Re: Interesting History Behind BF1 Weapon Skin Names?

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.

Bull Dog Revolver skins
Legendary: Beachy Bill, The Kid
Distinguished: Bighorn, Gambler

play on words (with "Bill"): Beachy Bill skin, Wild Bill (Gambler skin), Billy the Kid (The Kid skin), Buffalo Bill (Bighorn skin)?

Beachy Bill skin for Bull Dog Revolver (http://mideasti.blogspot.com/2015/05/may-5-1915-anzacs-first-meet-beachy-bill.html): The ANZACs who found themselves ashore at Gallipoli on April 25 soon realized that they were unable to get beyond the landing beaches due to strong Turkish positions on the ridgeline above, and they were subjected to constant shelling from artillery beyond the protective ridge. Stuck as sitting targets below, they named the hills and natural features around them. There were Gun Ridge, Battleship Hill, Baby 700, the Sphinx (remember they'd trained by the Sphinx) the Nek (an Afrikaans word, probably named by a Boer War veteran), and so on. One of the landing beaches was named Brighton Beach, presumably ironically. One such named location was "the Olive Grove," in a plain near Gaba Tepe, where a well-concealed Turkish artillery position was set up in a place from which it had a clear view of the ANZAC beaches. It could shell the beachhead at will and regularly did so, also dropping shells and shrapnel offshore where the ANZAC troops regularly swam to escape the heat of the Aegean summer. The Olive Grove position first came into action 100 years ago today. It would be a persistent threat to the beachhead right up to withdrawal months later, which took place under its gunnery. The Australian and New Zealand troops not only named the Olive Grove, they named the gun. They called it "Beachy Bill." They never got to meet him up close, but certainly felt his presence. (They speak generally of a single gun, though other guns in the vicinity contributed.) "Beachy" presumably refers to its threat to, and nearness to, the beaches.

Bighorn skin for Bull Dog Revolver (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Bull_Dog_revolver): The British Bull Dog was a popular type of solid-frame pocket revolver introduced by Philip Webley & Son of Birmingham, England, in 1872, and subsequently copied by gunmakers in continental Europe and the United States. The Bulldog was popular in Britain and America. US Army general, George Armstrong Custer, was said to have carried a pair at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. British Bull Dog revolvers were issued to employees of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company until 1895. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Little_Bighorn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes and the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army. The battle, which resulted in the defeat of U.S. forces, was the most significant action of the Great Sioux War of 1876. It took place on June 25–26, 1876, along the Little Bighorn River in the Crow Indian Reservation in southeastern Montana Territory. The fight was an overwhelming victory for the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho, who were led by several major war leaders, including Crazy Horse and Chief Gall, and had been inspired by the visions of Sitting Bull (Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake). The U.S. 7th Cavalry, a force of 700 men, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer (a brevetted major general during the American Civil War), suffered a major defeat. Five of the 7th Cavalry's twelve companies were wiped out and Custer was killed, as were two of his brothers, a nephew, and a brother-in-law. The total U.S. casualty count included 268 dead and 55 severely wounded (six died later from their wounds), 244  including four Crow Indian scouts and at least two Arikara Indian scouts.

The Kid skin for Bull Dog Revolver (https://www.guns.com/news/2013/04/22/british-bulldog-pocket-revolvers): In addition to the Garfield-Guiteau history, British Bulldogs found their way into the pockets and holsters of other famous characters. Gen. George Custer is rumored to have wielded a matched pair of ivory handled British Bulldog revolvers. A British Bulldog may also have fallen into the hands of William Bonney, aka Billy the Kid, by way of his first employer and mentor, John H. Tunstall. Whether this gun ever saw any dubious service remains for great speculation, but regardless, the little British Bulldogs were as well traveled as they were well loved. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_the_Kid Henry McCarty (September 17 or November 23, 1859 – July 14, 1881), alias William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, was an American outlaw and gunfighter of the Old West who is alleged to have killed 21 men before he was shot and killed at the age of 21. He is also known for his involvement in New Mexico's Lincoln County War, during which he allegedly committed three murders. Bonney's notoriety grew in December 1880 when the Las Vegas Gazette, in Las Vegas, New Mexico, and The Sun, in New York City, carried stories about his crimes. Sheriff Pat Garrett captured Bonney later that month. In April 1881, Bonney was tried for and convicted of Brady's murder, and was sentenced to hang in May of that year. He escaped from jail on April 28, killing two sheriff's deputies in the process, and evaded capture for more than two months. Garrett shot and killed Bonney, by then aged 21, in Fort Sumner on July 14, 1881. During the decades following his death, legends grew that Bonney had survived, and a number of men claimed to be him. Billy the Kid remains one of the most notorious figures from the era, whose life and likeness have been frequently dramatized in Western popular culture. He has been a feature of more than 50 movies and several television series.

Gambler skin for Bull Dog Revolver https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/British_Bulldog_(Codex_Entry) It has been argued that the British Bull Dog Revolver was the actual Gun That Won The West - a type of solid-frame pocket revolver that was immensely popular in the late 19th century. The Bull Dog is a short-barreled double-action revolver with a short grip and swing-out ejector, intended to be carried in a coat pocket. https://www.breachbangclear.com/bulldog-revolvers-baby-british/ There is a dark side to these little pistols though. While we can all watch a Western and be thrilled by seeing little revolvers like this come from corsets, garters, crotch holsters, and pockets of lawmen, gamblers, prostitutes and pimps, one of these pistols was involved in a presidential assassination. A .44 caliber Belgian-made British Bulldog revolver was used to murder U.S. President James A. Garfield. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Bill_Hickok James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837 – August 2, 1876), better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West known for his life on the frontier as a soldier, scout, lawman, cattle rustler, gunslinger, gambler, showman, and actor, and for his involvement in many famous gunfights. He earned a great deal of notoriety in his own time, much of it bolstered by the many outlandish and often fabricated tales he told about himself. Some contemporaneous reports of his exploits are known to be fictitious, but they remain the basis of much of his fame and reputation. He fought and spied for the Union Army during the American Civil War and gained publicity after the war as a scout, marksman, actor, and professional gambler. He was involved in several notable shootouts during the course of his life. In 1876, Hickok was shot and killed while playing poker in a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory (present-day South Dakota) by Jack McCall, an unsuccessful gambler. The hand of cards which he supposedly held at the time of his death has become known as the dead man's hand: two pairs; black aces and eights. https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Clyde_Blackburn Clyde Blackburn is an American character featured in the campaign of Battlefield 1. "My name is Clyde Blackburn. I'm a pilot and a gambler. If you ask me to name my biggest fault, I'd have to tell you I'm just not a very honest person." — Blackburn describing himself at the beginning of Friends In High Places.

lMG 08/18 skins
Legendary: Der Sturm, Die Zauberflöte, Franz Marc
Distinguished: Götterdämmerung, Lohengrin
Special: Danzig Trench, Hohenzollern, Kaisers Ridge, Würdigung

Franz Marc skin for lMG 08/18 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Marc): Franz Moritz Wilhelm Marc (8 February 1880 – 4 March 1916) was a German painter and printmaker, one of the key figures of German Expressionism. He was a founding member of Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider), a journal whose name later became synonymous with the circle of artists collaborating in it.
His mature works mostly are animals, and are known for bright colors. He was drafted to serve in the German Army at the beginning of World War I, and died two years later at the Battle of Verdun (reference to the M1909 Benét-Mercié's Verdun skin). When up for auction, his major paintings attract large sums, with a record of £42,654,500 for Die Füchse (The Foxes). With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Marc was drafted into the Imperial German Army as a cavalryman. By February 1916, as shown in a letter to his wife, he had gravitated to military camouflage. His technique for hiding artillery from aerial observation was to paint canvas covers in broadly pointillist style. He took pleasure in creating a series of nine such tarpaulin covers in styles varying "from Manet to Kandinsky", suspecting that the latter could be the most effective against aircraft flying at 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) or higher. By 1916, he had been promoted to lieutenant and awarded the Iron Cross. After mobilization of the German Army, the government identified notable artists to be withdrawn from combat for their own safety. Marc was on the list but was struck in the head and killed instantly by a shell splinter during the Battle of Verdun in 1916 before orders for reassignment could reach him.

