for use with the M1935 and M1889/36 Short Rifles.Ĭollector's references refer to the T-back blade variant as "Gendarmerie" bayonets. blade length, but has been bushed down to 15.5 mm. This example retains its original 450 mm. Although the scabbard is undamaged, the bayonet will not insert all of the way, the blade point bottoming out while leaving about 0.25 in. The scabbard is also a former French M1874 that has been shortened and had the Belgian frog stud affixed. Gras rifles and bayonets were still used by Belgian Colonial troops during the First World War period. The blade on this example was salvaged from a French M1874 Gras bayonet, as evidenced by the vestiges of script on the blade spine. The bushing is clearly visible in one of the images at left.Ī small number of new made bayonets were produced with a 248 mm. Bayonets with the bushed muzzle ring were designated M1916–35. These are found in several blade lengths, as bayonets were simply converted as found in military stores. M1916 bayonets were converted for use with the updated rifles by bushing the muzzle ring to 15.5 mm. In 1935, the updated Belgian Mauser M1935 was adopted and earlier M1889 rifles altered to the M1889/36. M1935 Mauser rifle and M1889/36 conversions. Sword bayonet altered for use with the 7.65 mm. Reconstituted after the German surrender, the Chasseurs Ardennais remains one of the most prestigious regiments in the Belgian Army, having served in Korea, the Belgian Congo, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan.Ĭrosspiece (right): "952 Over 200 more were later killed fighting with the resistance. More than 500 Chasseurs Ardennais were killed in the 18 days of May 1940. With no chance of evacuation, many of the Chasseurs Ardennais evaded capture and fought on with the Maquis (resistance). The Division fought its way completely across Belgium during the 18 days of combat, making its final four-day stand at Lille, France, buying the British precious time to evacuate Dunkirk. At Bodange, vastly outnumbered and outgunned Chasseurs Ardennais held up Rommel's 7th Panzer Division for 9 hours, before giving ground. The Chasseurs Ardennais' mission was to delay the Germans and prevent them from encircling the Belgian Army, before French troops could come up to help stop the German advance at the Meuse River. The Division took the brunt of the German onslaught on May 10, 1940, as German panzers struck the low countries through the Ardennes Forest. The Chasseurs Ardennais were a small, highly mobile infantry force, equipped with light armored vehicles, motorcycles, and bicycles. The "1Ch" crosspiece marking indicates use by theġst Division de Chasseurs Ardennais (in English, The Ardennes Hunters), one of the most capable Belgian Army units to fight in 1940. Regardless of manufacturing process, blade profile, or blade length, if the muzzle ring diameter was 17.5 mm., the bayonet was designated M1916. The scabbard has been shortened by cutting off the lower portion and neatly brazing a cap on the end. Many, including this example, were subsequently shortened during rework. New made M1916 bayonets had the hilt made from a single forging, visually identified by a radiused transition where the crosspiece meets the tang.īlades were either of a flattened cruciform profile or T-back blades salvaged from French M1874 Gras bayonets. This probably accounts for the relative scarcity of M1889 bayonets today. The hooked lower crosspiece was deleted and the blade replaced. Bayonets of conventional construction, with the crosspiece pinned to the tang (visually identified by the tang meeting the crosspiece at a right angle), were conversions of earlier M1889 bayonets. The wartime M1916 bayonets included a number of variants among which Belgium made no distinction. During this period, MAE had temporary factories in Calais, France and Birmingham, England, having been forced to evacuate their Liege factory in 1914. M1916 bayonets were produced from 1916–1918 at Manufacture D'Armes de le Etat (Arms Manufacturer of the State): abbreviated MAE. Much of the conventional wisdom regarding Belgian Mauser bayonets was clarified by research published in 2016 by Anthony Vanderlinden in his book, FN Mauser Rifles.