Rifleman

From Battleground Europe Wiki

British Rifleman

British rifleman

Type: Regular Infantry
Rifle Caliber: .303 inch British Service
Capacity: 10 rounds
Muzzle Velocity: 751 m/s
Included weapons:

• 4 x No.36M HE Grenades
• 2 x No.77 Mk. I Smoke Grenades
• 1 x Ammo Resupply Pack
• 1 x Combat Knife</brief>

When first developed by the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield by J.P Lee in 1895, the Lee-Enfield was a novel marriage between a bolt-action and fixed-magazine rifle. They were first carried into action by British troops in the Boer War of 1898. Later versions absorbed useful lessons from the Mausers carried by their opponents, and the rifle saw universal service in WW1. By the time the gun had reached revision 4 during WW2, the weapon had been optimized thoroughly both for soldiers use and for mass-production ... millions of Lee-Enfields were produced over its 60 year production span.

This rifle is accurate, hard-hitting, and fast firing. The ample magazine is double that of the French or German battle rifles, and is a major advantage in the split-seconds of combat. It is considered one of the legendary great battle rifles of all time. The peep sights make it extremely easy for even a novice to use, and you should be able to reliably hit targets at 300+ meters with a little practice.

French Rifleman

French rifleman

Type: Regular Infantry
Rifle Caliber: 7.5 mm x 54 mm Fr.Service
Magazine Capacity: 5 rounds
Muzzle Velocity: 840 m/s
Included weapons:

• 4 x Grenade OF
• 2 x Grenade Fumigène (Smoke Grenade)
• 1 x Ammo Resupply Pack
• 1 x Combat Knife

WW1 convinced the French military that the 8mm Lebel cartridge needed to be replaced. Many choices were tested, with the final choice being the 7.5 x 54mm MAS round. This testing process and entirely new rifle design meant that the Fusil MAS.36 was the last bolt action rifle adopted by a major army anywhere in the world.

Its receiver was based around a much-modified and shortened Mauser bolt action. Although it was regarded as an ugly and clumsy weapon ... however, it could stand up to virtually any sort of abuse known to man, from surviving explosions to being used as an improvised club or crowbar.

German Rifleman

German rifleman

Type: Regular Infantry
Rifle Caliber: 7.9 mm Mauser
Magazine Capacity: 5 rounds
Muzzle Velocity: 745 m/s
Included weapons:

• 4 x SiG.24 HE Grenades
• 2 x Nb.Hgn.39 Smoke Grenade
• 1 x Ammo Resupply Pack
• 1 x Combat Knife

Accepted in 1935 as a relatively simple shortening of the WW1 Gewehr98 rifle, the Karbiner 98k was a serviceable weapon that performed well in varied conditions. Resistant to fouling and inherently accurate well past 500m, the gun was easily converted to sniper use by simply attaching a scope.

It remained the standard German service weapon until the end of the war with few modifications.