When Germany went to war in 1914, the standard sidearm was the P.08 Luger pistol chambered in 9 mm Luger. The iconic Luger, with its graceful lines, though, was not ideal for the mud and dirt of the trenches. But it wasn’t just the Luger. Imperial Germany dug the archaic Reichsrevolver out of storage, as well as issuing huge numbers of Mauser Broomhandle pistols. The Broomhandle, first introduced in 1896, was really the world’s most successful semi-automatic pistol. Know what a “Red 9” is? Better watch this episode of American Rifleman to find out.
For more American Rifleman TV segments, go to americanrifleman.org/artv.
Handguns of The Great War: Lugers and Broomhandles
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