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Fusil d'Infanterie Modèle 1889
Mauser Oberndorf's first step into smokeless rifle design and onto the international stage came with the Mauser M1889, a model that would be amongst the first to receive its trial by fire when German troops violated Belgian neutrality.
History
Like most European nations in the later 1880s, Belgium was in the midst of making the transition from single shot black powder cartridge rifles to an early repeater. The Albini-Braendlin and Comblain in use with Belgian forces at the time were about to be replaced with the Austro-Hungarian designed Mannlicher M.86 when the existence of France's Poudre B smokeless propellant and its new rifle, the Mle 1886 Lebel came into public view in 1887.
A new trial series was immediately started with the participants being tasked with working out the use of smokeless powder. In this trial, Peter Paul Mauser threw his very own smokeless design into the ring.
His design came as a response to Germany's own Kommissionsgewehr 88 (Commission Rifle 88), a model he had no part in despite certain features, such as the bolt (albeit modified to accommodate new requirements) being based on the Mauser 71.
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Peter Paul Mauser (1838-1914)
Though slightly slower to load than the en bloc clip, the stripper clip negated the need for the clip in the system. All rounds were pushed into a full magazine assembly, allowing for more sealed and stronger magazines
In the end, Mauser managed to convince the Belgian commission of his rifle over 23 other designs, including heavyweights like Nagant and Mannlicher.
Having won the trials in summer of 1889, it was officially adopted in October of the same year as the Fusil d'Infanterie Mauser Modèle 1889 (Infantry Rifle, Mauser, Model 1889) by the Kingdom of Belgium.
One of the more revolutionary ideas that came with it was the introduction of the Ladestreifen ("loading strip"), a charging device allowing for rapid loading of the detachable* single stack magazine. This allowed for it to compete with Mannlicher's en-bloc clips when it came to ease of loading, while simultaneously keeping the entire magazine in one piece, whereas the en-bloc acts as the feed lips.
Despite a similar idea having been patented in the 1870s in the US, Mauser made the stripper clip a mainstake in martial long arms for decades to come.
Overall, the defining features of the M1889 were:
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A new, smokeless cartridge in the form of the 7.65x53mm that would become a popular chambering for Mauser's export line
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A barrel jacket akin to the German Commission Rifle 1888
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Stripper clip guides, with the left hand guide being part of the bolt stop assembly
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A single-stack detachable magazine protruding from the bottom of the receiver
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The sights as they were used on the earlier Comblain
In order to be independent from German deliveries the Belgians produced their new rifle domestically at the Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre, known today as FN Herstal.
Belgium being all but entirely occupied from the opening stages of the war, including the production facilities, meant that production had to be outsourced to Birmingham in England and later Hopkins & Allen in the United States.
Although more modern designs appeared all over Europe in the 1890s and early 1900s, the Belgians would carry the first smokeless Mauser into the Great War and use it to great effect thanks to a population well trained in marksmanship. The rifle would also see use as a second-line model for the German army, who would rechamber it to their standard 8x57mm cartridge.
The M1889 would prove to be a solid basis for Mauser's first successful export pattern as well.
First in the form of the Ottoman Model of 1890, which already saw the abandonment of the barrel jacket in favour of a stepped barrel to control heat expansion and addition of a handguard for handling, and later the Model 1891, which was adopted by several nations in South America.
Belgium herself continued using the M1889 until the 1930s when they adopted a, yet again home produced, Mauser 98 pattern short rifle. Most of the 275,000 produced 1889s fell victim to a thorough conversion program in 1936, resulting in the Mauser 89/36, a cut down version created in an attempt to get them as close as possible to the newly adopted rifle.
However, even in WWII the original models still saw use.
In addition to their own rifles, the Belgians received a number of captured Ottoman Mausers M1890, 1893 and 1903. The use of the same calibre made them easy to incorporate into the logistical network
Belgian infantrymen carrying their Mauser rifles while accompanied by machine gun dog carriages
Mechanism
Bolt
Unlike many of his later designs, the M1889 bolt uses a cock-on-close action. The sear catch would snag on the trigger sear, with the remaining forward motion being used to compress the firing pin spring.
The left side locking lug was split to allow the ejector to ride through it as the bolt travelled backwards and push the empty casing out to the side.
