Mousqueton

Mousqueton
Type	Carbine
Nationality	French
Damage
Damage profile	Carbine
Weapon capacity	3 rounds, 99 round reserve
Reload type	3 round en-bloc clip

The Berthier design began as the "Mousquetons Berthier" - a series of bolt action cavalry and artillery carbines with distinctly different actions from the Mle 1886M93 8mm Lebel rifle. For instance the Berthier carbine's bolt lugs do lock vertically into the receiver instead of horizontally as in the Lebel rifle.

– Official Verdun Weapons Guide

The Mousqueton, or Mousqueton Mle. 1892 "Berthier"), is a French bolt-action carbine fed by a three round en-bloc clip. The game uses the name "Mousqueton" to refer to the carbine and "Berthier" to refer to the rifle in describing the weapons.

In-game

In-game, its light weight and handiness gives it an edge in the very short amount of time it takes to cycle its bolt, around one second, or shoulder it. Furthermore, it also has an intuitive and extremely unobstructive tangent iron sight.

However, as it is a carbine, it is a relatively unstable firing platform, necessitating the use of the Hold Breath mechanic to fire accurately over a long distance. Furthermore, its three round capacity is quite limiting, necessitating very quick, but repetitive, reloads.

The carbine is a good choice for run-and-gun tactics, close-quarters trench engagements, and medium range musketry. The carbine can be attached with a APX rifle scope (only in RDM and Attrition) or a Rosalie bayonet.

Mousqueton M16

The Mousqueton M16, note the protruding magazine under the receiver

The Mousqueton M16 is a version of the Mousqueton carbine introduced in 1916. In-game, it is carried by members of the Chasseurs Alpins, with the major difference being that this version of the weapon, while still retaining the en-bloc clip, has a capacity of five rounds rather than three.

Users

The Mousqueton is used also by the Poilus Caporal and Grenadier roles. It is also used by at least one loadout in all the Chasseurs Alpins roles.

Trivia

• The French translation of the a carbine is "carabine" instead of "mousqueton". A "mousqueton" is a carabiner, a metal hook used for safety while climbing, parachuting or high altitude constructions. The possible reason why this carbine was called "mousqueton" is most likely because carabiniers (cavalrymen equipped with short rifles or pistols) used these hooks to attach the weapon to their belt or bandolier.
• The reason for the large and noticeable bump on the bottom of the gun, where the en-bloc clip sits in front of the trigger guard, is due to the (1) extreme flaring of the Lebel cartridge (a cartridge also used in the 1886 Lebel rifle), based off relatively large-bore gunpowder cartridges being quickly necked down to 8mm size, and (2) the single-stack en-bloc clip. This is even more pronounced in the M16 version of the carbine, with five rounds rather than three.