Re: Interesting History Behind BF1 Weapon Skin Names?
M1897 Shotgun skins
Legendary: The Burnett, The Sweeper, The Washington
Distinguished: Château-Thierry, Lieutenant Kelly, Meuse, Trenchbroom
The Sweeper skin for M1897 Shotgun (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Model_1897): Unlike most modern pump-action shotguns, the Winchester Model 1897 (versions of which were type classified as the Model 97 or M97 for short) fired each time the action closed with the trigger depressed (that is, it lacks a trigger disconnector). Coupled with its five-shot capacity, this made it effective for close combat, such that troops referred to it as a "trench sweeper". This characteristic allowed troops to fire the whole magazine with great speed, known as "slam firing". The Model 1897 was so effective, and feared, that the German government protested (in vain) to have it outlawed in combat. https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/M1897_Shotgun_(Codex_Entry) The original design was modified by adding a perforated steel heat shield over the barrel and a bayonet lug. Because of the lack of a trigger disconnector, the M1897 fires each time the user cycles the pump-action while the trigger is depressed. This feature earned it the nickname "Trench Sweeper" among the troops.
Trenchbroom skin for M1897 Shotgun (imfdb.org/wiki/Winchester_Model_1897): The United States military used a short-barreled version, often called the "trench gun" by US troops, who made extensive use of it in both World Wars. This version was modified by adding a perforated steel heat shield over the barrel, and an adapter with bayonet lug for affixing a M1917 bayonet. Unlike most modern pump-action shotguns, the M1897 fired each time the action closed with the trigger depressed (that is, it lacks a trigger disconnector), allowing even a moderately trained soldier to slam-fire all six shells in around two seconds. The six-shot capacity made it extremely effective for close combat, and gave it nicknames like the "trench broom" and "trench sweeper."
Meuse skin for M1897 Shotgun (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meuse): The Meuse is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of 925 km (575 miles). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meuse_(department) Meuse is a department in northeast France, named after the River Meuse. Meuse is part of the current region of Grand Est and is landlocked and borders by the French departments of Ardennes, Marne, Haute-Marne, Vosges, Meurthe-et-Moselle, and Belgium to the north. Front lines in trench warfare during World War I ran varying courses through the department and it hosted an important battle/offensive in 1916 in and around Verdun (reference to the M1909 Benét-Mercié's Verdun skin). The First World War dealt a heavy blow to the department, and by 1921, only 207,309 inhabitants were recorded. Many residents had fled, and entire villages that were on or near the front line in 1916 were destroyed. Meuse thus has several uninhabited communes because the villages were never rebuilt, and in fact are known as "Morts pour la France" ("Died for France"); the number of displaced persons from the villages varies from 131 to 718. Since the end of the Battle of Verdun in 1916, these communes have been unoccupied with an official population of zero; the villages are Beaumont-en-Verdunois, Bezonvaux, Cumières-le-Mort-Homme (reference to the Sjögren Inertial Shotgun's Le Mort-Homme skin), Fleury-devant-Douaumont (reference to the Sjögren Inertial Shotgun's Douaumont skin), Haumont-près-Samogneux (reference to the Battlefield 1's Verdun Heights map) and Louvemont-Côte-du-Poivre. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meuse%E2%80%93Argonne_offensive The Meuse–Argonne offensive (also known as the Meuse River–Argonne Forest offensive, the Battles of the Meuse–Argonne, and the Meuse–Argonne campaign) was a major part of the final Allied offensive of World War I that stretched along the entire Western Front. It was fought from September 26, 1918, until the Armistice of November 11, 1918, a total of 47 days. The offensive was the principal engagement of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in World War I. It was one of a series of Allied attacks, known as the Hundred Days Offensive, which brought the war to an end.
Château-Thierry skin for M1897 Shotgun (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau-Thierry): Château-Thierry is a French commune situated in the department of the Aisne, in the administrative region of Hauts-de-France, and in the historic Province of Champagne. Château-Thierry is the birthplace of Jean de La Fontaine and was the location of the First Battle of the Marne and Second Battle of the Marne (reference to Model 10-A Shotgun's The Rock of the Marne skin). In 1918, a mounting for the Paris Gun was found near the castle, though the cannon itself had apparently been moved prior to the emplacement's discovery. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ch%C3%A2teau-Thierry_(1918) The Battle of Château-Thierry was fought on July 18, 1918 and was one of the first actions of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) under General John J. Pershing (reference to the M1917 MG's Black Jack skin). It was a battle in World War I as part of the Second Battle of the Marne, initially prompted by a German Spring Offensive (reference to the MP18's The Kaiserschlacht skin). German and local actions at Château-Thierry recommenced on May 31 to July 22, 1918, against the AEF, an American Expeditionary Force, consisting of troops from both the United States Army and Marine Corps (reference to the M1903's Marine skin) units. These units were the newest troops on the front in France and just barely out of training. The AEF counter-offensive combat action at Château-Thierry was relatively brief starting on July 18, 1918 and lasting for less than a week and was part of the allied effort to push back the recent German advance. American forces had linked up with their French allies at the Marne River on June 3, 1918 and had forced the Germans back across the river. This set the stage for the action at Château-Thierry and at the Battle of Belleau Wood (reference to the M1903's Belleau Wood skin). However, the later action raged for another three weeks.