Der Sturm skin for lMG 08/18 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Sturm): Der Sturm (transl. The Storm) was a German avant-garde art and literary magazine founded by Herwarth Walden, covering Expressionism, Cubism, Dada and Surrealism, among other artistic movements. It was published between 1910 and 1932. Der Sturm was established in Berlin in 1910 by Herwarth Walden. It ran weekly from 1910 to 1914, monthly from 1914 to 1924, and quarterly until it ceased publication in 1932. From 1916 to 1928, it was edited by the artist and Bauhaus teacher Lothar Schreyer. The best known publications resulting from the magazine were the Sturmbücher (storm-books), (e.g. Sturmbücher 1 and 2 were works of August Stramm (reference to the M1917 Trench Carbine's Stramm skin) – Sancta Susanna und Rudimentär). Postcards were also created featuring the expressionistic, cubist, and abstract art of Franz Marc (reference to the lMG 08/18's Franz Marc skin), Wassily Kandinsky, Oskar Kokoschka, August Macke, Gabriele Münter, Georg Schrimpf, Maria Uhden, Rudolf Bauer and others. The term Sturm was branded by Walden to represent the way in which modern art was penetrating Germany at the time. Particularly in the time before outbreak of the World War I, Der Sturm played a crucial role in the French-German exchange of expressionist artists, which led to a special relationship between Berlin and Paris. Regularly, poems and other texts of French and/or French-speaking expressionists were published (Guillaume Apollinaire (reference to the RSC SMG's Apollinaire skin), Blaise Cendrars, etc.). This relationship was renewed after the war despite the hostilities between the two countries caused by the fighting. The magazine also fostered the Galerie Der Sturm, started by Walden to celebrate its 100th edition, in 1912. The gallery became the focus for Berlin's modern art scene for a decade. Starting with an exhibition of Fauves and Der Blaue Reiter, followed by the introduction in Germany of the Italian Futurists, Cubists and Orphists, the gallery was to exhibit Edvard Munch, Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Jean Metzinger, Albert Gleizes, Robert Delaunay, Gino Severini, Jean Arp, Paul Klee (reference to the Parabellum MG14/17's Paul Klee skin), Wassily Kandinsky, Serge Charchoune and Kurt Schwitters.

Danzig Trench skin for lMG 08/18 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_Mametz): The Capture of Mametz (reference to the M1917 Enfield's Mametz skin) took place on 1 July 1916, when the British Fourth Army attacked the German 2nd Army on the Western Front, during the first day of the Battle of the Somme (reference to the Auto Revolver's Somme skin). Mametz is a village on the D 64 road, about 20 mi (32 km) north-east of Amiens and 4 mi (6.4 km) east of Albert. Mametz Wood is 1,000 yd (910 m) to the north-west and before 1914, the village was the fifth largest in the area, with about 120 houses and had a station on the line from Albert to Péronne. Battle, 1 July: The left-hand battalion of the 91st Brigade had already worked forward into the east end of Mametz and the reinforcements were formed into four lines, to advance after a thirty-minute bombardment at 3:30 p.m. but before they reached Shrine Alley, about 200 German soldiers appearing from The Shrine and the village surrendered, a larger number having earlier retreated towards Mametz Wood. Danzig Trench (South) was cleared and Hidden Wood occupied, with far fewer losses than in the first attack by the 20th Brigade during the morning. https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Nivelle_Nights Nivelle Nights is a map added to Battlefield 1: They Shall Not Pass during the June Update. Conquest flags: -Saint Berthe (reference to the RSC SMG's Saint Berthe skin), -Danzig Trench, ... . Danzig Trench: A German position marked by a trio of searchlights scanning for aircraft, the objective is a bunker housing generators and banks of electrical equipment, protected by the elements by a log roof. The capture zone is concentrated around the central pit where the generators are, but also extends northwards to include the central parapet housing the spotlights, and the reverse slope at the bottom of which is the frontline trench. The German Illumination Flare launcher is along the trenches to the east, outside the middle of the three pillboxes constructed about the area.

Kaisers Ridge skin for lMG 08/18 (https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Argonne_Forest): The Argonne Forest is a multiplayer map featured in Battlefield 1. This infantry-focused map takes place during the opening phase of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive of late 1918. Conquest flags: -Hellfire Junction Bridge (reference to the M1917 Enfield's Hellfire Junction skin), -Kaisers Ridge, ... . Kaiser's Ridge: Kaiser's Ridge is a fortified position situated on a low hill, recently shelled due to the presence of flaming debris and uprooted trees. A line of trenches covers the south slope, with another, wider line on the lip of the ridge on which the capture zone is concentrated. Two pillboxes at either end of this line are constructed defend the southwest and northeast approaches. The other side of the ridge lacks any fortifications, falling into a crevice that loops around the crag between the ridge and the Abbey Ruin. A tunnel through the rock face grants a more direct route. An FK 96 is set up to the southwest of the flag, right next to the railway line.

Hohenzollern skin for lMG 08/18 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Hohenzollern): The House of Hohenzollern (German: Haus Hohenzollern; Romanian: Casa de Hohenzollern) is a formerly royal German (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire, and Romania. The family came from the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the late 11th century and took their name from Hohenzollern Castle. The Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia were ruled in personal union after 1618 and were called Brandenburg-Prussia. From there, the Kingdom of Prussia was created in 1701, eventually leading to the unification of Germany and the creation of the German Empire in 1871, with the Hohenzollerns as hereditary German Emperors and Kings of Prussia. Germany's defeat in World War I in 1918 led to the German Revolution. The Hohenzollerns were overthrown and the Weimar Republic was established, thus bringing an end to the German and Prussian monarchy. As a result of the World War I, the German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires ceased to exist. In 1918, the German empire was abolished and replaced by the Weimar Republic. After the outbreak of the German revolution in 1918, both Emperor William II (reference to Gewehr 98's The Kaiser skin) and Crown Prince William (reference to the Selbstlader M1916's Kronprinz skin) signed the document of abdication. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hohenzollern_Redoubt The Hohenzollern Redoubt (Hohenzollernwerk) was a strongpoint of the German 6th Army on the Western Front during the First World War, at Auchy-les-Mines near Loos-en-Gohelle in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. Named after the House of Hohenzollern, the redoubt was fought for by German and British forces. Engagements took place from the Battle of Loos (25 September – 14 October 1915) to the beginning of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916, including the action of the Hohenzollern Redoubt in 1915 and the British Attack at the Hohenzollern Redoubt from 2 to 18 March 1916.

Die Zauberflöte skin for lMG 08/18 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magic_Flute): The Magic Flute (German: Die Zauberflöte), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form during the time it was written that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on 30 September 1791 at Schikaneder's theatre, the Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna, just two months before the composer's premature death. The allegorical plot was influenced by Schikaneder and Mozart's interest in Freemasonry and concerns the initiation of Prince Tamino. Enlisted by the Queen of the Night to rescue her daughter Pamina from the high priest Sarastro, Tamino comes to admire the high ideals of the latter and he and Pamina both join Sarastro's community, while the Queen and her allies are vanquished. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magic_Flute_(2006_film) The Magic Flute is a 2006 romantic fantasy film directed by Kenneth Branagh, adapted from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's singspiel Die Zauberflöte. An international co-production between France and the United Kingdom, it was produced by Idéale Audience and in association with UK's Peter Moores Foundation. As part of the 250th anniversary celebration of Mozart's birthday, a new film version of The Magic Flute, set during World War I, was made, directed by Kenneth Branagh, with a translation by Stephen Fry. The story, which has been updated to a World War I setting, follows the structure of the original opera libretto. Tamino is sent by the Queen of the Night to rescue her daughter Pamina after Sarastro has apparently kidnapped her. His sidekick is Papageno, a man who uses underground pigeons to check for poison gas. Sarastro, in charge of a field hospital, is Pamina's father.

