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Berthier Rifles
The Berthier Rifles and Carbines were a family of bolt-action small arms in 8x50mmR Lebel, used in the French Army from the 1890s to the beginning of World War II and by some French law enforcement units until the 1970s. Developed from the cavalry and artillery carbines issued in 1890-92, known as the mousquetons Berthier, two full-length Berthier rifle models had already been introduced before World War I. They were the Fusil Mle. 1902 and Mle. 1907 which were issued to Indochinese and Senegalese Tirailleur troops.
Following the introduction of the Gewehr 1888 with a box magazine in Germany, the artillery commission in France was tasked with further developing the Lebel 1886 rifle. At the same time, Lt. Émile André Berthier, a civil engineer for the French state railroad in Algeria, developed a variant of the Lebel rifle with a revised Kropatschek bolt system, which locks directly behind the chamber and in which the locking elements are offset by 90 degrees compared to those of the Lebel rifle (in contrast to the Lebel rifle, they are on the side of the bolt when the bolt is open). A Mannlicher magazine system with a loading frame was provided for loading the weapon. As Berthier's design was deemed superior to the artillery commission's, the Atelier de construction de Puteaux (APX) produced ten prototypes of Berthier's development.
During World War I, a modified version of the Mle. 1907 rifle called Fusil Mle. 1907/15 was manufactured in very large numbers for issue to French Colonial troops, French Foreign Legion, and Allied troops during the war. It also was issued to regular French troops due to the shortage of Lebel rifles during World War I. The Fusil Mle. 1907/15 was manufactured in four locations the French arsenals Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Étienne and Chatellerault. Also by private companies Delaunay-Belleville, Continsouza, and Remington UMC.
Due to the small 3rd magazine capacity of the Berthier Mle. 1907/15 to be a major disadvantage, which led to the introduction of a 5-round magazine Berthier Fusil Mle. 1907/15 M.16. It was manufactured beginning in 1890 until 1918. The total number of Berthier rifles manufactured was 435,000 units. In the 1930s about 80,000 of them were converted for using a new 7.5x54mm MAS cartridge; this version is known as Mle. 1907/15 M.34.
Specifications
Type: Rifle
Caliber: 8x50R mm; 7.5x54 mm (Mle. 1907/15 M34)
Capacity: 3,5 rounds
Fire Modes: Single shot (Bolt Action)
Modèle 1892 Artillery Carbine
The Mousqueton d’Artillerie Modèle 1892 differs essentially from the gendarmerie carbine in that the Mle. 1892 bayonet saber is more a tool than a weapon. A saber bayonet is a bayonet with a blade that can be used as a machete.
It is a short, stocky weapon, but easy to use. The Berthier Mousqueton was appreciated by soldiers for its compactness in the trenches, and was also popular for its virile recoil, giving the shooter an impression of power.
The Modèle 1892 Artillery Carbine and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bennie the Howl (Benya Krik) | Benya Krik's man | 1926 | ||
| Daybreak (Le jour se lève) | French soldiers | 1935 | ||
| The Eighth (Osmiyat) | A resistance fighter | 1969 | ||
| Baba Yaga, Devil Witch | Isabelle De Funès | Valentina Rosselli | 1973 | |
| Firing squad | ||||
| Les Misérables | French prison guards and soldiers | 1995 | ||
| Hot Fuzz | Seen in the evidence room | 2007 | ||
| Far from Men | Reda Kateb | Mohamed | 2014 | |
| Algerian rebels | ||||
| 15 Minutes of War (L'Intervention) | Somalian troops | 2015 | ||
| Papillon | French Gendarmes and Penal Colony guards | 2018 | ||
| To the Ends of the World (Les confins du monde) | Vietnamese soldiers of French colonial troops | 2018 | ||
| An Officer and a Spy (J'Accuse) | French gendarmes | 2019 |
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes / Episode | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front Without Mercy (Front ohne Gnade) | Spanish Republicans | Ep.6 | 1984 | |
| The Alsatians or the Two Matildas | French soldiers | 1996 |
Video Game
| Title | Appears as | Mods | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battle of Empires: 1914-1918 | "Mousqueton Modèle 1892" | 2015 | ||
| Verdun | "Mousqueton Mle. 1892 Berthier" | 2015 | ||
| Rainbow Six Siege | Unusable; seen on background | 2015 | ||
| Hunt: Showdown | Berthier "Mle 1892" | Added in Update 1.7 (2021) | 2018 |
Fusil Modèle 1902 Rifle
The equipment of the Indochinese riflemen was not the responsibility of the Ministry of War but of the Ministry of Colonies. Consequently, Indochinese riflemen were not equipped with Lebel 1886 rifles. With a relatively small budget, the Ministry of Colonies recovered a large number of Gras Model 1874 rifles and carbines. In 1901, Paul Doumer, Governor of Indochina, asked for a study of a short rifle for the Indochinese, who were small in stature.
