bigmoney3656 Well, it was one of the first light automatic rifles ever. It had to start somewhere. And in WW1 you would have been really gratefull to have something like that when most other soldiers have bolt action rifles.
you guys are NOT paying full attention to what he is saying. this is a gun designed for WAR. it is supposed to be rugged. the magazine is what killed this guns reputation. not the training issues. That is what started it but then when its taken into battle with dirt and mud flying everywhere from explosions, the mag seizes up the entire gun. Not to mention the aluminum barrel shroud with no manual forward assist. I agree though, this was a necessary first step towards more rugged designs. Every first step is going to the hardest and usually produce the least desirable outcome. AGAIN, at the end HE IS ON A CLEAN RANGE. THAT is why it ran well. Watch R. Lee Emry's video where he fires it.
It was the most produced gun of the war, and was used by both sides. After the war, it was used by other nations, including by Poland when they defeated Soviet Russia.
Yeah, I guess it's the slow fire rate but this thing sounds a LOT bigger and badder than it actually is. Kinda the opposite of the MG-42 which sounds big but has an insane fire rate that sounds more like a high pitched growl of some satanic beast of the underworld than a gun. This on the other hand sounds like the boot of a giant battering down on unfortunate Germans.
My Dad had a 32 french long pistol and he traded it away when I was young, but for whatever reason he kept half a box of rounds. I've got them sitting in a box downstairs. Are they really that rare?
This actually made me change my mind about this weapon. I've seen a few in some museums and I've always looked at it with disgust. Not anymore though, I want to get my hands on one just for the fact that it looks like one heck of a fun gun.
I owned a Chauchat back in the late 60's. It's one of those ugly things that's it's attractive. There were a number of companies that made it, and parts were found that would not interchange between different manufacturers. Designed by a committee.
My great grand mother told me that my great great grandfather was a machine gunner in the Serbian army on the Salonika (or Macedonian) front in WW1 and that he was always spearheading assaults (he won a White Eagle medal for bravery but was constantly refused promotion due to his reckless bravery). Having a picture of heavy tripod mounted Maxim guns in my mind, her story seemed illogical until I learned of the Chauchat and that 5000 of them were issued to the Serbian army on the Salonika front.
"Soldat Carpentier, 20e RI [Infantry Regiment], near Nogentel, Oise, 31 August 1918 ... he advanced on the enemy, firing while walking, the rest of the platoon led by Sergeant Berthault. He succeded in manoeuvering around the flank of an island of resistance and in capturing, with his comrades, four machine guns and twenty-five German gunners." Carpentier's citation for his Croix de Guerre, he was a Chauchat gunner.
Filipe Amaral, thank you for the historical citation for soldat Carpentier's award of the Croix de Guerre. I believe that "walking fire" was probably one of the main purposes of the Chauchat.
Additional fact not mentioned in the citation: Carpentier achieved this noteworthy feat while towing behind him a small wooden cart which was made for him by another member of his platoon, M. Phillippe Marcel, a carpenter in civilian life. Marcel constructed the cart as a gift for his friend, after overhearing Carpentier complain to another soldier that his enormous balls were constantly getting covered in mud.
picnic tables petitioned the international community for long recoil guns, and weapons with heavy recoil in general to be banned in warfare. they were ignored of course
It's got a really satisfying, rhythmic, mechanical sound to it. It's less "BANG BANG" or "TATATATATATATATA" and more "CHUNK-CHUNK-CHUNK-CHUNK-CHUNK". Definitely one of my favourite guns, and the sound just makes it all that much cooler.
My great uncle served in France during WWI, and was issued a Chauchat when he entered the trenches. He had no real beef with it once he learned how to shoot and properly maintain it.
The biggest problem with the Chauchat is that anyone who's ever even seen a gun can see two major weaknesses using it down in the mud of the trenches. The wide open magazine is just begging to get mud in it, and it uses an open bolt, also inviting mud into the action.
Pan magazine has gravity on its side (anything that gets into the bottom tends to just fall back out), and a stoppage would have to be something large enough to jam the entire radial pan disc. Plus if you want to compare it to something, compare it to the Madsen, which ran like clockwork unless you did something stupid like chamber it in 6.5mm Swedish Mauser.
Most machine guns fire from an open bolt. It helps with cooling and also allows easy barrel changes without messing with the action. It also allows simpler more hefty parts for the action and its using lots of mass to hit the primer. All good things for reliability. Cooling and strong part design is the most important thing with MG's. You tend not to fire the gun with the receiver buried in the mud so open bold is not really a problem.
@@williamsager805 After awhile the French government started issuing canvas covers. That, along with extreme caution from the gunners, usually kept them reasonably clean. Still didn't help keep the mags from getting bent and dented.
Well done! As a German, I see the Chautchat with mixed feelings. My grandfather Karl has served as an artillery observer with the "Reserve Feldartillerie Regiment 62" in the Battle of Verdun. He survived the meat grinder of Verdun. How many times he was probably in the dirt and the projectiles of the Chauchat wistled over him? C'est la guerre!
***** The same sad feeling. My grandfather has learned his lesson. Never again war! Unfortunately, 20 years later, no one listened to the veterans of World War I. My grandfather never forgot this horror. He died much too young.
The introduction of the Chauchat and the VB rifle grenade in 1916 prompted something of a rethink. Each assault now consisted of a number of waves. A first wave formed by the rifle/bomber half-platoons, accompanied by engineers with wire cutters, was followed by a second wave made up of the bomber/VB half-platoons. A third wave followed 30 metters (33 yards) behind, again consisting of bombers and rifleman, with the role of clearing the captured trench. And behind them came the remaining two platoons of the company, with the VBs on the flank and in the centre, acting as a reserve. The role of the first wave was to capture the first line of enemy trenches and then move on, with their main objective to gain ground; the second wave acted as a reserve, and could pass through the first in order to maintain the impetus of the attack. The moppers-up of the third wave took possession of the trench, bombing their way along the traverses, and reducing any strongpoints. Formations for the assault were kept flexible. The first two waves might be in extended order, with four or five paces between each man, but the third and fourth could be in columns of squads, to make it easier to maneuvre quickly. Yet, all too frequently, the pace and form of attacks were ruled by a rigid timetable that left insufficient discretion to local commanders to exploit success. A specially lightened attack order was introduced in 1915. The pack was now to be left in the second line; instead, rations and spare ammunition were rolled up in a blanket and worn bandolier-style. Later experience at Verdun showed how difficult it was to keep men in the front line supplied with fresh water, so every men was given a second water bottle. The principle 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. Yet for the individual rifleman, firing during the advance was discouraged, as it was felt that it simply slowed forward progress. Firing, by the platoon or half-platoon, was permitted only to cover its own advance or that of a neighbouring platoon, or to deal with a knot of enemy resistence. 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. The rifle grenadiers and bombers each carried a special haversack, which held the grenades in individual pouches inside. The rifle grenade cup was carried in its own pouche attached to the user's waistbelt. This French pattern will set the new modern infantry force: an inter-dependent body of different weapons working as a machine., with a stronger psychological strenght in comparison to the "bayonet-man" of 1914. It allows for fire and movement beyond simply advancing in line, with an interval pace with its autonomous "Combat Groups" (Squads).