Götterdämmerung skin for lMG 08/18 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6tterd%C3%A4mmerung): Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), WWV 86D, is the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four music dramas titled Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung, or The Ring Cycle or The Ring for short). It received its premiere at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 17 August 1876, as part of the first complete performance of the whole work. The title is a translation into German of the Old Norse phrase Ragnarök, which in Norse mythology refers to a prophesied war among various beings and gods that ultimately results in the burning, immersion in water, and renewal of the world. As with the rest of the Ring, however, Wagner's account diverges significantly from these Old Norse sources. The historian John Roberts suggested that the killing of Siegfried (reference to the Heavy Tank's Siegfried skin) by Hagen with a stab in the back gave inspiration for the myth that the German Army did not lose World War I, but was instead defeated by a treasonous "stab in the back" from civilians, in particular Jews and Socialists. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stab-in-the-back_myth The stab-in-the-back myth (German: Dolchstoßlegende, lit. 'dagger-stab legend') was an antisemitic conspiracy theory that was widely believed and promulgated in Germany after 1918. It maintained that the Imperial German Army did not lose World War I on the battlefield, but was instead betrayed by certain citizens on the home front—especially Jews, revolutionary socialists who fomented strikes and labor unrest, and other republican politicians who had overthrown the House of Hohenzollern (reference to the lMG 08/18's Hohenzollern skin) in the German Revolution of 1918–1919. Advocates of the myth denounced the German government leaders who had signed the Armistice of 11 November 1918 as the "November criminals" (November­verbrecher). Historians inside and outside of Germany unanimously reject the myth, pointing out that the Imperial German Army was out of reserves, was being overwhelmed by the entrance of the United States into the war, and had already lost the war militarily by late 1918. Wagnerian allusions: To some Germans, the idea of a "stab in the back" was evocative of Richard Wagner's 1876 opera Götterdämmerung, in which Hagen murders his enemy Siegfried – the hero of the story – with a spear in his back. In Hindenburg's memoirs, he compared the collapse of the German army to Siegfried's death.

Lohengrin skin for lMG 08/18 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lohengrin_(opera) Lohengrin, WWV 75, is a Romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach, and its sequel Lohengrin, itself inspired by the epic of Garin le Loherain. It is part of the Knight of the Swan legend. The opera has inspired other works of art. King Ludwig II of Bavaria named his castle Neuschwanstein Castle after the Swan Knight. It was King Ludwig's patronage that later gave Wagner the means and opportunity to complete, build a theatre for, and stage his epic cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen. He had discontinued composing it at the end of Act II of Siegfried (reference to the Heavy Tank's Siegfried skin), the third of the Ring tetralogy, to create his radical chromatic masterpiece of the late 1850s, Tristan und Isolde, and his lyrical comic opera of the mid-1860s, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. The most popular and recognizable part of the opera is the Bridal Chorus, colloquially known in English-speaking countries as "Here Comes the Bride," usually played as a processional at weddings. https://operatoday.com/2010/12/december_at_los_angeles_opera_lohengrin_and_rigoletto/ Placido Domingo’s initial year as General Director of Los Angeles Opera began shortly after the terrible events of September 11, 2001, with a new production of Lohengrin. That production was scrapped this season for a new one directed by Lydia Steier, with scenery and costumes by Dirk Hofacker. In Steier’s vision, the action took place in an era reminiscent of World War I, in the ruined shell of a building vaguely governmental or cathedral-like. On a turntable, the set revolved sometimes to place action just outside the over-sized doors to the ruin. Steir has a background in choreography, which was evident in the stylized movement of the Brabant populace — the men either shell-shocked (reference to the M1917 Enfield's Shellshock skin) or brutes in uniform, and the women nurses or easy prey for the sexual aggression of the soldiers. In the opening scene, shadow-lit behind a tent, a doctor amputates a leg and seemingly loses the patient — while a nurse brings out the severed appendage for disposal, another nurse inside the tent places a blanket over the body. After Friedrich of Telramund makes his accusation of fratricide against Elsa, it is from this tent that Lohengrin emerges — in soldier’s uniform, with silver-plating from the knee down on one leg.

Würdigung skin for lMG 08/18: Was is das oder triple question mark ??? https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auszeichnung_(Ehrung) Auszeichnung (Ehrung): Unter einer Auszeichnung, oft auch Preis, wird eine Ehrung oder Würdigung verstanden, die eine Person, Gruppe, Organisation oder ein Unternehmen für herausragende Leistungen in einem bestimmten Bereich erhält. Viele Auszeichnungen honorieren die Bereiche Sport, Kunst, Kultur, Wissenschaft, Wirtschaft oder bürgerschaftliches Engagement. Die Auszeichnungen umfassen Preise (engl. Awards) aller Art, Ehrenzeichen und Orden, Titel oder andere Würdigungen.

C96 Skins
Legendary: The Box Cannon, Teutonic Fury
Distinguished: Churchill, Ludendorff
Other: His Lordship

The Box Cannon skin for C96 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauser_C96): The Mauser C96 (Construktion 96) is a semi-automatic pistol that was originally produced by German arms manufacturer Mauser from 1896 to 1937. Unlicensed copies of the gun were also manufactured in Spain and China in the first half of the 20th century. The grip earned the gun the nickname "broomhandle" in the English-speaking world, and in China the C96 was nicknamed the "box cannon" (Chinese: 盒子炮; pinyin: hézipào) because of its rectangular internal magazine and because it could be holstered in its wooden box-like detachable stock. During the Warlord Era in China, European embargoes on exporting rifles to Chinese warlords meant that the C96 became a mainstay of the period's armies, and the basic form of the pistol was extensively copied. Chinese communist general, Zhu De, carried a Mauser C96 during his Nanchang Uprising and later conflicts; his gun (with his name printed on it) is in the Beijing war museum. The most common and popular pistol in China since the beginning of the Republic in 1909, was the Mauser C96, called the "Box Cannon" (盒子炮) in Chinese. It was imported from Germany and Spain (Astra 900 and MM31), but mostly produced locally in various arsenals, the larger being in Hanyang (reference to the General Liu's Hanyang Arsenal skin), Shanghai, Gongxian, Shanxi. They were often used with a detachable shoulder stock. Hanyang alone produced around 13,000 copies.

Churchill skin for C96 https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/C96_Pistol_(Codex_Entry) With its impressive performance and the option of an attachable shoulder stock, the C96 quickly became popular on the civilian market. It was initially offered to the German Army which was not interested, but by the late 19th century the C96 had already been adopted by the Italian Navy, and the Russian and Turkish Armies. It first saw military action in the Second Boer War of 1899 to 1902, where a young Winston Churchhill carried a C96, and claimed it saved his life. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauser_C96 Winston Churchill was fond of the Mauser C96 and used one at the 1898 Battle of Omdurman and during the Second Boer War; Lawrence of Arabia carried a Mauser C96 for a period, during his time in the Middle East. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955. Of mixed English and American parentage, Churchill was born in Oxfordshire to the wealthy Spencer aristocratic family. He joined the British Army in 1895 and saw action in British India, the Anglo-Sudan War, and the Second Boer War, later gaining fame as a war correspondent and writing books about his campaigns. As First Lord of the Admiralty during the First World War, he oversaw the Gallipoli Campaign but, after it proved a disaster, he was demoted to Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. He resigned in November 1915 and joined the Royal Scots Fusiliers on the Western Front for six months. In 1917, he returned to government under David Lloyd George and served successively as Minister of Munitions, Secretary of State for War, Secretary of State for Air, and Secretary of State for the Colonies, overseeing the Anglo-Irish Treaty and British foreign policy in the Middle East. Although he has been criticised for some wartime events and for his imperialist views, Churchill is generally seen as a victorious wartime leader who played an important role in defending liberal democracy against the spread of fascism. Historians often rank Churchill as the greatest prime minister in British history.

