The Berthier rifles and carbines were a family of bolt-action small arms in 8mm Lebel, used in the French Army, and French Colonial Forces, from the 1890s to the beginning of World War II (1940). After the introduction of the Lebel rifle in 1886, the French Army wanted a repeating carbine using the same ammunition as the Lebel to replace their single shot carbine based on the Gras rifle. At the time, many armies based their carbines on their standard rifle model, however the Lebel rifle's tube magazine made it difficult to follow this approach. The Modele 1890 Berthier Cavalry Carbine addressed this issue by combining a modified Lebel action with an en-bloc clip magazine. With its successful cavalry introduction, the Berthier would go on to be produced in many different carbine and full-length rifle versions.
History and usage The Berthier was originally introduced as a partial replacement for the French 1886 Lebel rifle. The Lebel, a revolutionary concept at the time of its introduction because of its smokeless high-velocity, small-caliber cartridge, still used a tube-fed magazine and other details carried over from black-powder designs. By 1900, the Lebel was already obsolete in comparison to other newer magazine-fed rifles introduced by Mauser, Lee, and Mannlicher. With its tube-fed magazine, the Lebel was long, ungainly and distinctly muzzle-heavy when loaded, difficult to manufacture, and overly complex in construction. Most notably, the Lebel proved very slow to reload compared to newer rifle designs. On horseback, carbine versions of the Lebel proved almost impossible to reload while on the move, while shortening the barrel to carbine length resulted in feeding problems due to an unreliable tube magazine that were never resolved. Mounted security forces, cavalry units, and artillery units in colonial services were forced to use single shot Mle 1874 carbines, most not even converted to fire the modern 8mm Lebel ammunition, against insurrectionist forces who were sometimes better armed than government forces. A replacement for the Lebel was clearly required, at least for mounted troops.
Named after its inventor, André Virgile Paul Marie Berthier (1858-1923), a French civilian engineer in the Algerian railways, the Berthier's three-shot vertical-feed Mannlicher-type en bloc magazine could be loaded by clips, greatly increasing reloading speed, a particular convenience for cavalry and other mounted troops. A spring-loaded arm fed cartridges to the breech, and when all cartridges had been loaded, the empty clip fell out by gravity through an opening in the bottom of the magazine. The small 3-shot magazine capacity was adopted after field testing, where the cavalry expressed a preference for a non-protruding magazine that did not interfere with the balance or handling of the rifle. The Berthier carbine was adopted by the French Army on March 14, 1890, and a short rifle version of the Berthier rifle was adopted in 1907. French records indicate that in excess of two million Berthier rifles and carbines were manufactured by the French State manufactures supplemented by civilian industries. Like the Mle 1886 lebel, the Berthier lacked a mechanical safety; French training protocols called for soldiers to carry their rifle with loaded magazine but without a round in the chamber until ordered to load rifles by an NCO or officer in charge. France employed large numbers of colonial troops with limited technological experience, and since colonial combat conditions in North Africa and Indochina were extremely hard on service weapons, carrying with an empty chamber was considered superior to reliance on a mechanical safety, since a rifle with no round in the chamber could never go off, unlike a rifle whose safety was not properly engaged or had malfunctioned due to grit or wear.
At the outbreak of World War I, the Model 1907 Berthier rifle was modified for mass manufacturing, resulting in the Mdle 07/15. The sights, barrel band, and stacking hook were simplified to increase the rate of production. While the original 1907 rifle incorporated a cruciform bayonet, the 07/15 was modified to take the same bayonet as the Lebel, simplifying supply. The turned-down bolt handle was changed to a simpler straight bolt.
During World War I, it was quickly recognized that the Berthier's three-shot magazine was simply too small in comparison to foreign weapons, requiring too-frequent reloading. Additionally, it was found that trench mud and grit could enter the weapon through the opening in the bottom of the magazine. To correct these issues, the Model 1916 Berthier rifle was introduced with a five-round en-bloc clip. The clip discharge opening at the bottom of the protruding magazine was replaced by a spring loaded trapdoor to keep out dirt and debris. This improved 5-shot design was then fitted to existing rifle and carbine-length Berthier models (Mle 1907/15, Mle 1890M16, 1892M16 and Mle 1916 mousquetons). In response to changing combat situations at the front, which had evolved from a war of maneuever into static trench warfare and frequent night raids, many Berthier rifles were also fitted with sights designed specifically for close range or night combat, using radium paint to improve visibility in poor light or darkness.
The Kingdom of Greece, fighting alongside the allies, received large number of Berthiers during the war, especially Mle 07/15 rifles and Mle 1892 M16 carbines.
After World War I Many Model 1916 rifles and carbines were produced too late to see service in World War I, but were used after the war, particularly in colonial service.
The Greek Army of Asia Minor received 10,000 Berthier Mle 07/15 and Mle 1892 M16 to fight against the Turks.
Czechoslovakia received large numbers of Mle 07/15 rifles after World War I.
The Spanish Republic received between 37,500 and 50,000 Berthier rifles and carbines from Poland during the Spanish Civil War.
