Carthaginian small arms. · 4:25am Nov 2nd, 2014
Well this one was requested by several of my viewers so here they are. The small arms used by the Carthaginian military!
The Mauser Karabiner 98k!
This beautiful and well crafted weapon is the latest variant of the classic Mauser rifle 98 model, a model so reliable this rifle and it's variants have been in use since the 1890's. Powerful, accurate, and very durable, this rifle is consider a Carthaginian classic that has carried Carthage through some of the toughest times. While it's role as the standard issue rifle is being slowly phased out for the Sturmgewehr (see below), this rifle is still carried by many frontline soldiers into the battle and it is considered a huge honor to carry this rifle. Fires the standard 7.92x57mm cartridge.
The Edo Type 99 rifle.
Commonly nicknamed the Arisaka or the "Edo rifle" this rifle is almost exclusively used by the Carthaginian navy. In 1933, the Kingdom of Carthage (with Degrelle as its Prime Minister) merged with the the Edon territory (a region with a culture and language based on real world Japan). Because of their expertise in naval warfare, a majority of the Edo Carthaginian soldiers were placed under the command of the Seestreitkräfte. There was only one problem: the Edon region used different equipment than the Bretan (German) region. Also, while the Edon Carthaginians were honored to serve alongside their Bretan brothers, they still felt that they shouldn't forget about their heritage, so Degrelle allowed them to keep some of their arms and the Type 99 was given a second chance. Originally chambered in 7.7mm, it was rechambered to fire the 7.92x57 round (which it fired perfectly well), this rifle is very accurate and while it may not have the same fame as the Mauser, it is still a great service rifle and Edon Carthaginians carry this rifle with pride and honor.
The Sturmgewehr 44.
The new standard issue rifle of the Carthaginian army. Ironically, this revolutionary weapon was almost scrapped before it was made. In the 1930s, as Carthage was preparing for war with Equestria, there was a great heated debate amongst the Carthaginian military on what the individual soldier needed. During the Great Carthaginian Civil war, military tacticians noticed that the average infantry units held their fire until the enemy was within 100 to 200 meters; well below the effective range of the standard bolt action rifle. They also found themselves pinned down by the newly adopted machine guns and howitzers. Wanted to find a "bridge weapon" to fill the gap between the bolt action and machine guns, famed Carthaginian Field Marshal Georg Solomon commissioned a gunsmith by the name of Paul Mueller to design a weapon that could fill that role. Mueller, a very gifted gunsmith, sat down and designed what he called the "Sturmgewehr" or Storm Rifle. This rifle would have the rapid fire power of a sub machine gun but the moderate accuracy of a rifle. It also fired a new round, a shortened version of the standard 7.92 Mauser called the 7.92 Kurz round. Solomon was impressed and presented Mueller's prototype weapon to Aljesandro Degrelle himself however to everyone's shock, Degrelle wasn't interested. He felt that Carthage could pull through using improved machine guns and bolt action rifles. However Solomon wouldn't take no for an answer; he felt the Carthaginian military needed this weapon so with the blessing of Mueller, Solomon instructed that the weapon be made in small qualities. Mueller continued to improve on the Storm Rifle and made several variants to it. But it couldn't be held secret for long. In 1937, a communist partisan militia in the Titerian region tried to stage a revolution against the Sasha government. Some of the Sturmkommandos and panzergrenadiers sent to fight them with armed with Storm Rifles and they loved them; the rifle giving them a good range of accurate fire in the urban warfare.
After the rebellion was crushed, Degrelle personally visited some of the soldiers and asked them, out of all the weapons they had, which one did they feel was the most useful. A young Panzergrenadier approached Degrelle and with a joyous look, held out his Sturmgewehr and practically yelled "More of these new rifles!"
According to rumor, Degrelle replied "What new rifle?" and the secret "Storm rifle" was discovered. However, after Degrelle was demonstrated the capabilities of the new gun, he agreed that he was "misguided" and approved the Sturmgewehr for mass production. While it's numbers are lower than the Mauser, there are enough Sturmgewehrs to supply frontline units of the Carthaginian army. This rifle, almost scrapped in its infancy, has now become a symbol ot Carthaginian spirit, dominance, and strength.
