Re: Interesting History Behind BF1 Weapon Skin Names?

Selbstlader M1916 skins:
Legendary: Blutigen April, The Chancellor, The Kagohl, Odin
Distinguished: Bavarian, Kronprinz, Linnarz, Nachtflugzeug

Bavarian skin for Selbstlader M1916 (https://www.forgottenweapons.com/early-semiauto-rifles/mauser-selbstlader): The Selbstlader-Karabiner Mauser M 1916 was a further refinement of the 06/08 rifle, and its most notable features was a more ergonomic stock and an overall reduction in length. The 06/08 rifle had been tested as an aviation rifle, but its length was unwieldy. The German Air Corps adopted the rifle officially as the ‘Fliegerkarabine 15’ and the Ballon-und-Zeppelin-Truppe adopted the rifle officially as the ‘Selbstlader-Karabiner Mauser M 1916. Due to the expensive manufacturing costs and intricate high-tolerance machining, only 1000 of the Selbstlader-Karabiner Mauser M 1916 were produced. When the German military acquired sufficient numbers of the much cheaper Flieger-Selbstlader-Karabiner 15 Mondragon Rifle, the Mauser Fliegerkarabine 15 was largely withdrawn from the German Air Corps. The Flieger-Selbstlader-Karabiner 15 Mondragon was inherently less-accurate and more prone to stoppages according to its Bavarian Field Manual. It states that compared to the “previous introduced weapon,” being the Mauser Fliegerkarabine 15, accuracy of the newly-acquired weapons was abysmal: “The unified construction of this self-loading weapon results in greater variations in the targeting position than exist in previously introduced weapons. Only deviations of more than 20cm from the normal group are corrected.”

Blutigen April skin for Selbstlader M1916 (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blutiger_April): Blutiger April (englisch Bloody April) ist der Name, der im englischen Sprachraum einer etwa fünfwöchigen Periode während des Luftkriegs an der Westfront des Ersten Weltkriegs gegeben wurde, in der das Royal Flying Corps (RFC) bei der Unterstützung der Bodenstreitkräfte in der Schlacht bei Arras exorbitante Verluste gegen die deutschen Luftstreitkräfte erlitt. Die Verluste waren so groß, dass die Moral ganzer Staffeln zusammenbrach. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_April Bloody April was the (largely successful) British air support operation during the Battle of Arras (reference to the Lewis Gun's Arras skin) in April 1917, during which particularly heavy casualties were suffered by the Royal Flying Corps at the hands of the German Luftstreitkräfte. The tactical, technological, and training differences between the two sides ensured the British suffered a casualty rate nearly four times as great as their opponents. The losses were so disastrous that it threatened to undermine the morale of entire squadrons. The RFC contributed to the success, limited as it finally proved, of the British Army during the five-week series of battles.

The Kagohl skin for Selbstlader M1916 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kampfgeschwader): Kampfgeschwader are the German-language name for (air force) bomber units. In WW1, they were air squadrons, while in WW2, they were air wings. During World War I, Kampfgeschwader were specialized bomber units in the Luftstreitkräfte. Formally known as Kampfgeschwader der Obersten Heeresleitung, or Kagohl for short, they were assets directly controlled by the Oberste Heeresleitung, the German Army's high command, rather than by army, corps, or division commanders. Each Kagohl consisted of a headquarters element and six flights, or Kampfstaffeln, of bomber aircraft. Originally intended as strategic bombers, they were repurposed as tactical bombing units when it became apparent their aircraft did not have the range to reach strategic targets.

Nachtflugzeug skin for Selbstlader M1916 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idflieg_aircraft_designation_system): The Idflieg (Inspekteur der Flieger) designation system was used to classify German heavier-than-air military (as opposed to naval) aircraft from the early days of the Fliegertruppe/Luftstreitkräfte to the end of World War I. The system evolved during this period as new classes of aircraft came into use. The specific, official "name" of a Luftstreitkräfte aircraft type consisted of the name of the manufacturer, the designation allocated to its class or category, and finally a Roman numeral. List of Idflieg class letter prefixes. N: Two-seat single engined night (Nacht) bomber. Basically a "C" type aircraft with longer wing span to enable a heavier war-load. Designation introduced in 1918, superseding "CN" specification. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_bomber Strategic bombing and night bombing were new in World War I, and there was much experimentation at night with aircraft such as the Gotha G.IV, Gotha G.V, Handley Page Type O, and various giant airplanes such as the Riesenflugzeuge (reference to the Mondragon's Riesenflugzeug skin) and the Sikorsky Ilya Muromets. Navigation was difficult and precision was almost nonexistent but the psychological effect was strong. Night bombing worked as a terror weapon.

Linnarz skin for Selbstlader M1916 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeppelin_LZ_38): Zeppelin LZ 38 (designated LZ 38) was Zeppelin P Class airship of the German Imperial Army. It was the first to bomb London, United Kingdom. LZ 38 became the first airship to bomb London on 31 May 1915, dropping 1,400 kilograms (3,000 lb) of bombs on the eastern suburb of London, killing seven people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_bombing_of_Britain,_1914%E2%80%931918 The Army received the first of these, LZ38 (Hauptmann Erich Linnarz) raided Ipswich on 29/30 April and Southend on 9/10 May. On the night of 30/31 May, Linnarz commanded LZ38 on the first London raid; LZ37 was also to be part of the raid but was damaged early on and returned to Namur. Flying from Evere LZ38 crossed the English coast near Margate at 9:42 p.m. before turning west over Southend. London police were warned of a raid around 11:00 p.m.; a few minutes later small incendiaries began to fall. These devices, weighing 25 lb (11 kg), were filled with thermite and the exterior was wrapped in tarred rope. About 120 bombs were dropped on a line from Stoke Newington south to Stepney and then north toward Leytonstone. Seven people were killed and 35 injured; 41 fires were started, burning out seven properties and the total damage was assessed at £ 537,900.

The Chancellor skin for Selbstlader M1916 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_chancellors_of_Germany): The chancellor of Germany is the political leader of Germany and the head of the federal government. The office holder is responsible for selecting all other members of the government and chairing cabinet meetings. The office was created in the North German Confederation in 1867, when Otto von Bismarck became the first chancellor. With the unification of Germany and establishment of the German Empire in 1871, the Confederation evolved into a German nation-state and its leader became known as the chancellor of Germany. Originally, the chancellor was only responsible to the emperor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theobald_von_Bethmann_Hollweg Theobald Theodor Friedrich Alfred von Bethmann Hollweg (29 November 1856 – 1 January 1921) was a German politician who was Chancellor of the German Empire from 1909 to 1917. He oversaw the German entry into World War I and played a key role during its first three years. He was replaced as chancellor in July of 1917 due in large part to opposition to his moderate policies by leaders in the military. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Michaelis Georg Michaelis (8 September 1857 – 24 July 1936) was the chancellor of the German Empire for a few months in 1917. He was the first (and the only one of the German Empire) chancellor not of noble birth to hold the office. With an economic background in business, Michaelis' main achievement was to encourage the ruling classes to open peace talks with Russia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_von_Hertling Georg Friedrich Karl Freiherr von Hertling, from 1914 Count von Hertling, (31 August 1843 – 4 January 1919) was a German politician of the Catholic Centre Party. He was foreign minister and minister president of Bavaria, then chancellor of the German Reich and minister president of Prussia from 1 November 1917 to 30 September 1918. Hertling's Catholicism played an important role in both his academic and political life. He belonged to the conservative wing of the Centre party and resisted moves towards making the government dependent on the will of parliament rather than on the emperor, a stance that helped bring down his government in the final months of World War I. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Maximilian_of_Baden Maximilian, Margrave of Baden (Maximilian Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm; 10 July 1867 – 6 November 1929), also known as Max von Baden, was a German prince, general, and politician. He was heir presumptive to the throne of the Grand Duchy of Baden, and in October and November 1918 briefly served as the last chancellor of the German Empire and minister-president of Prussia. He sued for peace on Germany's behalf at the end of World War I based on U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points and took steps towards transforming the government into a parliamentary system.

Kronprinz skin for Selbstlader M1916 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm,_German_Crown_Prince): Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, Crown Prince of Prussia (Friedrich Wilhelm Victor August Ernst; 6 May 1882 – 20 July 1951) was the eldest child of the last Kaiser, the German Emperor, Wilhelm II (reference to the Gewehr 98's The Kaiser skin), and his consort Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein (reference to the Selbstlader 1906's The Kaiserin skin), and thus a great-grandson of Queen Victoria, and distant cousin to many British Royals, such as Queen Elizabeth ll. As Emperor Wilhelm's heir, he was the last Crown Prince of the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia, until the abolishment of the monarchy. Wilhelm became crown prince at the age of six in 1888, when his grandfather Frederick III died and his father became emperor. He was crown prince for 30 years until the fall of the empire on 9 November 1918. During World War I, he commanded the 5th Army from 1914 to 1916 and was commander of the Army Group German Crown Prince for the remainder of the war. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupprecht,_Crown_Prince_of_Bavaria Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria, Duke of Bavaria, Franconia and in Swabia, Count Palatine by (the) Rhine (Rupprecht Maria Luitpold Ferdinand; English: Robert Maria Leopold Ferdinand; 18 May 1869 – 2 August 1955), was the last heir apparent to the Bavarian throne (reference to the Selbstlader M1916's The Bavarian skin). During the first half of the First World War he commanded the 6th Army on the Western Front. From August 1916, he commanded Army Group Rupprecht of Bavaria, which occupied the sector of the front opposite the British Expeditionary Force. Rupprecht and Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia each commanded an army on the western front (the Sixth Army and the Fifth Army, respectively) and were directly involved in the implementation of the Schlieffen Plan (reference to the Gewehr 98's von Schlieffen skin).

Odin skin for Selbstlader M1916 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odin): Odin (from Old Norse: Óðinn) is a widely revered god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victory, sorcery, poetry, frenzy, and the runic alphabet, and depicts him as the husband of the goddess Frigg. Odin is also associated with the divine battlefield maidens, the valkyries (reference to the Selbstlader 1906's Die Walküre skin), and he oversees Valhalla, where he receives half of those who die in battle, the einherjar, sending the other half to the goddess Freyja's Fólkvangr. Odin consults the disembodied, herb-embalmed head of the wise Mímir, who foretells the doom of Ragnarök and urges Odin to lead the einherjar into battle before being consumed by the monstrous wolf Fenrir. In later folklore, Odin sometimes appears as a leader of the Wild Hunt (reference to the Gewehr 98's Die Wilde Jagd skin), a ghostly procession of the dead through the winter sky. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odin-class_coastal_defense_ship The Odin class was a pair of coastal defense ships built for the German Kaiserliche Marine in the late 19th century. The class comprised two ships: Odin, named after the Norse god Odin, and Ägir, named after the Norse god of the same name. The ships were very similar to the preceding Siegfried-class coastal defense ships, and are sometimes considered to be one class of ships. Like the preceding Siegfried-class ships, Odin and Ägir were obsolete by the time World War I had started. Regardless, they were still used in their primary role until 1915, at which point they were withdrawn from active service. The ships performed a variety of secondary duties until the end of the war.

RSC 1917 skins:
Legendary: Chanson de Craonne, De Scévola, Le Tigre
Distinguished: Grandmaison, Papa Joffre

Chanson de Craonne skin for RSC 1917 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Chanson_de_Craonne): La Chanson de Craonne (English: The Song of Craonne) is an anti-military song of World War I written in 1917. The song was written to the tune of Bonsoir M'Amour (Charles Sablon), sung by Emma Liebel. It is sometimes known by the first line of the chorus, Adieu la vie (Goodbye to life). This song was sung by the French soldiers who mutinied (in sixty eight of the one hundred and ten divisions of the French Army) after the costly and militarily disastrous offensive of General Robert Nivelle at the Chemin des Dames (reference to the Lebel Model 1886's Chemin des Dames skin), spring 1917. The song was prohibited in France until 1974. Even though an award of 1 million francs and the immediate honorable release from the army were offered for revealing the maker, the original author of the song remained unknown. The final version, "The Song of Craonne" was written in 1917 during the French Army's Mutinies. The village of Craonne on the plateau of Californie was the site of bloody fighting on 16 April 1917 during Nivelle's failed Offensives. It was these bloody offensives that pushed the French Army over the edge. The song's chorus is sung in Oh! What a Lovely War (1969). The song is sung by a soldier in A Very Long Engagement (2004).

De Scévola skin for RSC 1917 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucien-Victor_Guirand_de_Sc%C3%A9vola): Lucien-Victor Guirand de Scévola (14 November 1871 in Sète, France – 29 March 1950 in Paris) was a French painter. He is known for his pioneering leadership of the Camoufleurs (the French Camouflage Department) in World War I. De Scévola is considered one of the inventors of military camouflage during World War I, together with Eugène Corbin and the painter Louis Guingot. At the start of the war, in September 1914, De Scévola, serving as a second-class gunner, experimentally camouflaged a gun emplacement with a painted canvas screen. On 12 February 1915 General Joffre (reference to the RSC 1917's Papa Joffre skin) established the "Section de Camouflage" (English: Camouflage Department) at Amiens. By May 1915 the Section de Camouflage put up its first observation tree, an iron lookout post camouflaged with bark and other materials during the Battle of Artois. By the end of 1915, De Scévola became commander of the French Camouflage Corps, employing cubist artists such as André Mare, a specialist in camouflaging lookout posts. By 1917, De Scévola's team had grown to 3000, taking in artists including Jacques Villon, André Dunoyer de Segonzac, Charles Camoin, Louis Abel-Truchet and Charles Dufresne.

Grandmaison skin for RSC 1917 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Loyzeau_de_Grandmaison): Louis Loyzeau de Grandmaison (21 January 1861 - 18 February 1915) was a French military theorist who, in an atmosphere of revanchism, linked the humiliating defeat of the Franco-Prussian War to the French having ceased utilizing Napoleonic methods. De Grandmaison argued for rapid maneuvers by large formations engaging in swift attacks. The school of thought he subscribed to dominated French army thinking by 1914, but in a modified form which combined the contemporaneous philosophy of Élan vital. In the end, such theories proved inadequate against modern weapons and tactics. In the fighting of August 1914 de Grandmaison was wounded three times in 24 hours. The huge casualties and lack of gains during the early months of the First World War resulting from crude offensive à outrance attacks on Lorraine created a pessimistic climate of public opinion, while the deaths of so many of the army's best and most determined young officers had lasting deleterious effects. In January 1915 de Grandmaison's post-1911 meteoric ascent continued when he received promotion to General de Division (equivalent to the Anglophone rank of Major General), being given command of the Fifth Army Reserve group. He was killed in action the next month.

Papa Joffre skin for RSC 1917 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Joffre): Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre (12 January 1852 – 3 January 1931) was a French general who served as Commander-in-Chief of French forces on the Western Front from the start of World War I until the end of 1916. He is best known for regrouping the retreating allied armies to defeat the Germans at the strategically decisive First Battle of the Marne in September 1914. His political position waned after unsuccessful offensives in 1915, the German attack on Verdun (reference to the M1909 Benét-Mercié's Verdun skin), in 1916, and the disappointing results of the Anglo-French offensive on the Somme (reference to the Auto Revolver's Somme skin) in 1916. At the end of 1916 he was promoted to Marshal of France, the first such elevation under the Third Republic, and moved to an advisory role, from which he quickly resigned. Later in the war he led an important mission to the United States.

Le Tigre skin for RSC 1917 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Clemenceau): Georges Benjamin Clemenceau (28 September 1841 – 24 November 1929) was a French statesman who served as Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909 and again from 1917 until 1920. Clemenceau, a physician turned journalist, played a central role in the politics of the Third Republic, most notably successfully leading France through the end of the First World War. After about 1,400,000 French soldiers were killed between the German invasion and Armistice, he demanded a total victory over the German Empire. Clemenceau stood for reparations, a transfer of colonies, strict rules to prevent a rearming process, as well as the restitution of Alsace–Lorraine, which had been annexed to Germany in 1871. He achieved these goals through the Treaty of Versailles signed at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920). Nicknamed Père la Victoire ("Father of Victory") or Le Tigre ("The Tiger"), he continued his harsh position against Germany in the 1920s, although not quite so much as President Raymond Poincaré (reference to the Lebel Model 1886's Poincaré skin) or former Supreme Allied Commander Ferdinand Foch (reference to M1909 Benét-Mercié's The Foch skin), who thought the treaty was too lenient on Germany, famously stating: "This is not peace. It is an armistice for twenty years."

Automatico M1918 skins:
Legendary: Il Bracco, The Mignatta, The Savoia
Distinguished: Isonzo, Monte Cismone, Papadopoli, Vittoria

The Savoia skin for Automatico M1918 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Savoy): The House of Savoy (Italian: Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1713 to 1720, when they were handed the island of Sardinia, over which they would exercise direct rule from then onward. Through its junior branch of Savoy-Carignano, the House of Savoy led the Italian unification (reference to the Modello 1915 Pistol's Il Risorgimento skin) in 1860 and ruled the Kingdom of Italy until 1946; they also briefly ruled the Kingdom of Spain in the 19th century. The Savoyard kings of Italy were Victor Emmanuel II, Umberto I, Victor Emmanuel III, and Umberto II. The last monarch reigned for a few weeks before being deposed following the institutional referendum of 1946, after which the Italian Republic was proclaimed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Emmanuel_III_of_Italy Victor Emmanuel III (11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947), born Vittorio Emanuele Ferdinando Maria Gennaro di Savoia, was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. A member of the House of Savoy, he also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia (1936–1941) and King of the Albanians (1939–1943). During his reign of nearly 46 years, which began after the assassination of his father Umberto I, the Kingdom of Italy became involved in two world wars.

Isonzo skin for Automatico M1918 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/So%C4%8Da): The Soča (in Slovene) or Isonzo (in Italian; other names Friulian: Lusinç, German: Sontig, Latin: Aesontius or Isontius) is a 138-kilometre (86 mi) long river that flows through western Slovenia (96 kilometres or 60 miles) and northeastern Italy (43 kilometres or 27 miles). Prior to the First World War, the river ran parallel to the border between Kingdom of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During World War I, it was the scene of bitter fighting between the two countries, culminating in the Battle of Caporetto (reference to the Frommer Stop Pistol's Caporetto skin) in 1917. The valley was the stage of major military operations including the twelve battles of the Isonzo on the Italian front in World War I between May 1915 and November 1917, in which over half a million Austro-Hungarian and Italian soldiers lost their lives.

Monte Cismone skin for Automatico M1918 (https://www.firstworldwar.com/onthisday/1916_07_24.htm): On This Day - 24 July 1916. Source: Chronology of the War (1914-18). Western Front: Struggle for Pozieres continues (reference to the Madsen MG's Pozieres skin); British gain some important advantages. Persistent German counter-attacks at High Wood and Guillemont. Eastern Front: Russians repulse Germans from Uxkull to Riga. Southern Front: Italian advance on Asiago Plateau and Trentino border continues; after a night attack troops capture Monte Cismone.

Papadopoli skin for Automatico M1918 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vittorio_Veneto): The Battle of Vittorio Veneto was fought from 24 October to 3 November 1918 (with an armistice taking effect 24 hours later) near Vittorio Veneto on the Italian Front during World War I. After having thoroughly defeated Austro-Hungarian troops during the defensive Battle of the Piave River (reference to Cei-Rigotti's The Piave skin), the Italian army launched a great counter-offensive: the Italian victory marked the end of the war on the Italian Front, secured the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and contributed to the end of the First World War just one week later. As night fell on 23 October, leading elements of Lord Cavan's Tenth Army were to force a crossing at a point where there were a number of islands. Cavan had decided to seize the largest of these – the Grave di Papadopoli – in preparation for the full-scale assault on the far bank. The plan was for two battalions from the 22nd Brigade of the British 7th Division to occupy the northern half of Papadopoli, while the Italian 11th Corps took the southern half. The British troops detailed for the night attack were the 2/1 Honourable Artillery Company (an infantry battalion despite the title) and the 1/ Royal Welch Fusiliers. These troops were helpless to negotiate such a torrent as the Piave and relied upon boats propelled by the 18th Pontieri under the command of Captain Odini of the Italian engineers. On the misty night of the 23rd, the Italians rowed the British forces across with a calm assurance and skill which amazed many of those who were more frightened of drowning than of fighting the Austrians. For the sake of silence, the HAC used only their bayonets until the alarm was raised, and soon seized their half of the island. The Italian assault on the south of Papadopoli was driven off by heavy machine-gun fire. Nevertheless, the Austrians surrendered the island by the end of the night. https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grave_di_Papadopoli Le Grave di Papadopoli sono un'isola lambita dal Piave e compresa nei comuni di Maserada, Cimadolmo e, in minima parte, Spresiano.

Vittoria skin for Automatico M1918 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arditi): Arditi (from the Italian verb ardire, lit. "to dare", and translates as "The Daring [Ones]") was the name adopted by a Royal Italian Army elite special force of World War I. They and the opposing German Stormtroopers were the first modern shock troops, and they have been defined as "the most feared corps by opposing armies". Their motto was O la vittoria, o tutti accoppati meaning "Either victory, or everyone dies". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bollettino_della_Vittoria  The Bollettino della Vittoria is the official document after the Armistice of Villa Giusti with which General Armando Diaz (reference to the Modello 1915 Pistol's Diaz skin), the supreme commander of the Royal Italian Army, announced, on November 4, 1918, the surrender of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the victory of the Kingdom of Italy in World War I. Its material author was, in reality, general Domenico Siciliani, head of the press office of the supreme command. Every year, Italian institutions celebrate the event with National Unity and Armed Forces Day on November 4.

The Mignatta skin for Automatico M1918 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_torpedo): Human torpedoes or manned torpedoes are a type of diver propulsion vehicle on which the diver rides, generally in a seated position behind a fairing. The concept of a small, manned submarine carrying a bomb was developed and patented by a British naval officer in 1909, but was never used during the First World War. The Italian Navy experimented with a primitive tiny sub (Mignatta) carrying two men and a limpet mine: this craft successfully sank Austro-Hungarian battleship SMS Viribus Unitis on 1 November 1918. 1 November 1918: Two men of the Regia Marina, Raffaele Paolucci and Raffaele Rossetti, in diving suits, rode a primitive manned torpedo (nicknamed Mignatta or "leech") into the Austro-Hungarian Navy base at Pola (Istria), where they sank the Austrian battleship Viribus Unitis and the freighter Wien using limpet mines. They had no breathing sets so they had to keep their heads above water, and thus were discovered and taken prisoner.

