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ARCHIVES >>> 8/2026
Vast Variety of Violence - Part 12 by: Guarnere, Jan Kurator & Ashton 30.08.2026 18:00 GMT
Following World War One, Poland, after 123 years, regained its independence. As part of the effort to build up a formal military there was a need to standardize weaponry, as the Polish arsenal was a mixed mess following the war. To solve this they standardized on the 7.92mm Mauser cartridge. The choice of caliber was a consequence of the dismantling and acquiring of the "Königliche Gewehrfabrik" arms factory in Danzig following the war.
In 1924 the Polish Army set up a procurement trial for light machine guns. The winner was the "Browning Automatic Rifle, M1924", supplied by FN of Belgium, who had a license agreement with John Browning for European sales. Shortly after, the Poles purchased the improved "BAR M1925", which differed from the American M1918 BAR - most notably by introducing a pistol grip. The Polish Army also requested an AA-sight and different bipod legs and rear sights. In 1927, the Polish Army contracted FN to manufacture 10.000 BARs, designating them the "Ręczny karabin maszynowy "Browning" wz. 28". In 1929, FN delivered the first batch of wz.28s. With most suffering from technical errors, only 8.342 were accepted. The Poles now demanded the technical documentation from FN in Belgium - accidentally revealing a large deception. FN had illegally sold production licenses on behalf of "Colt", and the companies were now on bad terms. Colt being the intended producers of the wz.28 now refused the task, leading to FN pushing out a rushed production run themselves - with predictable results. To avoid a scandal, the Poles paid FN out-of-court and set up domestic production of the wz.28 with blessings from Colt. This production introduced a flash hider and the iconic "fish tail" buttstock. The wz.28 saw action during the Spanish Civil War and the 1939 invasion of Poland. Captured wz.28s were also used by the Germans, referred to as the "Maschinengewehr 28(p)". Approximately 14.000 were produced until 1939. Ours was made by Ashton and RedRogueXIII. We also wanted to share with you a new machinima made by our amazing community members : That's all for this week, but be sure to come back next time for another update. Until then, feel free to visit our Discord, our public forums, our subreddit, and/or Facebook pages to discuss this update and other news.
No More Fun in Sight by: Guarnere 16.08.2026 18:00 GMT
The German Army entered World War One with the Gewehr 98 as its standard rifle. At the time, one of the most innovative features of the rifle was its loading system. Loading was done via expendable five-round strip clips loaded from the top into guide rails machined into the receiver. It fired the 7,92mm S-Munition or "Spitzgeschoß" (Pointed bullet) and was fitted with the "Roller coaster" curved rear sight ramp, ranged from 400 m to 2.000 m.
For the "Scharfschützen", the German snipers, around 15.000 units were modified with curved bolt handles and equipped with commercial telescopic sights with 3x or 4x magnification, manufactured notably by "C.P. Goerz", "Dr. Walter Gerard" and "Voigtländer".
After World War One, the Treaty of Versailles restricted the number of rifles in the German Army to a maximum of 134.000 units, but it's estimated that at least 200.000 disappeared into the arsenals of various local defense militias and the "Freikorps". In the 1920's, a large number of Gewehr 98 rifles in the German Army were equipped with a new leaf tangent sight ranged from 100 m to 2.000 m, more practical for short range engagments. The modified rifles were designated as "Gewehr 98m". The Gewehr 98m was still used during the early stages of World War Two by various Waffen SS units, especially during the "Weiß", "Gelb" and "Barbarossa" operations from 1939 to 1941. A total of about 5.000.000 Gewehr 98 rifles were built in Germany until 1935, when production of the new Karabiner 98k kicked in. Our Gewehr 98m and it's 'Hensoldt-Wetzlar' Dialytan 4x scope were made by Seth Soldier. Our betatester Slayer1976 want to keep you entertained with the brand new FH2 tank hunting compilation ! That's all for this week, but be sure to come back next time for another update. Until then, feel free to visit our Discord, our public forums, our subreddit, and/or Facebook pages to discuss this update and other news.
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