The Comité Technique de l'Artillerie proposed two types of rifle, "lengthened" versions of the Mle. 1890 gendarmerie rifle, the longer of which was adopted, and an order for 10,000 was placed with the Manufacture d'Armes de Châtellerault. A second order for 14,000 was subsequently placed. Schneider also purchased 10,000 of the rifles to fulfill an arms contract with Persia in 1908.
A new order for 25,000 examples of the 1902 model with the M.16 modification was placed in 1920.
The Fusil Modèle 1902 Rifle and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shock Troop | French soldiers | 1934 | ||
| The Intervention (Interventsiya) | French soldiers | 1969 | ||
| The Gang (Le Gang) | French gendarmes | 1977 | ||
| Capitaine Conan | French soldiers | 1996 |
Fusil Modèle 1907 Rifle
In 1907, the Ministry of Colonies decided to adopt a Berthier rifle similar to the "Indochinese" rifle, but with a length similar to that of the Lebel for Senegalese riflemen.
The Fusil Modèle 1907 Rifle and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Fear | French soldiers | 2015 |
Video Game
| Title | Appears as | Mods | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verdun | "Fusil Colonial Mle. 1907 Berthier Sénégalais" | Added with December 2018 expansion | 2015 |
Fusil Modèle 1907-15 Rifle
At the start of the war, the state arms factories were unable to restart Lebel production, as the majority of machine tools had been converted for other uses. The remaining machine tools in Tulle were barely sufficient to ensure the repair of weapons returning from the battlefield. It was therefore decided to undertake the large-scale manufacture of a rifle based on the Mle. 1907.
In 1915, this rifle was officially adopted by the Ministry of War and was given the name Fusil Mle. 1907 modifié 1915 or 07/15 and gradually replaced the Lebel. It has simplified sights, a straight bolt, and retained the Lebel bayonet lug, for using the 1886/93 Rosalie bayonet.
The Fusil Modèle 1907/15 Rifle and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7th Heaven | Charles Farrell | Chico | 1927 | |
| David Butler | Gobin | |||
| French soldiers | ||||
| Wings | French troops | 1927 | ||
| Carry on, Sergeant! | French-Moroccan soldiers | 1928 | ||
| All Quiet on the Western Front | Raymond Griffith | Gérard Duval | 1930 | |
| Lew Ayres | Paul Bäumer | |||
| Slim Summerville | Tjaden | |||
| French soldiers | ||||
| Morocco | Gary Cooper | Tom Brown | 1930 | |
| Paul Porcasi | Lo Tinto | |||
| French Légionnaires | ||||
| Mata Hari | French soldiers | 1931 | ||
| Cavalcade | French soldiers | 1933 | ||
| The World Moves On | Franchot Tone | Richard Girard | 1934 | |
| Raul Roulien | Henri Girard | |||
| Stepin Fetchit | Dixie | |||
| French soldiers | ||||
| The Road to Glory | Victor Kilian | Tall Sergeant | 1936 | |
| Lionel Barrymore | Pvt. Morin | |||
| French soldiers | ||||
| Seventh Heaven | James Stewart | Chico | 1937 | |
| Victor Kilian | Gobin | |||
| French soldiers | ||||
| Block-Heads | French soldiers | Scene from All Quiet on the Western Front | 1938 | |
| Beau Geste | Gary Cooper | Beau Geste | 1939 | |
| Ray Milland | John Geste | |||
| Robert Preston | Digby Geste | |||
| Albert Dekker | Schwarz | |||
| Harold Huber | Voisin | |||
| Legionnaires | ||||
| The Flying Deuces | Stan Laurel | Stan | 1939 | |
| Oliver Hardy | Ollie | |||
| French Foreign Legionaries | ||||
| Immortal Sergeant | German and Italian soldiers | 1943 | ||
| To Have and Have Not | Vichy French soldiers | 1944 | ||
| State Department: File 649 | Caravan guard | 1949 | ||
| The Taste of Violence (Le goût de la violence) | Guerrillas | 1961 | ||
| Mata Hari, Agent H21 | French soldiers | 1964 | ||
| Shock Troops (Un homme de trop) | Charles Vanel | Passevin | 1967 | |
| Resistance fighters | ||||
| Bonnot's Gang (La bande à Bonnot) | French Zouaves and gendarmes | 1968 | ||
| The Intervention (Interventsiya) | French soldiers | 1969 | ||
| 100 Rifles | Mexican soldiers | 1969 | ||
| Two Mules for Sister Sara | French soldiers | 1970 | ||
| How I Unleashed World War II | French Foreign Legionnaires | 1970 | ||