+Joeben Pajes Engalan I agree with the sten comparison. Similar style of production (parts farmed out to concerns with light engineering experience, but not in firearms, usually bicycles). Similar looks (thrown together from parts rejected by a plumber). Apart from the open sided magazine, I always assumed that a large part of the problem was the production method. Methods which would be much more successfully used later. I always thought that maybe they were asking a little bit too much of the production capabilities at the time. Production Stens had lots of problems as well, Jams, Runaways (pull trigger, hold on for dear life until the mag was empty) were frequent enough to give the first stens a bad reputation. It was pretty bad and several tries at resolving those and improving the quality over various marks, including cosmetic changes to make the gun feel less thrown together and improve end user trust.
+Jon-Paul Filkins Isn't the Sten basically the same thing as the post war Sterling? I lugged a Sterling around for years and would quite happily gone to war with one.
I enjoy this video. I came back to watch it again. Having read and heard all my life that the Chauchat was a piece of junk, I was surprised when a few years back, I saw a 100 year old Marine interviewed on the history channel. When asked about the Chauchat he looked right into the camera and said " The Chauchat was a good gun." Here was a man who had actually used this gun in combat and he said it was a good gun. Thank you for presenting the facts. The Chauchat was in fact a good gun.
James maybe actually watch the video. Ian literally states that the reasoning behind your claim is because they trained with a shitty attempt at a caliber conversion.
It's difficult to say what would be good and bad features when this weapon was designed; none of the European armies were anticipating trench warfare and this automatic was rushed to the French army to give them mobile firepower. Built economically by (mainly) a bicycle maker, they were surprisingly good - even if the trench experience would highlight feed defects which would only be exacerbated as the cleaning regime slackened in the trenches. The French weren't stupid to adopt it; it served a purpose - though as the war progressed, they reduced their own stock. Some of the re-chamberings went ok. Unlike the abortive 30-06 one, both the 7.65 x 54 in Belgium and the 7.92 x 57 in Poland didn't attract adverse reputations. Thanks very much for this video. It could be subtitled "The Chauchat Redemption"
Man, every time I played with this gun in "Verdun" I thought the reload animation was wrong because it doesn't involve charging the weapon after a full magazine. Here I find it locks open after the last round.
I have 400+ hours in Verdun and I doubt I have spent even one whole hour with the Chauchat. It’s just not worth screwing with, especially with Verdun’s terribly buggy mechanics for deploying machineguns that they have known about for years and never fixed.
Guten At that point of the war Germany had a severe shortage of food and strategic materials so I bet they did a lot of "funny" things themselves to survive which is why this wouldn't have fazed them one bit.
Like any other machine, abusing it will not make it work any better, but is likely to make it work worse. I can only imagine the looks the gun smiths in the armories must have had when inspecting these guns as they were returned for repairs.
Thanks Ian. I had always been told in print and TV what a terrible gun this was. However a few years ago I saw a TV interview with an American WWI vet and he was talking about the Chauchat and how much he liked it and how it saved their bacon more than once. Quit frankly I thought he may be a little bit cracked due to his age but he seemed pretty sharp for being that old. He said it was a good gun if you took care of it. Great to get some good info.
Holy shit that looks like it would be hella scary on a battlefield. The whole action has a really crunchy, mechanical sound to it, and sounds like it's pretty loud, plus with how much it slams back and forward. It would almost be scary just to shoot
No kidding. My first thought was "That thing looks like it's trying to shake itself apart with every shot." But, it's primitive Industrial Age machinery, what do you expect? They attempted to miniaturize a platform which wasn't ready to be so small yet. The Maxim was gigantic and so reliable you could literally set your watch by it.
16:55 "Allez les boches!" haha you killed me on that one :D Aside your little jokes which I find very funny, I really admire and enjoy what you do in your channel. Your knowledge and level of expertise on these machines is just flabbergasting. Thank you so much for sharing this!
Superlative video. A model for how gun videos should be done. Of course you have an unfair advantage. Most of the guys who make gun videos know very little about guns and nothing about history. They tend to just repeat various firearm myths.This video demonstrates that a hundred years ago gun makers did not have all the kinks worked out yet in auto weapon design. Imagine that?
I love the look of that weapon so much. My country (Greece) used these during WWII, as most of their equipment was obsolete. I was always a bit sad to hear about their reputation so this video was very welcome
+Collin Chapman it doesn't look much beautiful or ugly to me, but i must admit, seeing him shoot in full auto really gave me a nice laugh, it's not bad, it's cool, but also damn comical, like a barret shooting in full-auto.
This gun could symbolize French military proves in general. People often make fun of them as someone who always surrender but actually French have always been a formidable opponent.
+Pilotmario I had always heard these jokes made about the Italians, then I learned English. I'm still confused as to why anglophones are making these about the French.
Useless Information Even about the Italians those jokes are too simplified. Probably due to poor success of Italian army in both World Wars. But in the first it had nothing to do with lack of courage on the part of Italian soldiers, rather the incompetence of Luigi Cadorna. And I think it is admirable that most Italians weren't motivated to fight well on behalf of that fascist Mussolini in the second one. And yet still professional Italians soldiers like the Bersaglieri performed well, after all soldiering was their job so even if they had no love for Il Duce they did what they were trained to do. And Rommel himself praised Italian Bersaglieri. Also I recently read this small book from Osprey Publishing's Men-at-Arms series about the Battle of Adwa. Despite that it was a defeat for Italy I gained lots of respect for all participants of the battle. African troops on both sides were brave and formidable. But the book also mentions how in many occasion Eritrean Ascari protected their Italian officers to the death. Those officers must have been quite valiant to inspire such loyalty.
as a natural marksmen, i would say the fact that the gun acts like a washing machine with a brick in it at full auto it's insane to think some one considered it for mg use
Mhh, je pense vraiment que "allez les boches" sous-entends "Allez, venez les boches". Mais sinon qu'elle serait selon toi la traduction la plus juste? Je demande ça par curiosité linguistique.
I'm pretty sure it isn't called a 'show-show'. 'Chau' in French is a lot like 'show' in English, but 'chat' sounds more like the 'sha-' in the word 'shall'.