Il Bracco skin for Automatico M1918 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bracco_Italiano): The Bracco Italiano is an Italian breed of pointing dog. Other names: Italian Pointer, Italian Pointing Dog. The first dog registered by the Kennel Club Italiano, founded in 1882, was a Bracco Italiano. Early in 1949 a breed standard was approved by the Ente Nazionale della Cinofilia Italiana, and later the same year a breed society, the Società Amatori Bracco Italiano, was formed. The breed was fully accepted by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale in 1956. In the 41 years from 1970 to 2011, a total of 24,613 of the dogs were registered. From 2010 to 2018 there were approximately 700 new registrations per year in Italy, of which in every year the majority were of white-and-orange colouration.

Lewis Gun Skins:
Legendary: The Blood Tub, The Golden Retriever, The Rattlesnake, Reckless Rex, The Yells
Distinguished: Arras, Messines, Nash, P.B.31E

The Rattlesnake skin for Lewis Gun (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_gun): The Lewis gun was invented by U.S. Army colonel Isaac Newton Lewis in 1911, based on initial work by Samuel Maclean. Lewis left the United States in 1913 and went to Belgium, where he established the Armes Automatique Lewis company in Liège (reference to the Gewehr 98's Liège skin) to facilitate commercial production of the gun. Lewis had been working closely with British arms manufacturer the Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited (BSA) in an effort to overcome some of the production difficulties of the weapon. The Belgians bought a small number of Lewis guns in 1913, using the .303 British round and, in 1914, BSA purchased a licence to manufacture the Lewis machine gun in England, which resulted in Lewis receiving significant royalty payments and becoming very wealthy. Lewis and his factory moved to England before 1914, away from possible seizure in the event of a German invasion. During the first days of the war, the Belgian Army had put in service 20 prototypes (5 in 7.65×53mm and 15 in .303) for the defense of Namur. As their enemies used the mobility of the gun to ambush German raiding parties, the Germans nicknamed the Lewis "the Belgian Rattlesnake". https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/The_Lewis_Gun_(Codex_Entry) Unusually, the Lewis Gun also had an adjustable clock-type recoil spring which allowed the rate of fire of the weapon to be adjusted. It was called "the Belgian rattlesnake" by the Germans that came up against it in 1914, and already by 1916 about 50,000 Lewis Guns had been produced and the weapon was being extensively used at sea, in the air and in armored vehicles.

Reckless Rex skin for Lewis Gun (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Warneford): Reginald Alexander John Warneford (15 October 1891 – 17 June 1915), also known as Rex Warneford, was a British aviator and Royal Naval Air Service (reference to Farquhar-Hill's The RNAS skin) officer who received the Victoria Cross for air-bombing a Zeppelin during the First World War. It was the first victory of a heavier-than-air aircraft over a lighter-than-air dirigible. On 7 June 1915 at Ghent, Belgium, Warneford, flying a Morane-Saulnier Type L, attacked another German Army airship, LZ 37. He chased the airship from the coast near Ostend and, despite its defensive machine-gun fire, succeeded in dropping his six 20-pound (9 kg) Hale bombs on it, the last of which set the airship on fire. LZ 37 subsequently crashed in Sint-Amandsberg (51°3′43.2″N 3°44′54.7″E), Ghent. It crashed into a convent school, killing two nuns. The commander of LZ 37, Oberleutnant Otto van der Haegen, and seven members of the crew were killed. The explosion overturned Warneford's aircraft and stopped its engine. Having no alternative, Warneford had to land behind enemy lines, but after 35 minutes spent on repairs, he managed to restart the engine just as the Germans realised what was going on, and after yelling "Give my regards to the Kaiser!" (reference to Gewehr 98's The Kaiser skin), he was able to achieve lift off and returned to base. On 17 June 1915, Warneford received the award of Légion d'honneur from the French Army Commander in Chief, General Joffre (reference to the RSC 1917's Papa Joffre skin).

P.B.31E skin for Lewis Gun (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Nighthawk): The Supermarine P.B.31E Nighthawk was a British aircraft of the First World War and the first project of the Pemberton-Billing operation after it became Supermarine Aviation Works Ltd. It was an anti-Zeppelin night fighter operated by a crew of three to five and had a planned flight endurance of 9–18 hours. The prototype flew in February 1917 with Clifford Prodger at the controls. It proved to not meet the promised specification and no more were built. The Nighthawk had six-bay swept quadraplane wings and a biplane tailplane with twin fins and rudders. The fuselage filled the gap between the second and third wings; the cockpit, which carried up to the top wing "turret", was enclosed and heated. For armament, it had a trainable nose-mounted searchlight, a 1½-pounder (37 mm) Davis gun mounted above the top wing with 20 shells, and two .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis guns. Although touted as being able to reach 75 miles per hour (121 km/h), the P.B.31E prototype only managed 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) at 6,500 feet (2,000 m) and took an hour to climb to 10,000 feet (3,000 m), which was totally inadequate for intercepting Zeppelins. German airships, such as P, or R Class military Zeppelins were themselves capable of top speeds of around 60 miles per hour (97 km/h).

The Yells skin for Lewis Gun (https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/anzacs-entered-damascus-ahead-of-lawrence-of-arabia/news-story/86ad467101e936cd980877a60a2a0042): An influential emir of the holy city of Mecca, Sherif Hussein, also contacted the British to say he was planning a revolt. As Lawrence had a good knowledge of Arabic he was sent to negotiate. He joined the Arab rebel army of Hussein’s son Feisal and urged the British to provide arms, money and other support. The revolt was declared in June 1916, by which time Feisal and Lawrence were already conducting a guerrilla campaign. In 1917, when Lawrence acquired Lewis light machineguns for the revolt, Sgt Charles Reginald Yells, from South Australia, was sent to teach the Arab army how to use them. British Lance-Cpl Walter Herbert Brooke, of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, instructed the Arabs on the use of trench mortars. After training Feisal’s men, Brooke and Yells joined the Arab irregulars. Yells played a crucial part in an attack on the railway station at Mudowwara earning him a Distinguished Service Medal, on Lawrence’s recommendation. But many Australian soldiers blamed Lawrence for the Arab irregular’s lack of discipline.

Nash skin for Lewis Gun https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Nash_(artist) Paul Nash (11 May 1889 – 11 July 1946) was a British surrealist painter and war artist, as well as a photographer, writer and designer of applied art. Nash was among the most important landscape artists of the first half of the twentieth century. He played a key role in the development of Modernism in English art. The artworks he produced during World War I are among the most iconic images of the conflict. Nash began officer training in August 1916 and was sent to the Western Front in February 1917 as a second lieutenant in the Hampshire Regiment. He was based at St. Eloi (reference to the Ross MKIII's St. Eloi skin) on the Ypres Salient (reference to the M1907 Selfloading's Ypres skin) at a relatively quiet time and although the area did come under shelling, no major engagements took place while he was there. Whilst clearly aware of the destruction that had taken place there, he was delighted to see that, with spring arriving, the landscape was recovering from the damage inflicted on it. However, on the night of 25 May 1917, Nash fell into a trench, broke a rib and, by 1 June, had been invalided back to London. A few days later the majority of his former unit were killed in an assault on a position known as Hill 60. Nash considered himself lucky to be alive.

Arras skin for Lewis Gun (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arras): Arras (Picard: Aros; historical Dutch: Atrecht) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a Baroque town square, Arras is in northern France at the confluence of the rivers Scarpe and Crinchon. During most of the First World War, Arras was about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) away from the front line, and a series of battles took place around the city and nearby, including the Battle of Arras (1914), the Second Battle of Arras (1917) and the Second Battle of the Somme component of 1918's Hundred Days Offensive. On 31 August 1914, German light cavalry (Uhlans) arrived in Tilloy-lès-Mofflaines, and an army patrol made a foray into Arras. On 6 September 1914, 3,000 soldiers led by General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim barracked within the city and in the citadel. Shortly after, Louis Ernest de Maud'huy's soldiers partly repelled the German army troops, and trenches were dug in the Faubourgs d'Arras. On 7 October 1914 the city hall burned. On 21 October 1914 the belfry was destroyed, and so was Arras Cathedral on 6 July 1915. In 1917, a series of medieval tunnels beneath the city, linked and greatly expanded by the New Zealand Tunnelling Company, became a decisive factor in the British forces holding the city - particularly during that year's Battle of Arras. By the end of World War I (1918), the city was so heavily damaged that three-quarters had to be rebuilt. The reconstruction was extremely costly, yet it proved to be a success and allowed the city to expand.

Messines skin for Lewis Gun (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesen): Mesen (French: Messines, historically used in English) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. Three battles were fought over the town during World War I (1914–1918): -Battle of Messines (1914), -Battle of Messines (1917) and Mines in the Battle of Messines, -Battle of the Lys (1918). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Messines_(1914) The Battle of Messines was fought in October 1914 between the armies of the German empire and British empire and France as part of the Race to the Sea, between the river Douve and the Comines–Ypres canal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mines_in_the_Battle_of_Messines_(1917) The Mines in the Battle of Messines comprised a series of underground explosive charges which were fired during the First World War at the start of the Battle of Messines (7–14 June 1917) by the British Second Army (General Sir Herbert Plumer) near the village of Mesen (Messines in French, historically also used in English and German) in Belgian West Flanders. The mines, secretly planted and maintained by British tunnelling units beneath the forward position of the German 4th Army (General Friedrich Bertram Sixt von Armin), killed approximately 10,000 German soldiers and created 19 large craters. Their joint explosion ranks among the largest non-nuclear explosions of all time. The evening before the attack, General Sir Charles Harington, Chief of Staff of the Second Army, remarked to the press, "Gentlemen, I don’t know whether we are going to make history tomorrow, but at any rate we shall change geography".

The Blood Tub skin for Lewis Gun (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubert_Gough): General Sir Hubert de la Poer Gough (August 1870 – 18 March 1963) was a senior officer in the British Army in the First World War. A controversial figure, he was a favourite of the Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front, Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig. He experienced a meteoric rise through the ranks during the war, ultimately rising to command the British Fifth Army from 1916 to 1918, including during the Battle of the Somme (reference to the Auto Revolver's Somme skin) in 1916, the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917, and during the German spring offensives (reference to MP18's The Kaiserschlacht skin) in 1918, in the aftermath of which he was relieved of his command. Building on his experiences on the Aisne in September 1914, Gough formed mixed brigades of infantry, cavalry, artillery and engineers during the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line (reference to the MP18's Siegfriedstellung skin) in mid March 1917. 2–9 April saw costly fighting on the outskirts of the Hindenburg Line. Over the protests of the ANZAC Commanders Gough launched an attack at (First) Bullecourt (10–11 April), described by Sheffield as "hasty, ill-prepared and ultimately disastrous" ... "the infantry plan was disrupted at a late stage by Gough's ill-fated employment of tanks". 4th Australian Brigade lost three-quarters of their men in action, 12th Australian Brigade half of each battalion engaged. Simkins writes that "(Haig) yet again indulged Gough's tendency to launch precipitate and ill-considered attacks", while Prior & Wilson describe the attack as "singularly barren". Bullecourt (reference to the Revolver MK VI's Bloody Bullecourt skin) became known as the "Blood Tub".

The Golden Retriever skin for Lewis Gun (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Retriever): The Golden Retriever is a Scottish breed of retriever dog of medium size. It is characterised by a gentle and affectionate nature and a striking golden coat. The breed was created by Sir Dudley Marjoribanks at his Scottish estate Guisachan in the late nineteenth century. He cross-bred Flat-coated Retrievers with Tweed Water Spaniels, with some further infusions of Red Setter, Labrador Retriever and Bloodhound (reference to the Martini-Henry's Bloodhound skin). The breed was recognised by the Kennel Club in 1913, and during the interwar period spread to many parts of the world. In the early days Golden Retrievers were called the 'Flat-coated Retriever, Golden', Initially the Golden Retriever was considered a colour variety of the former breed. In the years after the First World War its popularity increased markedly and in the 1920s and 1930s it spread through much of the Western world.

Madsen MG skins:
Legendary: The Atterdag, The Bazentin Ridge, The Dane
Distinguished: Deathshead, Pozières, Sailly le Sec, Tannenberg

The Dane skin for Madsen MG (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madsen_machine_gun): The Madsen is a light machine gun that Julius A. Rasmussen and Theodor Schouboe designed and proposed for adoption by Colonel Vilhelm Herman Oluf Madsen, the Danish Minister of War, and that the Royal Danish Army adopted in 1902. It was the world's first true light machine gun produced in quantity and Madsen was able to sell it in 12 calibres to over 34 countries. The gun saw extensive combat usage for over 100 years, with continued use in limited quantities worldwide into the 2010s. The Madsen was produced by Compagnie Madsen A/S (later operating as Dansk Rekyl Riffel Syndikat A/S and then Dansk Industri Syndikat A/S). https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Madsen_MG_(Codex_Entry) The Madsen is one of the first true light machine guns, designed in Denmark in 1899. It is a magazine-fed, air-cooled weapon with a complex and unusual recoil-operated mechanism, making it expensive to produce for its time. Despite this the weapon was of high production quality and usually performed well.

Tannenberg skin for Madsen MG (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tannenberg): The Battle of Tannenberg, also known as the Second Battle of Tannenberg, was fought between Russia and Germany between 23 and 30 August 1914, the first month of World War I. The battle resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Russian Second Army and the suicide of its commanding general, Alexander Samsonov. A series of follow-up battles (First Masurian Lakes) destroyed most of the First Army as well and kept the Russians off balance until the spring of 1915. The battle is particularly notable for fast rail movements by the German Eighth Army, enabling them to concentrate against each of the two Russian armies in turn, first delaying the First Army and then destroying the Second before once again turning on the First days later. It is also notable for the failure of the Russians to encode their radio messages, broadcasting their daily marching orders in the clear, which allowed the Germans to make their movements with the confidence they would not be flanked. The almost miraculous outcome brought considerable prestige to Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg and his rising staff-officer Erich Ludendorff (reference to the C96 Pistol's Ludendorff skin). Although the battle actually took place near Allenstein (Olsztyn), Hindenburg named it after Tannenberg, 30 km (19 mi) to the west, in order to avenge the Teutonic Knights' (reference to the C96 Pistol's Teutonic Fury skin) defeat at the First Battle of Tannenberg 500 years earlier.

The Bazentin Ridge skin for Madsen MG (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bazentin_Ridge): The Battle of Bazentin Ridge (14–17 July 1916) was part of the Battle of the Somme (1 July – 18 November) on the Western Front in France, during the First World War. On 14 July, the British Fourth Army (General Henry Rawlinson) made a dawn attack against the German 2nd Army (General Fritz von Below) in the Brown Position (Braune Stellung), from Delville Wood (reference to the Howell Automatic's Delville Wood skin) westwards to Bazentin le Petit Wood. Dismissed beforehand by a French commander as "an attack organized for amateurs by amateurs", the British succeeded. Attempts to use the opportunity to capture High Wood failed, due to the German success in holding on to the north end of Longueval and parts of Delville Wood, from which attacks on High Wood could be engaged from the flank. The British cavalry, intended to provide a faster-moving exploitation force, was badly delayed by the devastated ground, shell-holes and derelict trenches. The cavalry attack was supported by an artillery-observation aircraft, whose crew saw the Germans in the crops and fired at them with their Lewis guns. The British struggled to exploit the success and the 2nd Army recovered, leading to another period of attritional line straightening attacks and German counter-attacks before the British and French could resume general attacks in mid-September.

Pozières skin for Madsen MG (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pozi%C3%A8res): Pozières is a commune in the Somme (reference to the Auto Revolver's Somme skin) department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. The commune is situated on the D929 road, 34 kilometres (21 mi) northeast of Amiens between Albert and Bapaume (reference to the MG15 N.A's Bapaume skin), on the Pozières ridge. The village was completely destroyed in World War I during what became the Battle of Pozières (23 July–7 August 1916), which was part of the Battle of the Somme. The village was subsequently rebuilt, and is now the site of several war memorials. The Australian flag flies over Pozières in recognition of the sacrifice of the ANZACs in the Battle of Pozières. Amongst the British and other Commonwealth forces who fought at Pozières, the Australians suffered over 5,000 killed, wounded or taken prisoner. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Pozi%C3%A8res At 4:00 a.m. on 7 August, shortly before dawn, the Germans launched their final counter-attack. On a front of 400 yards (370 m) they overran the thinly occupied O.G. Lines, catching most of the Australians in shelters in the old German dugouts and advanced towards Pozières. For the Australians, the crisis had arrived. At this moment, Lieutenant Albert Jacka (reference to the Revolver Mk VI's Jacka's Mob skin), who had won the Victoria Cross at Gallipoli, emerged from a dugout where he and seven men of his platoon had been isolated, and charged the German line from the rear. His example inspired other Australians scattered across the plateau to join the action and a fierce, hand-to-hand fight developed. Jacka was badly wounded but as support arrived from the flanks, the Australians gained the advantage and most of the surviving Germans were captured. No more attempts to retake Pozières were made.

Sailly le Sec skin for Madsen MG (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailly-le-Sec): Sailly-le-Sec (Picard: Sailly-Sé) is a commune in the Somme (reference to the Auto Revolver's Somme skin) department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. The commune is situated some 13 miles (21 km) east of Amiens, by the banks of the river Somme, on the D233 road. 21 April 1918 - Manfred Von Richthofen, The Red Baron, was finally shot down here. On the night of August 8–9, 1918, as three Battalions of Doughboys (reference to the BAR M1918's The Doughboy skin) from the 33rd U.S. Infantry Division were joining the Allied offensive during the Battle of Amiens, American war poet Lieut. John Allan Wyeth and Lieut. Thomas J. Cochrane were assigned to deliver sealed orders from Division HQ at Molliens-au-Bois to the Field Headquarters of all three Battalions engaged in the attack. The location of each Battalion was unknown, but they were believed to be along the northern bank of the Somme River, near the village of Sailly-le-Sec. Wyeth would later describe the mission in detail in his six interlinked Chipilly Ridge sonnets.

Deathshead skin for Madsen MG (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totenkopf): Totenkopf (literally "dead person's head") is the German word for skull, it's a figurative, graphic or sculptural symbol common in Western culture, consisting of the representation of a human skull usually frontal, more rarely in profile with or without the mandible. In some cases, other human skeletal parts may be added to the depiction of the head skeleton; especially often includes two crossed long-bones (femurs) depicted below or behind the skull. It is an old international symbol for death, the defiance of death, danger, or the dead, as well as piracy or toxicity. Use of the Totenkopf as a military emblem began under Frederick the Great, who formed a regiment of Hussar (reference to the Howdah Pistol's Hussar skin) cavalry in the Prussian army commanded by Colonel von Ruesch, the Husaren-Regiment Nr. 5 (von Ruesch). The skull continued to be used by the Prussian and Brunswick armed forces until 1918, and some of the stormtroopers that led the last German offensives on the Western Front in 1918 used skull badges. Luftstreitkräfte fighter pilots Georg von Hantelmann and Kurt Adolf Monnington are just two of a number of Central Powers military pilots who used the Totenkopf as their personal aircraft insignia.

The Atterdag skin for Madsen MG (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valdemar_IV_of_Denmark): Valdemar IV Atterdag (the epithet meaning "Return of the Day"), or Waldemar (1320 – 24 October 1375) was King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375. He is mostly known for his reunion of Denmark after the bankruptcy and mortgaging of the country to finance wars under previous rulers. His nickname "Atterdag" is usually interpreted as "day again" (its literal meaning in Danish), indicating that he brought new hope to the realm after a dark period of bad kingship. The epithet has also been suggested as a misinterpretation of the Middle Low German phrase "ter tage" ("these days"), which can best be interpreted as "what times we live in!" In his biography of Valdemar, Fletcher Pratt stated it meant "another day", that is, whatever happened today, good or bad, tomorrow would be another day. Many stories, ballads, and poems have been made about Valdemar. He was "reinvented' as one of the Danish hero kings during the mid-19th century when Denmark was fighting Germany for its traditional southern Jutland region. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Hunt The Wild Hunt is a folklore motif occurring across various northern European cultures. Wild Hunts typically involve a chase led by a mythological figure escorted by a ghostly or supernatural group of hunters engaged in pursuit. The leader of the hunt is often a named figure associated with Odin (reference to the Selbstlader M1916's Odin skin) in Germanic legends, but may variously be a historical or legendary figure like Theodoric the Great, the Danish king Valdemar Atterdag, the dragon slayer Sigurd (reference to the Heavy Tanks's Siegfried skin), the Welsh psychopomp Gwyn ap Nudd, biblical figures such as Herod, Cain, Gabriel, or the Devil, or an unidentified lost soul or spirit either male or female. The hunters are generally the souls of the dead or ghostly dogs, sometimes fairies, valkyries, or elves.

BAR M1918 skins:
Legendary: The Boykin Spaniel, The Doughboy, The Fighting First
Distinguished: Bois de Montfaucon, Malancourt, Phosphorus, Warhorse

The Doughboy skin for BAR M1918 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1918_Browning_Automatic_Rifle): The Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) is a family of American automatic rifles and machine guns used by the United States and numerous other countries during the 20th century. The primary variant of the BAR series was the M1918, chambered for the .30-06 Springfield rifle cartridge and designed by John Browning (reference to the Model 8 Autoloading's Moses skin) in 1917 for the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe as a replacement for the French-made Chauchat and M1909 Benét–Mercié machine guns that US forces had previously been issued. Despite being introduced very late in the war, the BAR made an impact disproportionate to its numbers; it was used extensively during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and made a significant impression on the Allies (France alone requested 15,000 automatic rifles to replace their Chauchat machine rifles). US Marines briefly took possession of the BAR. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doughboy Doughboy was a popular nickname for the American infantryman during World War I. Though the origins of the term are not certain, the nickname was still in use as of the early 1940s. Examples include the 1942 song "Johnny Doughboy Found a Rose in Ireland", recorded by Dennis Day, Kenny Baker, and Kay Kyser, among others, the 1942 musical film Johnny Doughboy, and the character "Johnny Doughboy" in Military Comics. It was gradually replaced during World War II by "G.I." Doughboy as applied to the infantry of the U.S. Army first appears in accounts of the Mexican–American War of 1846–1848, without any precedent that can be documented.

