French Army alternatives, 1935-40 (41?) (2 Viewers)

[TM06]

French small arms anyone?
They were on forefront with the light machine gun idea and execution back in the Great war, and were also the only major country that developed and issued the self-loading rifles. They also fiddled a bit with the pre-intermediate cartridge with the 8mmx35, and with the pre-assault rifle for it.
In the interwar period, that level of innovation pretty much died out.
(see here the RSC models of 1917 and 1918 firing it out 100 years after the ww1)

So I'd suggest that they still have the RSC 1918 in some production, it will be using the left over 8mm Lebel cartridges anyway. Try and make the 7.5mm version of it in the meantime. A carbine made around perhaps the 7.5mmx35 round might've been usful.
The lack of a good, modern SMG also needs to be addressed. The light MG FM 1924 seems to be the only success story - so just make more of these?
Surprisingly enough, there was a lack of a modern repeating rifle in the interwar period - bar a the small number of MAS 36, it was the ww1 left overs and that's it? This also need to be rectified.
There is also no belt-fed MG for the Army.
Any worth in an ATR in 13.2mm calibre? It was not like the German tanks before 1941 were that well armored, after all.

Of course, the only reasonable and logical choice would be to field the mighty and infallible Chauchat! Those weak Germans would never stand a chance!

 

[yulzari]

Of course, the only reasonable and logical choice would be to field the mighty and infallible Chauchat! Those weak Germans would never stand a chance!

Over a quarter of a million Chautchats were made and put to use. Indeed they were still about in 1940 and some were used as captured weapons by second line German units afterwards. As an automatic rifle having a limited automatic fire ability, with a trained crew as part of an integrated trained assault team, it was quite useful and remained in use with the Belgians and Poles for many post war years. The Belgians rebuilding their 7mm Mauser versions post war to a higher durability standard. Long overtaken by later LMGs it was still a useful automatic rifle. One may note that WW1 Browning Automatic Rifles sent to the UK for Home Guard use were specifically doctrinally for use as semi automatic rifles with, initially, automatic fire only in an emergency and soon further limited to only semi automatic fire.

The standard Chauchat was not a fine weapon but it was a workable one and notable for being designed for stamped parts and production outside the arms industry ie the gun by bicycle manufacturers and magazines by tinplate toy makers*. That the Americans insisted on converting them to 30-06 ammunition gave a failure meme which only covered a tiny proportion of the vast Chauchat production has bedevilled anglophone views on the gun which are absent in the Francophone world. It became superseded by better weapons but was still better than bolt action rifles.


* in that sense it was a precursor to the Sten machine carbine. A sort of MP28 made by the Chauchat method.
**yes I do have a sense of humour and know the quote above was tongue in cheek.

 

[Shortround6]

French small arms were as chaotic and poorly planned as many other French armament paths.
Some of the guns were good but long term planning seems to have suffered from fits and starts and changes in direction.

The Hotchkiss 1914 may not have been as bad as some think as an infantry heavy machinegun but some export versions may have had trouble.
Most infantry heavy machine guns needed 3-4 man crews and with such a crew the 1914 could perform most of the duties missions required. However it was not a good gun for using in tanks or other confined spaces. That said many other countries machine guns used in tanks/AFV left a lot to be desired (Italy, Japan, Soviet Union) during WW II.
The French had come up with an armored vehicle gun that was better than some, but they never used it as a tripod mounted infantry gun. The FM 24/29 did not have the fast change barrel requires for such a role but may have been OK as a light Machine gun (Brens had quick change barrels for better sustained fire) but if the French had sufficient 1914s in the company or battalion that may not have been a big problem.
A better sub machine gun might have been nice but even in the German army MP-38s and MP-40s were not as common in 1939-40 as they became latter.