Chassepot 1866

Fusil Chassepot Modèle 1866 - 11mm

German Modified Chassepot Carbine M1871 - 11x60mm

Chassepot Mle. 1866/74T (transormé) - 11x59mmR.

The Chassepot 1866 (pronounced "Shaspou") is a French bolt-action, single-shot rifle, using paper cartridges with black powder. This rifle was used by various countries, including France, Monaco, the Tokugawa shogunate (Japan), and Qajar Dynasty (Iran). The French Army adopted this rifle as Fusil Mle. 1866 and used it as their main infantry weapon in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/1871, where it was the counterpart to the Prussian Dreyse Needle Gun. Chassepot rifles were manufactured in France by Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Étienne (MAS), Manufacture d'Armes de Châtellerault (MAC), Manufacture d'Armes de Tulle (MAT) and some other factories, and also abroad in England, Belgium, and Italy.

When the Chassepot rifle was replaced by the Gras Mle. 1874, numerous Chassepots were converted to use the 11x59mmR Gras ammunition; this model was known as the Fusil Mle. 1866/74. Similar conversions were made in Germany that received many Chassepot rifles captured during the Franco-Prussian war. About 150,000 rifles were converted to using the 11x60mmR Mauser cartridge and shortened to carbine size. German cavalry and artillery used them until the early 1880s.

Specifications

• In service: (1867–1874)
• Weight: 10.2 lbs (4.6 kg)
• Length: 51.6 in (131 cm) (without bayonet)
  74 in (188 cm) (with bayonet)
• Caliber: 11 mm
• Action: Bolt action
• Rate of fire: 8-15 rounds/minute
• Effective range: 1,312.336 yards (1,200 m)
• Feed system: Single-shot

The Chassepot 1866 and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

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Films

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
Jánošík		Soldiers	with yataghan bayonets	1921
Westfront 1918		French soldiers		1930
Hell on Earth	Georges Péclet	Charles Durand		1931
	Louis Douglas	Joe Smile
Angel and Sinner	Georges Tourreil	Henri		1945
		French and Prussian soldiers
The Captain from Köpenick	Werner Schumacher	German Corporal		1956
	Balduin Baas	East Prussian grenadier
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang		Vulgarian soldiers		1968
Joe Kidd			on the table of broken guns	1972
Prairie Hunters in Mexico (Präriejäger in Mexiko)		Mexican and French soldiers		1988

Video Game

Game Title	Appears as	Note	Release Date
Total War: Shogun 2 — Fall of the Samurai			2011

Gras Model 1874

Fusil Gras Modèle 1874 - 11 x 59mm Gras

Fusil Gras Mle. 1874 M80 with Mle. 1874 sword bayonet - 11x59mm Gras

Fusil Gras Mle. 1874 M80 M14 - 8x50mmR

The Gras Mle. 1874 (pronounced "Grah") rifle is an adaptation of the Chassepot rifle to a metal cartridge developed by Basile Gras. The Bavarian Werder-Gewehr M/1869 was a comparable development. In 1880, the Gras got a slight modification of the receiver through a groove, and the cylinder head (extension of the notch in addition to the bleeding of the case) are better subjected to protect the shooter from breakage of holster and exhaust fumes. This model was designated as Gras Mle. 1874 M80. The weapon gained an excellent reputation for ruggedness and ballistic efficiency during overseas expeditions this time. The Japanese Murata Rifle was inspired by the Gras rifle and the Greek Army was introduced to the Gras Mle. 1874 in 1877 and used it in all conflicts until the Second World War. It became the favorite weapon of partisans from the revolts against the Ottoman Empire to resistance to the German occupation and gained a legendary reputation.

Reasons for the relatively quick replacement of this rifle (in France by the Lebel 1886) was the result of the discovery of new powder types that are superior to black powder. But in 1914, the rifle was converted to the 8mm Lebel cartridge because of firearm shortages in World War I. These models were equipped by troops who were not destined to fight at the front with a weapon using standard ammunition, thus simplifying the manufacture and logistics. The second time this happened at the beginning of WWII for the same reasons, in particular in France 1940, and in the USSR 1941, for security and patrol purposes, before they were replaced by more modern rifles.

Specifications

• In service: (1874–1886, 1914-1918)
• Weight: 4.15 kg (9.15 lb)
• Length: 51.4 in (130.5 cm)
• Caliber: 11×59mmR, 8x50mmR
• Action: Bolt action
• Rate of fire: ?
• Effective range: ?
• Feed system: Single-shot

The Gras Model 1874 and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

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Films

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
The Heart of Humanity		German soldiers		1918
The Lost Battalion		American and German soldiers	with Mle. 1866 Yataghan sword bayonets	1919
The New Babylon	Pyotr Sobolevsky	Jean	standing in for Chassepot 1866	1929
		French soldiers
The Paris Commune (Zori Parizha)	Antonina Maksimova	Catherine Millard	standing in for Chassepot 1866	1936
	Andrei Abrikosov	Etienne Millard
	Dmitri Dorlyak	Eugene Gorrot
	Vladimir Belokurov	Raoul Rigault
	Anatoliy Goryunov	Richet
		Communards, National Guardsmen, French Army soldiers
Gavroche		Republicans	anachronistic	1937
Lenin in October (Lenin v oktyabre)		Red Guards		1937
Daybreak (Le jour se lève)		French soldiers	Carbine	1935
Paths of Glory		French soldiers		1957
Mata Hari, Agent H21		French soldiers		1964
Two Mules for Sister Sara		French soldiers	standing in for Chassepot 1866	1970
Lacombe, Lucien	Pierre Blaise	Lucien Lacombe	Converted shotgun; only on a promotional image	1974
A Captain's Honor (L'Honneur d'un capitaine)			Converted shotgun	1982
Field of Honor	Cris Campion	Pierre Naboulet	standing in for Chassepot 1866	1987
		Algerian, Turkish, French troops
The Lost City of Z	Charlie Hunnam	Percy Fawcett		2017
	Robert Pattinson	Henry Costin

Television

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
Data Tutashkhia	Vladimer Bregvadze	Jonjolia	Ep.5	1977
Around the World in 80 Days	Loic Djani	Gérard	Ep. 01; standing in for Chassepot 1866	2021
		A Parisian Commune member