The Fighting First skin for BAR M1918 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Infantry_Division_(United_States) The 1st Infantry Division is a combined arms division of the United States Army, and is the oldest continuously serving division in the Regular Army. It has seen continuous service since its organization in 1917 during World War I. It was officially nicknamed "The Big Red One" (abbreviated "BRO") after its shoulder patch and is also nicknamed "The Fighting First". The division has also received troop monikers of "The Big Dead One" and "The Bloody First" as puns on the respective officially sanctioned nicknames. Soissons was taken by the 1st Division in July 1918. The Soissons victory was costly – 700 men were killed or wounded. The 1st Division took part in the first offensive by an American army in the war, and helped to clear the Saint-Mihiel (reference to the P08 Pistol's Saint-Mihiel skin) salient by fighting continuously from 11 to 13 September 1918. The last major World War I battle was fought in the Meuse-Argonne Forest. The division advanced a total of seven kilometers and defeated, in whole or part, eight German divisions. By the end of the war, the division had suffered 4,964 killed in action, 17,201 wounded in action, and 1,056 missing or died of wounds. Five division soldiers received Medals of Honor.

Bois de Montfaucon skin for BAR M1918 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montfaucon-d%27Argonne): Montfaucon-d'Argonne (literally Montfaucon of Argonne) is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is home to the Meuse-Argonne American Memorial. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meuse-Argonne_American_Memorial The Meuse-Argonne American Memorial (Montfaucon American Monument; French: Monument Américain de Montfaucon) is an American World War I memorial commemorating "the brilliant victory of the American First Army in the Meuse-Argonne offensive, September 26 – November 11, 1918, and pays tribute to the previous heroic services of the Armies of France on the important battle front upon which the memorial has been constructed." It was erected by the United States Government and is the largest of the American war memorials in Europe. Outside Montfaucon in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France, it was unveiled on August 1, 1937. The Meuse-Argonne American Memorial is made of a large Doric-style granite column, on top of which stands a statue symbolizing liberty. The memorial was built near the ruins of the ancient village, destroyed during World War I. On the walls of the foyer is an account of the offensive. It pays homage to the troops who served there. The observation platform of the memorial can be reached by ascending 234 stairs, and offers an excellent view of the battlefield.

Malancourt skin for BAR M1918 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malancourt): Malancourt is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. http://roadstothegreatwar-ww1.blogspot.com/2015/11/fateful-crossroads-malancourt-village.html However, Malancourt shows up in history books much more often than most of its sister communities because three memorable events occurred there. Malancourt was the site of the first use of flamethrowers on 26 February 1915. Their successful deployment by German engineers in assisting with the capture of a French trench insured their expanded use by all the combatants, thus giving warfare one of its most frightful weapons. In late March 1916, as part of their expansion of the Verdun offensive (reference to the M1909 Benet-Mercie's Verdun skin) to the west side of the Meuse (reference to the M1897 Shotgun's Meuse skin), German forces were attempting to capture the high ground in the area, including Hill 304 (reference to the Battle of Côte 304 skins), located just a couple of miles east of Malancourt. The 69th Regiment of Infantry was positioned around the village to defend the hill. In less than a week every man of the regiment's six companies, over 1,300 in total, was lost. By 5 April the village fell and was held by the Germans until 26 September 1918. The plaque on the memorial also recognizes the third event, the capture of the village by the American 79th Division in the opening the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Malancourt was the division's first obstacle in their advance to their main target — the single most important objective in the opening of the battle — the enemy strong point and observation post at Montfaucon (reference to the BAR M1918's Bois de Montfaucon skin).

Phosphorus skin for BAR M1918 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphorus): Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Earth. It has a concentration in the Earth's crust of about one gram per kilogram (compare copper at about 0.06 grams). In minerals, phosphorus generally occurs as phosphate. White phosphorus emits a faint glow when exposed to oxygen – hence the name, taken from Greek mythology, Φωσφόρος meaning 'light-bearer' (Latin Lucifer, reference to the M1911 Pistol's Lucifer skin), referring to the "Morning Star", the planet Venus. White phosphorus was first made commercially in the 19th century for the match industry. This used bone ash for a phosphate source, as described above. The bone-ash process became obsolete when the submerged-arc furnace for phosphorus production was introduced to reduce phosphate rock. The electric furnace method allowed production to increase to the point where phosphorus could be used in weapons of war. In World War I, it was used in incendiaries, smoke screens and tracer bullets. A special incendiary bullet was developed to shoot at hydrogen-filled Zeppelins over Britain (hydrogen being highly flammable).

Warhorse skin for BAR M1918 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horses_in_World_War_I): The use of horses in World War I marked a transitional period in the evolution of armed conflict. Cavalry units were initially considered essential offensive elements of a military force, but over the course of the war, the vulnerability of horses to modern machine gun, mortar, and artillery fire reduced their utility on the battlefield. This paralleled the development of tanks, which ultimately replaced cavalry in shock tactics. While the perceived value of the horse in war changed dramatically, horses still played a significant role throughout the war. The military used horses mainly for logistical support; they were better than mechanized vehicles at traveling through deep mud and over rough terrain. Horses were used for reconnaissance and for carrying messengers as well as for pulling artillery, ambulances, and supply wagons. Novels, plays and documentaries have also featured the horses of World War I. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Horse_(novel) War Horse is a British war novel by Michael Morpurgo. It was first published in Great Britain by Kaye & Ward in 1982. The story recounts the experiences of Joey, a horse bought by the Army for service in World War I in France and the attempts of 15-year-old Albert, his previous owner, to bring him safely home. It formed the basis of both an award-winning play (2007) and an acclaimed film adaptation (2011) by Steven Spielberg.

The Boykin Spaniel skin for BAR M1918 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boykin_Spaniel): The Boykin Spaniel is a medium-sized breed of dog, a Spaniel bred for hunting wild turkeys and ducks in the Wateree River Swamp of South Carolina, in the United States. It is the state dog of South Carolina, where it was discovered and further developed by hunters in the 1900s. 1 September, 1984 is Boykin Spaniel Day in South Carolina. The first Boykin Spaniel, or the precursor of today's breed, was reportedly a small, stray spaniel type dog that befriended a banker walking from his home to the First Presbyterian Church in Spartanburg, South Carolina around 1900. Alexander L. White (1860–1942) liked the little dog and took it home. After the dog showed some aptitude for retrieving, White sent the dog called "Dumpy" to his longtime friend and hunting partner Lemuel Whitaker Boykin near Camden, South Carolina. "Whit" Boykin (1861–1932) experimented with crossbreeding different breeds, and the resulting dog is named after him. This breed is only one of two US-made breeds named for the family responsible for their creation. In Boykin's hands the little stray developed into a superb turkey dog and waterfowl retriever. This dog became the foundation stock for the Boykin spaniel. The dogs had to be small enough to ride in the small boats used by hunters in the swamps. The Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Springer Spaniel, Cocker Spaniel, American Water Spaniel, and various pointing breeds were used in the development of the breed, according to Whit Boykin's grandson Dr. Baynard Boykin.

Huot Automatic skins:
Legendary: The Canadian Cur, The Pimple, The Seaforth Highlander
Distinguished: Brock, Crucifier, Regina, Vimy Ridge

The Seaforth Highlander skin for Huot Automatic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huot_Automatic_Rifle): The Huot Automatic Rifle was a Canadian World War I era light machine gun project. In 1916, the Canadian Expeditionary Force was desperately short of light machine guns. Since the Ross rifle had finally been taken out of service, there were large numbers of surplus rifles. That year, Joseph Huot, an engineer from Richmond, Quebec, adapted the Ross' straight-pull bolt action. The Dominion Rifle Factory (formerly the Ross rifle factory) built a finished version of the design, under the supervision of Assistant Inspector of Small Arms Major Robert Mills of the Seaforth Highlanders. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seaforth_Highlanders The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, the Duke of Albany's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, mainly associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The regiment existed from 1881 to 1961, and saw service in World War I and World War II, along with many smaller conflicts. In 1961 the regiment was amalgamated with the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders to form the Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons), which merged, in 1994, with the Gordon Highlanders (reference to Auto Revolver's The Gordon Highlander skin) to form the Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons). This later joined the Royal Scots Borderers, the Black Watch (reference to the SMLE MKIII's The Black Watch skin), the Royal Highland Fusiliers and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders to create the present Royal Regiment of Scotland. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seaforth_Highlanders_of_Canada The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The regiment was formed in 1910 and served overseas in both World War I and World War II. The Seaforths were involved in some of the bloodiest battles of the war including Ypres (reference to the M1907 Selfloading's Ypres skin), the Somme (reference to the Auto Revolver's Somme skin), and Vimy Ridge (reference to the Huot Automatic's Vimy Ridge skin).

Regina skin for Huot Automatic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_Regina_Trench): The Capture of Regina Trench (Staufen Riegel) was a tactical incident in 1916 during the Battle of the Somme (reference to the Auto Revolver's Somme skin) during the First World War. Regina Trench was the Canadian name for a German trench dug along the north-facing slope of a ridge running from north-west of the village of Le Sars, south-westwards to Stuff Redoubt (Staufenfeste, reference to the Geweher 98's Schwaben Feste skin), close to the German fortifications at Thiepval. It was the longest such German trench on the Western Front. Attacked several times by the Canadian Corps during the Battle of the Ancre Heights (reference to the RSC SMG's Ancre skin), the 5th Canadian Brigade of the 2nd Canadian Division briefly controlled a section of the trench on 1 October but was repulsed by counter-attacks of the German Marine Brigade (equivalent to an army division), which had been brought from the Belgian coast. On 8 October, attacks by the 1st Canadian Division and the 3rd Canadian Division on Regina Trench also failed. Three counter-attacks were repulsed by the Canadians and by 22 October, more than a thousand Germans had been taken prisoner. The east end of the trench was captured by the 4th Canadian Division during the night of 10/11 November. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Regina_Rifles The Royal Regina Rifles is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. Prior to 1982 the regiment was known as The Regina Rifle Regiment. The Royal Regina Rifles are part of 3rd Canadian Division's 38 Canadian Brigade Group. Originated 3 July 1905 in Regina, Saskatchewan when a "regiment of infantry in the districts of Assiniboia and Saskatchewan" was authorized. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regina,_Saskatchewan Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan.

Vimy Ridge skin for Huot Automatic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vimy_Ridge): The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras (reference to the Lewis Gun's Arras skin), in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of the German 6th Army. The battle took place from 9 to 12 April 1917 at the beginning of the Battle of Arras, the first attack of the Nivelle Offensive, which was intended to attract German reserves from the French, before the French attempt at a decisive offensive on the Aisne and the Chemin des Dames (reference to the Lebel Model 1886's Chemin des Dames skin) ridge further south, several days later. Historians attribute the success of the Canadian Corps to technical and tactical innovation, meticulous planning, powerful artillery support and extensive training, as well as the inability of the 6th Army to properly apply the new German defensive doctrine. The battle was the first occasion when the four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force fought together and it was made a symbol of Canadian national achievement and sacrifice. A 100 ha (250-acre) portion of the former battleground serves as a memorial park and site of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.

The Pimple skin for Huot Automatic (https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/wars-and-conflicts/first-world-war/battle-of-vimy-ridge): The Battle of Vimy Ridge (reference to the Huot Automatic's Vimy Ridge skin) began at 5:30 a.m. on Easter Monday, April 9, 1917. The first wave of 15,000-20,000 Canadian soldiers, many heavily laden with equipment, attacked through the wind-driven snow and sleet into the face of deadly machine gun fire. The Canadians advanced behind a "creeping barrage." This precise line of intense Allied artillery fire moved ahead at a set rate and was timed to the minute. The Canadian infantrymen followed the line of explosions closely. This allowed them to capture German positions in the critical moments after the barrage moved on to the next targets but before the enemy soldiers could emerge from the safety of their underground bunkers. Canadian battalions in the first waves of the assault suffered great numbers of casualties, but the assault proceeded on schedule. Most of the heavily defended ridge was captured by noon. Hill 145, the main height on the ridge, was taken on the morning of April 10. Two days later, the Canadians took "the Pimple," as the other significant height on the ridge was nicknamed. The Germans were forced to withdraw three kilometres east and the Battle of Vimy Ridge was over. The Allies now commanded the heights overlooking the Douai Plain, which was still occupied by the enemy.

Brock skin for Huot Automatic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Arthur_Brock): Wing Commander Frank Arthur Brock (29 June 1884 – 23 April 1918) was a British officer commissioned into the Royal Artillery, the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) (reference to Farquhar-Hill's The RNAS skin) and finally, when the RNAS merged with the RFC, the Royal Air Force. He invented the explosive bullet that destroyed the German Zeppelins and he devised and executed the smoke screen used during the Zeebrugge Raid on 23 April 1918, an attempt by the Royal Navy to block the Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge during the First World War. Brock was a member of the Admiralty Board of Invention and Research and founded, organized and commanded the Royal Navy Experimental Station at Stratford. Among his many developments were: -The Brock Bullet (or Brock Incendiary Bullet or Brock Anti-Zeppelin Bullet) – the first German airship to be shot down was destroyed by this bullet. Most British fighter aircraft machine guns used a mixture of Brock, Pomeroy (reference to the M1909 Benét-Mercié's Pomeroy skin) and Buckingham (reference to the SMLE MKIII's Buckingham Mark I skin) bullets when attacking Zeppelins.

Crucifier skin for Huot Automatic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crucified_Soldier): The Crucified Soldier refers to the widespread story of an Allied soldier serving in the Canadian Corps who may have been crucified with bayonets on a barn door or a tree, while fighting on the Western Front during World War I. Three witnesses said they saw an unidentified crucified Canadian soldier near the battlefield of Ypres (reference to the M1907 Selfloading's Ypres skin), Belgium, on or around 24 April 1915, but eyewitness accounts were somewhat contradictory, no crucified body was recovered and the identity of the crucified soldier was not discovered at the time. The story often varied, though the most common version told how the Germans had captured a Canadian soldier and crucified him with bayonets on a wooden cross, while Maple Copse, near Sanctuary Wood in the Ypres sector, was the favoured setting. The victim was not always Canadian: Ian Hay, who dated the incident to spring 1915, maintained that the victim was British, and that he was crucified on a tree by German cavalrymen. A version which appeared in the Los Angeles newspapers kept the Canadian nationality, but made it two soldiers. The story made headline news around the world and the Allies repeatedly used the supposed incident in their war propaganda, including the US propaganda film The Prussian Cur (1918) produced by the Fox Film Corporation, which included scenes of an Allied soldier's crucifixion. In popular culture: -The story is mentioned frequently in Paul Gross' film Passchendaele, although the main character, Michael Dunne, claims that the incident stems from exaggeration and that artillery fire was responsible for appearing to pin the body of a soldier to a barn door. -The story is referenced in Dalton Trumbo's 1938 novel Johnny Got His Gun; the main character mentions that he read it in the news.

The Canadian Cur skin for Huot Automatic (https://nationalpurebreddogday.com/the-evolution-of-cur-and-curs-today/): At one point in the southern United States, a cur was thought of as a type of dog acknowledged by the job it performed, a name similar to “terrier” or “hound.” Curs could exhibit immense variety, but they had in common drop-ears, prodigious athleticism, and strong hunting and herding instincts. Over time, these descendents of dogs brought to the American south by immigrants evolved into several “types” to meet the needs of different climates and functions, and specifically, dogs that were purpose-bred treeing hounds. They were called “curs,”and they had their regional differences reflected by their names: Bavarian Cur, Canadian Cur, American Leopard Cur, Western Mountain Cur, Southern Black Mouth Cur, Florida Cur, Henderson Cur, Kemmer Mountain Cur, Parnell’s Carolina Cur, Stephens Cur, Treeing Cur, and Yellow Black Mouth Cur. Yes, there are many of them, and we suspect we even missed a few.

Revolver Mk VI skins:
Legendary: Bellicourt Tunnel, The Kiss
Distinguished: For the Fallen, Jacka's Mob
Special: Al Faw, Bloody Bullecourt, Chivalry, Kantara

Al Faw skin for Revolver Mk VI (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fao_Landing): The Fao Landing occurred from November 6, 1914 to November 8, 1914 with British forces attacking the Ottoman stronghold of Fao and its fortress. The landing was met with little resistance from the Turkish defenders who fled after intense shelling. It was the first military operation of the Mesopotamian Campaign of World War I which was carried out to protect the British Empire's oil supplies in the Persian Gulf. In popular culture: The Fao Landing and the subsequent battle for the fortress are featured in the video game Battlefield 1. https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Al-Faw_(Codex_Entry) When the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers in early November 1914, the British Empire feared for the security of its oil wells, pipelines, and refinery at Abadon near the Persian Gulf. They moved to capture the Ottoman controlled Al-Faw Peninsula, and the ancient Fortress of Fao was the main Ottoman stronghold there. Within days of the Ottomans joining the war, a British naval fleet was in position and a joint marine attack with the Indian Expeditionary Force was launched.

Kantara skin for Revolver Mk VI (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Qantara,_Egypt): El Qantara (Arabic: القنطرة, romanized: al qantara, lit. 'the bridge') is a northeastern Egyptian city on both sides of the Suez Canal, in the Egyptian governorate of Ismailia, 160 kilometres (99 mi) northeast of Cairo and 50 kilometres (31 mi) south of Port Said. During World War I, Kantara, as it was referred to by the Allied troops, was the site of Headquarters No. 3 Section, Canal Defences and Headquarters Eastern Force during the latter stages of the Defence of the Suez Canal Campaign and the Sinai Campaign of 1916. The massive distribution warehouse and hospital centre supported and supplied all British, Australian and New Zealand operations in the Sinai from 1916 until final demobilization in 1919. Beginning in January 1916, a new railway was constructed from Kantara to Romani, and eastward through the Sinai to El Arish and Rafa on the border with the Ottoman Empire. A water pipeline was constructed along the same route by the Royal Engineers under the command of Brigadier General Everard Blair. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery and Memorial is located outside of town. It was begun in February, 1916 and remained in use until late 1920. https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Suez_(Battlefield_1) Suez is a map featured in Battlefield 1. It features the United Kingdom and Ottoman Empire factions in battle at Kantara, Egypt, the site of the British Army's supply depot at the Suez Canal. It is set during the Ottoman Raid on the Suez Canal in 1915.

Bloody Bullecourt skin for Revolver Mk VI (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullecourt): Bullecourt is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in France. War has twice completely destroyed the village: in 1543 during the Ninth Italian War (1542–1546) and in 1917, during the First World War. In early 1917, during the northern hemisphere spring, the First attack on Bullecourt (11 April 1917) and the Battle of Bullecourt (3–17 May 1917) became significant to the military history of Australia in particular. The village lay at the southern end of a highly active front – and formed part of the Hindenburg Line (reference to the MP 18's Siegfriedstellung skin). In the First attack of Bullecourt, two brigades of the 4th Australian Division attacked German positions in Bullecourt, supported by 12 tanks but without artillery support. Caught in heavy fire, the Australians were forced to retreat. The 4th Australian Brigade alone sustained losses of 2,258 killed, wounded or taken prisoner, out of approximately 3,000 infantry. Only 750 Germans soldiers were killed, while they captured 27 Australian officers and 1,137 other ranks. In the Battle of Bullecourt, an attack on both flanks of the village was conducted by the 2nd Australian Division and the 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division. Bullecourt was recaptured but the anticipated breakthrough on the Hindenburg line did not occur. In total, there were 14,000 Australian and British casualties. The Musée Jean et Denise Letaille (established in 2012) commemorates this fighting. https://www.amazon.com/Bloody-Bullecourt-David-Coombes/dp/1526713438 Bloody Bullecourt by David Coombes (Author). In April-May 1917 the sleepy hamlet of Bullecourt in Northern France became the focus of two battles involving British and Australian troops. Given the unique place in Australia's military history that both battles occupy, surprisingly little has been written on the AIF's achievements at Bullecourt. Bloody Bullecourt seeks to remedy this gasping omission.

Bellicourt Tunnel skin for Revolver Mk VI (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellicourt): Bellicourt is a commune in the department of Aisne in Hauts-de-France in northern France. It lies on the N44 road between Cambrai and Saint-Quentin and over the principal tunnel of the St. Quentin Canal. It was the site of numerous intense combat actions and battles during World War I. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_St_Quentin_Canal The Battle of St Quentin Canal was a pivotal battle of World War I that began on 29 September 1918 and involved British, Australian and American forces operating as part of the British Fourth Army under the overall command of General Sir Henry Rawlinson. Further north, part of the British Third Army also supported the attack. South of the Fourth Army's 19 km (12 mi) front, the French First Army launched a coordinated attack on a 9.5 km (6 mi) front. The objective was to break through one of the most heavily defended stretches of the German Siegfriedstellung (Hindenburg Line, reference to the MP 18's Siegfriedstellung skin), which in this sector used the St Quentin Canal as part of its defences. The assault achieved its objectives (though not according to the planned timetable), resulting in the first full breach of the Hindenburg Line, in the face of heavy German resistance. Attack over Bellicourt Tunnel: An added difficulty was thick fog across the battlefield in the earlier stages of the attack which led to American troops passing by Germans without realising that they were there, with the Germans causing severe problems to the Americans following the assault wave. Fog also caused problems for infantry/tank cooperation. The 30th Division broke through the Hindenburg Line in the fog on 29 September 1918, entering Bellicourt, capturing the southern entrance of Bellicourt Tunnel and reaching the village of Nauroy, where Australian troops joined them to continue the attack.