Lieutenant Kelly skin for M1897 Shotgun (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_Field): Kelly Field (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) is a Joint-Use facility located in San Antonio, Texas. It was originally named after George E. M. Kelly, the first member of the U.S. military killed in the crash of an airplane he was piloting. Kelly Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I, being established on 27 March 1917. It was used as a flying field; primary flying school; school for adjutants, supply officers, and engineers; mechanics school, and as an aviation general supply depot. Kelly Field is named in honor of 2nd Lieutenant George Edward Maurice Kelly. Lt. Kelly, who after a course of training at the Curtiss Aviation School, Rockwell Field, California, was ordered to Fort Sam Houston, near San Antonio. While attempting to land on 10 May 1911 in order to avoid running into a tent and thereby possibly injuring several others, Kelly died in a crash, falling into the ground. In November 1915, the newly created 1st Aero Squadron arrived at Fort Sam Houston after a cross-country flight from Fort Sill, Oklahoma. However, the squadron remained at the post only until March 1916, whereupon it left to join Brigadier General John J. Pershing’s (reference to the M1917 MG's Black Jack skin) Punitive Expedition against Pancho Villa (reference to the Russian 1895's Pancho Villa skin) on the U.S.-Mexico border. Problems experienced by the 1st Aero Squadron on that expedition and the ongoing war in Europe persuaded Congress to improve and expand the nation's air arm. On 5 April 1917, four aircraft took off from Fort Sam Houston, flew across San Antonio and landed on the new airfield, which at the time was a cleared cotton field. Tents had been erected as hangars, however, a permanent presence at the airfield was not established until 7 May when 700 men arrived. A week later, the population had grown to 4,000. Construction of the facility was rapid, with the United States now at war and the mission of the new airfield was to train aviators to be sent to the Western Front in France. Many of the American-trained World War I aviators learned to fly at Kelly field, with 1,459 pilots and 398 flying instructors graduating from the Kelly aviation schools during the course of the war. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_E._M._Kelly George Edward Maurice Kelly (11 December 1878 – 10 May 1911) was the 12th pilot of the U.S. Army's Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps and the first member of the U.S. military killed in the crash of an airplane he was piloting. He was a 2nd Lieutenant.
The Burnett skin for for M1897 Shotgun https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Mongolia_(1903) SS Mongolia was a 13,369-ton passenger-and-cargo liner originally built for Pacific Mail Steamship Company in 1904. In March 1917, following the German declaration of a submarine blockade around Britain, Mongolia was chartered as an Army transport and received a self-defense armament of three 6-inch (150 mm) deck guns manned by U.S. Navy gun crews. One month later, Mongolia became the first American vessel to test the blockade, using those guns to drive off (and possibly sink) a U-boat seven miles southeast of Beachy Head, in the English Channel. That was the first armed encounter for an American vessel after the US's entry to World War I. For the next year, Mongolia ferried American troops and supplies to Europe. Two American nurses, Clara Ayres and Helen Burnett Wood, were accidentally killed during one of these crossings, and another was wounded. During the afternoon of 20 May 1917, the nurses were on the deck of the Mongolia, observing the firing of the aft 6-inch gun, when they were struck by fragments of the shell's brass casing. https://evanstonroundtable.com/2021/11/11/evanston-world-war-i-casualty-helen-burnett-wood/ Evanston WWI veteran Helen Burnett Wood is honored in America and Scotland. Wood, a nurse who volunteered to serve in the war, was born in Scotland and immigrated to Evanston in 1909. In 1914, she earned a nursing degree from the Evanston Training School for Nurses, a school affiliated with Evanston Hospital and Northwestern University. In 1917, she volunteered to serve as a nurse with U.S. Base Hospital 12, a unit largely composed of Northwestern University students, alumni and faculty. Wood set sail for France in May 1917. Tragically, she and fellow nurse Edith Ayres were killed when one of the ship’s guns misfired during a routine practice. Wood and Ayres were the first members of an American unit to be killed in service during World War I.
The Washington skin for for M1897 Shotgun: triple question mark (???) or why are there dog breeds as skin names in Battlefield 1? https://www.history.com/news/george-washington-dogs George Washington: Founding Father—And Passionate Dog Breeder. Among the names the future first president gave his dogs were Sweet Lips, Venus, Trulove, Taster, Tippler, Drunkard and Madame Moose. But few may know the founding father was also a dog lover who even bred his own unique breed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_of_the_Armies General of the Armies of the United States, more commonly referred to as General of the Armies, is the highest military rank in the United States Army. The rank has been conferred two times: to John J. Pershing (reference to the M1917 MG's Black Jack skin) in 1919, as a personal accolade for his command of the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I, to George Washington in 1976, as a posthumous honor during the United States Bicentennial celebrations. The grade is sometimes described as a six-star general, as being senior to the five-star grade of General of the Army, but no six-star insignia was ever officially created and Pershing, the only person to be General of the Armies during his own lifetime, never wore more than four stars. The General of the Armies enjoyed several privileges not afforded to other generals, including a much higher salary and the right to retire at full pay and allowances. Even in retirement, Pershing was the second-highest-paid official in the federal government, after only the president of the United States. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonus_Army The Bonus Army was a group of 43,000 demonstrators – 17,000 veterans of U.S. involvement in World War I, their families, and affiliated groups – who gathered in Washington, D.C., in mid-1932 to demand early cash redemption of their service bonus certificates. Organizers called the demonstrators the Bonus Expeditionary Force (B.E.F.), to echo the name of World War I's American Expeditionary Forces, while the media referred to them as the "Bonus Army" or "Bonus Marchers". The demonstrators were led by Walter W. Waters, a former sergeant. Washington police met with resistance, shot at the protestors, and two veterans were wounded and later died. President Herbert Hoover then ordered the U.S. Army to clear the marchers' campsite. Army Chief of Staff General Douglas MacArthur commanded a contingent of infantry and cavalry, supported by six tanks. The Bonus Army marchers with their wives and children were driven out, and their shelters and belongings burned.