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Krause Publications, "Mauser
Military Rifles of the World, 3rd Ed"
by Robert W. D. Ball |
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"The
purpose of this book is to examine the significance of the
Mauser rifle in the military and political histories of
countries around the world. Mauser rifles have been , in all
likelihood, the most widely used weapons system the world has
ever seen."
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Mauser Military Rifles of the World, 3rd Edition.
By Robert W.D. Ball
2003, 368 pages, 1000 black and white and 64 page color
sections. Hard cover.
$44.99, Krause Publications, Iola, WI.
www.krausebooks.com or 1-800-258-0929
This is an updated version of Ball’s successful reference
book dealing with Military Mauser rifles from around the
world.
As with previous editions, this book covers world wide
Mauser rifles, dating from 1871 to 1945. New to this edition
is a section on early black powder models in the Germany
section of the book. There are also 200 new photos in this
edition as well.
The book is broken down alphabetically by country where a
description of what types and models of Mauser rifles were
used by the country, followed by individual descriptions,
photos and specifications (weight, length, rifling, sights
etc) are listed. Most have a photo to show an example. A lot
of close up photos of manufacturer markings, proof marks,
receiver crests and, what I would categorize as “interesting
trivia” (examples being bayonet mounts, sling hardware,
plaques, etc) are shown as well. You will find black and
white photos on each page throughout the book, but there are
also sections of color photos, again arranged alphabetically
by country, showing examples of crests and rifles for each
country. Production data and where rifles were employed are
also supplied as tables for three big manufactures of Mauser
rifles; Germany, Belgium and Czechoslovakia.
The Germany section of the book has by far the most
information presented both in detail and in quantity. The
author has excerpted information from the book “Black Powder
Mauser Rifles” (David Stefanye) to present information on
the very earliest Mauser rifle developments. The Germany
section then progresses through all sorts of model variants,
transitional rifles, specialized rifles (sniper, anti tank)
to the end of WW2.
At the end of the book is a section entitled “Mauser
Curiosa” which includes information and photos on trial and
experimental examples as well as special use rifles such as
those adapted with periscope type devices for firing over
trench walls. Some “mystery” rifles and markings are
presented as well. Finally, at the end of the book, just
before the bibliography, is a section that deals with the
principal weapons of WW1. These are black and white drawings
that reference short descriptions of each weapon.
I found “Mauser Military Rifles of the World” to be a very
interesting read. First, of course, I looked up the various
Mauser rifles in my collection and read about each. The book
could be used to look up and identify rifles based on crests
and markings or you could peruse each country looking at
photos of examples. A very thorough text for any collector of
Mauser military rifles.
R. Ted Jeo |
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List of
Chapters
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- Preface
-
Acknowledgements
-
Argentina
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Austria
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Belgium
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- China
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Czechoslovakia
- Denmark
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Estonia
- Ethiopia
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Guatemala
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Iraq
- Ireland
- Israel
- Japan
- Latvia
- Liberia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Manchuria
- Mexico
- Morocco
- Netherlands
- Nicaragua
- Norway
- Orange Free State (OVS)
- Paraguay
- Persia/Iran
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Saudi Arabia
- Serbia/Yugoslavia
- Slovak Republic
- South Africa
- Spain
- Sweden
- Syria
- Thailand
- Turkey
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
- Yemen
- Mauser Curiosa
- Bibliography
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