Chauchat 1918 Manual of the Automatic Rifle U.S. War Plans Division

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The Chauchat, named after its main contributor Colonel Louis Chauchat, was the standard machine rifle or light machine gun of the French Army during World War I (1914–18). Its designation in the French Army was Fusil Mitrailleur Mle 1915 CSRG (in English: Machine Rifle Model 1915 CSRG”). Beginning in 1916, it was placed into regular service with French infantry where the troops called it the FM Chauchat. The Chauchat machine rifle was also extensively used in 1917-1918 by the American Expeditionary Forces where it was officially designated as the “Automatic Rifle, Model 1915 (Chauchat).” The armies of eight other nations, notably: Belgium, Finland, Greece, Italy, Poland, Romania, Russia and Serbia, also used the Chauchat machine rifle in fairly large numbers during and after World War-I.

262,000 Chauchat machine rifles were manufactured between December 1915 and November 1918, including 244,000 in the 8 mm Lebel service cartridge, making it the most widely-manufactured automatic weapon of World War I. Besides the 8mm Lebel version, the Chauchat machine rifle was also manufactured in US .30-06 and in 7.65 x 53mm Argentine caliber to arm the American Expeditionary Forces and the Belgian Army (respectively). Whereas the Belgian military did not experience difficulties with their Chauchats in 7.65mm Mauser which they kept in service until the early 1930s (see: “The Chauchat Machine Rifle”, p. 167-170 “Belgium”), the version in U.S.30-06 proved to be an instant failure.

The Chauchat machine rifle was one of the first light, full automatic rifle caliber weapons designed to be carried and fired by a single operator and an assistant, without a heavy tripod or a team of gunners. It set a precedent for several subsequent 20th century firearm projects, being a portable yet full power automatic weapon built inexpensively and in very large numbers. The Chauchat combined a pistol grip, an in-line stock, a detachable magazine, and a selective fire capability in a compact package of manageable weight (20 pounds) for a single soldier. Furthermore, it could be fired from the hip and while walking (marching fire). In shape and intended function the Chauchat, in spite of all its imperfections, may be considered as an early forerunner of the assault rifle concept.

The muddy trenches of northern France exposed a number of flaws in the Chauchat’s design. Construction had been simplified to facilitate mass production, resulting in low quality of many metal parts. The magazines in particular were the cause of about 75% of the stoppages or cessations of fire. They were made of thin stamped metal and open on one side, allowing easy ingress of mud and dust. The weapon also ceased to function when overheated, the barrel sleeve remaining in the retracted position until the gun had cooled off. Closed-sided magazines were evaluated but never placed into actual service. The A.E.F. in France eventually replaced the Chauchat at least partially, with the Browning Automatic Rifle which appeared on the front lines of northern France in September 1918, only two months before the Armistice of November 11. After World War I, the French army replaced the Chauchat as the standard light machine gun with the more effective and gas operated Mle 1924 light machine gun.

The Chauchat is the only full automatic weapon actuated by long recoil, a system already applied in 1906 to the Remington Model 8 semi-automatic rifle. Over time the Chauchat machine rifle just passable performance in its dominant version ( the Mle 1915 in 8mm Lebel ) and the failure of its limited version in U.S. 30-06 ( the Mle 1918 ), have led some modern experts to assess it as the “worst machine gun” ever fielded in the history of warfare.[1][2][3] The Chauchat’s utilization by eight different countries during World War-I (1914-18) remains a historical fact. The Chauchat was the most portable ( 20 lbs ) full automatic weapon, firing regular rifle ammunition, that was widely available to all the Allies .

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