Ludendorff skin for C96 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_Ludendorff): Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (9 April 1865 – 20 December 1937) was a German general, politician and military theorist. He achieved fame during World War I for his central role in the German victories at Liège (reference to the Gewehr 98's Liege skin) and Tannenberg (reference to the Madsen MG's Tannenberg skin) in 1914. Following his appointment as First Quartermaster-general (German: Erster Generalquartiermeister) of the Imperial Army's Great General Staff in 1916, he became the chief policymaker in a de facto military dictatorship that dominated Germany for the rest of the war. By 1904, he had rapidly risen in rank to become a member of the Army's Great General Staff, where he oversaw the development of the Schlieffen Plan (reference to the Gewehr 98's von Schlieffen skin). Despite being temporarily removed from the Great General Staff for meddling in German politics, Ludendorff restored his standing in the army through his success as a commander in World War I. On 16 August 1914, he led the successful German assault on Liège, a feat for which he earned the Pour le Mérite. Upon being transferred to the Eastern Front under the command of General Paul von Hindenburg, Ludendorff was instrumental in inflicting a series of crushing defeats against the Russians, including at Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes. By 29 August 1916, he had successfully lobbied for Hindenburg's appointment as Supreme Commander of the German Army as well as his own promotion to Quartermaster General of the army high command. Once he and Hindenburg had established what some authors describe as a de facto military dictatorship, Ludendorff directed Germany's entire military strategy and war effort until the end of the conflict. In this capacity, he secured Russia's defeat in the east and launched a new wave of offensives on the Western Front resulting in advances not seen since the war's outbreak. However, by the end of 1918, all improvements in Germany's fortunes were reversed after its forces' decisive defeat in the Second Battle of the Marne (reference to he Model 10's The Rock of the Marne skin) and the Allies' Hundred Days Offensive. Faced with the war effort's collapse and a growing popular revolution, the German Emperor, Wilhelm II (reference to the Gewehr 98's The Kaiser skin), forced Ludendorff to resign.

Teutonic Fury skin for C96 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furor_Teutonicus): Furor Teutonicus ("Teutonic Fury") is a Latin phrase referring to the proverbial ferocity of the Teutons, or more generally, of the Germanic tribes of the Roman Empire period. Generally, the original expression is attributed to the Roman poet Lucan (d. AD 65). It occurs for the first time in his work, Bellum civile/Pharsalia. Lucan used the term to describe what he believed to be the outstanding characteristic of the Celtic/Germanic called the Teutones: a mad, merciless, berserk rage in battle. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34981198-united-states-marine-corps-in-the-first-world-war United States Marine Corps in the First World War: Anthology, Selected Bibliography, and Annotated Order of Battle by Annette D Amerman (1917). THE BATTLES OF BELLEAU WOODS (reference to the M1903's Belleau Wood skin): PART II by Lieutenant Colonel Ernst Otto, German Army (Ret). The question here might suggest itself: how can it be explained that the Germans, after fighting off with unheard of bravery continuous American attacks for seven days, should have been overwhelmed in hand-to-hand fighting in the comparatively short time of two days, as soon as the Americans had forced their way into the forest? The question is the more pertinent and the success of the Americans the more creditable because it had been common knowledge that it was precisely in hand-to-hand fighting that the German was an exceptionally redoubtable foe. It had been repeatedly demonstrated during the long course of the World War that, due to the Furor Teutonicus* once dreaded by the Romans, the Germans were so superior to the French and the Russians in this form of combat—and what is more important, felt themselves so superior— that it was only when the French and Russians outnumbered them that they dared meet the Germans at close quarters. * Latin for Teutonic Fury and refers to the ferocity of the Germanic tribes during the Roman Empire.

His Lordship skin for C96: tripple question mark (???) To unlock C96 – His Lordship skin, you need to complete Through Mud and Blood campaign mission and its Field Manuals and its Codex Entries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_heavy_tanks_of_the_First_World_War The Mark I was a development of Little Willie, the experimental tank built for the Landship Committee by Lieutenant Walter Wilson of the Royal Naval Air Service (reference to the Farquhar-Hill's RNAS skin) and William Tritton of William Foster Co., between July and September 1915. The prototype Mark I, ready in December 1915, was called "Mother" (also known at various times as "The Wilson Machine", "Big Willie", and officially "His Majesty's Land Ship Centipede"). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landship_Committee The Landship Committee was a small British committee formed during the First World War to develop armoured fighting vehicles for use on the Western Front. The eventual outcome was the creation of what is now called the tank. Established in February 1915 by First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill (reference to the C96's Churchill skin), the Committee was composed mainly of naval officers, politicians and engineers.

RSC SMG Skins
Legendary: Le Chat Noir, Loup Garou, The Ossuary
Distinguished: Apollinaire, Duriez
Special: Ancre, Cravançon, en Mémoire, Saint Berthe

Apollinaire skin for RSC SMG (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillaume_Apollinaire): Guillaume Apollinaire (26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist, and art critic of Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of the early 20th century, as well as one of the most impassioned defenders of Cubism and a forefather of Surrealism. He is credited with coining the term "Cubism" in 1911 to describe the emerging art movement, the term Orphism in 1912, and the term "Surrealism" in 1917 to describe the works of Erik Satie. He wrote poems without punctuation attempting to be resolutely modern in both form and subject. Two years after being wounded in World War I, Apollinaire died during the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 and was recognized as "Fallen for France" (Mort pour la France) because of his commitment during the war. Apollinaire served as an infantry officer in World War I and, in 1916, received a serious shrapnel wound to the temple, from which he would never fully recover. He wrote Les Mamelles de Tirésias while recovering from this wound. During this period he coined the word "Surrealism" in the programme notes for Jean Cocteau's and Erik Satie's ballet Parade, first performed on 18 May 1917. The war-weakened Apollinaire died at the age of 38 on 9 November 1918 of influenza during the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 ravaging Europe at the time, two years after being wounded in World War I. Shortly after his death, Mercure de France published Calligrammes (reference to the Chauchat's Calligrammes skin), a collection of his concrete poetry (poetry in which typography and layout adds to the overall effect), and more orthodox, though still modernist poems informed by Apollinaire's experiences in the First World War and in which he often used the technique of automatic writing.

Duriez skin for RSC SMG (https://www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-legion) The Foreign Legion was serving in Morocco when the First World War erupted. Five march regiments were formed and then reorganised into a single regiment on 11 November 1915 due to severe losses to create the RMLE or the Foreign Legion Marching Regiment. Colonel Rollet, who took command of the RMLE after the death of Colonel Duriez, killed leading his men, returned from four years at war with the most decorated flag of the French army with that of the Colonial Infantry Regiment of Morocco. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4330766/Life-French-soldier-WWI-revealed-stark-images.html The horrors of the First World War trenches has been brought to life in a stunning set of colour photographs. The images colourised by graphic artist Frédéric Duriez reveal the daily lives of beleaguered French soldiers. They can be seen sharing meals, marching through blitzed towns and carrying bodies across the battlefields.

The Ossuary skin for RSC SMG (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ossuary): An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the skeletal remains are removed and placed in an ossuary ("os" is "bone" in Latin). The greatly reduced space taken up by an ossuary means that it is possible to store the remains of many more people in a single tomb than in coffins. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douaumont_Ossuary The Douaumont Ossuary (French: Ossuaire de Douaumont, reference to the Sjögren inertial Shotgun's Douaumont skin) is a memorial containing the skeletal remains of soldiers who died on the battlefield during the Battle of Verdun (reference to the M1909 Benét-Mercié's Verdun skin) in World War I. It is located in Douaumont-Vaux, France, within the Verdun battlefield, and immediately next to the Fleury-devant-Douaumont National Necropolis. During the 300 days of the Battle of Verdun (21 February 1916 – 19 December 1916) approximately 230,000 men died out of a total of 700,000 casualties (dead, wounded and missing). The battle became known in German as Die Hölle von Verdun (English: The Hell of Verdun), or in French as L'Enfer de Verdun, and was conducted on a battlefield covering less than 20 square kilometers (7.7 sq mi). The ossuary is a memorial containing the remains of both French and German soldiers who died on the Verdun battlefield. Through small outside windows, the skeletal remains of at least 130,000 unidentified combatants of both nations can be seen filling up alcoves at the lower edge of the building. On the inside of the ossuary building, the ceiling and walls are partly covered by plaques bearing names of French soldiers who died during the Battle of Verdun. The families of the soldiers that are recognized here by name contributed for those individual plaques. In front of the monument, and sloping downhill, lies the largest single French military cemetery of the First World War with 16,142 graves.