| Papillon | Steve McQueen | Henri "Papillon" Charrière | 1973 | |
| Dustin Hoffman | Louis Dega | |||
| Robert Deman | Maturette | |||
| John Quade | Masked Breton | |||
| French soldiers and Penal Colony guards | ||||
| And Now My Love | French soldiers | 1974 | ||
| March or Die | Terence Hill | Marco Segrain | 1977 | |
| Flight of the Intruder | A Vietnamese peasant | 1991 | ||
| Hold-Up (Nalyot) | Aleksey Petrenko | "The Uncle" | 1993 | |
| Les Misérables | French soldiers | 1995 | ||
| Twelve Monkeys | French soldiers | 1995 | ||
| A Very Long Engagement | Gaspard Ulliel | Manech Langonnet | 2004 | |
| Clovis Cornillac | Benoît Notre-Dame | |||
| Denis Lavant | Francis "Six-Sous" Gaignard | |||
| Albert Dupontel | Célestin Poux | |||
| François Levantal | Thouvenel | |||
| French soldiers | ||||
| Joyeux Noël | Dany Boon | Private Ponchel | 2005 | |
| Mickey Dedaj | Le couturier | |||
| Lucas Belvaux | Gueusselin | |||
| Philippe Beautier | Morallec | |||
| French soldiers | ||||
| Papillon | French Gendarmes, soldiers, and Penal Colony guards | 2018 | ||
| All Quiet on the Western Front | French soldiers | 2022 |
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes / Episode | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Road to Calvary (Khozhdenie po mukam) | Soldiers of Russian Expeditionary Force in France | Ep.3 | 1977 | |
| Three Days of June | French Colonial soldiers | 2004 | ||
| 14 - Diaries of the Great War | Mikaël Fitoussi | Louis Barthas | 2014 | |
| French soldiers | ||||
| Les Fusillés | Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet | Louis | 2015 | |
| French soldiers | ||||
| Clash of Futures | French and German soldiers | 2018 |
Video Game
| Title | Appears as | Mods | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battle of Empires: 1914-1918 | "Lebel-Berthier" | 2014 | ||
| Verdun | "Fusil Mle. 1907/15 Berthier" | 2015 | ||
| Tannenberg | "Fusil Mle. 1907/15 Berthier" | Romanian Update | 2019 | |
| Beyond The Wire | "Berthier Fusil Mle 1907/15" | 2022 |
Fusil Modèle 1916 Carabine
The Mousqueton Mle. 1892 Modifié 1916 (also called Carabine Berthier modèle 1916) was a modification of the Mousqueton d'Artillerie Modèle 1892, newly stocked and equipped with a Mannlicher magazine system for a 5-round loading clip.
The Fusil Modèle 1916 Carabine and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Flying Deuces | French legionnaires | Archival footage | 1939 | |
| The Battle of the Rails (La bataille du rail) | French Resistance fighters, German soldiers | 1946 | ||
| Canal (Kanal) | Seen among captured Polish weapons | 1957 | ||
| Weekend at Dunkirk | French soldiers | 1964 | ||
| Ho! | Gendarmes | 1968 | ||
| The Pariah (La Scoumoune) | Prison guards | 1972 | ||
| Baba Yaga, Devil Witch | Isabelle De Funès | Valentina Rosselli | 1973 | |
| The Hostage Gang (Le gang des otages) | French gendarmes | 1973 | ||
| And Now My Love | French soldiers | 1974 | ||
| Borsalino and Co. | French soldiers | 1974 | ||
| Black Thursday | French gendarmes | 1974 | ||
| The Gang (Le Gang) | French gendarmes | 1977 | ||
| Drummer-Crab (Le Crabe-Tambour) | African tribesmen | 1977 | ||
| The Escape (La carapate) | French gendarmes | 1978 | ||
| From Hell to Victory | George Hamilton | Maurice Bernard | 1979 | |
| Operation Leopard (La légion saute sur Kolwezi) | Seen on the wall | 1980 | ||
| The Fugitives | French gendarmes | 1986 | ||
| The Prince of the Pacific (Le prince du Pacifique) | French sailors | 2000 | ||
| Hotel Rwanda | An Interahamwe militiaman | 2004 | ||
| A Very Long Engagement | French police officers and soldiers | 2005 | ||
| Outside the Law | French shopkeeper | 2010 | ||
| French riot police | ||||
| Battle of Warsaw 1920 | Natasza Urbanska | Ola Raniewska | 2011 | |
| Polish soldiers | ||||
| Day of the Falcon (Or noir) | Sultan's guards, Auda´s men | 2011 | ||
| The Water Diviner | A Turkish soldier | 2014 | ||
| White Soldier | French soldiers | 2014 | ||
| Papillon | French Penal Colony guards | 2018 | ||
| To the Ends of the World (Les confins du monde) | Vietnamese soldiers of French colonial troops | 2018 | ||