For the Fallen skin for Revolver Mk VI (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurence_Binyon): Robert Laurence Binyon (10 August 1869 – 10 March 1943) was an English poet, dramatist and art scholar. Born in Lancaster, England, his parents were Frederick Binyon, a clergyman, and Mary Dockray. He studied at St Paul's School, London and at Trinity College, Oxford, where he won the Newdigate Prize for poetry in 1891. He worked for the British Museum from 1893 until his retirement in 1933. Moved by the casualties of the British Expeditionary Force in 1914, Binyon wrote his most famous work "For the Fallen", which is often recited at Remembrance Sunday services in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. In 1915, he volunteered as a hospital orderly in France and afterwards worked in England, helping to take care of the wounded of the Battle of Verdun (reference to the M1909 Benét-Mercié's Verdun skin). He wrote about these experiences in For Dauntless France. After the war, he continued his career at the British Museum, writing numerous books on art. Moved by the opening of what was then called the Great War and the already-high number of casualties of the British Expeditionary Force, Binyon wrote his "For the Fallen" in 1914, with its "Ode of Remembrance" (the third and fourth or simply the fourth stanza of the poem). The piece was published by The Times in September, when public feeling was affected by the recent Battle of the Marne. Today Binyon's most famous poem, "For the Fallen", is often recited at British Remembrance Sunday services; is an integral part of Anzac Day services in Australia and New Zealand and of 11 November Remembrance Day services in Canada. The "Ode of Remembrance" has thus been claimed as a tribute to all casualties of war, regardless of nation.

Jacka's Mob skin for Revolver Mk VI (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Jacka): Albert Jacka (10 January 1893 – 17 January 1932) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces. Jacka was the first Australian to be decorated with the VC during the First World War, receiving the medal for his actions during the Gallipoli Campaign. He later served on the Western Front and was twice more decorated for his bravery. Jacka never fully recovered from the wounds he sustained during his war service, and died aged 39. https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/333234 RULE, Edgar John: Jacka's Mob author information. In 1915, Edgar (Ted) Rule was a orchardist whose farm was located near Shepparton Victoria. He was inspired by the Gallipoli landings to join the AIF. He enlisted with the reinforcements for the 14th Battalion on the June 28th, 1915. He kept a diary from the time he landed on Gallipoli with his reinforcements of the 14th Battalion. He continued his diary throughout the war having served in many battles including Pozieres (reference to the Madsen MG's Pozieres skin), Bullecourt (reference to the Revolver Mk VI's Bloody Bullecourt skin), Messines 1917 (reference to the Lewis Gun's Messines skin), Amiens, Albert 1918. During the war, he was awarded two gallantry medals the Military Medal in 1916 and the Military Cross in 1917. After the war Rule returned to his farm. Sometime later, Edgar Rule's diary became known to Charles Bean. Bean had the diary typed and urged Rule to have the diary published. Rule worked towards having the diary published as a based on narrative book making use of aliases to protect the identity and reputations of men many of whom were still alive in 1932. After the death of Albert Jacka in 1932 in admiration he changed the name of his proposed book from 'These Australians' to Jacka's Mob.

The Kiss skin for Revolver Mk VI (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegfried_Sassoon): Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both described the horrors of the trenches and satirized the patriotic pretensions of those who, in Sassoon's view, were responsible for a jingoism-fueled war. Sassoon became a focal point for dissent within the armed forces when he made a lone protest against the continuation of the war with his "Soldier's Declaration" of July 1917, which resulted in Sassoon being admitted to the Craiglockhart War Hospital by the army/government for the condition neurasthenia ("shell shock", reference to the M1917 Enfield's Shellshock skin). Fundamentally declaring him mentally unfit for duty. Sassoon could have been easily court marshaled. During this period he met and formed a friendship with Wilfred Owen, who was greatly influenced by Sassoon. https://megsorick.com/2018/12/19/the-kiss-siegfried-sassoon/ The Kiss – Siegfried Sassoon: This poem is by Siegfried Sassoon is from the collection Men Who March Away, edited by I.M. Parsons some fifty years after World War I.

Chivalry skin for Revolver Mk VI (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chivalry): Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It is associated with the medieval Christian institution of knighthood, with knights being members of various chivalric orders; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours were governed by chivalrous social codes. Over time, its meaning in Europe has been refined to emphasize more general social and moral virtues. The code of chivalry, as it stood by the Late Middle Ages, was a moral system which combined a warrior ethos, knightly piety, and courtly manners, all combining to establish a notion of honour and nobility. The behavioural code of military officers down to the Napoleonic era, the American Civil War (especially as idealised in the "Lost Cause" movement), and to some extent even to World War I, was still strongly modelled on the historical ideals, resulting in a pronounced duelling culture, which in some parts of Europe also held sway over the civilian life of the upper classes. The pronouncedly masculine virtues of chivalry came under attack on the parts of the upper-class suffragettes campaigning for gender equality in the early 20th century, and with the decline of the military ideals of duelling culture and of European aristocracies in general following the catastrophe of World War I, the ideals of chivalry became widely seen as outmoded by the mid-20th century. https://poemanalysis.com/siegfried-sassoon/glory-of-women/ In ‘Glory of Women,’ Siegfried Sassoon lists the many actions taken by women in the name of patriotism and victory and finds them both toxic and hollow. He sees no point in the “laurelled memories” that women will cherish when soldiers are dying horrifically, without any of the honor, “glory” or “chivalry” women dream about while “knitting socks” and making “shells.” Women are guilty of “making shells” and reveling in tales of heroism and bravery which they listen to “in delight.” Worst of all, they think that “chivalry redeems the war’s disgrace.” The next part of the poem destroys any suggestion that this might be true.

Repetierpistole M1912 skins:
Legendary: The Habsburg, The Kaiserjäger
Distinguished: Col di Lana, Hötzendorf

The Habsburg skin for Repetierpistole M1912 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steyr_M1912_pistol): The Steyr M1912, also known as the Steyr-Hahn, is a semi-automatic pistol developed in 1911 by the Austrian firm Steyr Mannlicher, based on the mechanism of the Roth–Steyr M1907. It was developed for the Austro-Hungarian Army and adopted in 1912. It was the standard Austro-Hungarian military handgun of World War I. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habsburg_monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (German: Habsburgermonarchie), also known as the Danubian monarchy (German: Donaumonarchie), or Habsburg Empire (German: Habsburgerreich), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities that were ruled by the House of Habsburg, especially the dynasty's Austrian branch. The Habsburg monarchy was a personal union of crowns, with no uniform laws or shared institutions other than the Habsburg court itself; the territorial possessions of the monarchy were thus united only by virtue of a common monarch. The Habsburg realms were unified in 1804 with the formation of the Austrian Empire and later split in two with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867. The monarchy began to fracture in the face of inevitable defeat during the final years of World War I and ultimately disbanded with the proclamation of the Republic of German-Austria and the First Hungarian Republic in late 1918. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Habsburg On 11 November 1918, with his empire collapsing around him, the last Habsburg ruler, Charles I (reference to Frommer Stop Pistol's The Emperor skin) of Austria (who also reigned as Charles IV of Hungary) issued a proclamation recognizing Austria's right to determine the future of the state and renouncing any role in state affairs. Two days later, he issued a separate proclamation for Hungary. Even though he did not officially abdicate, this is considered the end of the Habsburg dynasty. In 1919, the new republican Austrian government subsequently passed a law banishing the Habsburgs from Austrian territory until they renounced all intentions of regaining the throne and accepted the status of private citizens. Charles made several attempts to regain the throne of Hungary, and in 1921 the Hungarian government passed a law that revoked Charles' rights and dethroned the Habsburgs. The Habsburgs did not formally abandon all hope of returning to power until Otto von Habsburg, the eldest son of Charles I, on 31 May 1961 renounced all claims to the throne.

The Kaiserjäger skin for Repetierpistole M1912 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiserj%C3%A4ger): I think this skin name appears twice (the other is the M1914 Taschenpistole's Kaiserjäger skin). The Kaiserjäger (officially designated by the Imperial and Royal (k.u.k.) military administration as the Tiroler Jäger-Regimenter or "Tyrolean Rifle Regiments"), were formed in 1895 as four normal infantry regiments within the Common Army of Austria-Hungary. The Emperor (reference to Frommer Stop Pistol's The Emperor skin) himself was the Regimental Colonel (or Inhaber, reference to the Frommer Stop Pistol's Inhaber skin); his second-in-command (Zweitinhaber) and the commanding officers were personally appointed by him. During the First World War, the four regiments fought with heavy losses, first in Galicia (reference to the Gewehr M.95's Galicia skin) and the Carpathians against Russia, until they were deployed on the plateau of the Seven Communities Trient and at Isonzo (reference to the Automatico M1918's Isonzo skin) after the start of fighting on the Italian front. This Kaiserjäger (later Alpine Company or, Hochgebirgs-Kompanie, No. 30) fought: -in Galicia, -in the Carpathians, -at Col di Lana (reference to the Repetierpistole M1912's Col di Lana skin), -at Monte Piano, ...

Col di Lana skin for Repetierpistole M1912 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Col_di_Lana): The Col di Lana is a mountain of the Fanes Group in the Italian Dolomites. The actual peak is called Cima Lana and situated in the municipality of Livinallongo del Col di Lana (German: Buchenstein) in the Province of Belluno, Veneto region. During World War I the mountain, alongside the neighbouring Monte Sief, was the scene of heavy fighting between Austria-Hungary and Italy. It is now a memorial to the War in the Dolomites. During the years of 1915/16, Italian troops from 12 infantry and 14 Alpini companies repeatedly attempted to storm the peak, defended first by the German Alpenkorps and later by Austro-Hungarian regiments. A terrible winter then set in, doing its fair share of killing. However this is not the only reason that the Italians dubbed it "Col di Sangue", "Blood Mountain". In 1916, Col di Lana became the site of fierce mine warfare on the Italian Front. Lieutenant Caetani of the Italian engineers developed a plan for mining the peak, which was executed silently using hand-operating drilling machines and chisels. At the start of 1916, the Austro-Hungarian army learned through an artillery observer on Pordoi Pass that the Col di Lana summit had been mined. The Austro-Hungarians began a counter mine, and exploded this on 6 April 1916. The counter mine was, however, too far away from the Italian explosive tunnel. This was laid with five tonnes of blasting gelatin. On the night of 16/17 April 1916, the 5th Company of the 2nd Tyrolean Kaiserjäger (reference to Repetierpistole M1912's The Kaiserjäger skin) regiment was relieved by the 6th Company, under Oberleutnant Anton von Tschurtschenthaler. The struggle reached its zenith on the night of 17/18 April 1916, when at around 23:30 the summit was blasted. The Austro-Hungarians under Tschurtschenthaler then had to surrender the mountain; however they were able to maintain a position on Monte Sief, which is linked to Col di Lana by a ridge, which was cut in two by a mine fired on 21 October 1917 by Austro-Hungarian soldiers, thereby obstructing the Italian breakthrough in the area.

Hötzendorf skin for Repetierpistole M1912 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Conrad_von_H%C3%B6tzendorf): Franz Xaver Josef Conrad von Hötzendorf (after 1919 Franz Conrad; 11 November 1852 – 25 August 1925), sometimes anglicised as Hoetzendorf, was an Austrian general who played a central role in World War I. He served as K.u.k. Feldmarschall (field marshal) and Chief of the General Staff of the military of the Austro-Hungarian Army and Navy from 1906 to 1917. He was in charge during the July Crisis of 1914 that caused World War I. For years he had repeatedly called for preemptive war against Serbia to rescue the multiethnic Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was, he believed, nearing disintegration. Conrad was anxious about invading Russia and when the tsar's armies had captured the Carpathian mountain passes and were on the verge of invading Hungary, Italy entered the war on the side of the Allies. The Austro-Germans cleared Galicia (reference to the Gewehr M.95's Galicia skin) and Poland during the Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive (reference to the Battle of Gorlice–Tarnów skins) in the summer of 1915 and later conquered Serbia in October with the help of Bulgaria. From 1915 his troops were increasingly reliant on German support and command. Without support from its German allies the Austro-Hungarian Army was an exhausted force. In March 1917, Charles I (reference to Frommer Stop Pistol's The Emperor skin) dismissed him as Chief of Staff after Emperor Franz Joseph died and Conrad's Trentino Offensive had failed to achieve its objective; he then commanded an army group on the Italian Front until he retired in the summer of 1918. He died in 1925.

Maschinenpistole M1912/P.16 skins:
Legendary: Schoenberg, The Tyrolean
Distinguished: Major Fuchs, Standschützen

Major Fuchs skin for Maschinenpistole M1912/P.16 (http://firearms.96.lt/pages/Steyr_M.12_P16.html): This weapon was reportedly commissioned at the end of 1915 and developed at the Österreichische Waffenfabriksgesellschaft under the direction of Major Franz Xaver Fuchs, commander of Standschützen-Bataillon Innsbruck II (reference to the Maschinenpistole M1912/P.16's Standschützen skin). Major Fuchs was, curiously, a painter by trade, not an engineer. Prior to the war, he tutored at the Franziskanergymnasium in Tyrol. Interestingly, another Standschützen officer - one Herr Hellriegel - also developed a submachine gun-type weapon that was tested in Tyrol (reference to the Hellriegel 1915's Tyrol skin) in late 1915, implying that there was some interest in machine-pistols and SMGs within Tyrolean Standschützen regiments in particular. The exact reason for this is not entirely known although it is likely that they realized from an early date that light automatic weapons would be required in an alpine conflict with Italy. By February 1916, a batch of 50 prototypes were delivered for field trials and were issued to Major Fuchs' battalion. This was somewhat remedied in the full production model, which extended the internal magazine to 16 rounds - an improvement, but still less than ideal. Topping off the magazine, either by feeding two 8- round clips or manually loading each cartridge by hand, was also slow and cumbersome compared to a detachable magazine feed. It is because of this extended magazine that the weapon earned its "P16" suffix, standing for Patrone 16 ("16 cartridges") - contrary to some reports, "P16" is not in reference to the year 1916. After a successful trial phase, the M.12/P16 was accepted into service, reportedly with an order of some 5,000 units being placed. They were issued exclusively on the Italian Front, to bolster the firepower of Tyrolean (reference to the Maschinenpistole M1912/P.16's The Tyrolean skin) regiments fighting in the Alps.

Standschützen skin for Maschinenpistole M1912/P.16 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standsch%C3%BCtzen): The Standschützen (singular: Standschütze) were originally rifle guilds and rifle companies that had been formed in the 15th and 16th centuries, and were involved time and again in military operations within the borders of the Austrian County of Tyrol (reference to the Maschinenpistole M1912/P.16's The Tyrolean skin). A Standschütze was a member of a Schützenstand ("shooting club"), into which he was enrolled, which automatically committed him to the voluntary, military protection of the state of Tyrol (and Vorarlberg). In effect they were a type of Tyrolean local militia or home guard. Following the mobilization order issued by Emperor Franz Joseph I (reference to the Frommer Stop Pistol's The Emperor skin) on Tue 18 May 1915, 39 German Tyrolese rifle battalions and 2 independent rifle companies, 6 Vorarlberg battalions, 4 Welsch Tyrolese battalions and 41 Welsch Tyrolese rifle companies were formed. Although the Standschützen were used almost exclusively to defend the Tyrol against the frequent Italian attacks, they also participated in attacks against Italy. In addition to trench warfare they also conducted patrols and reconnaissance operations. Their other main task was in the construction and repair of defensive works: they built defensive positions, accommodation, caverns and barbed wire barriers, and assisted in repairing damaged fortifications. They were also used to transport supplies, as stretcher bearers and on guard duties. In the early weeks the Standschützen were asked to defend the Tyrolean front on their own. Despite that, these weak forces were sufficient to withstand the Italian attacks, as the Italian leadership could not believe that the border stood virtually unprotected. Only later did regular troops and soldiers of the German Alpine Corps, the Kaiserschützen (reference to the M1914 Taschenpistol's Kaiserschützen skin) and Kaiserjäger (reference to Repetierpistole M1912's The Kaiserjäger skin) arrive.

The Tyrolean skin for Maschinenpistole M1912/P.16 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Tyrol): The history of Tyrol, a historical region in the middle alpine area of Central Europe, dates back to early human settlements at the end of the last glacier period, around 12,000 BC. Crownland of Tyrol: Tyrol remained divided under Bavarian and Italian authority for another four years, before its reunification and return to Austria following the decisions at the Congress of Vienna in 1814. Integrated into the Austrian Empire, from 1867 onwards, it was a Kronland (Crown Land) of Cisleithania, the western half of Austria-Hungary. On the eve of World War I, the southern part of the Austrian crown land of Tyrol was populated mainly by Italian speakers (the so-called Welschtirol, or Trentino). Its border coincided with the present-day border between South Tyrol and Trentino, crossing the Adige valley at Salorno (Chiusa di Salorno/Salurner Klause). The existence of areas largely populated by Italian-speaking populations under the rule of the Austrian Empire was a constant cause of friction between Austria and Italy, a national state set on the unification of all Italians. War against the Austro-Hungarian Empire was declared May 24, 1915. This put Tyrol on the front line, which passed through some of the highest mountains in the Alps. The ensuing front became known as the "War in ice and snow", as troops occupied the highest mountains and glaciers all year long. One hundred and twenty metres (390 feet) of snow were common during the winter of 1915–16, and tens of thousands of soldiers disappeared in avalanches. The remains of these soldiers are still being uncovered today. The Italian Alpini, their Austrian counterparts (Kaiserjäger, Standschützen and Landesschützen), and the German Alpenkorps occupied every hill and mountain top. They began carving extensive fortifications and military quarters, even drilling tunnels inside the mountains and deep into glaciers, like at Marmolada (reference to the Bodeo 1889 Revolver's Marmolada skin). After World War I: The Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye of 1919 ruled that, according to the Treaty of London, the southern part of Tyrol had to be ceded to the Kingdom of Italy. Italy's border was pushed northward to the strategically important Alpine water divide, including present-day South Tyrol with its large German-speaking majority. The northern part of Tyrol was retained by the First Austrian Republic.

Schoenberg skin for Maschinenpistole M1912/P.16 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Schoenberg): Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 1874 – 13 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School. As a Jewish composer, Schoenberg was targeted by the Nazi Party, which labeled his works as degenerate music and forbade them from being published. He emigrated to the United States in 1933, becoming an American citizen in 1941. Schoenberg's approach, both in terms of harmony and development, has shaped much of 20th-century musical thought. Many composers from at least three generations have consciously extended his thinking, whereas others have passionately reacted against it. Schoenberg's archival legacy is collected at the Arnold Schönberg Center in Vienna. https://interlude.hk/wwi-composers-elgar-schoenberg-holst/ Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) was called up to serve in the First World War at the age of 42! A rather humorous anecdote reports that an officer demanded to know if “he was this notorious Schoenberg.” Supposedly the composer replied, “Beg to report, sir, yes. Nobody wanted to be, someone had to be, so I let it be me.” Schoenberg was drafted in 1915, and after being trained as a reserve officer, he carried out his military duties as a musician in a military ensemble.

Perino Model 1908 skins:
Legendary: The Kopparhed, Monte Ortigara, Pozzuolo
Distinguished: Capo, Terni

Terni skin for Perino Model 1908 (https://guns.fandom.com/wiki/Perino_Model_1908): The Perino Model 1908 was an early Italian machine gun designed by Giuseppe Perino and produced by Fabbrica d'Armi di Terni. Designed in 1901 by an Italian officer, Giuseppe Perino, the Perino was designed to fulfill the Royal Italian Army's request for a domestically-produced machine gun. The Perino was then trialed against two other machine guns in 1903; the Maxim and a prototype by Bergmann; the outcome was decided in 1906 when the Maxim was adopted by said Army. Perino later resubmitted his weapon again to another trial, with much better results; Perino's design outperformed its contemporaries during that trial. Despite the adoption of the Maxim during that time, to promote domestic production, the Royal Italian Army approved production of the Perino at Fabbrica d'Armi di Terni. https://www.erih.net/i-want-to-go-there/site/terni-armaments-museum Terni Armaments Museum: Terni became an important industrial city in the late nineteenth century with waterpower from the River Nera. The Terni arms factory was begun by the government in 1875 and opened in 1880 in an impressive group of classical buildings around avenues and an internal waterpower canal for turbines. It specialised in making rifles. In 1918 it employed over 7,000 workers. The complex of historic buildings is very large and located on the edge of the city centre. The museum is in one of the historic buildings of the factory. It displays hundreds of hand guns, rifles, swords and other weapons in glass cases. It also shows some field guns and missiles. There are examples of equipment for making and testing arms.

Monte Ortigara skin for Perino Model 1908 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Ortigara): Mount Ortigara (2,105 m, 6,906 ft) is one of the peaks, about 2,000 m (6,000 feet) tall, which delimit to the north the Seven Municipalities Plateau (in Italian: Altipiano dei Sette Comuni), falling sheer on the underlying Sugana Valley with a jump of over 1,500 meters (4,500 feet). In World War I, it became the theatre of fierce fighting (which became known as the Battle of Mount Ortigara) between Italians and Austro-Hungarians, both of whom fell by the thousand trying to conquer its summit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mount_Ortigara The Battle of Mount Ortigara was fought from 10 to 25 June 1917 between the Italian and Austro-Hungarian armies for possession of Mount Ortigara, in the Asiago Plateau. The battle was prepared with considerable means (300,000 men with 1,600 artillery guns) concentrated on a short segment of the front just a few kilometers long. However, although the Italians enjoyed a 3-to-1 numeric superiority in both men and guns, as they faced 100,000 Austro-Hungarians with 500 guns, the attack still presented several problems. The attack began on 10 June and after fierce and bloody fighting, the Italian 52nd Alpine Division managed to capture the top of Mount Ortigara. The Austro-Hungarian command promptly sent many trained reinforcements. On 25 June, the 11 Italian battalions guarding the summit were attacked by Austro-Hungarian shock troops which retook it, the strenuous Italian resistance notwithstanding. The 52nd Division alone suffered about half the Italian casualties. General Ettore Mambretti, commander of the Sixth Army, was considered responsible for the heavy casualties and removed from command.