The Gewehr 43
This interesting semi automatic rifle is another creation of famed gun designer Paul Mueller. Mueller, while working on the Sturmgewehr, was also appoarched by the Carthaginian Fallschirmjäger to design a rifle for the paratroops. Because bolt action rifles were considered too heavy, most paratroopers were equipped with sub machine guns. While the smg could deliver high rates of fire, it's short ranged pistol ammunition was a severe handicap. The general of the Fallschirmjäger wanted a rifle that was light weight yet could fire faster than a bolt action rifle. Mueller sat down at his desk and after a week of tinkering, he submitted a rifle called the Gewehr 41. While the Gewehr 41 was powerful, accurate, and semi-automatic, it still suffered from heavy weight and it was very fragile and prone to stoppage. Mueller later fixed many of those issues with the G43. However, while the new G43 was reliable, very accurate, and fit every standard the paratroops wanted, it still had one major flaw; it was a very expensive rifle to make so it was not made on the same level as the Mauser or Sturmgewehr. But still, regardless, this rifle is a favorite among not only the paratroops, but also Carthaginian snipers and Panzergrenadiers.
The ZB 26 Machine gun.
After the horrible trench warfare that occurred during the Great Carthaginian Civil War it became clear that machine guns would be an absolute essential in future wars. While the Carthaginian military had the MG 34 and later MG 42 (which we will get to in a moment) it was still obvious that a squad automatic weapon would be needed for frontline troops. The ZB 26 was ironically created by a man who had never made a machine gun before. The ZB 26 was invented by a man called Bruno Wilmer, a gunsmith who worked for a company that made shotguns and sporting rifles. When he first showed it to the Carthaginian military echelons, they laughed at him claiming his gun would never work. But by the end of the trials, they were not laughing. Bruno's ZB 26 exceeding the expectations the Carthaginian military lmg trials required. It would fire when it was underwater, covered with dirt and dust, there was even an account were it fired while it's barrel was hot and the barrel turned orange but still only suffered a few minor stoppages. But if the barrel did reach a breaking point, it could be easily removed and replaced. This machine gun was so simple to use and maintain that the Equestrian Army made their own copy known as the Bren.
The MG 34 machine gun
When Degrelle seized power, he declared that Carthage would need new weapons in order to soon go to war with the ponies; machine guns being a top priority along with tanks and airplanes. At the time, Carthage's main machine gun was the MG 08, a gun based on the Maxim design. While this gun was reliable, it was heavy and required a crew of six to operate. Degrelle wanted a machine gun that could deliver high rates of fire but with less weight and less men. The Carthaginian arms conglomerate Rheinmettall answered the call and they designed the MG 34. The MG 34 was a beautiful machine gun which could deliver a high volume of 7.92 ammo at 800 rounds a minute. However, unlike the MG 08 which required a crew of six to operate, the MG 34 only needed a crew of three. Degrelle was so impressed with this machine gun that he insisted on firing it himself for the day when it was officially adopted.
However, for all the praise the MG 34 received, it did have some shortcomings. It was a very delicate weapon that was susceptible to dirt and dust. Also it was a very expensive gun to produce. The MG 34s shortcomings led to the production of the MG 42.
The MG 42 machine gun
This machine gun was created in the beginning of the Carthage-Equestrian war to compensate the shortcomings of the MG 34. The MG 42 was cheaper to mass produce and it was more durable. But the thing that made the MG42 stand out the most was it's rate of fire: 1200 rounds a minute! According to legend, this was deliberately developed by Rheinmettall's chief gunsmith too "Make a weapon that would scare those ponies back to Canterlot!" And it did. The MG42's rate of fire was so high, it was nicknamed "Degrelle's Zipper" by the Equestrian Royal Army. However, as the old saying goes, your greatest strength can be your greatest weakness and this was especially true with the MG42. If fired improperly, the gun would eat up its ammo in less than a second and it was prone to overheating. To fix this however, Rheinmettall designed the MG42 with a lever that would break open the gun allowing the barrel to be quickly and easily changed in the event of an overheating. The MG42's reputation earned it the respect and fear from both sides of the war. It was so famous that the Carthaginian soldiers mentioned it in a folk song.
Well those are the weapons so far. But if you show me enough support, I might go into the more heavy weapons. That's all, enjoy the gun porn!
I really enjoyed this. Can you come up with some anti-armor rifles? And perhaps eventually motorized vehicles? Also, I would really love to see an Equestrian version of this. Thanks for the post!
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Lots and lots of big guns here. img2.owned.com/media/images/1/6/8/1/16810/i_ll_take_some_freedom_guns_supersize_that_big.jpg
I love Mauser.