MLE, 1907-15, With, Bayonet

CONSIGNMENT
All matching
In excellent Condition
During World War I, a modified version of the 3-round clip Mle 1907 rifle called Fusil
Mle 1907/15 was manufactured in large numbers (altogether 435,000 rifles) and issued
to colonial troops, to the French Foreign Legion and to many minor allies.
It was also issued to some French regular infantry regiments after 1916 in order to
bring relief to an endemic shortage of the Lebel rifle although well over 2 million Lebel
rifles had already been produced between 1887 and 1917. Both the MAS (Manufacture
d'armes de Saint-Étienne) and the MAC (Manufacture d'armes de Châtellerault) were
the principal state contractors for the Mle 1907/15 rifle.
In combat service, most infantrymen found the Berthier rifles and carbines, with their
one-piece stocks and fast-loading en bloc magazine, to be an improvement. However,
the limited ammunition capacity of the Berthier Mle 1907/15's magazine (3 rounds) was
viewed as a great disadvantage by troops in close contact with the enemy or
participating in assaults or trench raids.
In response, French military authorities introduced a modified Berthier rifle in 1916,
designated Fusil Mle 1907/15-M16 but generally called the 1916 rifle (Fusil Modele
1916). The new rifle had a re-designed magazine well, which now could hold "en-bloc"
clips with a 5-round capacity, though they would still accept the original 3-round
chargers. These rifles saw service in all branches of the French army mostly after
1918. The Mle 1916 Berthier infantry rifle only appeared on the front lines in small
numbers during the late summer of 1918. With its greater cartridge capacity, it was
better received than the Mle 1907/15 rifle and later became widely issued to infantry
troops during the post-war years after their production had intensified . Nevertheless,
some commanders continued to lobby for reissuance of the older Mle 1886/M93 Lebel
for their infantry troops.