Capo skin for Perino Model 1908 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luigi_Cadorna): Marshal of Italy Luigi Cadorna (4 September 1850 – 21 December 1928) was an Italian general, Marshal of Italy and Count, most famous for being the Chief of Staff of the Italian Army from 1914–1917 of World War I. During this period he acquired a reputation for harsh treatment of his troops combined with rigidly unimaginative tactics. Following the Caperetto (reference to the Frommer Stop Pistol's Caporetto skin) defeat in late 1917 Cadorna was relieved as Chief of Staff. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Caporetto The Battle of Caporetto (also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, reference to the Automatico M1918's Isonzo skin, the Battle of Kobarid or the Battle of Karfreit) was a battle on the Italian front of World War I. The battle was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Central Powers and took place from 24 October to 19 November 1917, near the town of Kobarid (now in north-western Slovenia, then part of the Austrian Littoral). Austro-Hungarian forces, reinforced by German units, were able to break into the Italian front line and rout the Italian forces opposing them. The battle was a demonstration of the effectiveness of the use of stormtroopers and the infiltration tactics developed in part by Oskar von Hutier (reference to the MP 18's The Hutier skin). The rest of the Italian Army retreated 150 kilometres (93 mi) to the Piave River (reference to the Cei-Rigotti's The Piave skin), its effective strength declined from 1,800,000 troops down to 1,000,000 and the government of Paolo Boselli collapsed. https://networks.h-net.org/node/8954274 Il Capo. La Grande Guerra del generale Luigi Cadorna by Marco Mondini. While early works on Luigi Cadorna tended to be either highly hagiographical or influenced by the Fascism-inspired nationalist narrative that wished to attenuate the polemics on Caporetto and portrayed both Cadorna and his successor, Armando Diaz (reference to the Modello 1915 Pistol's Diaz skin), as demiurges of Italy’s final victory in the First World War, the first author to produce a critical biography of the Generalissimo was Gianni Rocca. Rocca’s work opened the path to an entirely different interpretation of Cadorna’s personality, professional skills, and style of command. In the last thirty years, most studies on the First World War judged Cadorna (“Il Capo,” as his subordinates called him) as an unimaginative commander who stubbornly depleted his infantry units by mounting repeated frontal attacks against well-entrenched Austro-Hungarian forces on mountain terrain—resulting in catastrophic losses for minimal gains.

Pozzuolo skin for Perino Model 1908 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pozzuolo_del_Friuli): Pozzuolo del Friuli (Friulian: Puçui) is a comune (municipality) in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 60 kilometres (37 mi) northwest of Trieste and about 10 kilometres (6 mi) southwest of Udine. Battle of Pozzuolo del Friuli: One of the most significant historical events in Pozzuolo has been that of the Battle of Pozzuolo del Friuli which took place between 29 and 30 October 1917, following the Battle of Caporetto (reference to the Frommer Stop Pistol's Caporetto skin), where Austro-Hungarian troops reinforced by German divisions managed to break through the Italian front line, and rout the Italian Second Army. In the two days during which the battle took palace, a cavalry brigate composed by the Quarto Genova and Quinto Novara, and the infantry brigate of Bergamo, faced the Austro-Hungarian army, allowing for the Italian Third Army to cross the river Tagliamento and save itself. The battle left hundreds of dead, and took place between the alleys of the town, afflicting also the civil population. To commemorate this battle, starting from 1959 the only cavalry division of the Italian army is named "Pozzuolo del Friuli" brigate, and commemorates the event every 30 October. The town of Pozzuolo has two monuments dedicated to the cavalry and infantry respectively. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavalry_Brigade_%22Pozzuolo_del_Friuli%22 The Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli" is a brigade of the Italian Army, based in the Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto regions. The Brigade consists of a command unit, a cavalry regiment, an amphibious infantry regiment, an artillery regiment, an engineer regiment and a logistic regiment.

The Kopparhed skin for Perino Model 1908 (https://www.reddit.com/r/battlefield_one/comments/6vjh7o/the_perino_1908_w_the_kopparhed_legendary_skin/): "Wait a second. Did they name the skin after Martin Kopparhed, one of their designers...?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCF-hRbrELY Battlefield 1 - Under the Skin - Episode 12: "Just informed that I was correct about the Kopparhed skin." by The Video Game Historian.

1903 Hammerless skins:
Legendary: The Capone, Casablanca
Distinguished: Eisenhower, Patton

The Capone skin for 1903 Hammerless https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/1903_Hammerless_(Codex_Entry) During WW1 over 24,000 of the 1903 Pocket Hammerless were ordered by the Belgian Army, 200 by the US Navy and an unknown number by the British Empire. Many were also privately purchased by US soldiers during WW1 to keep in their trench coat pocket as extra firepower. Between the wars, many gangsters favored the 1903 Pocket Hammerless due to its handy size, and General Patton famously carried one with ivory grips in WW2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Model_1903_Pocket_Hammerless In addition to lawful owners, many gangsters of the pre-World War II era favored the Model 1903 and Model 1908 because they were relatively small and easily concealed. It is said that Al Capone kept one in his coat pocket and Bonnie Parker used one to break Clyde Barrow out of jail after smuggling it into the jail by taping it to her thigh. Bank robber John Dillinger was carrying this model of pistol when he was shot by FBI agents outside the Biograph theater on July 22, 1934, and another famous bank robber, Willie Sutton, had one when he was captured by police in Brooklyn on February 18, 1952. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the Chicago Outfit. His seven-year reign as a crime boss ended when he went to prison at the age of 33. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0135330/bio/ In 1918 he was involved in a bar fight over a prostitute with hoodlum Frank Galluccio. Gallucio went after Capone with a knife, resulting in Capone's picking up the moniker by which he would be known for the rest of his life--"Scarface" (although that word was NEVER used in his presence). Capone, however, would attribute the scar to wounds he received in battle while fighting with the famous "lost battalion" in France during World War I (the fact that Capone never spent one minute in the army was a minor point, apparently).

Patton skin for 1903 Hammerless (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Model_1903_Pocket_Hammerless): General officer models were often engraved with the officer's name. Recipients include generals Eisenhower, Bradley, Marshall, and Patton. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_S._Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France and Germany after the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Pancho Villa Expedition: In March 1916, Mexican forces loyal to Pancho Villa (reference to the Russian 1895's Pancho Villa skin) crossed into New Mexico and raided the border town of Columbus (reference to the M1909 Benét-Mercié's Columbus skin). The violence in Columbus killed several Americans. In response, the U.S. launched the Pancho Villa Expedition into Mexico. Chagrined to discover that his unit would not participate, Patton appealed to expedition commander John J. Pershing (reference to the M1917 MG's Black Jack skin), and was named his personal aide for the expedition. World War 1: On November 10, 1917, Patton was assigned to establish the AEF Light Tank School. He left Paris and reported to the French Army's tank training school at Champlieu near Orrouy, where he drove a Renault FT light tank. At the conclusion of his tour on December 1, Patton went to Albert, 30 miles (48 km) from Cambrai, to be briefed on the results of this attack by the chief of staff of the British Tank Corps, Colonel J. F. C. Fuller (reference to the SMLE MKIII's The Fuller skin). Patton commanded American-crewed Renault FT tanks at the Battle of Saint-Mihiel (reference to the P08 Pistol's Saint-Mihiel skin), leading the tanks from the front for much of their attack, which began on September 12. Patton's brigade was then moved to support U.S. I Corps in the Meuse–Argonne offensive on September 26. He personally led a troop of tanks through thick fog as they advanced 5 miles (8 km) into German lines. Around 09:00, Patton was wounded while leading six men and a tank in an attack on German machine guns near the town of Cheppy.

Eisenhower skin for 1903 Hammerless (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_D._Eisenhower): I think the name Eisenhower has already appeared as the M1903 Springfield's The Eisenhower skin.

Casablanca skin for 1903 Hammerless (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casablanca): Casablanca, known by its Arabic name A-Dar al-Bayda (Arabic: الدار البيضاء, romanized: ad-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, lit.: "White House"; * languages: ⵜⴰⴷⴷⴰⵔⵜ ⵜⵓⵎⵍⵉⵍⵜ, romanized: Taddart Tumlilt) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business center. Located on the Atlantic coast of the Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a population of about 3.71 million in the urban area, and over 4.27 million in the Greater Casablanca, making it the most populous city in the Maghreb region, and the eighth-largest in the Arab world. Film: The 1942 American film Casablanca is set in Casablanca and has had a lasting impact on the city's image although it was filmed in the United States. https://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Casablanca The following weapons were used in the film Casablanca: -Colt Model 1903/1908. Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) carries a Colt 1903 .32 ACP in the movie. This is not the same gun as found on the promotional poster. As Humphrey Bogart was a man of smaller stature, he lobbied to have a smaller gun in close ups. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humphrey_Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), colloquially nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart as the greatest male star of classic American cinema. His most significant romantic lead role was with Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca (1942), which earned him his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Navy: With no viable career options, Bogart enlisted in the United States Navy in the spring of 1918 (during World War I), and served as a coxswain. He recalled later, "At eighteen, war was great stuff. Paris! Sexy French girls! Hot damn!". Bogart was recorded as a model sailor, who spent most of his sea time after the armistice ferrying troops back from Europe. Bogart left the service on June 18, 1919, at the rank of boatswain's mate third class.

Ross MkIII skins:
Legendary: The Dead-Beat, Poperinghe
Distinguished: Absolution, Peggy
Special: Patriot, St Eloi, V-Beach, Zonnebeke

Peggy skin for Ross MkIII https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Ross_MkIII Canadian Minister of Militia and Defence, Sam Hughes repeatedly ignored reports of serious issues with the Ross rifle, but eventually the evidence became overwhelming. In 1916, British military high command ordered the Ross to be withdrawn from the frontline, to be used as training rifles and replaced with the SMLE, and the same year Hughes was forced to resign. But the Ross Mk III continued to be used by many snipers, such as Henry Louis Norwest and Francis Pegahmagabow, who appreciated its superior accuracy and could take better care of their rifles. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Pegahmagabow Francis Pegahmagabow (March 9, 1891 – August 5, 1952) was an Ojibwe soldier, politician and activist in Canada. He was the most highly decorated Indigenous soldier in Canadian military history and the most effective sniper of the First World War. In early October 1914 he was deployed overseas with the 1st Canadian Infantry Battalion of the 1st Canadian Division—the first contingent of Canadian troops sent to fight in Europe. His companions there nicknamed him "Peggy". The war ended in November 1918 and in 1919 Pegahmagabow was invalided back to Canada. He had served for almost the whole war, and had built a reputation as a skilled marksman. Using the much-maligned Ross rifle, he was credited with killing 378 Germans and capturing 300 more.

The Dead-Beat skin for Ross MkIII (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilfred_Owen): Wilfred Edward Salter Owen (18 March 1893 – 4 November 1918) was an English poet and soldier. He was one of the leading poets of the First World War. His war poetry on the horrors of trenches and gas warfare was much influenced by his mentor Siegfried Sassoon and stood in contrast to the public perception of war at the time and to the confidently patriotic verse written by earlier war poets such as Rupert Brooke. Among his best-known works – most of which were published posthumously – are "Dulce et Decorum est", "Insensibility", "Anthem for Doomed Youth", "Futility", "Spring Offensive" and "Strange Meeting". Owen was killed in action on 4 November 1918, a week before the war's end, at the age of 25. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dead-Beat "The Dead-Beat" is a poem by Wilfred Owen. It deals with the atrocities of World War I. Owen developed the poem while he was a patient at Craiglockhart, a hospital for officers suffering with mental illness. It was here that he met fellow poet Siegfried Sassoon and where his personal psychological healing from the traumas of war. "The Dead-Beat" marked the beginning of his writings as representations of soldiers who could no longer tell their own stories.

Absolution skin for Ross MkIII (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegfried_Sassoon): Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both described the horrors of the trenches and satirized the patriotic pretensions of those who, in Sassoon's view, were responsible for a jingoism-fuelled war. Sassoon became a focal point for dissent within the armed forces when he made a lone protest against the continuation of the war with his "Soldier's Declaration" of July 1917, which resulted in his being sent to the Craiglockhart War Hospital. During this period he met and formed a friendship with Wilfred Owen, who was greatly influenced by him. There was no German ancestry in Sassoon's family; his mother named him Siegfried (reference to the Heavy Tank's Siegfried skin) because of her love of Wagner's operas. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57212/absolution Absolution Poem by Siegfried Sassoon.

Poperinghe skin for Ross MkIII (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poperinge): Poperinge (French: Poperinghe, Poperingue; West Flemish: Poperienge) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, Flemish Region, and has a history going back to medieval times. The municipality comprises the town of Poperinge proper and surrounding villages. Poperinge is situated about 13 km (8 miles) to the west of Ypres (reference to the M1907 Selfloading's Ypres skin). During World War I, the town was one of only two in Belgium not under German occupation. It was used to billet British troops and also provided a safe area for field hospitals. Known familiarly as "Pop", it was just behind the front line and formed an important link for the soldiers and their families, especially through the rest house known as Talbot House (or "Toc H"). A grim reminder of that time remains within the town hall, where two death cells are preserved, and outside in the courtyard, where there is a public execution post used by firing squads. Another reminder is the location of a number of military cemeteries on the outskirts of the town with the graves of Canadian, British, Australian, French, German, US servicemen and men of the Chinese Labour Corps. One of these is Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery for soldiers who had been wounded near Ypres and later died in the large Allied casualty clearing stations located in the area. In the following century, the town is the subject of the imagist night piece "Poperinghe 1917" by the Canadian poet W. W. E. Ross. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._W._E._Ross William Wrighton Eustace Ross [often misspelt William Wrightson Eustace Ross] (June 14, 1894 – August 26, 1966) was a Canadian geophysicist and poet. He was the first published poet in Canada to write Imagist poetry, and later the first to write surrealist verse, both of which have led some to call him "the first modern Canadian poet." Ross served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force in World War I as a private in the signal corps.

St Eloi skin for Ross MkIII (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sint-Elooi): Sint-Elooi is a small village, about 5 km (3.1 mi) south of Ypres (reference to the M1907 Selfloading's Ypres skin) in the Flemish province of West Flanders in Belgium. The former municipality is now part of Ypres. Though Sint-Elooi is the Dutch and only official name, the village's French name, St. Eloi, is most commonly used in English due to its role in World War I. In World War I, like other parts of the Ypres Salient, the village was the site of the Battles of Ypres between German and Allied forces. From the spring of 1915, there was constant underground fighting in the Ypres Salient at Hooge, Hill 60, Railway Wood, Sanctuary Wood, The Bluff and St Eloi. The Germans built an extensive system of defensive tunnels and were actively mining against the British trenches at the intermediate levels. After German successes at The Bluff, the British decided to use the deep mines created by 172nd Tunnelling Company at St Eloi in a local operation (the Actions of St Eloi Craters, 27 March – 16 April 1916) and six charges were fired. However, the accompanying British infantry operation was a failure; the problem lay in the Allied inability to hold crater positions after they had been captured. The Canadian HMCS St. Eloi was later named after the battle. After the Actions of St Eloi Craters, mining and counter-mining at St Eloi continued at a pace. In preparation of the Battle of Messines (reference to the Lewis Gun's Messines skin) in 1917, the British began a mining offensive against the German lines to the south of Ypres. Twenty-six deep mines were eventually dug by Tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers, most of which were detonated simultaneously on 7 June 1917, creating 19 large craters. The largest of these mines was at St Eloi, dug by the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company. Popular culture: The war poet T.E. Hulme (1883–1917) wrote the poem Trenches: St Eloi. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Eloi_Mountain St. Eloi Mountain is located on the border of Alberta and British Columbia on the Continental Divide. It was named in 1917 after St. Eloi (Ypres).

Zonnebeke skin for Ross MkIII (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zonnebeke): Zonnebeke (West Flemish: Zunnebeke) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. Situated in the centre of the Ypres Salient (reference to the M1907 Selfloading's Ypres skin), World War I destroyed the whole area. Left abandoned until the early 1920s, people slowly returned and rebuilt the villages. The village and district of Zonnebeke and its five villages have the largest concentration of underground constructions from World War I, being located at the centre of the Third Battle of Ypres/Battle of Passchendaele. About 180 dugout sites have been located in the Ypres Salient and in the 1990s some of them were entered, at least in part. During archaeological excavations of the Augustinian abbey, another dugout was discovered under Zonnebeke church. Today the outline of this dugout is marked in an archaeological garden within the church grounds, and a model of the church dugout can be seen at the "Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917" in Zonnebeke. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Museum_Passchendaele_1917 The Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 in Zonnebeke is a Belgian museum devoted to the 1917 Battle of Passchendaele (also known as the Third Battle of Ypres). In this battle, in only 100 days, almost 500,000 men were killed to gain only eight kilometres of ground. The museum is housed in the historic château grounds of Zonnebeke and focuses on the material aspects of the First World War. https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Passchendaele The map is set during the infamous Battle of Passchendaele, also known as the Third Battle of Ypres. The Third Battle of Ypres is launched by Britain to take control of positions south and east of the Belgium city Ypres. Zonnebeke Church: What remains of Zonnebeke Church can be found overlooking the town from the hill in the south-west. Although the walls are still generally standing, the roof has caved in, scattering the interior with debris. The exterior is intercut with the British trench network.

V-Beach skin for Ross MkIII (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Cape_Helles): The landing at Cape Helles (Turkish: Seddülbahir Çıkarması) was part of the Gallipoli Campaign, the amphibious landings on the Gallipoli peninsula by British and French forces on 25 April 1915 during the First World War. Helles, at the foot of the peninsula, was the main landing area. With gunfire support from the Royal Navy, the 29th Division was to advance six mi (9.7 km) along the peninsula on the first day and seize the heights of Achi Baba. The British then planned to capture the forts that guarded the straits of the Dardanelles. The Helles landing was mismanaged by the British commander, Major General Aylmer Hunter-Weston. V and W beaches became bloodbaths, despite the meager defences, while the easy landings at other sites were not exploited. Although the British managed to gain a foothold, their plans were in disarray. For two months, the British fought costly battles to reach their first day objectives but they were eventually defeated by the Ottoman defenders. https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Cape_Helles The map depicts the British amphibious landings during the infamous Gallipoli Campaign. On April 25th 1915, two months after the Allies' failed attempt to force the Dardanelles, British, ANZAC, and French forces landed on the Gallipoli peninsula in preparation for a planned march on the Ottoman capital of Constantinople. Troops were landed at V-Beach on Cape Helles using a converted collier turned Trojan horse, the SS River Clyde, with the objective of advancing six miles inland and capturing the heights of Achi Baba (reference to the NO. 3 Revolver's Achi Baba skin) on the first day. V-Beach: A rocky beach with about 50 meters of open shore before meeting a bluff wall, with a spiny spit of land jutting far out into the water on the eastern edge of the beach.

Patriot skin for Ross MkIII (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Canada): "O Canada" (French: Ô Canada) is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the music, after which words were written by the poet and judge Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier. The original French lyrics were translated to English in 1906. Multiple English versions ensued, with Robert Stanley Weir's version in 1908 gaining the most popularity, eventually serving as the basis for the official lyrics enacted by Parliament. The National Anthem Act established set lyrics for "O Canada" in Canada's two official languages, English and French. However, the two sets of lyrics are not translations of each other. English lyrics: O Canada! Our home and native land! True patriot love in all of us command. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Cavell Edith Louisa Cavell (4 December 1865 – 12 October 1915) was a British nurse and member of La Dame Blanche. She is celebrated for treating wounded soldiers from both sides without discrimination and for covertly helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium and return to active service during the First World War, which in wartime was a death penalty offence under the German military law of the Second Reich. Cavell was arrested and court-martialed for that offense as an act of Kriegsverrat (lit: "war-treason", fig. perfidy), found guilty, and sentenced to death by firing squad. The night before her execution, she said, "Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Edith_Cavell Mount Edith Cavell is a mountain in the Athabasca River and Astoria River valleys of Jasper National Park, and the most prominent peak entirely within Alberta. The mountain was named in 1916 for Edith Cavell, a British nurse executed by the Germans during World War I for having helped Allied soldiers escape from occupied Belgium to the Netherlands, in violation of German military law.

P08 skins:
Legendary: Der Königgrätzer, Gott mit uns, The Peace Seeker, Saint-Mihiel
Distinguished: Count Gneisenau, Werner Voss

The Peace Seeker skin for P08 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parabellum): Parabellum commonly refers to the 9×19mm Parabellum firearms cartridge designed by Georg Luger and introduced in 1902 for the Luger pistol. Parabellum or Para Bellum may also refer to: -Latin adage. Para bellum is Latin for "prepare for war" and is often used within the context of the phrase Si vis pacem, para bellum, meaning "If you want peace, [you should] prepare for war".

Saint-Mihiel skin for P08 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Mihiel): Saint-Mihiel is a commune in the Meuse (reference to the M1897 Shotguns's Meuse skin) department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Saint-Mihiel lies on the banks of the river Meuse. During World War I, Saint-Mihiel was captured by the Germans in 1914, and was recaptured during the Battle of Saint-Mihiel by the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) from 12 September to 19 September 1918. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Saint-Mihiel The Battle of Saint-Mihiel was a major World War I battle fought from 12–15 September 1918, involving the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) and 110,000 French troops under the command of General John J. Pershing (reference to the M1917 MG's Black Jack skin) of the United States against German positions. The U.S. Army Air Service played a significant role in this action. This battle marked the first use of the terms "D-Day" and "H-Hour" by the Americans. The attack at the Saint-Mihiel salient was part of a plan by Pershing in which he hoped that the Americans would break through the German lines and capture the fortified city of Metz. It was the first large offensive launched mainly by the United States Army in World War I, and the attack caught the Germans in the process of retreating. The U.S. attack faltered as artillery and food supplies were left behind on the muddy roads. The attack on Metz was not realized, as the Supreme Allied Commander Ferdinand Foch (reference to M1909 Benét-Mercié's The Foch skin) ordered the American troops to march towards Sedan and Mézières, which would lead to the Meuse–Argonne offensive (reference to the 12G Automatic's Argonne skin).