| An Officer and a Spy (J'Accuse) | French gendarmes | 2019 |
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes / Episode | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bors | French mounted policemen | Ep. 10 "A papagáj akció" (Operation Parrot); Stock footage | 1968 | |
| Nestor Burma - Season 3 | A French gendarme | "Brouillard au pont de Tolbiac" (S3E5) | 1994 | |
| The Alsatians or the Two Matildas | French soldiers | 1996 | ||
| The Somme | David Bertrand | Fraisse | 2005 | |
| Jean-David Beroard | Barberon | |||
| French soldiers | ||||
| Three Days of June | French soldiers | 2004 | ||
| Verdun: Descent into Hell | Johannes Oliver Hamm | Charles Delvert | 2005 | |
| French soldiers | ||||
| Babylon Berlin - Season 1 | French soldiers | Ep. 07 | 2017 | |
| 1918: Uprising of the Sailors | Lucas Prisor | Karl Artelt | 2018 | |
| German sailors | ||||
| Hotel Europa | French soldiers | Ep. 01 | 2022 |
Video Games
| Title | Appears as | Mods | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battlefield: 1918 | "Berthier Carbine" | 2004 | ||
| Forgotten Hope 2 | "Mousqueton Berthier Mle 16" | Added in v2.6 (2022) | 2007 | |
| Verdun | "Mousqueton Mle. 1892 M16 Berthier" | 2015 | ||
| Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades | "Berthier Carbine" | 2016 | ||
| Squad 44: Letters From The Front | "Berthier Mle. 1892 M16 M." | Introduced in Plan Jaune update | 2018 | |
| Enlisted | "Berthier M16 Carbine" | 2021 |
Anime
| Title | Character | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noir | Chief Thibault | Ep. 22: Journey's End (Tabiji no Hate) | 2001 |
| Lupin Zero | Gaucho | Ep. "Young Lupin Calls Himself "the Third" | 2022 - 2023 |
| Viet Minh soldiers |
Fusil Modèle 1907-16 Rifle
The design of the Fusil Modèle 1907/15 Modifié 1916 or Fusil Modèle 1916 corresponded to the Mousqueton Mle. 1892 Modifié 1916, it was also newly stocked and equipped with the magazine for a 5-round loading clip.
The Fusil Modèle 1907/16 Rifle and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verdun: Visions of History | French soldiers | 1928 | ||
| Sergey Lazo | Imperial Japanese Army soldiers | 1968 | ||
| Fort Saganne | French and Arabic soldiers | 1984 | ||
| The Water Diviner | A Greek soldier | 2014 | ||
| The Fear | Nino Rocher | Gabriel Dufour | 2015 | |
| French soldiers | ||||
| The Promise | French soldiers | 2016 | ||
| Papillon | French Penal Colony guards | 2018 |
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes / Episode | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Three Days of June | French Colonial soldiers | 2004 | ||
| 14 - Diaries of the Great War | A French soldier | 2014 | ||
| Deadline Gallipoli | French soldiers and West-African Troops | 2015 |
Video Game
| Title | Appears as | Mods | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forgotten Hope 2 | "FR Berthier Mle 16" | Iron sights and APX Mle 1921 | Added in v2.6 (2022) | 2014 |
| Battle of Empires: 1914-1918 | "Lebel-Berthier mle1916" | 2015 | ||
| Squad 44: Letters From The Front | "Berthier Mle. 1907/15-M16" | Added in 2024 Operation Clean Sweep Update | 2018 |
Fusil Modèle 1907-15 M34 Rifle
After the Lebel M1886/93/27 was deemed a failure, a very similar conversion was developed based on more suitable Berthier rifles. Since the fundamentally new MAS-36 was adopted shortly after, about 80,000 of M34s were produced before they were discontinued.
The Fusil Modèle 1907/15 M.34 Rifle and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sadsacks Go to War (Les Bidasses s'en vont en guerre) | French soldiers | 1974 | ||
| The Escape (La carapate) | French riot police | 1978 |
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes / Episode | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fantômas | French Police | Ep.2 | 1980 |
Video Game
| Title | Appears as | Mods | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forgotten Hope 2 | "FR Berthier Mle 07-15 M34" | Added in v2.6 (2022) | 2007 |
| Pistols |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Revolvers | ||
| Submachine guns | ||
| Rifles | ||
| Machine Guns | ||
| Recoilless Rifles | ||