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The Gewehr 98 rifle was the main battle rifle of the German Armed Forces both before and during the First World War. The rifle was adopted on April 5, 1898, as the Gewehr 98 and during the early part of 1899 was used in troop trials by various Garde units and a training school. Mass production of the rifle began in 1900 at the Government Arsenals at Danzig, Erfurt and Spandau and in subsequent years at Amberg and various private arms firms, including Waffenfabrik Mauser.
The rifle is a Mauser designed, bolt action repeating rifle with a 5 round box magazine. This design heralded some new innovations in bolt action rifles of the time such as cocking on bolt opening, staggered cartridges in the magazine to prevent the magazine from protruding beyond the stock, a bolt shroud flange to prevent injury to the firer on a cartridge rupture, a large width extractor and a third safety locking lug on the bolt. The bolt has two opposing locking lugs at the front of the one-piece bolt body, which securely lock into the forward part of the receiver immediately behind the chamber. This increases accuracy and strength in the system. The bolt handle protrudes horizontally to the right to allow a firm grasp while wearing gloves or in wet conditions. Barrel length is approximately 29 inches, with a full-length wood stock, short handguard and an under barrel bayonet lug. The front sight is an inverted V shape with the rear sight being a large elevation adjustable sight graduated from 400 meter to 2000 meters. It is known as the Lange sight after it's inventor and is also known as a "roller coaster" sight due to its curving look.
The Gewehr 98 originally was chambered for the Patrone 88 cartridge in 7.92 X 57mm. This cartridge had a long round nosed bullet and was designed for the earlier Gewehr 88 Commission rifle. In 1903 a new cartridge was designed with the new Spitzer, or pointed nose, bullet. The jacket thickness of the bullet was increased for better adhesion, which then required a larger barrel bore. The Patrone 88 required a .318 diameter bore and the new S Patrone required a .323 diameter bore. Subsequently most Gewehr 98s made prior to 1903 were recalled and converted to the new cartridge dimensions, the rear sight leaf and slide replaced and a large S stamped on the chamber and top rear barrel. However, most or all Gewehr 98s made after 1903 also have the S stamped on the top rear barrel. The caliber was still considered to be 7.92 X 57mm
By the start of the World War, most of the line Regiments and Battalions had been equipped with the Gewehr 98 along with some of the Reserve units. However many Reserve, Landwehr and Landsturm units still were using the Gewehr 88 or other obsolete rifles. Large numbers of enemy rifles were captured by the Germans in the early part of the War with many of these being used to equip the Landwehr and Landsturm or rear echelon or non-combat units. The Russian Moisin-Nagant model 1891 was heavily used and sometimes whole Divisions were equipped with the M-N 91.
During the War some problems were discovered with the Gewehr 98. Two of the most glaring problems was the sights and overall weapon length. Since the Lange sight could not be set for less than 400 meters, it made sighting in the narrow confines of the trench system somewhat challenging. Many opposing trenches were only 100-200 meters apart or less. At any rate, sighting on a target 400 meters in the distance while looking over the edge of a trench was inefficient at best. I have two Gewehr 98s in my collection that were apparently field modified to remedy the sight problem. The rear sight at the notch was machined down slightly less than 2 mm to bring the point of aim down to approximately 200 meters. On one of the rifles the sight V notch was also deepened and the front sight narrowed. All appear to be period modifications. The Gewehr 98s overall length also contributed to its unwieldy nature in the trenches. Since military planners had originally envisioned set piece battles on large open areas, the length was considered advantageous due to the reach the soldier could obtain with the long S98 sword bayonet attached.
Most pre War Gewehr 98s will be found with Unit marks stamped onto them. This was generally done on the disc designed for this purpose set into the right side of the buttstock. The Regiment or Battalion number, Company number and Weapon number would be stamped in a designated pattern. After 1915 some manufacturers eliminated this disc and replaced it with a tube and convex washer arrangement used to disassemble the firing pin. Shortly after the start of the War orders were given to stop Unit marking equipment due to the time needed and probably also due to the transient nature of military equipment between Units in wartime. However, Unit marks can be observed applied to equipment made all the way into 1918.
During manufacture of the Gewehr 98 and most other German weapons, the weapon's serial number or the last two or three digits would be stamped into all the major and minor parts. However the Gewehr 98 was made to fairly exacting dimensions by the major Arsenals and contractors so interchangeability was generally good. During the World War equipment damage and destruction was tremendous and sapped the much needed resources of the German Reich. Raw materials, manpower and transportation were increasingly being used up or chronic shortages were occurring. As an example, the original walnut used in rifle stocks was later substituted with beech or other lesser materials later in the War. Also, battle damaged weapons would be rebuilt in the Regiment or Division areas and reissued. This field rebuilding would generally be with parts salvaged from damaged and destroyed Gewehr 98s. Depending on the sophistication of the Unit doing the work, the rebuilt rifle may have all the serial numbers restamped to match a main number or just the bolt or receiver number would be restruck. Barrels that had a worn muzzle could have the muzzle counterbored to restore accuracy.
I have four Gewehr 98s that have been field rebuilt to varying degrees. Three have had the stocks replaced from other rifles, with two of those stocks reworked. Another had the bolt replaced and rematched, along with the sear being replaced to make the trigger pull correct. All four have parts from various Gewehr 98s on them to make them serviceable again with two of them having mismatched bolts that were restamped to match the receiver number. The matching number was stamped on the bolt handle ball. From observations of field rebuilt Gewehr 98s it appears that the stocks suffered the most damage and replacement. I have one Gewehr 98 that was rebuilt from four salvaged Gewehr 98s: the barreled action and bolt from one rifle, the stock and handguard from a second rifle, the upper and lower barrel bands, buttplate and cleaning rod from a third rifle and the firing pin and extractor from a fourth rifle. Along with this the stock and handguard were reworked and refinished. The rifle saw much use, as there is almost no finish remaining on the metal parts of the rifle. Anything is possible on rebuilt battle damaged rifles and there is no set pattern as to how they were reworked. It may only be one part or the whole weapon may be rebuilt. Occasionally unnumbered armorer replacement parts will also be seen on these rifles.
There also were several sniper variations of the Gewehr 98, but surviving examples are rare. There were also accessories designed and used to very limited degrees such as night sights, bolt covers and a 20 round magazine.
The Gewehr 98 was one of the premier battle rifles of the First World War and served the German Army well. It was used into the Weimar Republic era and throughout the Third Reich era, although altered slightly with a new rear sight and sometimes a turned down bolt handle. It was an extremely reliable and sturdy weapon that would function in nearly any weather or environmental condition. Survival rate of pre-1918 examples is fairly good, as it appears that many of the weapons were taken home by demobilized German troops returning from France or were stockpiled by Germany after the War. Also returning American soldiers would bring them back home and many were shipped to the U.S. for distribution to American Legion posts. Another collector has also told me that Gewehr 98s were given out to those who bought War Bonds. Fortunately we see many examples of this fine classic weapon in collections today.
Sources
Mark can be reached at email : Gewehr1905@aol.com or by visiting his web site at http://members.aol.com/gewehr1905/collect/index.htm
