Colonial Berthiers: 1902 Indochina and 1907 Senegalese
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The sharpshooters of the French colonial forces in Indochina (the Tirailleurs Indochinois) had never been issued Lebel rifles, and were still using single shot Gras rifles at the turn of the century. The Indochinese soldiers were rather short statured, and the Lebel was simply too long of a rifle for them to use efficiently. The colonial government requested a special weapon for these men, and the result was the 1902 Berthier.
The Berthier carbine was much more compact than the Lebel, and it was also less expensive to manufacture and simpler to instruct troops with. So after some brief experimentation, a version was produced with a 25 inch (635mm) long barrel, which was a nice balance between the carbines and the Lebel rifle. In my opinion, the 1902 is the ideal size for a Berthier, and I think it handles best of all the different variations made.
An initial production run of 22,500 of these 1902 rifles was made by Chatellerault between 1902 and 1912. A second batch of about 25,000 more would be produced in the 1920s, but we will discuss these in a separate video, as they were made with the 1916 upgrades.
With the successful implementation of the Berthier in the Indochinese colonial forces, it would stand out as an obvious solution for the need to upgrade the arms of France's African colonial troops as well. These soldiers were not short, but also had outdated Gras rifles, and Lebel production was no longer active by 1907. As a result, a further lengthened Berthier was suggested for the Senegalese troops, with a barrel 31.5 inches (800mm) long; equal to that of the Lebel. This was accepted into service, and 25,000 were manufactured by Chatellerault between 1907 and the beginning of the Great War in 1914.
With the urgent need for more rifles because of World War One, the 1907 Berthier (renamed to the 1907 Colonial and issued to colonial troops besides just the Senegalese as of 1908) would attract the interest of the military because it was cheaper to manufacture than the Lebel, and still in active production. The result would be the 07/15 Berthier, which would become a dual standard infantry rifle alongside the 1886 Lebel in the war.
"Have you seen those new colonial Berthiers. They have curved stacking rods...curved...rods...."
I love the optimism on these rifle sights. 2nd longest confirmed sniper kill in history is 2,475 m with an AWM. And yet they made the sights go out to this range with a Berthier incase one of the troops happened to be a super soldier...
"War were declared", that sounds familiar ; )
I'm a atheist but believe in gun Jesus.
I just think it's kind of hilarious they needed special rifles for the Indo-Chinese troops because they were short... XD
Ian you have plenty of rifles with stacking hooks. Please take 3 outside and show us how they work.
Waited for the "war were declared" clips like with c&Arsenal :D
The name "tirailleurs sénégalais" (senegalese troops) referred to all black africans french troops and not only to those of the current Senegal.
Gun Jesus has brought us a new video!
This is just getting to the "wannaby Dutch" levels of different carbine models. :P
I have to agree that the 1902
A good analogy in English to the French term “tirailleur” is the use of “rifle” in the designation of British colonial troops like in Burma Rifles or King’s African Rifles, who are the very counterparts of the “tirailleurs indochinois” and “tirailleurs sénégalais” mentioned here.
If that short rifle had a 5 round clip, it could have been a pretty damn superior gun for it's time I'd think
Very nice vids as always ! :p Thanks to you i'm "learning" the weapons history of my country very easily ! Many thanks to you !
Stuff clip in rifle.
The Berthier system certainly seems to have an advantage over the Lebel, except in capacity. Carrying clipped ammo in pouches is more efficient as well as quieter, and loading should be much easier and quicker than loose ammo from pouches going into a tubular magazine. The riflea/carbines are more wieldy too. Anything over about 9 lbs should be forsaken; the infantryman has enough to carry already. All the variations and the thinking behind them are very interesting. Great video as always. Thank you
"War were declared." I love the little C&Rsenal reference there. :-)
I was constantly waiting for the old WW1 footage with sound effects everytime you mentioned "war were declared." lol
God I love when Ian speaks French !
Ian needs to do a 2 gun match with a Berthier rifle and a Bergmann pistol. Memetastic