Werner Voss skin for P08 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Voss): Werner Voss (April 1897 – 23 September 1917) was a World War I German flying ace credited with 48 aerial victories. A dyer's son from Krefeld, he was a patriotic young man while still in school. He began his military career in November 1914 as a 17‑year‑old Hussar. After turning to aviation, he proved to be a natural pilot. After flight school and six months in a bomber unit, he joined a newly formed fighter squadron, Jagdstaffel 2 on 21 November 1916. There he befriended Manfred von Richthofen. By 6 April 1917, Voss had scored 24 victories and awarded Germany's highest award, the Pour le Mérite. A month's leave removed Voss from the battlefield during Bloody April (reference to the Selbstlader M1916's Blutigen April skin); in his absence, Richthofen scored 13 victories. Nevertheless, Richthofen regarded Voss as his only possible rival as top scoring ace of the war. His last stand came on 23 September 1917, just hours after his 48th victory. Flying a silver-blue Fokker Dr.1, he singly fought James McCudden, Keith Muspratt, Harold A. Hamersley, Arthur Rhys-Davids, Robert L. Chidlaw-Roberts, Geoffrey Hilton Bowman, Reginald Hoidge, and Richard Maybery. After he fell in solo opposition to those eight British aces after a dazzling display of aerobatics and gunnery that put bullets in his every opponent, he was described by his preeminent foe, Victoria Cross winner James McCudden, as "the bravest German airman". The pilot who actually killed Voss, Arthur Rhys-Davids, wished he had brought him down alive. The dogfight remains a subject of debate and controversy among aviation historians and interested parties.

Count Gneisenau skin for P08 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Neidhardt_von_Gneisenau): August Wilhelm Antonius Graf Neidhardt von Gneisenau (27 October 1760 – 23 August 1831) was a Prussian field marshal. He was a prominent figure in the reform of the Prussian military and the War of Liberation. Legacy: -One of the four operations of the German Spring Offensive of 1918 were named after him. -Several German navy ships, including the World War I armored cruiser SMS Gneisenau, the World War II battleship Gneisenau, and a post-war training frigate were named after him. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_spring_offensive The German spring offensive, or Kaiserschlacht ("Kaiser's Battle", reference to MP18's The Kaiserschlacht skin), also known as the Ludendorff offensive (reference to the C96 Pistol's Ludendorff skin), was a series of German attacks along the Western Front during the First World War, beginning on 21 March 1918. There were four German offensives, codenamed Michael, Georgette, Gneisenau, and Blücher-Yorck. Gneisenau: Nonetheless, the German advance (consisting of 21 divisions attacking over a 23 mi (37 km) front) along the Matz River was impressive, resulting in an advance of 9 miles (14 km) despite fierce French and American resistance. At Compiègne, a sudden French counter-attack on 11 June, by four divisions and 150 tanks (under General Charles Mangin) with no preliminary bombardment, caught the Germans by surprise and halted their advance. Gneisenau was called off the following day. Losses were approximately 35,000 Allied and 30,000 German. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Gneisenau SMS Gneisenau was an armored cruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy), part of the two-ship Scharnhorst class. Following the outbreak of World War I in July 1914, the East Asia Squadron, under the command of Vice Admiral Maximilian von Spee, crossed the Pacific to the western coast of South America, stopping for Gneisenau and Scharnhorst to attack French Polynesia in the Bombardment of Papeete in September. After arriving off the coast of Chile, the East Asia Squadron encountered and defeated a British squadron at the Battle of Coronel; during the action, Gneisenau disabled the British armored cruiser HMS Monmouth, which was then sunk by the German light cruiser Nürnberg. The defeat prompted the British Admiralty to detach two battlecruisers to hunt down and destroy Spee's squadron, which they accomplished at the Battle of the Falkland Islands (Battle of the Falklands Islands skins) on 8 December 1914. Gneisenau was sunk with heavy loss of life, though 187 of her crew were rescued by the British.

Gott mit uns skin for P08 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gott_mit_uns): Gott mit uns ('God with us') is a phrase commonly used in heraldry in Prussia (from 1701) and later by the German military during the periods spanning the German Empire (1871–1918), Nazi Germany (1933–1945), and the early years of West Germany (1949–1962). At the time of the completion of German unification in 1871, the imperial standard bore the motto Gott mit uns on the arms of an Iron Cross. Imperial German 3 and 5 mark silver and 20 mark gold coins had Gott mit uns inscribed on their edge. German soldiers had Gott mit uns inscribed on their belt buckles in the First World War. The slogan entered the mindset on both sides; in 1916 a cartoon was printed in the New-York Tribune captioned "Gott Mit Uns!", showing "a German officer in spiked helmet holding a smoking revolver as he stood over the bleeding form of a nurse. It symbolized the rising popular demand that the United States shed its neutrality". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Empire The German Empire (German: Deutsches Kaiserreich), also referred to as Imperial Germany, the Second Reich, or simply Germany, was the period of the German Reich from the unification of Germany in 1871 until the November Revolution in 1918, when the German Reich changed its form of government from a monarchy to a republic. Motto: Gott mit uns (German), Nobiscum Deus (Latin), ("God with us").

Der Königgrätzer skin for P08 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_K%C3%B6niggr%C3%A4tz): The Battle of Königgrätz (or Sadowa) was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire. It took place on 3 July 1866, near the Bohemian city of Hradec Králové (German: Königgrätz) and village of Sadová, now in the Czech Republic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6niggr%C3%A4tzer_Marsch The Königgrätz March (AM II, 134 (AM II, 195)), also known as Der Königgrätzer or Der Königgrätzer Marsch, is one of the most famous German military marches, composed in 1866 by Johann Gottfried Piefke in commemoration of the Battle of Königgrätz, the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War, in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire. The commonly played version (AM II, 195) is set as an infantry march, while an alternate adaptation is arranged as a cavalry galop (AM III, 228). The victory in the Battle of Königgrätz paved the way for the supremacy of Prussia in the German Confederation and ultimately led to the establishment of the German Empire in 1871. The Königgrätzer Marsch continues to be extremely popular and is a staple of any modern German military parade, whereas in Austria it is heard only very rarely, because the piece is associated with Austrian military failure. It was the march of the 91st Oldenburg Infantry Regiment and the parade-march of the 1st Bavarian Infantry Regiment "König" of the Imperial German Army. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_von_Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German field marshal and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I. He later became President of Germany from 1925 until his death. In the Prussian Army: During the decisive Battle of Königgrätz, he was briefly knocked unconscious by a bullet that pierced his helmet and creased the top of his skull. Quickly regaining his senses, he wrapped his head in a towel and resumed leading his detachment, winning a decoration.

Auto Revolver skins:
Legendary: Goodnight Kiss, The Gordon Highlander, Pro Patria Mori
Distinguished: Red Tab, Somme
Other: Straight Flush

Red Tab skin for Auto Revolver https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Auto_Revolver_(Codex_Entry) The Auto Revolver was invented by British Colonel George Vincent Fosbery and patented in 1896, during a time when most pistols were chambered for much smaller cartridges, but Fosbery believed that these calibres were too weak for combat. The Auto Revolver was submitted to military trials but never officially adopted. It was a relatively big and heavy handgun, which was probably part of the reason. Nevertheless, the Auto Revolver did become popular with some target shooters, and in a time when Army officers picked their own sidearms, quite a few British officers would pick the Auto Revolver. https://www.army.gov.au/our-heritage/traditions/gorget-patches Generals, Brigadiers and Colonels wear gorget patches, known colloquially as red tabs, on the collar. By the beginning of the 18th Century, any pieces that remained had no practical value and were nothing more than a distinguishing accoutrement on an officers’ uniform for ornamental or ceremonial purposes. During the Boer War, a khaki uniform was introduced and red gorget patches were added to distinguish senior officers. http://www.greatwar.co.uk/glossary/ww1-glossary.htm red tabs: British staff officers (slang); from the lapel tabs on General Staff officers’ uniforms.

Somme skin for Auto Revolver https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somme_(department) Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. The north central area of the Somme was the site of a series of battles during World War I, including the particularly significant Battle of the Somme in 1916. As a result of this and other battles fought in the area, the department is home to many military cemeteries and several major monuments commemorating the many soldiers from various countries who died on its battlefields. The Battle of the Somme was one of the most costly battles of World War I, by the number of troop casualties, as Allied forces attempted to break through the German lines along a 40 kilometres (25 mi) front north and south of the River Somme. The Allies had originally intended the Somme to be the site of one of several simultaneous major offensives by Allied powers against the Central Powers in 1916. However, before these offensives could begin, the Germans attacked first, engaging the Allies at the Battle of Verdun (reference to the M1909 Benét-Mercié's Verdun skin). As this battle dragged on, the purpose of the Somme campaign (which was still in the planning stage) shifted from striking a decisive blow against Germany to drawing German forces away from Verdun and relieving the Allied forces there. By its end, the losses on the Somme had exceeded those at Verdun. While Verdun would bite deep in the national consciousness of France for generations, the Somme would have the same effect on generations of Britons. The battle is best remembered for its first day, 1 July 1916, on which the British suffered 57,420 casualties, including 19,240 dead—the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army to this day. As terrible as the battle was for the British Empire troops who suffered there, it naturally affected the other nationalities as well. By the end of the battle, the British had learned many lessons in modern warfare, while the Germans had suffered irreplaceable losses. The Somme experienced war twice more in the First and Second Battles of the Somme of 1918.

The Gordon Highlander skin for Auto Revolver (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Highlanders): The Gordon Highlanders was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed for 113 years, from 1881 until 1994, when it was amalgamated with The Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons, reference to Huot Automatic Rifle's The Seaforth Higlander skin) to form The Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons). In 1908 the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the Territorial Force and the latter the Special Reserve; the regiment now had one Reserve and four Territorial battalions. First World War. -Regular Army: The 1st Battalion was based in Plymouth on outbreak of war and landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 8th Brigade in the 3rd Division in August 1914. It was immediately engaged with the Germans at the Battle of Mons (reference to the Selbstlader 1906's The Hound of Mons skin), suffering only slight casualties. The battalion was next in action at the Battle of Le Cateau (reference to the M1909 Benét-Mercié's Le Cateau skin) after which it ceased to exist as a fighting force when most personnel were captured in the confusion of disengaging after battle. The battalion was subsequently rebuilt with drafts of reinforcements and served on the Western Front for the duration of the war. The 2nd Battalion was in Egypt in 1914, but returned to England and landed at Zeebrugge as part of the 20th Brigade in the 7th Division in October 1914. It immediately saw action in the First Battle of Ypres (reference to the M1907 Selfloading's Ypres skin). The battalion subsequently served on the Western Front until November 1917 when it moved with XIV Corps to Italy. It was subsequently involved in the final, successful, battle of the war in Italy at the Battle of Vettorio Veneto, October to November 1918. -Territorial Force: The 1/4th (City of Aberdeen) Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 8th Brigade in the 3rd Division in February 1915 for service on the Western Front. The 1/6th (Banff and Donside) Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 20th Brigade in the 7th Division for service on the Western Front. One of the longest 1914 Christmas truces was upheld by this battalion: it lasted until the afternoon of 3 January 1915.

Pro Patria Mori skin for Auto Revolver (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dulce_et_decorum_est_pro_patria_mori): Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori is a line from the Odes (III.2.13) by the Roman lyric poet Horace. The line translates: "It is sweet and proper to die for one's country." The Latin word patria (homeland), literally meaning the country of one's fathers (in Latin, patres) or ancestors, is the source of the French word for a country, patrie, and of the English word "patriot" (one who loves their country). Horace's line was quoted in the title of a poem by Wilfred Owen, "Dulce et Decorum est", published in 1921, describing soldiers' horrific experiences in World War I. Owen's poem, which calls Horace's line "the old Lie", essentially ended the line's straightforward uncritical use. Uses in art and literature: -The film Johnny Got His Gun ends with this saying, along with casualty statistics since World War I. -In the film All Quiet on the Western Front, a teacher quotes this early on while talking to his class. https://wiki.gamedetectives.net/index.php?title=Battlefield_1 Morse Messages.
When using the Infiltrator kit and standing in a few specific spots on different maps, Morse code can be heard. The Morse code in the final message is unique for each player, but takes the form of the following Latin quote with 8 letters missing: DULCE ET DECORUM EST PRO PATRIA MORI.

Goodnight Kiss skin for Auto Revolver (https://www.henrysheldonmuseum.org/wwi-slang): Tommy, Doughboy, Fritz: Soldier Slang of World War I, a book written by Emily Brewer talks about all these terms and more. Goodnight kiss – this was the term used for the last shot made by a sniper at the end of an assault. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Edwin_Ellison Private George Edwin Ellison (10 August 1878 – 11 November 1918) was the last British soldier to be killed in action during the First World War. He died at 09:30 am (90 minutes before the armistice came into effect), shot by a sniper while on a patrol in woodland on the outskirts of Mons, Belgium. He fought in the Battle of Mons (reference to the Selbstlader 1906's The Hound of Mons skin) in 1914, and several other battles including the Battle of Ypres (reference to the M1907 Selfloading's Ypres skin), Battle of Armentières, Battle of La Bassée, Battle of Lens, Battle of Loos, and Battle of Cambrai on the Western Front. Ellison, aged 40 at the time of his death, is buried in the St Symphorien Military Cemetery, just southeast of Mons. Coincidentally, and in large part due to Mons being lost in the very opening stages of the war and regained at the very end (from the British perspective), his grave faces that of John Parr, the first British soldier killed during the Great War, and just a few metres away from George Lawrence Price, the Canadian soldier who was also felled near Mons at 10:58am, and was the last British Empire soldier killed in the Great War. In 2018, he and John Parr became the inspiration behind a poem, "Goodnight Kiss", by writer Philip Parker – written as part of a project in conjunction with the Imperial War Museum.

Straight Flush skin for Auto Revolver (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_poker_hands): In poker, players form sets of five playing cards, called hands, according to the rules of the game. Each hand has a rank, which is compared against the ranks of other hands participating in the showdown to decide who wins the pot. A straight flush is a hand that contains five cards of sequential rank, all of the same suit, such as Q♥ J♥ 10♥ 9♥ 8♥ (a "queen-high straight flush"). https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/features/anzac-day-2020/language-from-the-first-world-war Language from the First World War. -Gutzer: a disappointment or misfortune usually, expressed as ‘to come a gutzer’. A ‘gutzer straight or flush’ in a digger speak was a poker straight or flush with one crucial card missing.

Kolibri skins:
Legendary: The Hummingbird, Thingumyjig
Distinguished: Mata Hari, Savior

The Hummingbird skin for Kolibri (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2mm_Kolibri): The 2mm Kolibri (also known as the 2.7mm Kolibri Car Pistol or 2.7×9mm Kolibri) was the smallest commercially available centerfire cartridge, patented in 1910 and introduced in 1914 by Franz Pfannl, an Austrian watchmaker, with financial support from Georg Grabner. It was designed to accompany the Kolibri semi-auto pistol or single-shot pistol, both marketed as self-defense weapons. The name is derived from Kolibri, the German word for hummingbird, which is among the smallest of birds. https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Kolibri_Pistol_(Codex_Entry) The .25 ACP round was invented in 1905 with the express purpose of being used in small pocket pistols. During a time when most criminals were armed with melee weapons, even a tiny handgun would be an advantage. The smallest semi-automatic pistol ever was designed by an Austrian watchmaker who wanted to make an ultra-concealable handgun. For this purpose, he developed the smallest centerfire cartridge ever - the 2.7 mm Kolibri round (Kolibri is German for "hummingbird"), and patented it in 1910. He then proceeded to design a new semi-automatic pistol for the round, resulting in the 2.7 Grabner Selbstlade Pistole that was less the 3 inches long, using the same simple blowback mechanism as many modern small-caliber guns and with a detachable 6-round magazine.

Mata Hari skin for Kolibri (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mata_Hari): Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (née Zelle; 7 August 1876 – 15 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari, was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I. She was executed by firing squad in France. The idea of a beautiful exotic dancer using her powers of seduction as a spy made her name synonymous with the femme fatale. Her story has served as an inspiration for many books, films, and other works. It has been said that she was convicted and condemned because the French Army needed a scapegoat, and that the files used to secure her conviction contained several falsifications. Some have even stated that Mata Hari could not have been a spy and was innocent. Before the war, Zelle had performed as Mata Hari several times before the Crown Prince Wilhelm (reference to the Selbstlader M1916's Kronprinz skin), eldest son of Kaiser Wilhelm II (reference to Gewehr 98's The Kaiser skin) and nominally a senior German general on the Western Front. The Deuxième Bureau believed she could obtain information by seducing the Crown Prince for military secrets. In fact, his involvement was minimal, and it was German government propaganda that promoted the image of the Crown Prince as a great warrior, the worthy successor to the Hohenzollern monarchs (reference to the LMG 08/18's Hohenzollern skin) who had made Prussia strong and powerful. Unaware that the Crown Prince did not have much to do with the running of Army Group Crown Prince or the 5th Army, the Deuxième Bureau offered Zelle 1 million francs if she could seduce him and provide France with good intelligence about German plans. In January 1917, Major Kalle transmitted radio messages to Berlin describing the helpful activities of a German spy code-named H-21, whose biography so closely matched Zelle's that it was obvious that Agent H-21 could only be Mata Hari. The Deuxième Bureau intercepted the messages and, from the information they contained, identified H-21 as Mata Hari. The messages were in a code that German intelligence knew had already been broken by the French, suggesting that the messages were contrived to have Zelle arrested by the French. Zelle was executed by a firing squad of 12 French soldiers just before dawn on 15 October 1917. She was 41. According to an eyewitness account by British reporter Henry Wales, she was not bound and refused a blindfold. She defiantly blew a kiss to the firing squad.

Thingumyjig skin for Kolibri (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/thingamajig): thingamajig and alternative forms: thingamejig, thingumajig, thingummyjig. Something that one does not know the name of. https://www.henrysheldonmuseum.org/wwi-slang Tommy, Doughboy, Fritz: Soldier Slang of World War I, a book written by Emily Brewer talks about all these terms and more. Thingumyjig – this was a made up trench slang word used to refer to the new devices that came to being during the war.

Savior skin for Kolibri (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2mm_Kolibri): Due to the weakness and inaccuracy of the firearm, the 2mm Kolibri was advertised as a ladies' self-defence weapon that was small enough to fit inside a handbag. While probably not effective against a mugger if shot at the chest or limbs, it could potentially inflict some damage if shot at the attacker's face. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savior Savior or Saviour may refer to: A person who helps people achieve salvation, or saves them from something. https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Score Savior Kill - Kill a player who was inflicting damage on a teammate.

---

@HUN_gattaca_lg do you know what is the reference of the skin auby les hesdin for general Liu ?

I couldn't find any references

@Yuricocato15 
I think it is possible that there is some connection between Auby-les-Hesdin and Auchy-lès-Hesdin (maybe the two are the same?)
I found an article in Chinese about General Liu Rifle skins: https://yuzu.news/game/41865.html

General Liu Rifle skins:
Legendary: Auby-les-Hesdin, Noyelles-sur-Mer, The Yang
Distinguished: Hanyang Arsenal, Kulja

Hanyang Arsenal skin for General Liu Rifle https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/General_Liu_(Codex_Entry) The General Liu Rifle is another of the obscure, experimental weapons of the WW1 era, whose history is not entirely clear. General Liu was a Chinese officer and weapons designer who was appointed head of the Hangyang Arsenal, where he began developing a self-loading rifle in 1913, based on the Danish Bang muzzle gas-trap system. Prototypes of the Liu rifle were built at the Hangyang Arsenal and were tested successfully, but China lacked the means to mass-produce the weapon. Instead General Liu came to USA a few years later and contracted an American company to produce the machinery necessary for mass-production, and Liu also brought some of the prototypes for testing in USA. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanyang_Arsenal Hanyang Arsenal (traditional Chinese: 漢陽兵工廠; simplified Chinese: 汉阳兵工厂; pinyin: Hànyáng Bīnggōngchǎng) was one of the largest and oldest modern arsenals in Chinese history. Originally known as the Hubei Arsenal, it was founded in 1891 by Qing official Zhang Zhidong, who diverted funds from the Nanyang Fleet in Guangdong to build the arsenal. It cost about 250,000 pounds sterling and was built in 4 years. On 23 April 1894, construction was completed and the arsenal, occupying some 40 acres (160,000 m2), could start production of small-caliber cannons. It built magazine-fed rifles, Gruson quick fire guns, and cartridges. The Republic of China expanded the arsenal numerous times, and production soared. Quality, however, remained low. In 1917, a training school was established alongside the arsenal. In 1921, production began on copies of the Browning M1917 and the Mauser M1932 "Broomhandle" pistol. In 1930, the design of the Type 88 was once again modified, extending the bayonet. In 1935, a version of the Maxim gun—the Type 24 HMG—was being produced, based on blueprints from the German M08.

Noyelles-sur-Mer skin for General Liu Rifle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noyelles-sur-Mer): Noyelles-sur-Mer (literally Noyelles on Sea) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Noyelles-sur-Mer is situated on the coast, facing the English Channel, on the D11 and D40 junction, some 13 kilometres (8 mi) northwest of Abbeville. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Labour_Corps The Chinese Labour Corps (CLC; French: Corps de Travailleurs Chinois; simplified Chinese: 中国劳工旅; traditional Chinese: 中國勞工旅; pinyin: Zhōngguó láogōng lǚ) was a force of workers recruited by the British government in the First World War to free troops for front line duty by performing support work and manual labour. The French government also recruited a significant number of Chinese labourers, and although those labourers working for the French were recruited separately and not part of the CLC, the term is often used to encompass both groups. In all, some 140,000 men served for both British and French forces before the war ended and most of the men were repatriated to China between 1918 and 1920. The CLC did not directly perform in combat. According to the records kept by the British and French recruiters, around 2,000 men of the CLC died during the war, many from the 1918 flu pandemic, with some Chinese scholars estimating the total could be as high as 20,000, victims of shelling, landmines, poor treatment, or the disease. The members of the CLC who died were classified as war casualties and were buried in about 40 graveyards in the north of France and one in Belgium, with a total of about 2,000 recorded graves. The largest number of graves are at Noyelles-sur-Mer on the Somme, next to the workers' camp of the British army, where a cholera outbreak and some of the fiercest battles occurred, as well. The cemetery contains 842 gravestones, each engraved with Chinese characters, guarded by two stone lions, gifts from China.

