian military did not experience difficulties with their Chauchats in 7.65mm Mauser and kept them in service into the early 1930s, as did the Polish Army. Conversely, the Chauchat version in U. S. .30 06 made by "Gladiator" for the A. E. F., the Model 1918, proved to be fundamentally defective and had to be withdrawn from service. The weapon has a poor reputation in some quarters, with some experts assessing it as the worst machine gun ever fielded.

The design of the Chauchat dates back to 1903, and its long recoil operation is based on the John Browning designed Remington Model 8 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. The Chauchat machine rifle project was initiated between 1903 and 1910 in a French Army weapon research facility located near Paris: Atelier de Construction de Puteaux (APX). This development was aiming at creating a very light, portable automatic weapon served by one man only, yet firing the 8 mm Lebel service ammunition. The project was led from the beginning by Colonel Louis Chauchat, a graduate from Ecole Polytechnique, assisted by senior armorer Charles Sutter. Not less than eight trial prototypes were tested at APX, between 1903 and 1909. As a result, a small series (100 guns) of 8 mm Lebel CS (Chauchat Sutter) machine rifles was ordered in 1911, then manufactured between 1913 and 1914 by Manufacture d'armes de Saint Étienne (MAS). Because they were light, they were used temporarily during the early part of World War I to arm observation crews on French military aircraft. 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 Joseph 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 designed to fire the 8mm Lebel service ammunition. Whereas instruction manuals in both French and English for the 8mm Lebel Chauchat are still commonly found today, instruction manuals for the US 30 06 "American Chauchat" have never been seen in U. S. and French military archives or in private collections.

Several prototypes of dirt proof, fully enclosed Chauchat magazines were successfully tested in May and June 1918, but came too late to be placed into service. Stronger open sided standard magazines, as well as tailored canvas gun covers protecting the gun against mud during transport, had previously been issued in late 1917; as well as a flash hider. The initial two man Chauchat team was considered effective and grew to a four man squad by October 1917 (the squad leader, the gunner, the first ammo bearer who handled the magazines plus one additional ammo bearer). Both the gunner and the assistant gunner (pourvoyeur, ammo bearer) carried at all times a .32 ACP Ruby pistol with three magazines, each one loaded with 9 rounds, as part of their regular equipment. The squad leader and the magazine carrier were both equipped with a rifle or with a Berthier carbine. The additional men provided assistance in carrying loaded magazines, helping manage malfunctions, and protecting the gunner, but mainly to carry more ammunition; thus boosting the combat load. This is still the basic layout of a modern infantry squad or fire team, with the suppressive fire as the center of its combat formations.

The French infantry section/platoon took its modern form in the years 1916 1918. It was then equipped with six portable light machine guns (Chauchat) and four to six rifle grenade launchers (VB rifle grenade) and its voltigeurs started being equipped with semi automatic rifles, some with scopes. This differentiation induces an interdependence of the men which increases the psychological resistance superior to that of the aligned bayonet men of 1914. Above all, the infantry platoon can maneuver other than in line, as an articulated unit at intervals thanks to its autonomous combat groups. The qualitative leap in a few years is enormous and modern squads and platoons still function in the same manner, albeit with more sophisticated equipment such as portable radios and night vision devices. A specially lightened assault order was introduced in June 1915. The pack was now to be left behind in the second line; instead, rations and spare ammunition were rolled up in a blanket and worn bandolier style. Steel helmets were standard for the infantry in September 1915, in time for the Champagne offensive; standard issue for other arms occurred in October. Experience at Verdun showed how difficult it was to keep men in the front lines supplied with fresh water, so every man was given a second water bottle and a second haversack to carry necessities for a day or two of unsupported fighting; plus two gas masks (one in the ready position, one in a tin box); tools like an M1909 folding pick/shovel; extra ammunition and grenades, and sandbags for consolidating the objective. The rifle grenadiers and bombers (hand grenadiers) each carried a special haversack, which held the grenades in individual pouches inside. The rifle grenade cup was carried in its own pouch attached to the user's waistbelt. The men of the new fire and support teams were given new equipment for their spare ammunition. The Chauchat gunners each wore semi circular pouches on the waistbelt, containing one spare magazine each, as well as a pack containing a further eight magazines and 64 loose rounds, and a haversack containing a further four magazines. Riflemen would be discouraged to fire, as this slowed the advance, their job was to leapfrog while being covered; firing by the platoon and half platoon was only permitted to cover its own advance or that of a neighbouring platoon, or to deal with enemy pockets on their way. The principal role of the Chauchat was to provide a mobile barrage during the advance. This required skilled teamwork on the part of the crew, changing the magazines while on the move to keep up the volume of fire. As the center of the tactical device, the Chauchat gunner (tireur) would expect casualties but also decorations:"Soldat Carpentier, 20e RI, near Nogentel, Oise, 31 August 1918 he advanced on the enemy, firing while walking, the rest of the platoon led by Sergeant Berthault. He succeed in maneuvering around the flank of an island of resistance and in capturing, with his comrades, four machine guns and twenty five German gunners". Carpentier was awarded the Croix de Guerre with palm. By 1916, French Army tactical methods started emphasizing concentrated firepower and the flexible use of infantry. The experience of Verdun would carry to the Somme, and French units were successful in capturing their objectives at the beginning of the offensive, as well as suffering less casualties. From October 1917 the platoon had two LMG/rifle grenadier sections, one hand grenade section and one rifle section. This new system would fight the Battle of La Malmaison, from 23 to 27 October, with the French interarms infantry beating back enemy attacks where the German infantry attacked en masse, shoulder to shoulder. At the same battle, General Franchet d'Espèrey the commander of 6th Army, successfully introduced specially trained squads of infantry whose role was to accompany the tanks (chars d'assaut, as they were called). In a series of instructions in 1918, General Philippe Pétain sought to achieve greater cooperation between air power, artillery and tanks, all acting in support of the assaulting infantry; measures which bore fruit in the counter offensives of summer 1918. By mid 1918, the Allies managed to restore some degree of mobility to the war and the end of the stalemate on the Western Front; with less muddy trenches and more open fields. Furthermore, French infantry regiments had been reorganized into multiple small (18 men) combat groups ("Demi Sections de Combat"). The infantry platoon now had a platoon leader and platoon sergeant, formed in two half platoons commanded by sergeants. The 1st half platoon had a Grenadier Squad (Corporal, 2x hand grenadiers, 2x grenade carriers, 2x riflemen) and a LMG Squad (Corporal, 3x rifle grenadiers, 2x ammo carriers, 1x LMG gunner), the 2nd half platoon had a LMG Squad (Corporal, 3x rifle grenadiers, 2x ammo carriers, 1x LMG gunner) and a Rifle Squad (Corporal, 6x riflemen). The French regimental records and the statistics of medals given to Chauchat gunners document that they were an essential contribution to the success of these updated infantry tactics. Those were applied to suppress enemy machine gun nests, that would be approached by fire on the move, and destroyed by the combined action of Chauchat automatic fire coming from the sides and VB rifle grenades fired from the front, within less than 200 yards (182.9 meters); in military terms, assault distance. Captured terrain would be defended by emplaced Chauchat fire bases suppressing enemy counter attacks until heavier machine guns could be brought from the rear.