Ian, this is one of your best....many other 'historic' reviewers tend to just report how bad they were but not why. None of them got into the detail of the bad 30-06 conversion except for mentioning that they were converted for US issue. I am also pretty sure no one else has talked about the correct way to position yourself to shoot it effectively. Matter of fact, even the older video's with veterans that were still alive, just parroted the 'mythical' problems.As always...You da' man.
"Allez les boches !" Excellent. As always, thank you for all the historical and technical details that make these videos so interesting. A greeting from France.
Thank you sir for your knowledge and time! It is obvious you are a true weapon historian and dare I say enthusiast. I really enjoy the fruits of your labor and I for one am excited you are on the tube!
I'd have to say, I follow you reviews quite often. I wish I had your job. Just all the artifacts you have been able to be able to research, inspires me to continue learning about war history.
you can even throw that second "w" away and go for showsha. Indeed a very well documented lad, i wish we 'd had the same kind of show here in France. Congrats to him!
necro post, but still... depending on whether you've a goofy accent or not (cough boston cough wisconsin cough), it's "chao-cha'" where both ch are pronounced like "Chicago". and ao is pronounced like in the exclamation "whao!" ... followed by cha' (or chat, aka a cat) Sho-cha would be cheuchat/cheuxchat
Excellent critique of the Chauchat.Thanks for all your hard work Ian,your passion for the guns and their history shows through in your videos.Love this channel
Hey ! I just wanna say the way you do your videos is very cool. We learn lots of things, and I was not expecting to see a Chauchat being fired ever. Looks like the noise and the recoil are quite a thing. Thanks for your work !
R. Lee Ermey here! Today we're testing this shitty ass Frechie gun which is used to surrender. It shoots slow, inaccurate and jams all the time. *scrubs it in sand* Oh look! It jammed it again. Now we take a look at AMERICAN browning! Look at this beauty. Accurate, high rate of fire and it is so good that it is still in use! USA! USA! USA! USA!
***** When you compare it with *anything* it is terrible. It loses the advantages of an automatic weapon when you can only fire twenty rounds before reloading compared with 500 round belts, high powered rifles which fill the accuracy role better, and regular bolt actions. Combine all that with an easy to jam system and unnecessary moving parts practically begging for operator error, it's a terrible weapon.
+MOΛΩN ΛABE compared to other you can shot it when marching (so you can attack with it), other guns need a crew of multiple people for working and you can't shoot and march at the same time
Thanks for the insight into this gun. I was super intrigued when I saw this and you gave all the info I wanted, and even the different firing positions. A+ I love this gun, and that sound is heavenly.
It truly is, I love slow firing weapons like this. How you can hear every shot in its full effect, especially firing a big round like the 8mm Lebel. I really want to own one of these weapons.
About "La Gifle (translated as "a slap in the face")", explained at 14:52, I have actually read some WWI french soldiers' diaries that explained how they had to implement the positionning of the bodies in order not to get "slapped". The Poilus often didn't explain how to shoot it to the new recruits as an "informationnal" hazing
Fantastic review. FYI there's a channel called 'The Great War' on TH-cam which is publishing history each week from WWI as things happened 100 years ago. Worth watching.
I'm having a ton of fun in BF1 using the just-added Chauchat. Thank you so much Ian, for igniting my interest in this unfairly maligned early light machinegun!
"The Chauchat was a great gun"... words I heard spoken by an old ww1 vet years ago. I'll take his word over anyone who bad mouths this weapon. It may not be groundbreaking by today's standards, but at the time? Well if you have the privevlage to hear a vet who actually used it, you'll have a different perspective.
Honestly, this is your best video (at least to me) yet! I learned a lot of new stuff, and have to change my perception on this gun... An observation, it seams to me, that there are more to it than just placing your head on it... To me it looked like you would at least as good (if not better) in cover when we take into account that most of the fighting will be done, in no-mans land, just a thought, but still
Wait, they deliberately designed the magazines to be so open and flimsy, even though they'd had a year of experience (months of experience with trench warfare, at least, and all of the mud, dirt, and more that was ever-present in it) to tell them that this was clearly a terrible idea? The flimsy part I could understand, since bolt-action rifles weren't designed with detachable magazines in mind and heavy machine guns had different magazine systems altogether, but the "open" part....I don't get it. Surely they had learned and issued a new magazine design by 1918?
+SaltyWaffles Yep and 60 years later they still did the same error, when designing the FAMAS magazines. The sheetmetal that they use is literally paper thin and the feeding lips are not even reeinforced! The FAMAS is a great accurate and handy little rifle. But the magazines make it very unrelyable, as long as they are not well taken care of or brand spanking new.
Just a short point about experience of trench warfare in 1915. The design would been completed before the race to the sea ended and the western front bogged down. Also, the Entente believed the front would break and armies would be in the open again for much 1915.
The sound of that gun is so massively impressive! Thank you for the information on it and breaking it's myths, I've been reading about it for years and always assumed they were true.
It's funny to see him wearing the Belgian national camouflage pattern :p Especially because it always get flak for being ugly. I love it though, it's surprisingly effective.
Great, great video. Not a shooter, but rather a writer if historical fiction currently working on a trilogy set during and after WW 1. The amount of physical and sensory description you give --the movement of the bolt and barrel, the wandering sites, the sound of the slow rate of fire, the threat of getting whacked in the cheek--well, that kind of detail is just pure gold for a fiction writer. Thank you very, very much for this.
Great video as always :) When you compared it to the sten gun I did a quick search of your channel thinking I must have missed that video, but to my surprise I couldn't find a video of you talking about the sten gun. Am I being stupid or is there no video yet? If there is a video can someone link me up! If not please make it, it would be great to see you talk about a sub machine gun designed in a shed and manufactured in furniture stores and toy stores.
+Forgotten Weapons I'll wait patiently until you do :) unfortunately only seen them in museums here in the UK :( Lots to see, watch and read about in the Imperial War Museum in London on them. If you ever cross the pond please visit, it's free entry and they've accumulated a massive assortment of firearms from conflicts across the globe I'd love to see you talk about. Massive fan cheers for the reply!
About 15 years ago I recall watching a gun show on Discovery Channel or something where they showed a machine gun with a half-moon magazine like this. I thought the host said it was 30-06. Since then I had been looking for it again out of curiosity. This magazine looks exactly like what I remember, though I guess the 30-06 magazines were different. Still, I think this must have been the gun that I saw way back then, and it's great to have finally found it again! Thanks for the video too. It's really neat to learn about them and see them operating.
in vids where u r lucky enough to shoot the weapons, u should consider having a second cam that shows the targets ur firing on as well and show it in ur vids
Hi Ian, Thank you for taking the time to research and redeem this important piece of World War I history. I’ve always wondered if the Chauchat was as bad as I had heard. I can see where the weapon suffered from several design flaws, especially the open magazine, but the war lasted for 4 years. How come nobody talks about a mark 2 or mark 3 model that attempted to correct some of the problems?
