Welcome soldier, to the first developer blog for Beyond the Wire!

Throughout the development of Beyond the Wire, we will be taking you deep into the trenches and showing some of the pivotal aspects of our game, from environments and level design through to the revolutionary arms that deemed this period “The Great War”.

For this first installment, we are going to break down some of the iconic weapons coming in Early Access that you will see across the battlefield and in the hands of the comrade next to you.

Meet your new best friends!

Gewehr 1898

The Gewehr 98 became one of the most reliable military and sport firearms ever produced after being patented in 1895 and becoming the standard German Army rifle used during World War 1. The Gewehr 98, and its classic bolt-action system, went on to set the standard of such guns – a standard still followed by the arms industry today.

Specifications:

Type: German bolt-action rifle

Calibre: 7.92x57mm Gewehr Patrone 1898 ammunition

Feed system: Five-round internal magazine

Length: 49.2 in (125 cm)

Weight: 9.26 lb (4.2 kg)

Bayonet attachment: Seitengewehr 98/05

Fusil Mle 1886/M93 “Lebel”

The Lebel was designed in France to take advantage of smokeless gunpowder invented a couple of years earlier in 1884. For a time, the Model 1886 was a revolutionary step forward and gave a distinct advantage to the French infantryman. The Lebel was credited as being the first rifle designed for use with smokeless powder ammunition and the first to make “boat-tailed” ammunition as standard.

Specifications:

Type: French bolt-action rifle

Calibre: 8x50mm

Feed system: 8 round under barrel tube-magazine

Length: 51.2 in (130 cm)

Weight: 9.2 lbs (4.18 kg)

Bayonet attachment: Épée-Baïonnette Modèle 1886 “Rosalie”

Madsen Model 1905

The Madsen is a Danish designed magazine-fed, recoil-operated light machine gun and was deployed by the German Army in 7.92 mm calibre during WW1. It was considered expensive to produce but was known for its reliability.

Specifications:

Type: German light machine gun

Calibre: 7.92x57mm

Feed system: 30-round detachable box magazine

Length: 45 in (114.3 cm)

Weight: 20 lb (9.07kg)

Fusil Mitrailleur Mle 1915 CSRG “Chauchat”

The Chauchat design stemmed from early-century work by a committee of French personnel, which produced a gun that could be transported by one man into battle, supply machine-gun-levels of firepower, and could be mass-produced through limited manufacturing facilities. Portability allowed the Chauchat operator to bring machine gun firepower directly to the enemy, clearing out trenches faster than any bolt-action service rifle could manage.

Specifications:

Type: French light machine gun

Calibre: 8×50mmR Lebel

Feed system: 18-round underloaded magazine

Length: 45 in (114.3 cm)

Weight: 20lb (9.07kg)

Pistole 08

This iconic pistol was introduced between 1906 and 1914 within the German army and was the primary handgun of the officers and assault troopers but was also carried by gun crews, messengers, signallers, and non-commissioned officers. The first Pistole 08s were sold to Switzerland in 1900 and were intended for the 7.65 mm calibre. However, the calibre was changed back to 9mm Parabellum rounds purposefully for the German Empire.

Specification:

Type: German semi-automatic pistol

Calibre: 9x19mm Parabellum

Feed system: 8-round box magazine

Length: 8.74 in (22 cm)

Weight: 1lb 15oz (871 grams)

Modèle 1892 Revolver

Designed and manufactured from 1892-1927, the double-action revolver had a swing-out cylinder with spring-operated extractor. Originally intended to serve as a French Army officer’s sidearm, it was also issued to officers in the Navy and Gendarmerie. Non-commissioned officers continued to carry the older Modèle 1873 service revolver, but some were issued .32 ACP automatic pistols during the War.

Specification:

Type: French double-action revolver

Calibre: 8x27mm

Feed system: 6 round cylinder

Length: 9.3in (24cm)

Weight: 1lb 14 oz (850 grams)

Don’t worry, our arsenal doesn’t stop here. We have many more weapons that will play significant roles in the war effort ahead, including trench raiding, and we will be including those in future dev blogs as we explore the other arms you will see Beyond The Wire.

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