The bolt could then be locked in a safe position by turning the safety lever (often called flag safety due to its shape) to the right hand side, moving a piece of metal into the way of the striker, preventing it from moving forward and thus hitting the primer upon depression of the trigger sear.
The bolt is fairly simple in its design overall, but thanks to a non-separate bolt head it proved strong enough to last the nations that used it for a long time.
Magazine
The M1889s magazine might be the most complicated part of the entire system, using flat springs and an arm linkage to move the follower upwards as the rounds are chambered.
The 1889 pattern and its subsequent models up to the Spanish Model 1892 were the only Mauser rifles to utilise a single stack magazine with the rounds sitting directly on top of one another, whereas the design changed to a staggered magazine with the cartridges sitting in an alternating left/right pattern with the Model 1893 family of Mauser rifles.
As mentioned before, despite the magazine being detachable by pressing the magazine release button on the inside of the trigger guard with the tip of a bullet, this was not to be done unless it was for cleaning or repairs.
Instead, the magazine feeding happened through the use of disposable clips, using a flat spring to keep the cartridges in place until they are stripped downwards using the thumb and into the magazine. Essential for this process was the bolt stop assembly, which also actted as the left hand side of the cartridge guide and kept pressure on the clip, holding it in place.
The clip guides would later become an integral part of the receiver bridge, with an update to the stripper clips negating the need to keep spring pressure on it to keep it secure while feeding.
Barrel Jacket
One of, if not the most distinctive feature of the M1889 is the barrel jacket, leading to its cannon-like look.
The barrel jacket was directly copied from the Commission Rifle 1888 and was only used on this one Mauser design.
The jacket had two main purposes:
Keeping the barrel insulated - The new smokeless cartridges and repeating rifles caused a stark increase in barrel temperatures due to increased heat generation from the friction generated by the faster projectiles, as well as an overall increase in the rate of fire thanks to reliable magazine systems.
As bayonet fighting was an integral part of a soldier's training, as well as an expectation on the battlefield, the jacket was supposed to allow the soldiers to handle the rifle effectively, even after several rounds caused the barrel to heat up.
Supporting the barrel on expansion - As mentioned before, the new heat levels that came with the use of smokeless propellants and magazines also resulted in metallurgic issues.
Whereas black powder single loading rifles had enough time between shots to let the barrel cool down again, it was now facing higher firing rates, causing increasing heat and thus steel expansion. The jacket allowed the barrel to expand without losing support, which would have resulted in accuracy issues.
The barrel jacket would disappear with Mauser's next model - the Ottoman M1890, which utilised a new patent of his in the form of a stepped barrel, which allowed for rather uniform heat expansion over the entire length. The handling issue was simply fixed with a handguard.
It is not clear if Mauser incorporated the barrel jacket, because he thought it would be the best solution to heat expansion, or if perhaps it was an attempt to market the rifle as an "even better" one than what the well respected German Army used
Markings
Manufacturer
Easily the most prominent stamp, the manufacturer name can be found on the receiver designating the producer.
Position: Receiver Top
Serial Number
The serial number presents in the form of a number code used on various parts of the receiver. The exception being the left side of the receiver, where it is accompanied by a letter suffix in script.
Positions: Barrel Jacket Left Side, Stock (Under the receiver, both sides possible), Bolt Handle, Magazine Floor
Stock Markings
Although inconsistently applied between the manufacturers, stock cartouches can be found indicating use with the army or Garde Civique.
Belgium was also one of the nations that put acceptance marks on their stocks in the form of a circled script letter code indicating the current monarch.
Position: Butt Stock (Either Side), Wrist (Bottom)
Proof Stamps
Small Markings that can be found on receiver and bolt handle, indicating a successful proofing
Position: Receiver Left Side, Bolt Handle
Captured Rifles
With the lion's share of Belgium being occupied by German troops during the initial stages of the war, the German Army saw a large quantity of Belgian rifles come into their possession.
While most appear to have been used as they were, the German military converted some of the rifles to fire their native 7.92x57mm cartridge. Only minor adjustments - a cutout on the receiver to accommodate the longer cartridge, as well as slight changes to the magazine allowed the rifles to share an ammunition supply with the majority of the German inventory.
However, they remained in second line use for the duration of the war, with many being repatriated after the armistice.