This gun isn't bad. It's not really that good either. It's really Chauchat.
stooooppppp
Love that pun, Interstellar Lapis & the CCCP!
Always thought it was pronounced sho-shaw
@@spearspearspear Yeah, it's pronounced sho-shah. forvo.com/word/chauchat/
you stop that
15:00 ''Draw me like one of your french soldiers...''
Lol
Me thought exactly 🤣
During late 1914 that would be a dead body, going on their offensive doctrine......... .
Stupid sexy Gun Jesus.
God dammit the moment the image of him came up like that I just went down to the comments because I KNEW
0:00 - 0:07 Ian's daily commute.
Gun Jesus shall not walk anywhere not littered with bullet chasings
Tucson isn't all that bad a commute.
I find it incredibly easy to believe he walks everywhere constantly firing a Chauchat from the hip
Looks like a scene from the "Terminator" movies
I like to imagine that that is how Ian walks everywhere, firing a chauchat from the hip.
CRACK boom CRACK boom CRACK boom. "Sigh...... here comes Ian"
I bet he always happens to find a checkout lane with no customers.
its true. ian cannot physically move if hes not at least near a gun. its why he lives in the US
Finally, after all these years. Someone who actually knows what the hell they're talking about reviewing this gun.
+SODEMO2007 Yeah, now we can link this video next time an idiot yells "hcauhchat lol, terrielbl gun"
bigmoney3656 Well, it was one of the first light automatic rifles ever. It had to start somewhere.
And in WW1 you would have been really gratefull to have something like that when most other soldiers have bolt action rifles.
TheClawGaming if the British didn't have the Lewis, and there being few options in the era...you could see this in 303 easily
you guys are NOT paying full attention to what he is saying. this is a gun designed for WAR. it is supposed to be rugged. the magazine is what killed this guns reputation. not the training issues. That is what started it but then when its taken into battle with dirt and mud flying everywhere from explosions, the mag seizes up the entire gun. Not to mention the aluminum barrel shroud with no manual forward assist. I agree though, this was a necessary first step towards more rugged designs. Every first step is going to the hardest and usually produce the least desirable outcome.
AGAIN, at the end HE IS ON A CLEAN RANGE. THAT is why it ran well. Watch R. Lee Emry's video where he fires it.
It was the most produced gun of the war, and was used by both sides. After the war, it was used by other nations, including by Poland when they defeated Soviet Russia.
That would be terrifying to hear from the other trench. This sounds TERRIFYING
Yeah, I guess it's the slow fire rate but this thing sounds a LOT bigger and badder than it actually is. Kinda the opposite of the MG-42 which sounds big but has an insane fire rate that sounds more like a high pitched growl of some satanic beast of the underworld than a gun. This on the other hand sounds like the boot of a giant battering down on unfortunate Germans.
And just imagine the noise of hundreds of these firing at once.
Now Imagine hearing the order to go over the top only moments after hearing hundreds of chauchats light up.
MyNameIsMud You hear it then it jams Boys it jammed as usual! Go !!!
Some rumors say that the german soldiers heard this weapon firing without jamming. Guess wemwill never know the truth
dont mind me just firing a historical gun in a grass patch next to a parking lot
i had to watch it twice, i thought he was whistling nonchallantly at first. "normal tuesday at the office...."
Whilst I don't think I'd actually wan't to live in US, their gun laws are fabulous indeed. Though Alaska might be cold enough for my taste.
Yes, it is the gun auction house. Nobody would feel save if people were allowed to shoot machine guns near a parking lot.
USA BABY
we free as fuck
(like your leaders)
Best intro ever!
"Ian, come over and visit."
Ian: "Can't, I'm making Forgotten Weapons videos."
"I have some French .32 Long ammo."
Ian: 0:02
😂😂😂
Hilarious.
My Dad had a 32 french long pistol and he traded it away when I was young, but for whatever reason he kept half a box of rounds. I've got them sitting in a box downstairs. Are they really that rare?
@@anonymoususer4937 about £40 a box
@@shrgien8602 Ah, thanks Shrgien. I'll drop these off at the gunshop down the way, if they're interested in taking them for free.
This actually made me change my mind about this weapon. I've seen a few in some museums and I've always looked at it with disgust. Not anymore though, I want to get my hands on one just for the fact that it looks like one heck of a fun gun.
Don’t do it.there so bad.you won’t have fun.He likes it because he loves French guns.that it
I owned a Chauchat back in the late 60's. It's one of those ugly things that's it's attractive. There were a number of companies that made it, and parts were found that would not interchange between different manufacturers. Designed by a committee.
Its so amazing in Battlefield 1 haha i destroyed people with it
@@ronaldscott1101 it isn't bad, the ones that did terrible were american models which changed the cartridge making it absolutely garbage
Exactly. They are neat, I never knew of em till c&arsenal and Ian.
My great grand mother told me that my great great grandfather was a machine gunner in the Serbian army on the Salonika (or Macedonian) front in WW1 and that he was always spearheading assaults (he won a White Eagle medal for bravery but was constantly refused promotion due to his reckless bravery). Having a picture of heavy tripod mounted Maxim guns in my mind, her story seemed illogical until I learned of the Chauchat and that 5000 of them were issued to the Serbian army on the Salonika front.
VersusARCH, thank you for sharing that story of your great great grandfather's fighting for Serbia in the Great War.
He must have fought near my Great grand father, a french artilleryman, he earned the white eagle while fighting at salonika.
"Soldat Carpentier, 20e RI [Infantry Regiment], near Nogentel, Oise, 31 August 1918 ... he advanced on the enemy, firing while walking, the rest of the platoon led by Sergeant Berthault. He succeded in manoeuvering around the flank of an island of resistance and in capturing, with his comrades, four machine guns and twenty-five German gunners."
Carpentier's citation for his Croix de Guerre, he was a Chauchat gunner.
Filipe Amaral, thank you for the historical citation for soldat Carpentier's award of the Croix de Guerre. I believe that "walking fire" was probably one of the main purposes of the Chauchat.
Additional fact not mentioned in the citation: Carpentier achieved this noteworthy feat while towing behind him a small wooden cart which was made for him by another member of his platoon, M. Phillippe Marcel, a carpenter in civilian life. Marcel constructed the cart as a gift for his friend, after overhearing Carpentier complain to another soldier that his enormous balls were constantly getting covered in mud.