Saint Berthe skin for RSC SMG (https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Nivelle_Nights): Nivelle Nights is a map added to Battlefield 1: They Shall Not Pass during the June Update. Conquest Flags: -Saint Berthe, -Danzig Trench (reference to the LMG 08/18's Danzig Trench skin), ... . Saint Berthe is a destroyed church located to the south of the map. Suffering severe damage from bombing, almost nothing of the church remains except its columns. The center of the church features a makeshift road running through it, separating the church to the north and south with the flag sitting toward the center. The south end of the church is largely exposed compared to the north, with only stone columns remaining. Compared to the north, however, it features higher ground due to built up debris, allowing for a better vantage point against the north end. The north end of the church is largely undamaged in comparison, with the roof having been destroyed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_La_Malmaison The Battle of La Malmaison (Bataille de la Malmaison) from 23 to 27 October, was the final French action of the 1917 campaign in the First World War, which had begun with the Nivelle Offensive. The French captured the village and fort of La Malmaison and took control of the Chemin des Dames (reference to the Lebel Model 1886's Chemin des Dames skin) ridge. Battle, 25–27 October: On 25 October, Pinon was captured with 600 prisoners, Pinon and Rosay forests were entered and Rosay Farm was occupied, as XI Corps attacked from the Chemin-des-Dames ridge, to east of the Malmaison plateau and captured the farms of St. Martin and Chapelle Ste. Berthe to the south of Filain. The French then overran the Tonnerre and Charbon quarries, crossed the Bovettes ravine and ascended the slope from Many Farm to capture Pargny-Filain. The German defenders were eventually forced back, beyond the Bassin d'alimentation on the Monampteuil Heights.

Ancre skin for RSC SMG (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancre): The Ancre is a river of Picardy, France. Rising at Miraumont, a hamlet near the town of Albert, it flows into the Somme (reference to the Auto Revolver's Somme skin) at Corbie. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Ancre_Heights The Battle of the Ancre Heights (1 October – 11 November 1916), is the name given to the continuation of British attacks after the Battle of Thiepval Ridge from 26 to 28 September during the Battle of the Somme. The battle was conducted by the Reserve Army (renamed Fifth Army on 29 October) from Courcelette near the Albert–Bapaume (reference to the MG15 N.A's Bapaumes skin) road, west to Thiepval on Bazentin Ridge (reference to Madsen MG's The Bazentin Ridge skin). British possession of the heights would deprive the German 1st Army of observation towards Albert to the south-west and give the British observation north over the Ancre valley to the German positions around Beaumont-Hamel, Serre and Beaucourt. The Reserve Army conducted large attacks on 1, 8, 21, 25 October and from 10 to 11 November. Many smaller attacks were made in the intervening periods, amid interruptions caused by frequent heavy rain, which turned the ground and roads into rivers of mud and grounded aircraft. German forces in footholds on the ridge, at the east end of Staufen Riegel (Regina Trench, reference to the Huot Automatic Rifle's Regina skin) and in the remaining parts of Schwaben-Feste (Schwaben Redoubt, reference to the Gewehr 98's Schwaben-Feste skin) to the north and Stuff Redoubt (Staufen-Feste) north-east of Thiepval, fought a costly defensive battle with numerous counter-attacks and attacks, which delayed the British capture of the heights for more than a month. From 29 October – 9 November, British attacks were postponed due to more poor weather, before the capture of 1,000 yd (910 m) of the eastern end of Regina Trench by the 4th Canadian Division on 11 November. Fifth Army operations resumed in the Battle of the Ancre (13–18 November). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Ancre The Battle of the Ancre (13–18 November 1916), was fought by the British Fifth Army (Lieutenant-General Hubert Gough), against the German 1st Army (General Fritz von Below). The Reserve Army had been renamed the Fifth Army on 30 October. The battle was the last of the big British attacks of the Battle of the Somme.

Cravançon skin for RSC SMG (https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Soissons): Soissons is a map featured in the Battlefield 1: They Shall Not Pass expansion. It takes place in the Allied counter-offensive of the Second Battle of the Marne during the Battle of Soissons in 1918. Conquest flags: -Cravançon Watermill, ... . Cravançon Watermill: Connected to the stream that flows through the map, the watermill features a large house with a water wheel, giving the flag its name. Across a small courtyard, which contains a wagon and a wheelbarrow for cover, is a small, single-room building and a large barn. The area is enclosed to the south and west by a reinforced embankment. The roads leading north cross through a gully and underneath a patch of trees, one of which houses a multi-tiered observation post in its high branches. A stone bridge crosses the steam from the east. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Soissons_(1918) The Battle of Soissons (1918) (also known as the Battle of the Soissonnais and of the Ourcq (French: Bataille du Soissoinais et de L'Ourcq)) was a battle fought on the Western Front during World War I. Waged from 18 to 22 July 1918 between the French (with American and British assistance) and the German armies, the battle was part of the much larger Allied Aisne-Marne counter-offensive. It followed the final German Spring Offensive (reference to MP18's The Kaiserschlacht skin), Operation Marneschutz-Reims (also known as the Friedensturm or peace offensive). The primary objective of the attack was to cut both the Soissons – Château-Thierry (reference to the M1897 Shotgun's Château-Thierry skin) road and the railroad running south from Soissons to Château-Thierry. This battle marked the turning point of the war as the Germans would be on the defensive for the remainder of the conflict. Day 1: Thursday, 18 July 1918. As 18th Infantry pushed forward their right flank became exposed and they started taking enfilading machine gun fire from Cravançon Farm. Colonel Frank Parker sent an element of 18th Infantry into the Moroccan 1st Division's zone to deal with the problem. Shortly thereafter, Cravançon Farm was in American hands.

Loup Garou skin for RSC SMG (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/loup-garou): Inherited from Old French leu garoul, a pleonastic compound of leu (“wolf”) + garoul (“werewolf”); the latter from garulf, from Frankish *werawulf. Equivalent to loup +‎ -garou. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (from Old English werwulf 'man-wolf'), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek λυκάνθρωπος, lukánthrōpos, 'wolf-human'), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely or after being placed under a curse or affliction (often a bite or the occasional scratch from another werewolf) with the transformations occurring on the night of a full moon. The Norse branch underwent taboo modifications, with Old Norse vargúlfr (only attested as a translation of Old French garwaf ~ garwal(f) from Marie's lay of Bisclavret) replacing *wiraz ('man') with vargr ('wolf, outlaw'), perhaps under the influence of the Old French expression leus warous ~ lous garous (modern loup-garou), which literally means 'wolf-werewolf'. When the European colonization of the Americas occurred, the pioneers brought their own werewolf folklore with them and were later influenced by the lore of their neighbouring colonies and those of the Natives. Belief in the loup-garou present in Canada (thence Acadiana), the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan and upstate New York, originates from French folklore influenced by Native American stories on the Wendigo. Most modern fiction describes werewolves as vulnerable to silver weapons and highly resistant to other injuries. This feature appears in German folklore of the 19th century. The claim that the Beast of Gévaudan, an 18th-century wolf or wolflike creature, was shot by a silver bullet appears to have been introduced by novelists retelling the story from 1935 onwards and not in earlier versions. https://www.chars-francais.net/2015/index.php/157-classement-individuel/saint-chamond/1860-62523 62523 LOUP GAROU M1 AS34 ♦ 3e Batterie. Affecté au Groupe AS34 le 12 avril 1917. Char du Groupement AS n° XI - Char engagé en juin 1918 dans les combats de Méry (secteur de Saint Maur). Engagé le 18 juillet 1918 dans le secteur de Missy-au-Bois. Chef de char: Maréchal des Logis Marboeuf.

