FRENCH RIFLES
 

Here is a selection of the most common rifles that the French used in Indochina, before and during the Indochina war thus making it possible for the Viet Minh to aquire. The use of muskets is probably very limited and restricted to the early phases of the war because of the expanding modern arsenal that the Viet Minh had to its use. They were rather used by local resistance fighters on the country side were more modern material hadn’t found its way.

The French rifles that use 8mm ammunition go under the name of “Lebel”. The later models, the M 1886 and M 1896 R35 carbine had 8 respective 3 rounds stored in a row in a little space underneath the barrel. The later models of Lebel (M1907) had 3 rounds placed in a central slot. These newer models never reached the colonies in any bigger extent.

During the First World War the rifles were modernized with extended ammunition capacity now being 5 rounds, thanks to an extended magazine frame.

M1916 rifles were given to Vietnamese militia and support troops for the French in Vietnam. The motivation of these troops proved doubtable during the 1930s upprisings.

Captured old French and Russian weapons in 1960s.