Man that thing sounds mean in full auto. The recoil looks equally as mean.
I know right. You see what it did to that park table?
International 240 well for being one of the first fully auto weapons, what can you expect right?
picnic tables petitioned the international community for long recoil guns, and weapons with heavy recoil in general to be banned in warfare. they were ignored of course
but it jams doe
Equal and opposite reaction, lol. Everything perfectly balanced, just as it should be. (insert Thanos meme here)
How dare you challenge my pre-conceived notions!
#triggered
How dare the Doughboys who carried the Chachaut in combat criticize it!
That gun sounds so nice when firing
It makes a very distinct and satisfying noise. I guess this is due to all the moving parts inside the gun.
It's got a really satisfying, rhythmic, mechanical sound to it. It's less "BANG BANG" or "TATATATATATATATA" and more "CHUNK-CHUNK-CHUNK-CHUNK-CHUNK". Definitely one of my favourite guns, and the sound just makes it all that much cooler.
Uçan Dişçi You right it sounds exactly like a bucket being thrown at a garbage bin
Yes, I agree. The MAS 36 has a wonderful sound, too. Maybe it's a French thing. 😀
Sounds like cannon!
My great uncle served in France during WWI, and was issued a Chauchat when he entered the trenches. He had no real beef with it once he learned how to shoot and properly maintain it.
The biggest problem with the Chauchat is that anyone who's ever even seen a gun can see two major weaknesses using it down in the mud of the trenches. The wide open magazine is just begging to get mud in it, and it uses an open bolt, also inviting mud into the action.
Pan magazine has gravity on its side (anything that gets into the bottom tends to just fall back out), and a stoppage would have to be something large enough to jam the entire radial pan disc. Plus if you want to compare it to something, compare it to the Madsen, which ran like clockwork unless you did something stupid like chamber it in 6.5mm Swedish Mauser.
Most machine guns fire from an open bolt. It helps with cooling and also allows easy barrel changes without messing with the action. It also allows simpler more hefty parts for the action and its using lots of mass to hit the primer. All good things for reliability. Cooling and strong part design is the most important thing with MG's. You tend not to fire the gun with the receiver buried in the mud so open bold is not really a problem.
What makes me wonder is why no troops though of covering up the magazine holes.
Not directly used in trenches.
@@williamsager805 After awhile the French government started issuing canvas covers. That, along with extreme caution from the gunners, usually kept them reasonably clean. Still didn't help keep the mags from getting bent and dented.
On full auto that has got to be one of the best sounding guns I've ever heard.
Well done! As a German, I see the Chautchat with mixed feelings. My grandfather Karl has served as an artillery observer with the "Reserve Feldartillerie Regiment 62" in the Battle of Verdun. He survived the meat grinder of Verdun. How many times he was probably in the dirt and the projectiles of the Chauchat wistled over him?
C'est la guerre!
*****
The same sad feeling. My grandfather has learned his lesson. Never again war! Unfortunately, 20 years later, no one listened to the veterans of World War I. My grandfather never forgot this horror. He died much too young.
The introduction of the Chauchat and the VB rifle grenade in 1916 prompted something of a rethink. Each assault now consisted of a number of waves. A first wave formed by the rifle/bomber half-platoons, accompanied by engineers with wire cutters, was followed by a second wave made up of the bomber/VB half-platoons. A third wave followed 30 metters (33 yards) behind, again consisting of bombers and rifleman, with the role of clearing the captured trench. And behind them came the remaining two platoons of the company, with the VBs on the flank and in the centre, acting as a reserve.
The role of the first wave was to capture the first line of enemy trenches and then move on, with their main objective to gain ground; the second wave acted as a reserve, and could pass through the first in order to maintain the impetus of the attack. The moppers-up of the third wave took possession of the trench, bombing their way along the traverses, and reducing any strongpoints. Formations for the assault were kept flexible. The first two waves might be in extended order, with four or five paces between each man, but the third and fourth could be in columns of squads, to make it easier to maneuvre quickly. Yet, all too frequently, the pace and form of attacks were ruled by a rigid timetable that left insufficient discretion to local commanders to exploit success.
A specially lightened attack order was introduced in 1915. The pack was now to be left in the second line; instead, rations and spare ammunition were rolled up in a blanket and worn bandolier-style. Later experience at Verdun showed how difficult it was to keep men in the front line supplied with fresh water, so every men was given a second water bottle.
The principle 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. Yet for the individual rifleman, firing during the advance was discouraged, as it was felt that it simply slowed forward progress. Firing, by the platoon or half-platoon, was permitted only to cover its own advance or that of a neighbouring platoon, or to deal with a knot of enemy resistence.
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.
The rifle grenadiers and bombers each carried a special haversack, which held the grenades in individual pouches inside. The rifle grenade cup was carried in its own pouche attached to the user's waistbelt.
This French pattern will set the new modern infantry force: an inter-dependent body of different weapons working as a machine., with a stronger psychological strenght in comparison to the "bayonet-man" of 1914. It allows for fire and movement beyond simply advancing in line, with an interval pace with its autonomous "Combat Groups" (Squads).
That's actually pretty gnarly when its running.
chung...chung...chung...chung ...nice
I love it, the Chauchat is one of my favorite weapons of all time because of that
Nice analogy on the Chauchat the sten gun of the light machinegun world
+Joeben Pajes Engalan
I agree with the sten comparison. Similar style of production (parts farmed out to concerns with light engineering experience, but not in firearms, usually bicycles). Similar looks (thrown together from parts rejected by a plumber).
Apart from the open sided magazine, I always assumed that a large part of the problem was the production method. Methods which would be much more successfully used later. I always thought that maybe they were asking a little bit too much of the production capabilities at the time.
Production Stens had lots of problems as well, Jams, Runaways (pull trigger, hold on for dear life until the mag was empty) were frequent enough to give the first stens a bad reputation. It was pretty bad and several tries at resolving those and improving the quality over various marks, including cosmetic changes to make the gun feel less thrown together and improve end user trust.
+Jon-Paul Filkins Isn't the Sten basically the same thing as the post war Sterling? I lugged a Sterling around for years and would quite happily gone to war with one.
+Joeben Pajes Engalan A gun on the battlefield is worth more than 10 in the factory.
+Minute Man The Sterling could certainly be called a sten with all the bugs ironed out.
+Minute Man The Sterling was more like a gun based around the same idea, but made from better parts and with a slightly more complicated design.
Its ugly....but beautiful ugly...
Thats how I see myself :)
No, it's just plain ugly.
+ostiariusalpha It's like Tank Girl, it looks ugly, but cool.
+Terrorkekx beautiful disaster.