Le Chat Noir skin for RSC SMG (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%A9ophile_Steinlen): Théophile Alexandre Steinlen (November 10, 1859 – December 13, 1923), was a Swiss-born French Art Nouveau painter and printmaker. He was politically engaged and collaborated with anarchist and socialist press. In his early twenties he was still developing his skills as a painter when he and his wife Emilie were encouraged by the painter François Bocion to move to the artistic community in the Montmartre Quarter of Paris. Once there, Steinlen was befriended by the painter Adolphe Willette who introduced him to the artistic crowd at Le Chat Noir that led to his commissions to do poster art for the cabaret owner/entertainer, Aristide Bruant and other commercial enterprises. His permanent home, Montmartre and its environs, was a favorite subject throughout Steinlen's life and he often painted scenes of some of the harsher aspects of life in the area. His daughter Colette was featured in much of his work. In addition to paintings and drawings, he also did sculpture on a limited basis, most notably figures of cats that he had great affection for as seen in many of his paintings. Steinlen included cats in many of his illustrations, and even published a book of his designs, Dessins Sans Paroles Des Chats.
Between 1883 and 1920, he produced hundreds of illustrations, a number of which were done under a pseudonym so as to avoid political problems because of their harsh criticisms of social ills. His art influenced the work of other artists, including Pablo Picasso. https://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/now-at-the-met/2017/theophile-alexandre-steinlen-cats-socialism-world-war-i Steinlen's concern with the working class and marginalized populations was a theme he carried through his entire career. However, the outbreak of World War I necessarily altered the artist's subject matter, as it did for many of his contemporaries such as Jean-Louis Forain (reference to the Ribeyrolles 1918 Carbine's Forain skin) and Auguste Rodin, two artists also represented in World War I and the Visual Arts. Steinlen became artistically concerned with communicating the everyday experiences and human effects of war. The subjects in his work remained the same in many ways—women, children, the impoverished—but expanded into resting soldiers, displaced people, orphans, and those killed in battle. He generally steered clear of battle scenes and the narratives of political leaders, drawing attention to the multifarious devastations of what many considered a senseless war.

en Mémoire skin for RSC SMG: triple question mark ??? htps://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/en_mémoire_de en mémoire de: Pour transmettre et perpétuer le souvenir de. On a élevé un monument, on a institué une fête publique en mémoire de cet événement. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/en_m%C3%A9moire_de en mémoire de: in memory of. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Anneau_de_la_m%C3%A9moire L’Anneau de la Mémoire ("The Ring of Memory" or "Ring of Remembrance") is a World War I memorial in Ablain-Saint-Nazaire, France. Designed by Philippe Prost and inaugurated on 11 November 2014, the 96th anniversary of Armistice Day, the memorial honors the 576,606 soldiers of forty different nationalities who died at Nord-Pas-de-Calais. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memoir A memoir (from French mémoire, from Latin memoria 'memory, remembrance') is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiography since the late 20th century, the genre is differentiated in form, presenting a narrowed focus, usually a particular time phase in someone's life or career. Twentieth-century war memoirs became a genre of their own, including, from the First World War, Ernst Jünger (Storm of Steel, reference to the Battlefield 1's singleplayer campaign) and Frederic Manning's Her Privates We.

12G Automatic skins
Legendary: The Bats, The Humpback, The Truman
Distinguished: Argonne, Hill 142, Thunderball, Undark

The Humpback skin for 12G Automatic https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/12g_Automatic_(Codex_Entry) Popularly called the "Humpback" due to the distinctive design of the receiver, this semi-automatic shotgun used a long recoil mechanism which was more commonly featured on automatic cannons. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browning_Auto-5 The Browning Auto-5 was the first mass-produced semi-automatic shotgun. Designed by John Browning in 1898 and patented in 1900, it was produced continually for almost 100 years by several makers with production ending in 1998. It features a distinctive high rear end, earning it the nickname "Humpback". The top of the action goes straight back on a level with the barrel before cutting down sharply towards the buttstock. This distinctive feature makes it easy to identify A-5s from a distance. A-5s were produced in a variety of gauges, with 12 and 20 predominating; 16 gauge (not produced between 1976 and 1987) models were also available. The shotgun saw military service worldwide from World War I through the Vietnam War.

Hill 142 skin for 12G Automatic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Belleau_Wood): The Battle of Belleau Wood (1–26 June 1918, reference to the M1903's Belleau Wood skin) was a major battle that occurred during the German spring offensive (reference to the MP18' Die Kaiserschlacht skin) in World War I, near the Marne River in France. The battle was fought between the U.S. 2nd (under the command of Major General Omar Bundy) and 3rd Divisions along with French and British forces against an assortment of German units including elements from the 237th, 10th, 197th, 87th, and 28th Divisions. The battle has become a key component in the lore of the United States Marine Corps (reference to the M1903's Marine skin). Attack on Hill 142: At 03:45 on 6 June, the Allies launched an attack on the German forces, who were preparing their own strike. The French 167th Division attacked to the left of the American line, while the Marines attacked Hill 142 to prevent flanking fire against the French. As part of the second phase, the 2nd Division were to capture the ridge overlooking Torcy and Belleau Wood, as well as occupying Belleau Wood. However, the Marines failed to scout the woods. As a consequence, they missed a regiment of German infantry dug in, with a network of machine gun nests and artillery. At dawn, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines—commanded by Major Julius S. Turrill—was to attack Hill 142, but only two companies were in position. The Marines advanced in waves with bayonets fixed across an open wheat field that was swept with German machine gun and artillery fire, and many Marines were cut down. By the afternoon, however, the Marines had captured Hill 142, at a cost of nine officers and most of the 325 men of the battalion.

The Truman skin for 12G Automatic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_S._Truman): Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 – December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin D. Roosevelt and as a United States senator from Missouri from 1935 to January 1945. Assuming the presidency after Roosevelt's death, Truman implemented the Marshall Plan to rebuild the economy of Western Europe and established both the Truman Doctrine and NATO to contain the expansion of Soviet communism. He proposed numerous liberal domestic reforms, but few were enacted by the conservative coalition that dominated the Congress. Truman was raised in Independence, Missouri, and during World War I fought in France as a captain in the Field Artillery. In mid-1918, about one million soldiers of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) were in France. Truman was promoted to captain effective April 23, and in July became commander of the newly arrived Battery D, 129th Field Artillery, 35th Division. Battery D was known for its discipline problems, and Truman was initially unpopular because of his efforts to restore order. Truman's unit joined in a massive prearranged assault barrage on September 26, 1918, at the opening of the Meuse–Argonne offensive. They advanced with difficulty over pitted terrain to follow the infantry, and set up an observation post west of Cheppy. In other action during the Meuse–Argonne offensive, Truman's battery provided support for George S. Patton's (reference to the 1903 Hammerless's Patton skin) tank brigade, and fired some of the last shots of the war on November 11, 1918. Battery D did not lose any men while under Truman's command in France. To show their appreciation of his leadership, his men presented him with a large loving cup upon their return to the United States after the war. He remained an active reservist until the early 1940s. Truman volunteered for active military service during World War II, but was not accepted, partly because of age, and partly because President Franklin D. Roosevelt desired senators and congressmen who belonged to the military reserves to support the war effort by remaining in Congress, or by ending their active duty service and resuming their congressional seats.

Argonne skin for 12G Automatic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_of_Argonne): The Forest of Argonne is a long strip of mountainous and wild woodland in northeastern France, approximately 200 km (120 mi) east of Paris. The forest measures roughly 65 km (40 mi) long and 15 km (9 mi) wide filled with many small hills and deep valleys formed by water run-off from the Aire and Aisne rivers rarely exceeding more than 200 m (650 ft) in elevation. Following the First World War, the landscape of the forest was forever changed as trench warfare led to parts of the forest being riddled with deep man-made trenches along with craters from explosives. The forest is bordered by the Meuse River (reference to the M1897 Shotgun's Meuse skin) on the west and rolling farmland and creeks to the east. During World War I, the forest again became the site of intense military action. Bitter fighting between German and Allied units took place here in fall and winter 1914, summer 1915, and fall 1918. During the Meuse–Argonne offensive (1918), several United States Army soldiers earned the Medal of Honor there, including Colonel Nelson Miles Holderman, Major Charles White Whittlesey, Sergeant Alvin C. York (reference to the M1911 Pistol's York skin), Corporal Harold W. Roberts and William Henry Johnson (a.k.a. "Black Death"), most of them part of the "Lost Battalion". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meuse%E2%80%93Argonne_offensive The Meuse–Argonne offensive (also known as the Meuse River–Argonne Forest offensive, the Battles of the Meuse–Argonne, and the Meuse–Argonne campaign) was a major part of the final Allied offensive of World War I that stretched along the entire Western Front. It was fought from September 26, 1918, until the Armistice of November 11, 1918, a total of 47 days. The Meuse–Argonne offensive was the largest in United States military history, involving 1.2 million American soldiers. It is also the deadliest battle in the history of the United States Army, resulting in over 350,000 casualties, including 28,000 German lives, 26,277 American lives and an unknown number of French lives. American losses were worsened by the inexperience of many of the troops, the tactics used during the early phases of the operation and the widespread onset of the global influenza outbreak called the "Spanish flu".

