- Designated Fusil Mitrailleuse Mle 1915 CSRG, the Chauchat machine rifle was one of the first light, automatic rifle caliber weapons designed to be carried and fired by a single operator. Furthermore, it could be routinely fired from the hip and while walking.
- – Official Verdun Weapon Guide[2]
The Chauchat was a light machine gun developed and used by the French during the First World War. It was designed to be operated by a single operator and an assistant, without a heavy tripod or a team of gunners.[3] The weapon was fed by a 20 round detachable magazine.
However, the Chauchat's open-sided magazine was far from practical in the trenches, as dirt can easily enter the weapon, causing many mechanical failures and a frankly horrid reputation.[3]
Yet, the weapon was fairly light compared to other machine guns (only 9kg / 20 pounds) and it was possible to shoot the gun while marching, which was revolutionary for its time.[3]
In-game[]
The Chauchat is used by the Poilus "Mitrailleur", the Doughboys "Gunner", and the Belgians "Schutter" (Level 2 loadouts). The weapon can be deployed with a bipod, but can also be used to fire from the hip, unlike opposing German machine guns. It has a reasonable accuracy while deployed and a 1- to 3-shot kill.
The Chauchat has the slowest fire rate of all machine guns in-game. Combined with its small magazine, it is not very effective at static defence. However, while its magazine is small, it reloads fairly quickly for a machine gun and deploys faster than any other machine gun, making it a very handy weapon on the move.
The iron sights are not obstructive and easy to aim with. For accuracy, it can be shot practically semi-automatic, though the many shots needed to kill an enemy makes it better to fire in bursts. Spread makes the weapon very inaccurate when fired fully automatic.
CSRG M18[]
- An adapted version of the original 1915 version. It fires more powerful cartridges and features a closed, but flimsy, magazine. It had many defects and it was not uncommon for units to ditch the weapon in favor for a rifle.
- – Official Verdun Weapon Guide[2]
U.S. CSRG .30-06 M1918 "Chauchat" was selected by the United States shortly after entering the First World War. Needing a light machine gun, quickly, in massive numbers, they selected what was effectively a rechambered version of the Chauchat. Near the end of the war, the US started to replace the CSRG M18 with the Browning Automatic Rifle (or BAR). However, this was only in small numbers before the conclusion of the war.
The US variant is used by the Marines "Base of Fire" level 3 loadout. It shares roughly the same statistics as the French version, with no major differences in handling or rate of fire, but it does have a smaller magazine and a slightly faster reload.
References[]
| Weapons | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rifles and carbines | Central Powers | Gew. 88/05 • Gew. 98 • Kar. 88 • Kar. 98AZ |
| Entente | Berthier • Gew. 89 • Kar. 89 • Lebel • MLE • Mousqueton (M16) • P14 • P17 • Ross • SMLE (Sawn-Off) • Springfield • RSC 17 • RSC 18 | |
| Machine guns | Central Powers | Madsen • MG08/15 • MG08/18 • MP18i |
| Entente | BAR • Chauchat (CSRG M18) • Hotchkiss • Lewis | |
| Handguns | Central Powers | C96 • Luger (Artillery) • Reichsrevolver |
| Entente | FN1900 • M1892 • M1911 • Ruby • Webley • Webley-Scott | |
| Melee and grenades | Central Powers | Boker Knife • Eierhandgranate • Feldspaten • Geballte Ladung 6x • Geballte Ladung 9x • M15 • M17 |
| Entente | F1 • Mills • Trenchclub • Venguer Knife • Egg Grenade | |
| Other | Wex • M1897 • TankGewehr • Binocs | |
| Call-ins | Artillery • Plane • Gas • Heavy mortar • Smokescreen | |