+Terrorkekx It is beatuful in its uglyness
I enjoy this video. I came back to watch it again. Having read and heard all my life that the Chauchat was a piece of junk, I was surprised when a few years back, I saw a 100 year old Marine interviewed on the history channel. When asked about the Chauchat he looked right into the camera and said " The Chauchat was a good gun." Here was a man who had actually used this gun in combat and he said it was a good gun. Thank you for presenting the facts. The Chauchat was in fact a good gun.
The vast majority of Doughboys said it was crap... but what would they know? ;)
James maybe actually watch the video. Ian literally states that the reasoning behind your claim is because they trained with a shitty attempt at a caliber conversion.
Gun Jesus redeeming the soul of a poor dutiful wrongfully accused hundred-year-old rifle from limbo.
Lol nice
Well done Ian.. History, shooting and practical evaluation.. Everything that a good gun video should have... Great exploration of the myth too...
Check out this chap's TH-cam channel!
britishmuzzleloaders do you think if the British didn't have a Lewis that maybe this would've been used in 303???
What circumstances would have seen the Lewis not enter service?
Imagine, if you will, if the British had been as hardheaded as the Americans about the Lewis.
Hey british your channel is awesome
Thanks from an italian patriot
It's difficult to say what would be good and bad features when this weapon was designed; none of the European armies were anticipating trench warfare and this automatic was rushed to the French army to give them mobile firepower. Built economically by (mainly) a bicycle maker, they were surprisingly good - even if the trench experience would highlight feed defects which would only be exacerbated as the cleaning regime slackened in the trenches. The French weren't stupid to adopt it; it served a purpose - though as the war progressed, they reduced their own stock. Some of the re-chamberings went ok. Unlike the abortive 30-06 one, both the 7.65 x 54 in Belgium and the 7.92 x 57 in Poland didn't attract adverse reputations. Thanks very much for this video. It could be subtitled "The Chauchat Redemption"
T"he Chauchat Redemption" - I salute you, Pat Vanquish!
Man, every time I played with this gun in "Verdun" I thought the reload animation was wrong because it doesn't involve charging the weapon after a full magazine. Here I find it locks open after the last round.
@@BloopTube It lives! Was free on Epic and now has a persistent 400 - 600 players on EU and NA servers :))
I play Verdun and tannenburg on both pc and console. There is a pretty persistent group that plays on both.
I have 400+ hours in Verdun and I doubt I have spent even one whole hour with the Chauchat. It’s just not worth screwing with, especially with Verdun’s terribly buggy mechanics for deploying machineguns that they have known about for years and never fixed.
"troopers banged them against trees" lol that must have looked funny xd germans must been like wtf they are doing?
Guten, I bet they were hard pressed to find a tree or even a tree trunk in some parts of the trenches during the Great War!
Guten At that point of the war Germany had a severe shortage of food and strategic materials so I bet they did a lot of "funny" things themselves to survive which is why this wouldn't have fazed them one bit.
"Mein gott! they are not even sparing the trees!!"
Like any other machine, abusing it will not make it work any better, but is likely to make it work worse. I can only imagine the looks the gun smiths in the armories must have had when inspecting these guns as they were returned for repairs.
More like “holy shit they actually found a tree in this nonsense.”
Thanks Ian. I had always been told in print and TV what a terrible gun this was. However a few years ago I saw a TV interview with an American WWI vet and he was talking about the Chauchat and how much he liked it and how it saved their bacon more than once. Quit frankly I thought he may be a little bit cracked due to his age but he seemed pretty sharp for being that old. He said it was a good gun if you took care of it. Great to get some good info.
Holy shit that looks like it would be hella scary on a battlefield. The whole action has a really crunchy, mechanical sound to it, and sounds like it's pretty loud, plus with how much it slams back and forward. It would almost be scary just to shoot
No kidding. My first thought was "That thing looks like it's trying to shake itself apart with every shot." But, it's primitive Industrial Age machinery, what do you expect? They attempted to miniaturize a platform which wasn't ready to be so small yet. The Maxim was gigantic and so reliable you could literally set your watch by it.
16:55 "Allez les boches!" haha you killed me on that one :D
Aside your little jokes which I find very funny, I really admire and enjoy what you do in your channel. Your knowledge and level of expertise on these machines is just flabbergasting. Thank you so much for sharing this!
Superlative video. A model for how gun videos should be done. Of course you have an unfair advantage. Most of the guys who make gun videos know very little about guns and nothing about history. They tend to just repeat various firearm myths.This video demonstrates that a hundred years ago gun makers did not have all the kinks worked out yet in auto weapon design. Imagine that?
Dat ass shot
Forgotten *T H I C C N E S S*
Great work as always, Ian. May I make a suggestion, though? You can get closer to the French pronunciation of Chauchat if you say it like "show-shah."
+LJVolkov21 thank you I didn´t need comment !!
+matthew mountain +Forgotten Weapons : One could probably describe it as "jeefl", since the final "e" of "gifle" is silent.
+LJVolkov21 dont forget "nich" .... as "neesh"
matthew mountain See, It works out either way lol!
matthew mountain Great point! XD
Holy crap that low fire rate is scary! It sounds surprisingly intimidating for such a misunderstood and early gun
I love the look of that weapon so much. My country (Greece) used these during WWII, as most of their equipment was obsolete. I was always a bit sad to hear about their reputation so this video was very welcome
I feel like I'm the only one who thinks the gun looks kinda cool.
I'm with you ^^
im with you
+Collin Chapman I want one
+X-plus Kaiju Collectors Crew From what I've seen they're not too hard to get your hands on, just have to know where to look. Happy hunting lol
+Collin Chapman it doesn't look much beautiful or ugly to me, but i must admit, seeing him shoot in full auto really gave me a nice laugh, it's not bad, it's cool, but also damn comical, like a barret shooting in full-auto.
Also 15:00 what a Manly Position. "This is how I shoot the 50bmg"
This gun could symbolize French military proves in general. People often make fun of them as someone who always surrender but actually French have always been a formidable opponent.
They were quite tough, they were just fighting the war wrong in 1914 and again in 1939. They were fighting the previous wars, not the current ones.
SaberViper Yes. And they weren't the only ones lacking behind.
+MsDjessa And then I have the new tank of the French Army joke.
It has one speed in forward and thirteen in reverse.
You can shoot me now.
+Pilotmario I had always heard these jokes made about the Italians, then I learned English.
I'm still confused as to why anglophones are making these about the French.
Useless Information Even about the Italians those jokes are too simplified. Probably due to poor success of Italian army in both World Wars. But in the first it had nothing to do with lack of courage on the part of Italian soldiers, rather the incompetence of Luigi Cadorna.