World War II Berthier rifles and carbine continued in service during the Second World War in all branches of French service, including infantry and mounted units. Colonial and Foreign Legion forces in particular continued to use the Mle 1916 Berthier due to a shortage of the new MAS-36 bolt-action rifle. Despite the advent of the MAS-36, the French Army did not have enough of the new rifles to equip even half of its frontline interior troops. Berthier Model 1916 (original and converted) 5-shot rifles and carbines saw action in both France and Norway. After the fall of France in 1940, the Berthier could be found in service with both Vichy and Free French units. Selected Berthier Mle 1907/15-M16 (Fusil Mle 1916) rifles were fitted with telescopic sights and used, along with scoped Mle 1886/M93 rifles, by marksmen detailed to serve with some French units. In September 1938, the French Army also introduced the corps franc, special formations of infiltration and deep reconnaissance soldiers formed into l'equipe or assault teams. These elite reconnaissance and infiltration troops were equipped with a variety of small arms, including a combat knife, a handgun, grenades, and Berthier Mle 1892/M16 carbines.
The Mle 1890M16, 1892M16 and Mle 1916 mousquetons) were again used by French Foreign Legion and some colonial infantry and cavalry units, including the French Spahis. The Greek Army still fielded Berthier Mle 07/15M16 rifles during the Greco-Italian War, most being used in second-line units. The Third Reich issued many captured Berthier carbines to German occupation forces in France, mainly to Atlantic Wall units, the M34 variant received the German identification code Gewehr 241(f). Some were used by police units fighting partisans in various eastern European countries including security units operating at the rear of German front lines in Soviet Union.
Post-war usage After World War II, Berthier rifles were retired, except for some rifles held by indigenous units and reserve forces. However, the Berthier carbine with a five-round clip (Mle 1890 M16, 1892 M16 and Mle 1916 mousquetons) was again utilized by French Foreign Legion and some overseas colonial infantry and cavalry units, including the French Spahis, French motorized cavalry units, and frontier border guards. Mdle 1916 and later versions of Berthier carbines were retained in some French law enforcement units, e.g. the Compagnies Republicaines de Securite (CRS) as late as the 1980s.
During the Greek Civil War, partisans were still using Berthier rifles.
Việt Minh forces used both the Mle 1902 and the mousqueton (Mle 1892 and M16).
Design
Berthiers were chambered in the same cartridge as the Lebel, the 8x50mm Lebel, which was the first to be loaded with smokeless powder (Poudre B). The Berthier used a simplified and smoother version of the Lebel bolt, but the main differences were a great reduction in weight, moving parts, tooling and an increase in operating speed. This is due in no small part to the magazine system, which was redesigned more similar to a Mannlicher-type design, where it was loaded with 3-round (later 5-round) clips, chargers, or packets. Though the Lebel's original capacity of 8 rounds was reduced, the Berthier was more popular due to the efficiency of operation and the increased speed of reloading, which more closely matched the capabilities of foreign rifles such as the Mauser and the Lee-Enfield. The occasional use, outside France, of the term "Mannlicher" to designate weapons of the Berthier system is due to the "en bloc" clip disposition which was borrowed from the real Mannlicher rifles and carbines. Otherwise the Berthier weapons, and particularly their bolts, are not derived from Mannlicher rifles or carbines but rather from the Lebel rifle system. Like Carcanos, Berthiers; other than using a Mannlicher-type magazine system, bear no other resemblance to true Mannlichers and should not be addressed as such.
Berthier rifles and carbines do not have any form of applied (mechanical) safety. If the bolt is cocked and closed and the trigger is pulled, the firing pin will be released. Extreme care must be exercised when handling a loaded Berthier rifle or carbine. To safely unload a Berthier rifle or carbine once a clip has been inserted in the magazine, point the rifle in a safe direction, open the bolt and depress the clip release button located at the front of the trigger guard. The clip should spring up and out of the rifle. If it appears to stick, insert a finger into the opening at the bottom of the magazine and gently push up on the bottom of the follower, pushing the clip release button at the same time. The loaded clip should slide up out of the magazine.
Variants Berthier Mousqueton (carbine) The Berthier design began as the "Mousquetons Berthier" - a series of bolt-action cavalry and artillery carbines with distinctly different actions from the Mle 1886/M93 8mm Lebel rifle. For instance, the Berthier carbine's bolt lugs lock vertically into the receiver instead of horizontally as in the Lebel rifle. Berthier carbines were first issued in 1890 and 1892, and had been designed by André Virgile Paul Marie Berthier, an engineer at the French Algerian Railways, to be used with standard 8mm Lebel ammunition.
The Berthier design was introduced as a replacement for the various aging Mle 1874 Gras single-shot carbines - still standard for French cavalry, artillery, and gendarme forces even after the introduction of the Mle 1886/M93 Lebel. Prior experiments with several carbine versions of the Lebel action proved unacceptably heavy and slow to load while on horseback. While retaining most of the action's strong points, the Berthier carbine improved on the earlier Mle 1886 rifle by using a one-piece stock and a Mannlicher-style, charger-loaded en bloc 3 shot clip. These Berthier carbines were progressively allocated to all cavalry, artillery and gendarmerie troops during the 1890s.