Undark skin for 12G Automatic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undark): Undark was a trade name for luminous paint made with a mixture of radioactive radium and zinc sulfide, as produced by the U.S. Radium Corporation between 1917 and 1938. It was used primarily in watch and clock dials. The people working in the industry who applied the radioactive paint became known as the Radium Girls, because many of them became ill and some died from exposure to the radiation emitted by the radium contained within the product. The product was the direct cause of radium jaw in the dial painters. Undark was also available as a kit for general consumer use and marketed as glow-in-the-dark paint. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Radium_Corporation The United States Radium Corporation was a company, most notorious for its operations between the years 1917 to 1926 in Orange, New Jersey, in the United States that led to stronger worker protection laws. After initial success in developing a glow-in-the-dark radioactive paint, the company was subject to several lawsuits in the late 1920s in the wake of severe illnesses and deaths of workers (the Radium Girls) who had ingested radioactive material. The workers had been told that the paint was harmless. During World War I and World War II, the company produced luminous watches and gauges for the United States Army for use by soldiers. During World War I, demand for dials, watches, and aircraft instruments painted with Undark surged, and the company expanded operations considerably. The delicate task of painting watch and gauge faces was done mostly by young women, who were instructed to maintain a fine tip on their paintbrushes by licking them. Several workers died, and the health risks associated with radium were allegedly known, but this company continued dial painting operations until 1940. U.S. Radium's management and scientists took precautions such as masks, gloves, and screens, but did not similarly equip the workers. Unbeknownst to the women, the paint was highly radioactive and therefore, carcinogenic. The ingestion of the paint by the women, brought about while licking the brushes, resulted in a condition called radium jaw (radium necrosis), a painful swelling and porosity of the upper and lower jaws that ultimately led to many of their deaths.

The Bats skin for 12G Automatic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/185th_Aero_Squadron): The 185th Aero Squadron was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I. Known as the "Bats", the 185th Aero Squadron is notable as it was the first and only night pursuit (fighter) squadron organized by the United States during World War I. Its mission was night interception of enemy aircraft, primarily bombers and observation aircraft. It was engaged in combat for less than a month before the 1918 Armistice with Germany. After the armistice, the squadron returned to the United States in June 1919 and was demobilized. At Rembercourt, the 185th was designated as a "Night Chase" Squadron, the first of its type organized by the American Army. Night Pursuit work was in its infancy. The Sopwith Camels were planes that were considered almost to be obsolete, except for training. The pilots were not trained in night flying, with many of them never having taken off after dusk. Also, the squadron had to experiment with wing flares, parachute flares and instrument lights. Also the airdrome had no landing lights, and the searchlights and Anti-Aircraft batteries were not versed with American planes flying after dusk. In addition, there were not enough searchlights for the guidance of our pilots, who frequently could not find the airfield at night and had to make forced landings after running out of gasoline. Many accidents were caused and there was a chronic lack of spare parts for the airplanes.

Thunderball skin for 12G Automatic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderball_(novel) Thunderball is the ninth book in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, and the eighth full-length Bond novel. It was first published in the UK by Jonathan Cape on 27 March 1961, where the initial print run of 50,938 copies quickly sold out. On screen, Thunderball was released in 1965 as the fourth film in the Eon Productions series, with Sean Connery as James Bond. https://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Thunderball The following weapons were used in the film Thunderball: -Browning Auto-5. Bond fires a Browning Auto-5 when shooting with Largo. After successfully hitting a clay pigeon from the hip, Bond remarks to Largo that firing accurately isn't difficult. One note to point out, When Sean shoots the clay pigeon out of the sky, he motions the force of the Auto-5's recoil (Not acted out), hinting that a live round was fired instead of blanks, as Bond is shooting at a clay pigeon.

Bodeo 1889 skins
Legendary: Point Blank, The Valiant
Distinguished: Marmolada, Swashbuckler

Marmolada skin for Bodeo 1889 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmolada): Marmolada (Ladin: Marmolèda; German: Marmolata) is a mountain in northeastern Italy and the highest mountain of the Dolomites (a section of the Alps). It lies between the borders of Trentino and Veneto. The Marmolada is an ultra-prominent peak (Ultra), known as the "Queen of the Dolomites". Towards the south it breaks suddenly into sheer cliffs, forming a rock face several kilometres long. On the north side there is a comparatively flat glacier, the only large glacier in the Dolomites (the Marmolada Glacier, Ghiacciaio della Marmolada). Until the end of World War I the border between Austria-Hungary and Italy ran over Marmolada, so it formed part of the front line during that conflict. Austro-Hungarian soldiers were quartered in deep tunnels bored into the northern face's glacier, and Italian soldiers were quartered on the south face's rocky precipices. It was also the site of fierce mine warfare on the Italian Front. As glaciers retreat, soldiers' remains and belongings are occasionally discovered. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmolada_Glacier The Marmolada Glacier (Italian: Ghiacciaio della Marmolada) is located on the mountain Marmolada in the province of Trentino, Italy. Marmolada Glacier is the only one in the Dolomites section of the Alps. During World War I, the front line between Austrian and Italian forces ran over Marmolada, and Austrian soldiers built quarters in glacier tunnels, forming an "ice city" of considerable size. A World War I museum, Museo della Grande Guerra in Marmolada, is located in the valley below the glacier.

Point Blank skin for Bodeo 1889 (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/point-blank): point-blank: From French point blanc (“white point”), originally referring to the white spot to be aimed at on a target (see blank's "bull's eye"). 1 (forensics) Very close; not touching but not more than a few metres (yards). 2. (ballistics) The distance between a firearm and a target where a projectile in flight is expected to strike the centre of the target without adjusting the elevation of the firearm. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point-blank_range Point-blank range is any distance over which a certain firearm can hit a target without the need to compensate for bullet drop, and can be adjusted over a wide range of distances by sighting in the firearm. If the bullet leaves the barrel parallel to the sight, the bullet, like any object in flight, is pulled downwards by gravity, so for distant targets, the shooter must point the firearm above the target to compensate. But if the target is close enough, bullet drop will be negligible so the shooter can aim the gun straight at the target. If the sights are set so that the barrel has a small upward tilt, the bullet starts by rising and later drops. This results in a weapon that hits too low for very close targets, too high for intermediate targets, too low for very far targets, and point blank at two distances in between. In popular usage, point-blank range has come to mean extremely close range with a firearm, yet not close enough to be a contact shot. https://slll.cass.anu.edu.au/centres/andc/annotated-glossary/p Glossary of Slang and Peculiar Terms in Use in the A.I.F. by Amanda Laugesen. Point Blank: The white wine commonly used in France. The term is used on the Rifle Range as the name of a poisonous white paste that is applied to the foresight of the rifle to aid sighting. Its adaption as a name for ‘Vin Blanc’ was brought about partly by the similarity in the spelling of the second word and also partly because of the harsh effect it frequently had on Australians who drank of it too freely.

The Valiant skin for Bodeo 1889 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Valiant_Hearts): "O Valiant Hearts" is a hymn remembering the fallen of the First World War. It often features prominently in annual Remembrance Day services in the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth. Words were taken from a poem by Sir John Stanhope Arkwright (1872–1954), published in The Supreme Sacrifice, and other Poems in Time of War (1919). It was set to music by the Rev. Dr. Charles Harris (1865-1936) who was Vicar of Colwall, Herefordshire between 1909-1929. It is to his tune, referred to as Harris or sometimes The Supreme Sacrifice that the hymn is now almost always sung. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Valiant_(1914)  HMS Valiant was one of five Queen Elizabeth-class battleships built for the Royal Navy during the early 1910s. She participated in the Battle of Jutland (reference to the Battle of Jutland skins) during the First World War as part of the Grand Fleet. Other than that battle, and the inconclusive Action of 19 August, her service during the war generally consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea. She saw further action during the Second World War in the Mediterranean and Far East.