And I think it is admirable that most Italians weren't motivated to fight well on behalf of that fascist Mussolini in the second one.
And yet still professional Italians soldiers like the Bersaglieri performed well, after all soldiering was their job so even if they had no love for Il Duce they did what they were trained to do. And Rommel himself praised Italian Bersaglieri.
Also I recently read this small book from Osprey Publishing's Men-at-Arms series about the Battle of Adwa. Despite that it was a defeat for Italy I gained lots of respect for all participants of the battle.
African troops on both sides were brave and formidable. But the book also mentions how in many occasion Eritrean Ascari protected their Italian officers to the death.
Those officers must have been quite valiant to inspire such loyalty.
as a natural marksmen, i would say the fact that the gun acts like a washing machine with a brick in it at full auto it's insane to think some one considered it for mg use
That's not a bad way of describing it :)
"Nicht schiessen!" = Don't shoot!
"Allez les boches" = "Come on Fritzs !"
"Venez les Boches !"= "Come on Fritzs !" is more correct.
"Allez les boches" is more egal to "Go fritzs go !"
Mhh, je pense vraiment que "allez les boches" sous-entends "Allez, venez les boches". Mais sinon qu'elle serait selon toi la traduction la plus juste? Je demande ça par curiosité linguistique.
"Allez les boches!" i'm dying >_
Tabarnak
I was wondering what Ian yelled at the end. The opening scene where Ian demonstrates WWI style automatic rifle walking fire is very instructional.
The french soldier name the Chauchat "the boches mower"... so for the efficiency from this gun...
The French government name the Chauchat "the boches mower". This is called "wartime propaganda".
Nothing is more heavy metal than a man pony tail shaking under machine gun recoil..
Damn right
I'm pretty sure it isn't called a 'show-show'. 'Chau' in French is a lot like 'show' in English, but 'chat' sounds more like the 'sha-' in the word 'shall'.
nice one Lindy, that's at least 6 years too late correction.
@@black_thunder2159 Better late than never
Damn right, Lindy!
Ian, this is one of your best....many other 'historic' reviewers tend to just report how bad they were but not why. None of them got into the detail of the bad 30-06 conversion except for mentioning that they were converted for US issue. I am also pretty sure no one else has talked about the correct way to position yourself to shoot it effectively. Matter of fact, even the older video's with veterans that were still alive, just parroted the 'mythical' problems.As always...You da' man.
Coming soon to Battlefield 1 dlc, with tactical scope and monopod.
This is an extremely well put together presentation, thanks
"Allez les boches !" Excellent. As always, thank you for all the historical and technical details that make these videos so interesting. A greeting from France.
When it fires, it sounds like it's saying it's own name.
Damn it, Ian. I was about to go to bed!
me too! haha
Thank you sir for your knowledge and time! It is obvious you are a true weapon historian and dare I say enthusiast. I really enjoy the fruits of your labor and I for one am excited you are on the tube!
This is my favorite channel on TH-cam. Thank you so much for doing this, The information is priceless.
15:01
It's pronounced "Jiffle" with a soft G. It literally means slap to the face. Which is obviously what happens when you put your face there
I absolutely love the sound of this thing when it fires.
I'd have to say, I follow you reviews quite often. I wish I had your job. Just all the artifacts you have been able to be able to research, inspires me to continue learning about war history.
Great work again. That's why Ian is such a magnificent source of education about guns, ammo and technical history. Thanks for sharing.
16:55
I AM A BUSH!
(Miss...)
RUN ALONG SLICK JESUS!
I think it's "Kameraden, nicht schießen!"
quite possible, actually
I got "I'm a rabbit, nicht schießen" XD
ScienceRevolutionary pretty sure that's what's I heard too
+Paul Alvarez Loeblich
makes more logical sense then "keine laden" lol
It's "show-shaw", not "show-show"
A part of me dies every time he says it that way!
you can even throw that second "w" away and go for showsha. Indeed a very well documented lad, i wish we 'd had the same kind of show here in France. Congrats to him!
+Wilhelm VonRoefelz *shosha
necro post, but still... depending on whether you've a goofy accent or not (cough boston cough wisconsin cough), it's "chao-cha'" where both ch are pronounced like "Chicago". and ao is pronounced like in the exclamation "whao!" ... followed by cha' (or chat, aka a cat)
Sho-cha would be cheuchat/cheuxchat
"Show-Show" is what the Doughboys called them...being unable to manage rudimentary French.
Excellent critique of the Chauchat.Thanks for all your hard work Ian,your passion for the guns and their history shows through in your videos.Love this channel
Hey ! I just wanna say the way you do your videos is very cool. We learn lots of things, and I was not expecting to see a Chauchat being fired ever. Looks like the noise and the recoil are quite a thing. Thanks for your work !
A+ for Belgian Jigsaw camo pants.
R. Lee Ermey here! Today we're testing this shitty ass Frechie gun which is used to surrender.
It shoots slow, inaccurate and jams all the time. *scrubs it in sand* Oh look! It jammed it again.
Now we take a look at AMERICAN browning! Look at this beauty. Accurate, high rate of fire and it is so good that it is still in use!
USA! USA! USA! USA!
+ville307 What you said probably sums up the whole history channel and all their "documentaries".
+Axel Pingol It is really bad though. It's obviously not fair to say it was a piece of garbage but compared to others it is *awful*.
***** When you compare it with *anything* it is terrible. It loses the advantages of an automatic weapon when you can only fire twenty rounds before reloading compared with 500 round belts, high powered rifles which fill the accuracy role better, and regular bolt actions.
Combine all that with an easy to jam system and unnecessary moving parts practically begging for operator error, it's a terrible weapon.
+MOΛΩN ΛABE What others are you comparing it against in 1915?
+MOΛΩN ΛABE compared to other you can shot it when marching (so you can attack with it), other guns need a crew of multiple people for working and you can't shoot and march at the same time
Thanks for the insight into this gun. I was super intrigued when I saw this and you gave all the info I wanted, and even the different firing positions. A+ I love this gun, and that sound is heavenly.
Another excellent review - Thank you! Your reviews are always informative and objective..
The Lebel cartridge sounds incredible, it's really distinctive in every weapon that uses it.
It truly is, I love slow firing weapons like this. How you can hear every shot in its full effect, especially firing a big round like the 8mm Lebel. I really want to own one of these weapons.
just a side note, it's Lebel, not label.
Styx Monster 4 and a half months later, and I realize my autocorrect screwed it up lol. Fixed it.
Bless that intro
I just love Ian's occasional pre-credit intros. I think this one is the best, although the hobo sack of ammo one was pretty awesome too.