Auby-les-Hesdin skin for General Liu Rifle https://www.straight.com/news/538641/new-bc-book-unearths-chinese-labourers-secret-role-first-world-war According to Shirley Frey of the University of Texas at Arlington, the British and French military began deploying CLC members to different tasks upon realizing the range of skills and talents at their disposal. Although the less educated were given tough manual work—deployed to man the docks, dig trenches, lay railroad tracks, and unload supplies and munitions—the skilled were deployed to maintain and repair machines, ammunition, vehicles, and even tanks and aircraft parts. Those who had learned to speak and write English or French from European missionaries played important intermediary roles between the officers and the CLC members under their command. “The Big Tank Corps depot at Auby-les-Hesdin was serviced almost exclusively by Chinese,” Frey noted in her 2009 history master’s thesis. She also found that the CLC force almost exclusively maintained important railroad lines between Calais, Zeneghem, Dieppe, Boulogne, Audruicq, Dannes, Abbeville, Saigneville, Abancourt, and Soquence. Britain and China, 1840-1970: Empire, Finance and War by Robert Bickers and Jonathan J. Howlett (2015): A striking example of how Chinese workers (many of whom were of peasant origin) acquired technical skills while in France was their servicing and maintenance of tanks (for example, at the Tank Corps depot in Auby-les-Hesdin in northern France). In a 1919 report to the War Office, a British CLC officier remembered that, while on a visit to a tank workshop, he had seen several Chinese workers test drive a tank. https://tankmuseum.org/article/war-diaries-1-6-november-1917 During November 1917 preparations for the Battle of Cambrai were well underway. Each battalion of the Tank Corps recorded day to day events in their War Diary. This series of posts reproduce a selection of entries from this month, giving us an idea of how tank crewmen prepared for their greatest challenge yet. 1st November 1917 and F Battalion: Auchy-lès-Hesdin. Work was continued on the tanks, sprockets etc being changed where necessary & they were thoroughly overhauled ready for training exercises with infantry in the near future. Any men available were bathed at BLANGY.

Kulja skin for General Liu Rifle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yining): Yining (Chinese: 伊宁), also known as Ghulja (Uyghur: غۇلجا), Kulja or Qulja (Kazakh: قۇلجا), is a county-level city in northwestern Xinjiang, China, and the seat of Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture. In the 19th and early 20th century, the word Kuldja or Ghulja was often used in Russia and in the West as the name for the entire Chinese part of the Ili River basin as well as for its two main cities. The usage of 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica is fairly characteristic; it defines Kulja as a "territory in north-west China" bounded by the Russian border and the mountains that surround the Ili basin. It also talks about two major cities of the region. The Sino-Russian Treaty of Kulja 1851 opened the area for trade. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Kulja The Treaty of Kulja (also spelled Kuldja) (Chinese: 中俄伊犁塔爾巴哈臺通商章程) was an unequal treaty between Qing China and the Russian Empire, signed in 1851, opening Kulja (Huiyuan and later Ningyuan) and Chuguchak to Sino-Russian trade. Prepared by the first Russian consul to China, Ivan Zakharov, the treaty was preceded by a gradual Russian advance throughout the nineteenth century into Kazakhstan in direct competition with British efforts to impose self-advantageous trade terms on China. While the treaty primarily legalized ongoing practice, it also recognized the growing Russian presence in Central Asia. China's defenses on this border had been greatly neglected since the start of the 19th century. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ili_Kazakh_Autonomous_Prefecture Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture in northern Xinjiang, China. Its capital is Yining, also known as Ghulja or Kulja. Modern history: The Xinhai Revolution broke out on 10 October 1911. On 12 February 1912, the Provisional Government of the Republic of China was established in Beijing, and on 15 March, it ordered the Xinjiang Grand Coordinator, Yuan Dahua (袁大化), to end Qing rule in Xinjiang. On 25 April, Yuan Dahua was forced to resign as Grand Coordinator of Xinjiang. On 18 May, Yang Zengxin (楊增新, reference to the General Liu Rifle's The Yang skin?) was recommended for the position of Military Governor of Xinjiang.

The Yang skin for General Liu Rifle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yang): Yang (simplified Chinese: 杨; traditional Chinese: 楊; pinyin: Yáng) is the transcription of a Chinese family name. It is the sixth most common surname in Mainland China. It is the 16th surname on the Hundred Family Surnames text. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beiyang_Army The Beiyang Army (Chinese: 北洋军; pinyin: Běi Yáng Jūn; lit. 'Northern Ocean Army'), named after the Beiyang region, was a large, Western-style Imperial Chinese Army established by the Qing dynasty government in the late 19th century. It was the centerpiece of a general reconstruction of Qing China's military system. The Beiyang Army played a major role in Chinese politics for at least three decades and arguably right up to 1949. It made the Xinhai Revolution of 1911 possible, and, by dividing into warlord factions known as the Beiyang Clique (Chinese: 北洋军阀; pinyin: Běiyáng Jūnfá), ushered in a period of regional division. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beiyang_government The Beiyang government (Chinese: 北洋政府; pinyin: Běiyáng Zhèngfǔ; Wade–Giles: Pei-yang Chêng-fu), officially the Republic of China (Chinese: 中華民國; pinyin: Zhōnghuá mínguó; Wade–Giles: Chung¹-hua² Min²-kuo²), sometimes spelled Peiyang Government, or just China, was the government of the Republic of China which sat in its capital Beijing between 1912 and 1928. It was internationally recognized as the legitimate Chinese government during that time. The Beiyang government declared war on the Central Powers in August 1917 and began sending labor battalions to France and a token force to Siberia. https://focus.cbbc.org/britains-hidden-debt-to-the-chinese-in-wwi/ In his book Yang's War, author Clive Harvey takes a closer look at the resilience of the Chinese people – and why so many of them sacrificed their lives for the Allied forces in the early 20th century. As the greatest human conflict in the history of war dragged on, the intended separation of labour from combatant troops became ever blurred. The onset of Spanish Flu took its own toll on all participants, as did German firepower. With the front line ever-depleting, skilled Allied troops were redeployed to close-quarter combat. With the new tank depots left wanting, it swiftly became apparent there were many skilled men amongst the CLC recruits, not least the protagonist of my book. Yang, as an interpreter who was near-fluent in English, poignantly represents the archetypal “saviour” for the suddenly under-manned British tank and munitions units. Urgently needing both mechanical skills and a fluent foreign tongue, such resourceful Chinese recruits as Yang soon came to run these depots.

Thanks gattaca, god work🙌

Hellriegel 1915 skins
Legendary: The Archduke, Die Tiroler Bracke, The Schreckenstein
Distinguished: Eidenberger, Monte Piano, Snail, Tyrol

Snail skin for Hellriegel 1915 https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Hellriegel_1915 Originating from Austria-Hungary and even though the term submachine gun had not yet been coined in 1915 this beast was belt-fed from a German snail magazine, firing 9mm rounds and had a water cooling jacket. Archives indicate that this weapon was named after someone called Hellriegel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standsch%C3%BCtze_Hellriegel_M1915 Hellriegel's submachine gun could be fed from a drum magazine with a capacity of approximately 100-160 rounds. The magazine was not actually connected to the gun itself as the cartridges travelled through a flexible chute. The unusual appearance of the magazine has led many people to assume that the gun was belt-fed, however, this is not the case with the rounds being unconnected from one another and are propelled along the drum and feed chute by a spring. The design is very similar to the German TM 08 snail magazine, which was used in the Luger P08 pistol and MP-18 submachine gun. Apparently the gun could also use a box magazine with a capacity of around 20-30 rounds, which looks very similar to the box magazine of a Thompson submachine gun.

Tyrol skin for Hellriegel 1915 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standsch%C3%BCtze_Hellriegel_M1915): Little is known about the Standschütze Hellriegel Model 1915. The only source of information about the Hellriegel is several photographs stored in the photo archive of the Austrian National Library under the name “Maschinengewehr des Standschützen Hellriegel” (literally "Machine gun from reservist Hellriegel"). The photographs are dated October 1915 and they show the weapon being tested at a firing range. Its name and magazine size indicate that it was an automatic firearm, and its designer was someone named Hellriegel from the Austrian militia unit Standschützen (reference to the Maschinenpistole M1912/P.16's Standschützen skin), tasked with the defence of Tyrol and Vorarlberg regions of western Austria, the former bordered "neutral" Italy. It was most likely a prototype and therefore explains its "unfinished" look and design. The development of this weapon coincided with the Italian entry into World War I on the side of the Entente, and its subsequent declaration of war on Austria-Hungary - its former ally in the Triple Alliance - which forced the Austro-Hungarian Empire to wage war on three fronts. http://firearms.96.lt/pages/hellriegel It may be the case that only one prototype was ever built. Additionally, there have of yet been no records or documentation relating to this weapon. Because of this, the details of the trials that are depicted in the photographs are unknown; in any case, it seems clear that the design was not successful, and there was no interest in taking it into service. The photos that were taken during the tests were later sent to the K.u.K. Press Office in 1918; it is recorded that they were taken in Tyrol.

Monte Piano skin for Hellriegel 1915 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Piana): Monte Piana is a 2,324-metre (7,625 ft) tall mountain in the Sexten Dolomites and located on the border between the provinces of South Tyrol (reference to the Hellriegel 1915's Tyrol skin) and Belluno. The smaller Northern summit of the mountain is named Monte Piano (2,305m). During the so-called "White War" in World War I the mountain was hotly contested between the Austrian and Italian Armies. The Austrians had occupied the Northern summit Monte Piano, while the Southern summit Monte Piana was in Italian hands. Today many remnants of the fierce fighting can still be found on both summits. When Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary on 24 May 1915, seven / eight battalions of the thirty-five stationed between San Candido and the Stelvio were sent to Monte Piana and its valleys. On 24 May the Piana was occupied by two platoons of Alpine troops of the 96th company, Pieve di Cadore battalion, of the 7th regiment. Other Alpini of the 67th company around 08:30 were hit by an artillery shell fired from Monte Rudo while they were working on the road from Misurina to Monte Piana; they were the first Italians to fall on a mountain that in less than two years made about 14,000 victims from both sides. Here, on 7 June 1915, second lieutenant Antonio De Toni (7th regiment, 268th company, batt. Val Piave) was fatally wounded, the first to be killed in the Padua university community. At the end of the day, the two years of war on Mount Piana essentially led to nothing; the two contenders fought for two long years on a patch of land, without ever being able to subvert the enemy forces, and on 3 November 1917 the positions on the plain were abandoned by the Italian units to retreat and take sides on the Grappa line in an attempt to resist the Austro-Hungarian offensive in Caporetto (reference to the Frommer Stop Pistol's Caporetto skin).

The Schreckenstein skin for Hellriegel 1915 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_War): Falzarego Pass. The Italians decided to focus on dislodging the Austrians from various high points around the eastern entrance to the Pass, particularly the rocky outcrop called the Casteletto on the Tofana di Rozes. The fighting to secure thus became so intense that the Austrians called it the “Schreckenstein” – “The rock of horror. Unable to push the Austro-Hungarians off the Casteletto, in 1916 the Italians decided to dig a 500m gallery from their positions to the foot of the outcrop and use 35 tons of gelignite to destroy it. The Austro-Hungarians responded by countermining but the Italians were so confident of success that General Cadorna and King Victor Emmanuel were invited to observe the detonation of the mine followed by the rapid assault by Italian troops held ready in another tunnel to swarm out after the explosion. The attack on 11 July was only partially successful. Many Italian soldiers were killed by carbon monoxide from the explosion as they rushed downhill, while others were killed by falling rocks. They managed to take the south side of the Casteletto but did not manage to drive the Austrians off completely for another three months. https://www.summitpost.org/the-world-war-i-in-the-dolomites-may-1915-may-2015/937585 The most sensational event of the whole war occurred on a stunning rocky tower considered particularly strategic, leaning against the majestic SW wall of the Tofana di Rozes, at the cross between Val Travenanzes and Val Costeana. This peak was called Castelletto (Little Castle) by the Italians, “Schreckenstein” (literally "Rock of Terror") by the Austrians. The Austrian sentinels placed on the mountain prevented the Italian army entering Val Travenenzes; Italians tried in various ways to storm Castelletto through several attempts, whether by daring climbing from below or descending from the summit of Tofana di Rozes. Failing in order the Italians thought to blow it up, building a 507 meters long tunnel. On July 11, 1916 a terrific explosion tore off the top of Castelletto. The rocks were thrown away at thousands of meters, continuing to fall for several hours. The summit was occupied by the Italians two days later.

The Archduke skin for Hellriegel 1915 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archduke_Franz_Ferdinand_of_Austria): Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. Franz Ferdinand was the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, the younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria (reference to Frommer Stop Pistol's The Emperor skin). Following the death of Crown Prince Rudolf in 1889 and the death of Karl Ludwig in 1896, Franz Ferdinand became the heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Franz Ferdinand held significant influence over the military, and in 1913 he was appointed inspector general of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces. On 28 June 1914, Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo by the 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip, a member of Young Bosnia. Franz Ferdinand's assassination led to the July Crisis and precipitated Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia, which in turn triggered a series of events that eventually led – four weeks after his death – to Austria-Hungary's allies and Serbia's allies declaring war on each other, starting World War I. His authority was reinforced in 1907 when he secured the retirement of the Emperor's confidant Friedrich von Beck-Rzikowsky as Chief of the General Staff. Beck's successor, Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf (reference to the Repetierpistole M1912's Hötzendorf skin), was personally selected by Franz Ferdinand. He advocated granting greater autonomy to ethnic groups within the Empire and addressing their grievances, especially the Czechs in Bohemia and the south Slavic peoples in Croatia and Bosnia, who had been left out of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867. Yet his feelings towards the Hungarians were less generous, often described as antipathy. He regarded Hungarian nationalism as a revolutionary threat to the Habsburg dynasty (reference to Repetierpistole M1912's The Habsburg skin) and reportedly became angry when officers of the 9th Hussars Regiment (which he commanded) spoke Hungarian in his presence – despite the fact that it was the official regimental language. He further regarded the Hungarian branch of the Dual Monarchy's army, the Honvédség, as an unreliable and potentially threatening force within the empire, complaining at the Hungarians' failure to provide funds for the joint army and opposing the formation of artillery units within the Hungarian forces.

Eidenberger skin for Hellriegel 1915 https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Eidenberger_(Maler) Josef Eidenberger (* 30. Mai 1899 in Goisern, Oberösterreich; † 21. Juli 1991 in Niederwaldkirchen) war ein österreichischer Maler. Nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg wandte er sich zunächst der Landschaftsmalerei zu. Im Jahre 1923 trat er in die Graphische Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt in Wien ein und erlernte bei Alfred Cossmann die Techniken des Kupferstiches und der Radierung. Danach beschäftigte er sich mit der Farbradierung, deren Technik er ständig verfeinerte und verbesserte. Seine Motive erwecken den Eindruck handgemalter Arbeiten und entstanden in seinem Atelier bzw. in seiner Druckerei. Neben vielen Motiven aus seiner engeren Heimat entstanden zahlreiche Städteansichten aus aller Welt. Die internationale Anerkennung seiner Arbeiten kam mit den vielen Aufträgen aus den Vereinigten Staaten. https://en.everybodywiki.com/Josef_Eidenberger_(artist) Josef Eidenberger (1899-1991) was an Austrian born engraver, etcher, painter and printmaker. Josef Eidenberger (1899-1991) was born in the small town of Bad Goisern, Austria. In 1902 the family moved to Vienna. He obtained his secondary education at the Neue Weiner Handelsakademie (New Vienna Commercial Academy, now incorporated into the Vienna Business School). Eidenberger was 20 when World War I ended. It was then, as a promising painter of landscapes that he began his career as an artist. In 1923, he enrolled in the famed Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien (Vienna Graphic Academy of Art) and studied under Alfred Cossmann. Starting with copper engraving, Eidenberger soon turned to etching on copper as his medium. His specialized studies and love for subtle color led him to the complicated process of multi-plate color etching. Eidenberger loved the natural colors and shapes of landscapes, especially the alpine scenery of his native Austria. These two subjects, city and village architecture, and landscapes, comprised the majority of his professional works. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, in oil paintings and etchings, he captured the essence of classic alpine landscapes and city architecture in numerous European countries. Medieval buildings and districts were a frequent subject of his work.

Die Tiroler Bracke skin for Hellriegel 1915 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrolean_Hound): The Tyrolean Hound is a breed of dog that originated in Tyrol (reference to the Hellriegel 1915's Tyrol skin) also called the Tiroler Bracke or Tyroler Bracke. They are scent hounds that descended from the Celtic hounds in the late 1800s, mainly for their hunting skills. They are hardworking, passionate, and independent dogs not known for their size, but rather their intelligence. For that reason, hunters can regularly use these dogs to catch their prey, wounded or otherwise. The Tyrolean Hound, also known as the Tyroler Bracke, is a breed of scent hound originally developed in the 1800s from the Bracke hounds and the Celtic hounds. It was first bred in Tyrol as a dog adapted to hunting in the snow. Emperor Maximilian I used this hound for hunting hare and fox and for tracking wounded game. Breeding began in 1860, and then in 1896 the first standard of breeding was published. Followed shortly thereafter, the Tyrolean Hound was recognized as their own breed in 1908. It was not until 2006, that the Tyrolean Hound was recognized by the United Kennel Club. As with dogs that come from hardworking scent hound breeds, the Tyrolean hound was bred for their hunting ability. The breed is known for their excellent ability in being able to maneuver through mountainous or heavily wooded areas, and for their amazing scenting skills.

Martini-Henry skins
Legendary: The Bloodhound, The Flaming Bullet, The Massoko
Distinguished: Glasgow, Kilimanjaro, Sari Bair Ridge, Zulu

Zulu skin for Martini-Henry (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martini%E2%80%93Henry): During the Martini–Henry's service life the British Army was involved in a large number of colonial wars, most notably the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879. The rifle was used in the Battle of Isandlwana, and by the company of the 2nd Battalion, 24th Regiment of Foot at the battle of Rorke's Drift, where 139 British soldiers successfully defended themselves against several thousand Zulus. The weapon was not completely phased out until 1904. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Zulu_War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, coupled with military campaigns, might succeed with the African Kingdoms, tribal areas and Boer republics in South Africa. In 1874, Sir Bartle Frere was sent to South Africa as High Commissioner for the British Empire to effect such plans. Among the obstacles were the armed independent states of the South African Republic and the Kingdom of Zululand. Frere, on his own initiative, sent a provocative ultimatum on 11 December 1878 to the Zulu king Cetshwayo and upon its rejection sent Lord Chelmsford to invade Zululand. The war is notable for several particularly bloody battles, including an opening victory of the Zulu at the Battle of Isandlwana, followed by the defence of Rorke's Drift by a small British force from attack by a large Zulu force. The British eventually won the war, ending Zulu dominance of the region. Film adaptations:
-Zulu (1964), the Battle at Rorke's Drift. -Zulu Dawn (1979), the Battle of Isandlwana.

Glasgow skin for Martini-Henry (https://www.vintageguns.co.uk/magazine/the-rifle-makers-of-scotland): After Alex Henry died, in 1894, the company started, like many others, to use generic Birmingham actions for many of its guns and rifles. While some fine rifles continued to be made in the twentieth century, Alex Henry’s heyday ended with the death of the founder. In 1902 the company was taken over by Alexander Martin of Glasgow. The Glasgow firm, which eventually too over Alex Henry, was founded in 1778 making various metal components, including gun parts and cutlery, it was not until 1835 the firm became ‘gun-makers’. By the 1850s Martin was making rifles and casting rifle barrels. With shops in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Bisley, The third generation of Alex Martin gained a reputation as a rifle maker in the late 19th and early 20th century, especially target rifles based on the common Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield military actions, as well as making breech loading rifles in .256 calibre. They also made and sold target rifle sights.

The Flaming Bullet skin for Martini-Henry (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martini%E2%80%93Henry): The Martini–Henry saw service in World War I in a variety of roles, primarily as a Reserve Arm, but it was also issued (in the early stages of the war) to aircrew for attacking observation balloons with newly developed incendiary ammunition, and aircraft. Martini–Henrys were also used in the African and Middle Eastern theatres during World War I, in the hands of Native Auxiliary troops. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.577/450_Martini%E2%80%93Henry Anti-airship cartridges. Prior to World War I, to combat the threat of Zeppelins it was determined that machine guns firing explosive or incendiary rounds were required to ignite the airship's gas. The bullet of the .303 British was too small to carry enough incendiary composition for the intended purpose, so the .577/450 round was adapted to the purpose and in 1914 the Cartridge S.A. Tracer Martini Henry Rifle and Machine Gun Mark I was introduced. This round used reclaimed drawn brass cases from rifle cartridges, firing a 270 gr (17 g) bullet made of a brass outer envelope containing 50 gr (3.2 g) of incendiary mix (20 parts potassium perchlorate and 7 parts aluminium) and 20 gr (1.3 g) of igniting mixture towards the tip. The cartridge was propelled by 47 gr (3.0 g) of cordite size 3 at a muzzle velocity of 2,150 ft/s (660 m/s). http://www.martinihenry.com/450577.htm Royal Laboratory Incendiary Mark I, 1914. Also referred to as "RL Flaming bullet". Used in Martini carbines for early air war against Zeppelins.

Sari Bair Ridge skin for Martini-Henry (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sari_Bair): The Battle of Sari Bair (Turkish: Sarı Bayır Harekâtı), also known as the August Offensive (Ağustos Taarruzları), represented the final attempt made by the British in August 1915 to seize control of the Gallipoli peninsula from the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. At the time of the battle, the Gallipoli Campaign had raged on two fronts – Anzac and Helles – for three months since the Allied land invasion of 25 April 1915. With the Anzac front locked in a tense stalemate, the Allies had attempted to carry the offensive on the Helles battlefield – at enormous cost and for little gain. In August, the British command proposed a new operation to reinvigorate the campaign by capturing the Sari Bair ridge, the high ground that dominated the middle of the Gallipoli peninsula above the Anzac landing. The main operation started on 6 August with a fresh landing 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Anzac at Suvla Bay in conjunction with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The Allies mounted an attack north into the rugged country alongside the Sari Bair range with the aim of capturing the high ground and linking with the Suvla landing. At Helles, the British and French were now to remain largely on the defensive. Once the battles of 21 August had finished, the front lines at Suvla and Anzac remained static for the remainder of the campaign. Localised fighting continued but no more major advances were attempted. Many soldiers suffered or perished due to the hostile conditions they endured as a result of their poor preparation and training. Disease transmitted by mosquitoes and the lack of fresh water and shelter hampered the efforts of the division as the men were too weak to fight to their best ability.