A number of captured Chauchats were used by German front line infantrymen in flamethrower units and assault troops because they had no equivalent light machine guns of their own until their attempt at one such portable weapon the Maxim MG 08 15 lightened machine guns that were issued to them during early 1917. The German army tried to modify some of these guns to fire the 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge.

The Belgian Army, which held a large sector of the Western Front but left its arms industry on the territories occupied by the Germans, started to acquire Chauchats for its infantry in the spring of 1916, getting over 1400 in a year, all in 8 mm Lebel. In order to simplify squad level logistics in the spring of 1917 a version chambered in their standard 7.65×53mm Mauser ammunition was tested, which had a new curved box magazine lacking cutouts for the mud to get inside. These numbers, however, are inconsistent with the fact that 4000 of Belgian M1915/17s were sold to Yugoslavia (see below). By 1924, Belgium only had 2902 automatic rifles to declare to the League of Nations, with none in reserve. The remaining ones were modified to address the numerous deficiencies in the unrefined design, the most visually obvious one was being covers against mud and dust on all the orifices. Postwar upgraded guns were designated Fusil Mitrailleur 1915 27. They were kept in service into the 1930s In mid 1920s Yugoslavia bought 4,000 M1915/17s more from Belgium as a stopgap measure, and in 1926 1928 rechambered them from 7,65 mm Belgian to captured 7.9x57 M1888 ammo, designating the result as puškomitraljez 7,9 mm. M. 15/26. The Chauchat was still in frontline use during the Greco Italian War.

Poland received French military assistance, notably infantry weapons and artillery, after World War I. As a part of those French weaponry transfers, Poland received over 2,000 Chauchats, which they used extensively during the Polish–Soviet War (1919–1921). After that war, Poland bought more of them, and their numbers reached 11,869, becoming a standard Polish light machine gun (the RKM wz 15). Eventually, about half of them were successfully converted during the mid 1920s to 7.92×57mm Mauser (or 8mm Mauser) and kept in service until the early 1930s under the designation RKM wz 15/27. One remaining specimen of these Polish Chauchats in 8mm Mauser is preserved and visible in the MoD (Ministry of Defence) National Firearms Centre which is a part of the Royal Armouries in Leeds, Great Britain. Later, in 1936–1937, some 2,650 Chauchats were sold abroad by Poland, some to the Mexican Army,

During the Winter War between Soviet Union and Finland, over 5,000 surplus Chauchats were donated by France to Finland, which was short on automatic weapons. The weapons arrived too late to see action but were used in Continuation War, mostly on the home front. After the war they were warehoused until 1955 and sold to Interarmco in 1959–1960.

Chinese made copies of the Chauchat were captured by Japanese forces during the Second Sino Japanese War. French third line units that faced the German breakthrough during the Fall of France in May and June 1940 were still equipped with Chauchat machine guns. Nazi Germany seized Chauchats from Poland, Belgium, France, Greece and Yugoslavia. Ex French guns were designated LeMG 156(f), ex Yugoslav and ex Polish LeMG 147(j), ex Greek LeMG 156(g) and ex Belgian LeMG 126(b). A small number of Chauchats captured by the Germans were issued to the Hungarians.

Unlike much heavier air and water cooled machine guns (such as the Hotchkiss machine gun and the various belt fed Maxim gun derivatives), and like the Madsen machine gun and Lewis gun, the Chauchat was not designed for sustained defensive fire from fixed positions. The tactical edge expected from the light and portable Chauchat machine rifle was to increase the offensive firepower of advancing infantry during the assaults. This particular tactic became known as marching fire. Colonel Chauchat had already formulated this tactical vision since the early 1900s, in his many proposals to the highest levels of the French military command structure, including General Joffre.

After the Armistice of 11 November 1918, the French military decided to upgrade to a more reliable light squad automatic weapon that would be designed and manufactured nationally. Experimentation was carried out at the Manufacture d'Armes de Châtellerault during the early 1920s, culminating in the adoption of the new light machine gun (in French: fusil mitrailleur), the FM Mle 1924. Gas operated, and using a new 7.5 mm rimless cartridge (that would evolve into the 7.5x54mm French), this finally corrected all the problems associated with the Chauchat, and was manufactured in large numbers (232,000) and widely used by the French Army until the late 1950s.