About "La Gifle (translated as "a slap in the face")", explained at 14:52, I have actually read some WWI french soldiers' diaries that explained how they had to implement the positionning of the bodies in order not to get "slapped". The Poilus often didn't explain how to shoot it to the new recruits as an "informationnal" hazing
Fantastic review. FYI there's a channel called 'The Great War' on TH-cam which is publishing history each week from WWI as things happened 100 years ago. Worth watching.
+Ian P Yup, it's a great series!
+Forgotten Weapons YES!! Absolutely!!
+Ian P wow thanks! im gonna look into it now!
+Forgotten Weapons How would you compare the CSRG to the Madsen from a shooting perspective?
14:56 #THICC
was lookin for this comment, twas not dissapointed
69 likes...niccee
I was thinking ned flanders in ski suit
I'm having a ton of fun in BF1 using the just-added Chauchat. Thank you so much Ian, for igniting my interest in this unfairly maligned early light machinegun!
Nice gun and a great video! Nice looking corvette in the background as well
"The Chauchat was a great gun"... words I heard spoken by an old ww1 vet years ago. I'll take his word over anyone who bad mouths this weapon. It may not be groundbreaking by today's standards, but at the time? Well if you have the privevlage to hear a vet who actually used it, you'll have a different perspective.
Dat intro doe. badass AF!
Ian, again a great and informative video. Oh, BTW....great head gear!
the quality of this video is so excellent, i feel like i should be paying to watch this
Honestly, this is your best video (at least to me) yet!
I learned a lot of new stuff, and have to change my perception on this gun...
An observation, it seams to me, that there are more to it than just placing your head on it... To me it looked like you would at least as good (if not better) in cover when we take into account that most of the fighting will be done, in no-mans land, just a thought, but still
Wait, they deliberately designed the magazines to be so open and flimsy, even though they'd had a year of experience (months of experience with trench warfare, at least, and all of the mud, dirt, and more that was ever-present in it) to tell them that this was clearly a terrible idea? The flimsy part I could understand, since bolt-action rifles weren't designed with detachable magazines in mind and heavy machine guns had different magazine systems altogether, but the "open" part....I don't get it. Surely they had learned and issued a new magazine design by 1918?
+SaltyWaffles Yep and 60 years later they still did the same error, when designing the FAMAS magazines. The sheetmetal that they use is literally paper thin and the feeding lips are not even reeinforced!
The FAMAS is a great accurate and handy little rifle. But the magazines make it very unrelyable, as long as they are not well taken care of or brand spanking new.
Just a short point about experience of trench warfare in 1915. The design would been completed before the race to the sea ended and the western front bogged down. Also, the Entente believed the front would break and armies would be in the open again for much 1915.
Thanks for that. I was wondering if the French finally got around to making closed mags.
Rhodiebert85
The FAMAS magazines were supposed to be single-use, they ended up having to re-use them because of budget cuts.
it was made in 1907
The sound of that gun is so massively impressive! Thank you for the information on it and breaking it's myths, I've been reading about it for years and always assumed they were true.
Great video, thanks. Really interesting gun, in fact this was not a weapon i'd heard of before let alone knew anything about. Keep up the great work
That gun sounds like its shouting DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE at the enemy when its being fired >:) I like this gun.
15:06 ian's "draw me like one of your french girls" moment
More like "Draw me like one of your French soldiers"
Loved seeing the slo-mo working of the action on full auto!
Ian , watching your channel is like watching "History gun channel" .Thanks I am really enjoying it.
startling intro! i hope we see this gun in battlefield 1
but battlefield 1 is.
Seeing as I am not rich enough to buy an antique machinegun. I hope it is in a videogame series I play. What is the problem?
that's a weird thing to say
Slow fire rate with high damage per shot with high per-shot accuracy with semi-full auto toggle... this would be a great suppressible weapon in BF1.
Niklas K. it's going to be so bad lol
It's funny to see him wearing the Belgian national camouflage pattern :p
Especially because it always get flak for being ugly.
I love it though, it's surprisingly effective.
What an excellent and informative video. Thank you
Great, great video. Not a shooter, but rather a writer if historical fiction currently working on a trilogy set during and after WW 1. The amount of physical and sensory description you give --the movement of the bolt and barrel, the wandering sites, the sound of the slow rate of fire, the threat of getting whacked in the cheek--well, that kind of detail is just pure gold for a fiction writer. Thank you very, very much for this.
0:01 me when I spawn in with a new gun and give it a few test fires
Great video as always :) When you compared it to the sten gun I did a quick search of your channel thinking I must have missed that video, but to my surprise I couldn't find a video of you talking about the sten gun. Am I being stupid or is there no video yet?
If there is a video can someone link me up! If not please make it, it would be great to see you talk about a sub machine gun designed in a shed and manufactured in furniture stores and toy stores.
+Metaxas Nicolaides Nope, haven't done anything on the Sten yet.
+Forgotten Weapons I'll wait patiently until you do :) unfortunately only seen them in museums here in the UK :(
Lots to see, watch and read about in the Imperial War Museum in London on them. If you ever cross the pond please visit, it's free entry and they've accumulated a massive assortment of firearms from conflicts across the globe I'd love to see you talk about.
Massive fan cheers for the reply!
+Forgotten Weapons I would love to see that
+Forgotten Weapons What are the words being said at the end?
answered with *incomprehensible* followed by "NICHT SCHIESSEN" (dont shoot !!)
About 15 years ago I recall watching a gun show on Discovery Channel or something where they showed a machine gun with a half-moon magazine like this. I thought the host said it was 30-06. Since then I had been looking for it again out of curiosity. This magazine looks exactly like what I remember, though I guess the 30-06 magazines were different. Still, I think this must have been the gun that I saw way back then, and it's great to have finally found it again! Thanks for the video too. It's really neat to learn about them and see them operating.
Best opening to a video in film history right there well done sir well done
Do I spy Belgian jigsaw pattern pants?
Also, that last part with "les Boches" and "nicht schießen" cracked me up.
in vids where u r lucky enough to shoot the weapons, u should consider having a second cam that shows the targets ur firing on as well and show it in ur vids
Oh god that sound! That tickles some primal part of my brain that just makes me smile.
Hi Ian,
Thank you for taking the time to research and redeem this important piece of World War I history. I’ve always wondered if the Chauchat was as bad as I had heard. I can see where the weapon suffered from several design flaws, especially the open magazine, but the war lasted for 4 years. How come nobody talks about a mark 2 or mark 3 model that attempted to correct some of the problems?
love that intro ian XD
How many rounds can you shoot through other automatic rifles, such as the BAR before they overheat?
Good question...
You do a very good demonstration, very professional.
Well done, changed my mind completely and put it in perspective very well. Two thumbs WAY up. L 👍👍