The Massoko skin for Martini-Henry (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schutztruppe): Schutztruppe (lit. Protection Force) was the official name of the colonial troops in the African territories of the German colonial empire from the late 19th century to 1918. Similar to other colonial armies, the Schutztruppen consisted of volunteer European commissioned and non-commissioned officers, medical and veterinary officers. Most enlisted ranks were recruited from indigenous communities within the German colonies or from elsewhere in Africa. Military contingents were formed in German East Africa, where they became famous as Askari, in the Kamerun colony of German West Africa, and in German South West Africa. German East Africa: At the outbreak of the First World War, the Schutztruppe in German East Africa was organised into 14 field companies (Feldkompanien) with 2,500 men under arms, with headquarters at the capital Dar es Salaam. Including carriers and labourers, the force had about 14,000 personnel. On 13 April 1914, Lieutenant Colonel Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck assumed command in German East Africa. He led his units throughout the First World War, eventually being promoted to Generalmajor. The Schutztruppe in East Africa became the last German formation to surrender – days after the armistice in November 1918. A pre-war company consisted of 160 (expandable to 200) men in three platoons (Züge) of 50 to 60 men each, including two machine-gun teams. Each of the 14 companies also had a minimum 250 man carrier contingent as well as native irregulars known as Ruga-Ruga, called Fita-Fita in German Samoa, of approximately the same size units. 5th Company: Massoko. https://digitalcollections.lib.uct.ac.za/collection/islandora-19512 Garnison-umgebungs-Karte von Massoko. Environmental map of the area surrounding the German garrison in the Masoko and Kilwa regions of German East Africa. The map shows the permanent military base, towns, mission stations, passable roads, footpaths, banana groves cultivated by the African people, banana groves in the grounds of the leprosy hospital, protected forest areas, the north western shoreline of Lake Nyasa, other lakes and dams, flowing and dry-bed rivers, hills and mountains.

Kilimanjaro skin for Martini-Henry (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kilimanjaro): Mount Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcano located in Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest single free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: 5,895 m (19,341 ft) above sea level and about 4,900 m (16,100 ft) above its plateau base. It is the highest volcano in Africa and the Eastern Hemisphere. In the 1880s, the mountain became a part of German East Africa and was called Kilima-Ndscharo in German following the Kiswahili name components. On 6 October 1889, Hans Meyer reached the highest summit on the crater ridge of Kibo. He named it Kaiser-Wilhelm-Spitze (Kaiser Wilhelm peak, reference to Gewehr 98's The Kaiser skin). That name was used until Tanzania was formed in 1964, when the summit was renamed Uhuru Peak, meaning freedom peak in Kiswahili. In June 1887, the Hungarian Count Sámuel Teleki and the Austrian Lieutenant Ludwig von Höhnel made an attempt to climb the mountain. Approaching from the saddle between Mawenzi and Kibo, Höhnel stopped at 4,950 m (16,240 ft), but Teleki continued until he reached the snow at 5,300 m (17,400 ft). Later in 1887, the German geology professor Hans Meyer reached the lower edge of the ice cap on Kibo, where he was forced to turn back because he lacked the equipment needed to progress across the ice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kilimanjaro The Battle of Kilimanjaro at Longido took place in German East Africa in November 1914 and was an early skirmish during the East African Campaign of the First World War. The British conquest of German East Africa was planned as a two-pronged invasion of the German colony, at the port town of Tanga and the settlement Longido on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. The plan was designed at a Mombasa staff conference with Major General Arthur Aitken in overall command.

The Bloodhound skin for Martini-Henry (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloodhound): The bloodhound is a large scent hound, originally bred for hunting deer, wild boar and, since the Middle Ages, for tracking people. Believed to be descended from hounds once kept at the Abbey of Saint-Hubert, Belgium, in French it is called, le chien de Saint-Hubert. This breed is famed for its ability to discern human scent over great distances, even days later. Its extraordinarily keen sense of smell is combined with a strong and tenacious tracking instinct, producing the ideal scent hound, and it is used by police and law enforcement all over the world to track escaped prisoners, missing people, and lost pets. References to Bloodhounds first appear in English writing in the early to mid-14th century, in contexts that suggest the breed was well established by then. It also seems that from the earliest times the Bloodhound was used to track people. There are stories written in medieval Scotland of Robert the Bruce (in 1307), and William Wallace (1270–1305) being followed by 'sleuth hounds'. When the first Bloodhounds were exported to the US is not known. Bloodhounds were used to track runaway slaves before the American Civil War, but it has been questioned whether the dogs used were genuine Bloodhounds. In Britain, there have been instances from time to time of the successful use of the Bloodhound to track criminals or missing people. However, man-trailing is enjoyed as a sport by British Bloodhound owners, through national working trials, and this enthusiasm has spread to Europe. In addition, while the pure Bloodhound is used to hunt singly, Bloodhound packs use Bloodhounds crossed with foxhounds to hunt the human scent.

Selbstlader 1906 skins
Legendary: Das Jagdschloss Rominten, The Hound of Mons, The Kaiserin
Distinguished: Charleroi, Die Walkure, Falkenhayn, Waitzrik

Das Jagdschloss Rominten skin for Selbstlader 1906 (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagdschloss_Rominten): Das Jagdschloss Rominten war das Jagdhaus von Kaiser Wilhelm II. in der Rominter Heide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rominten_Hunting_Lodge The Rominten Hunting Lodge (German: Jagdschloss Rominten) was the residence of Kaiser Wilhelm II (reference to Gewehr 98's The Kaiser skin) in the Rominter Heath in East Prussia. A small Norwegian Stave Church-style chapel dedicated to Saint Hubertus (the patron saint of hunting) was built in 1893, and Theerbude was renamed "Kaiserlich Rominten" (Imperial Rominten) on 13 September 1897. Over the following years, a youth hostel and an orphanage were built, and the village became a popular tourist resort. An "Empress-wing" (reference to Selbstlader 1906's The Kaiserin skin) was added to the lodge in 1904. Wilheim II spent several weeks each fall at Rominten and at his other retreats in Prökelwitz and Hubertusstock. Rominten had the distinction of being the place where he and his ministers made the most important decisions regarding improvements to the navy and ship-building. Government ministers would travel out to the lodge from Berlin. Most of Wilhelm's time at Rominten, however, was spent hunting. He and his entourage would rise at 5:00 each morning and be driven out to the forest. Standing on special platforms, they would wait for herders to drive deer and elk toward their positions. From 22 September to 2 October 1913, Wilhelm II visited the lodge for the last time. In his 23 years of hunting on the Rominter Heath, he had brought down 327 deer. After World War I, the Lodge remained the private property of Wilhelm II, although the exiled Kaiser would never return to Rominten.

The Kaiserin skin for Selbstlader 1906 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augusta_Victoria_of_Schleswig-Holstein): Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein (Auguste Viktoria Friederike Luise Feodora Jenny; 22 October 1858 – 11 April 1921) was the last German Empress and Queen of Prussia by marriage to Wilhelm II (reference to Gewehr 98's The Kaiser skin), German Emperor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Kaiserin SMS Kaiserin was the third vessel of the Kaiser class of dreadnought battleships of the Imperial German Navy. Kaiserin's keel was laid in November 1910 at the Howaldtswerke dockyard in Kiel. She was launched on 11 November 1911 and was commissioned into the fleet on 14 May 1913. Along with her four sister ships, Kaiser, Friedrich der Grosse, König Albert, and Prinzregent Luitpold, Kaiserin participated in all of the major fleet operations of World War I, including the Battle of Jutland (reference to the Battle of Jutland skins) on 31 May and 1 June 1916. The ship was also involved in Operation Albion, an amphibious assault on the Russian-held islands in the Gulf of Riga, in October 1917. She later saw action during the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in November 1917. After Germany's defeat in the war and the signing of the Armistice in November 1918, the Royal Navy interned Kaiserin and most of the capital ships of the High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow. The ships were disarmed and reduced to skeleton crews while the Allied powers negotiated the final version of the Treaty of Versailles. On 21 June 1919, the commander of the interned fleet, Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, ordered the fleet to be scuttled to ensure that the British would not be able to seize the ships.

Falkenhayn skin for Selbstlader 1906 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_von_Falkenhayn): General Erich Georg Sebastian Anton von Falkenhayn (11 September 1861 – 8 April 1922) was the second Chief of the German General Staff of the First World War from September 1914 until 29 August 1916. He was removed on 29 August 1916 after the failure at the Battle of Verdun (reference to the M1909 Benét-Mercié Verdun skin), the opening of the Battle of the Somme (reference to the Auto revolver's Somme skin), the Brusilov Offensive (reference to the Model 8 Autoloading's Brusilov skin) and the entry of Romania into the war on the Allied side undid his strategy to end the war before 1917. He was later given important field commands in Romania and Syria. His reputation as a war leader was attacked in Germany during and after the war, especially by the faction supporting Paul von Hindenburg. Falkenhayn held that Germany could not win the war by a decisive battle but would have to reach a compromise peace; his enemies said he lacked the resolve necessary to win a decisive victory. Falkenhayn's relations with the Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg (reference to Selbstlader M1916's The Chancellor skin) were troubled and undercut Falkenhayn's plans. Winston Churchill (reference to the C96 Pistol's Churchill skin) considered him to be the ablest of the German generals in World War I. Trevor Dupuy also ranked him near the top of the German commanders, just below Hindenburg and Ludendorff (reference to the C96 Pistol's Ludendorff skin).

Charleroi skin for Selbstlader 1906 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Charleroi): The Battle of Charleroi (French: Bataille de Charleroi) or the Battle of the Sambre, was fought on 21 August 1914, by the French Fifth Army and the German 2nd and 3rd armies, during the Battle of the Frontiers. The French were planning an attack across the Sambre River, when the Germans attacked first, forced back the French from the river and nearly cut off the French retreat by crossing the Meuse River (reference to the M1897 Shotgun's Meuse skin) around Dinant and getting behind the French right flank. The French were saved by a counter-attack at Dinant and the re-direction of the 3rd Army to the north-west in support of the 2nd Army, rather than south-west. By 20 August, the Fifth Army (General Charles Lanrezac) had begun to concentrate on a 40 km (25 mi) front along the Sambre, centred on Charleroi and extending east to the Belgian fortress of Namur. The Cavalry Corps (General André Sordet) covered the Fifth Army's left flank and the concentration of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) at Mons (reference to Selbstlader 1906's The Hound of Mons skin). The French had 15 divisions, after transfers of troops to Lorraine, facing 18 German divisions from the 2nd Army (General Karl von Bülow) and 3rd Army (Colonel-General Max von Hausen, reference to the Gewehr 98's von Hausen skin) moving south-west from Luxembourg towards the Meuse. On the morning of the 21st, the French Commander-in-Chief, the head of Grand Quartier Général (GQG), Joseph Joffre (reference to the RSC 1917's Papa Joffre skin), communicated to Lanrezac and to the BEF that German troops were moving west. Fighting continued on 23 August when the French centre around Charleroi began to fall back. The German army was victorious.

The Hound of Mons skin for Selbstlader 1906 (https://www.historicmysteries.com/hound-mons/): Angel of Mons: During the first monumental turn of the WW1, heavily outnumbered British troops set out to corner German soldiers at the Battle of Mons during 22-23 August 1914. A tedious fight followed. Although the Germans were thrown back, British soldiers sustained fatal wounds. In this difficult turn of events, everyone was looking for a ray of hope – a miracle. On 24th April 1915, the British Spiritualist magazine produced a column detailing the strange events that took place during the Battle of Mons, when several angels descended from the heavens, bows in their hands, to defend the British army. However, there was another tale, much more fearsome and sinister, that had developed in this little town. Hound of Mons Battlefield Mauling British Soldiers: A fascinating chronicle was published in 1919 by Canadian veteran F. J. Newhouse, describing the story of the gigantic otherworldly hound that mauled over British soldiers in No Man’s Land. The publishing claimed that this hound wasn’t your typical Hellhound or phantom, but the intentional creation of a horrific German experiment. The days of nightmare began on November 14, 1914, when Captain Yeskes and four associates from the London Fusiliers went to patrol the No Man’s Land. They never returned. After many days their cadavers were recovered, with teeth marks on their throats. Nights later a petrifying howl was heard from the darkness. For now, the Hound of Mons has to just take its position amongst the many myths and fictions of old battlefields.

Waitzrik skin for Selbstlader 1906 (https://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/review-of-military-encounters-with-extraterrestrials-by-frank-joseph): Review of "Military Encounters with Extraterrestrials" by Frank Joseph. The book under consideration today is Military Encounters with Extraterrestrials: The Real War of the Worlds, due out later this year. As for the book itself, it is a compendium of hearsay torn from the pages of tabloids. To give but one example: Joseph quotes Peter Waitzrik, who supposedly fought alongside the Red Baron in World War I, as claiming that the Baron shot down a UFO and that space aliens ran out. Even Joseph admits that the story doesn’t match the historical record, but he tries to rehabilitate it anyway, despite the fact that it was first published in the Weekly World News on August 11, 1998 (and later reprinted in 1999). “His appearance in a notorious American tabloid was enough for most historians to dismiss him as the perpetrator of an obvious hoax,” Joseph writes. But he said that Waitzrik only turned to the Weekly World News when no other paper would touch his story. Even though Waitzrik might have been a real person, the story from the Weekly World News is probably, at best, a “creative” interpretation of a very old man’s fantastical tall tales. https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/the-red-baron-the-great-war-and-ufos.html A recently published book – UFOs of the First World War – delves on the mysteries and paranormal sightings WWI soldiers and even the Red Baron himself encountered during the Great War a hundred years in the past. Nevertheless, Waitzrick waited eighty years after its occurrence before sharing the story, He was already 105 years old when he did open up about the encounter. The account made it into the pages of the Weekly World News August of 1999. But historians are doubtful with Waitzrick’s narration. According to them, it was not until months later after the encounter that the Fokker triplanes that the squadron were allegedly fighting when the incident occurred were put into operation service. That fact cast a shade on the WWI German pilot’s story.

Die Walkure skin for Selbstlader 1906 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Walk%C3%BCre): Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), WWV 86B, is the second of the four music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen (English: The Ring of the Nibelung). It was performed, as a single opera, at the National Theatre Munich on 26 June 1870, and received its first performance as part of the Ring cycle at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 14 August 1876. The story of Die Walküre is based on the Norse mythology told in the Völsunga saga and the Poetic Edda. In this version, the Volsung twins Sieglinde and Siegmund, separated in childhood, meet and fall in love. This union angers the gods, who demand that Siegmund must die. Sieglinde and the couple's unborn child are saved by the defiant actions of Wotan's (reference to the Selbstlader M1916's Odin skin) daughter, the title character, Valkyrie Brünnhilde, who as a result faces the gods' retribution. In accordance with this scheme, Wagner preceded Siegfried's Death (later Götterdämmerung (reference to the LMG 08/18's Götterdämmerung skin, The Twilight of the Gods)) with the story of Siegfried's youth, Young Siegfried, later renamed Siegfried (reference to the Heavy Tank'Siegfried skin). The well-known "Valkyrie" motif, used to introduce Brünnhilde in Act II, forms the basis of the famous Ride of the Valkyries that opens Act III. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ride_of_the_Valkyries The "Ride of the Valkyries" (German: Walkürenritt or Ritt der Walküren) refers to the beginning of act 3 of Die Walküre, the second of the four epic music dramas constituting Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. As a separate piece, the "Ride" is often heard in a purely instrumental version, which may be as short as three minutes. Together with the "Bridal Chorus" from Lohengrin (reference to the LMG 08/18's Lohengrin skin), the "Ride of the Valkyries" is one of Wagner's best-known pieces. The "Ride" features as diegetic music in Apocalypse Now (1979), where the 1/9 Air Cavalry squadron plays it on helicopter-mounted loudspeakers during their assault on a Viet Cong-controlled village as psychological warfare and to motivate their own troops.

Model 1900 skins
Legendary: Fismes, Fismette, The Smorgon
Distinguished: Devana, Sabaneyev

Devana skin for Model 1900 https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Model_1900_(Codex_Entry) in WW1 used hunting shotguns in a more or less official capacity, often for sentry duty. In Russia, weapons of virtually all types and manufacture were sold freely in hunting shops before the 1917 Revolution, and most people in rural areas had a rifle or shotgun in their homes. Due to the acute “rifle hunger” in the Russian Army for a large part of the war, one of the recommendations was; “to adapt to the needs of the army all shotguns in Russia must be available for firing buckshot at the Enemy”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devana Devana (Polish: Dziewanna, Latin: Dzewana), Zevana (Polish: Ziewanna), less often Zievonya (Polish: Ziewonja, Zewonia) is the goddess of wild nature, forests, hunting and the moon worshiped by the Western Slavs. In the sources, she was first mentioned in the 15th century by Jan Długosz, who compared her to the Roman goddess Diana. Dziewanna is also a Polish name for Verbascum, and the etymology of the word is unclear. After strong criticism from Aleksander Brückner, researchers rejected her authenticity, but nowadays it is accepted by an increasing number of researchers. Sometimes, in folk rituals, she performs together with Morana. There are several interpretations of Devana's name. The most obvious etymology are words such as dziewa, dziewka, "girl, young woman, maiden", and dziewica, "virgin", a word derived from the dziewa. This etymology can be supported by fact, that Diana (and Artemis – her greek equivalent) is usually depicted in myths as a virgin and has never had any offspring or a consort.

Sabaneyev skin for Model 1900 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonid_Sabaneyev): Leonid Leonidovich Sabaneyev or Sabaneyeff or Sabaneev (Russian: Леони́д Леони́дович Сабане́ев) (1 October 1881 – 3 May 1968) was a Russian musicologist, music critic, composer and scientist. He was the son of Leonid Pavlovich Sabaneyev, a famous hunting expert, and his brother Boris was also a musician. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonid_Pavlovich_Sabaneyev Leonid Pavlovich Sabaneyev (Леонид Павлович Сабанеев; 1844–1898) was a Russian zoologist who made extensive contributions to the study of hunting in Russia. He was on friendly terms with Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich and held the post of Stallmeister (stable master) at his court. Leonid P. Sabaneyev set up Hunter's Gazette (Охотничья газета) in 1888 and was the author of the enormously popular Hunter's Calendar featuring valuable practical information. His work Freshwater Fishes and Fishing in Russia (1875) is considered a minor classic. His correspondence with Charles Darwin, Ivan Turgenev, and Albert I of Monaco has been published. It was Sabaneyev who set up an exclusive hunting club in Moscow and conducted the first national survey of hunting.

The Smorgon skin for Model 1900 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smarhon%CA%B9): Smarhonʹ or Smorgonʹ (Belarusian: Смарго́нь; Russian: Сморгонь; Lithuanian: Smurgainys; Polish: Smorgonie; Yiddish: סמאָרגאָן) is a city in the Grodno Region (reference to the Russian 1895's Grodno skin) of Belarus. It was the site of Smarhonʹ air base, now mostly abandoned. Smarhoń is located 107 km from the capital, Minsk. https://www.belarus.by/en/travel/military-history-tourism/first-world-war The town of Smorgon has Belarus’ largest memorial to the heroes and victims of the First World War. It was built on the site of real events, becoming the first complex of such scale. The choice of place is symbolic: the town stood on the front line for more than two years - from September 1915 to February 1918. The town, which held ground for 810 days, was practically wiped off the face of the earth. Thousands died in the bloody battles for Smorgon. For example, just on one day of 25 September 1915, 3,500 Russian soldiers and about 5,500 Germans were killed here. After the war, the destroyed and scorched Smorgon began to be called a "dead town" as only about 150 inhabitants out of the pre-war 16,000 returned here. The movie "The Battalion” released in 2015 narrates about the tragic events on the front near Belarus’ Smorgon. It tells about the famous women's Death Battalion under the command of the legendary female officer Maria Bochkareva (reference to the Mosin-Nagant M91's The Bochkareva skin). It consisted of representatives of all walks of life: cadets, teachers, workers and peasants, Cossacks and soldiers, and women from the most noble families of the empire.

Fismes and Fismette skin for Model 1900 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fismes): Fismes is a commune in the Marne department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France. Apart from Fismes there are three hamlets: Fismette and Baslieux are continuations of the urban area of Fismes while Villette is in the east of the commune. The Vesle river flows through the commune from east to west with the Ruisseau du Moulin and the Ruisseau Saint-Marie flow from the north into the Vesle. Fismes was greatly affected by the First World War. The Germans invaded the city, then remained on the Chemin des Dames (reference to the Lebel Model 1886's Chemin des Dames skin) before they completely demolished the city in 1918. The Fismes Memorial site is located along the Vesle river, near the memorial bridge that was constructed with the help of the State of Pennsylvania. The Battle of Fismes and Fismette that occurred during World War I sparked a lasting friendship between the City of Fismes and the United States, particularly Pennsylvania. This bloody battle took place from August 3 to September 1, 1918 and was the last major German attack on the Allies during World War I. The 32nd American Division lost 2,000 men during its first attempt to cross the Vesle and attack the Germans. The 28th American Infantry Division, consisting of soldiers mostly from Pennsylvania, replaced the former division, forced the Germans to retreat, and proceeded to liberate Fismes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fismes_and_Fismette The Battle of Fismes and Fismette was a battle in Fismes, France that took place during the First World War from 3 August to 1 September 1918 during the end of the Second Battle of the Ourcq and the Aisne-Marne Offensive. The Second Battle of the Marne was the last major German attack on the Western Front during World War I. The purpose of the attack had been to end the conflict, and Erich Ludendorff (reference to the C96 Pistol's Ludendorff skin), Chief Quartermaster General, believed that an attack conducted through Flanders (reference to the Artillery Truck's Flanders skin) would give Germany the final victory that it needed. In order to hide his true intentions, Ludendorff set up a large diversionary attack along the Marne. The Battle of Fismes and Fismette is unique in the history of World War I because of the extreme violence and street fighting that occurred, as well as the presence of storm trooper attacks and flame throwers. All of this culminated in the total destruction of Fismes (around 90%), more than in the neighboring Reims. Over the course of just a month, Fismes would be lost and won again five times by the Allied forces.