Swashbuckler skin for Bodeo 1889: triple question mark ??? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swashbuckler A swashbuckler is a genre of European adventure literature that focuses on a heroic protagonist stock character who is skilled in swordsmanship, acrobatics, guile and possesses chivalrous ideals (reference to the Revolver MK VI's Chivalry skin). A "swashbuckler" protagonist is heroic, daring, and idealistic: he rescues damsels in distress, protects the downtrodden, and uses duels to defend his honor or that of a lady or to avenge a comrade. There is a long list of swashbucklers who combine courage, skill, resourcefulness, and a distinctive sense of honor and justice, as for example Cyrano de Bergerac, The Three Musketeers, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Robin Hood, and Zorro. "Swashbuckler" is a compound of "swash" (archaic: to swagger with a drawn sword) and "buckler" (a small shield gripped in the fist) dating from the 16th century. https://militaryhistorynow.com/2020/09/18/frank-arthur-brock-meet-the-swashbuckling-british-inventor-who-ended-the-german-zeppelin-menace/ Frank Arthur Brock (reference to the Huot Automatic Rifle's Brock skin) – Meet the Swashbuckling British Inventor Who Ended the German Zeppelin Menace. “Had Ian Fleming conjured up James Bond 35 years earlier, he might have used Frank Arthur Brock as the template for secret agent 007.” Since his pre-war spying mission, he’d been working on ideas and by 1916, his prototype incendiary round was ready. On the night of Saturday, 2 Sept., Lieutenant William Leefe Robinson took off in a Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 biplane on an anti-Zeppelin patrol. His aircraft’s machine guns were loaded with a mixture of Frank’s bullets and other experimental rounds: Pomeroys (reference to the M1909 Benét-Mercié's Pomeroy skin) and Buckinghams (reference to the SMLE MKIII's Buckingham Mark I skin). Frank Brock’s exploits ended on 23 April, 1918 — St. George’s Day — as he took part in a daring raid on Zeebrugge (reference to the Battlefield 1's Zeebrugge map) in Belgium. The operation was mounted to knock out a German U-boat base. The raid itself was made possible by yet another of Frank’s inventions: a new and surprisingly dense smoke screen to be used by Royal Navy warships, crucially, the first naval smoke screen that did not give away its position by flame. Thanks to Brock’s artificial fog, which was also used by the Royal Navy in WW II, the German garrison guarding Zeebrugge was taken by surprise as a flotilla of blockships and armed vessels appeared at the harbour entrance. Frank himself could have stayed on board one of the ships in comparative safety as a shore party of sailors and Royal Marines stormed the German defences, but that wasn’t his style. Armed with two pistols, a cutlass and several hand grenades, Frank shouted ‘Come on, you boys,’ and leapt ashore into a blizzard of German bullets and shells. He was seen hurling a bomb into an observation post before single-handedly attacking and scattering a gun crew. A German Marine later described a British officer “who seemed to be entirely devoid of fear.” “He rushed straight at the first gun,” the eyewitness recalled, “and with his fists he struck out at the gunners, knocking down four of them and putting the rest to flight.” Brock was last seen in a furious swordfight with a German sailor. In the morning, both men were found a few feet apart, killed by each other’s last thrusts. It was probably the last time a British officer fought and died in a swordfight.

Annihilator skins
Legendary: Billy Mitchell, Over There, Toward the Flame

Billy Mitchell skin for Annihilator (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Mitchell): William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force. Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, commanded all American air combat units in that country. After the war, he was appointed deputy director of the Air Service and began advocating for increased investment in air power, believing that this would prove vital in future wars. He argued particularly for the ability of bombers to sink battleships and organized a series of bombing runs against stationary ships designed to test the idea. In September 1918, he planned and led nearly 1,500 British, French, and Italian aircraft in the air phase of the Battle of Saint-Mihiel (reference to the P08 Pistol's Saint-Mihiel skin), one of the first coordinated air-ground offensives in history. He was elevated to the rank of (temporary) brigadier general on October 14, 1918, and commanded all American air combat units in France. He ended the war as Chief of Air Service and Chief Group of Armies. Recognized as one of the top American combat airmen of the war alongside aces such as his good friend, Eddie Rickenbacker, he was probably the best-known American in Europe. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal, the World War I Victory Medal with eight campaign clasps, and several foreign decorations. Despite his superb leadership and his fine combat record, he alienated many of his superiors during and after his 18 months of service in France.

Over There skin for Annihilator (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over_There): "Over There" is a 1917 song written by George M. Cohan that was popular with the United States military and public during both world wars. It is a patriotic song designed to galvanize American young men to enlist and fight the "Hun". The song is best remembered for a line in its chorus: "The Yanks are coming." Cohan wrote it after he had learned that the US had abandoned their policy of isolationism and planned to enter World War 1 on the side of the Allied Powers. It has been revived on various occasions during and after World War II. It was not heavily used during the Vietnam War, but has been used since the September 11 terrorist attacks. As sung by early 20th-century recording artist Billy Murray. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over_There_(film) Over There is a 1917 American silent war drama film directed by James Kirkwood and starring Charles Richman, Anna Q. Nilsson and Walter McGrail. It was made as a pro-war portrayal of the American Expeditionary Force in World War I and took its name from the popular song Over There.

Toward the Flame skin for Annihilator (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hervey_Allen): William Hervey Allen Jr. (December 8, 1889 – December 28, 1949) was an American educator, poet, and writer. He is best known for his work Anthony Adverse (made into a 1936 movie of the same name), regarded by many critics "as the model and precursor of the contemporary American historical novel." Allen served as a 2nd lieutenant in the 18th Pennsylvania Infantry on the Mexican border in 1916 during the Pancho Villa Expedition (reference to the Russian 1895's Pancho Villa skin). That year he published a collection of poems, Ballads of the Border. He also served as a lieutenant, and later a company commander of Company "B" of the 1st Battalion, 111th Infantry Regiment o the 28th (keystone) Division, United States Army during World War I and fought in the Aisne-Marne offensive July–August 1918. He was wounded in action at Fismes (reference to the Model 1900's Fismes skin) in August 1918. He also taught English to French soldiers at Favernay. Allen became a Professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh. For a period of time, he taught at the Porter Military Academy in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1925, he lectured on American Literature at Columbia University. He wrote Toward the Flame (1926), a nonfictional account of his experiences in the war.

Mle 1903 skins
Legendary: The Swede, Vapenfabriks
Distinguished: Bruiser, Charlatan

The Swede skin for Mle 1903: "A Belgian-made semi-automatic pistol adopted by a number of nations, including Sweden." — In-game description. https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Mle_1903_Pistol_(Codex_Entry) The Mle 1903 was essentially a scaled-up version of the 1903 Pocket Hammerless Pistol to cope with a larger and more powerful 9mm round, making the Mle 1903 more attractive for the military and police. It did also become very popular with the armies and law enforcement of many nations, including the Ottoman Empire, Russian Empire, the UK, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, and Finland. The Mle 1903 was also produced under contract in Sweden, and between Belgium and Sweden about 150,000 of them were produced.

Vapenfabriks skin for Mle 1903 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FN_Model_1903): The FN Model 1903 (M1903, FN Mle 1903), or Browning No.2 is a semi-automatic pistol designed by John Browning (reference to the Model 8 Autoloading's Moses skin) and manufactured by Belgian arms manufacturer Fabrique Nationale (FN). The pistol was initially introduced by FN as the Browning Modèle de Guerre (Browning War Model) or Browning Grand Modèle (Browning Large Model). Sweden obtained a license to manufacture a variant of the design for domestic use as the Husqvarna m/1907 and began production in 1917 to meet both military needs and civilian demand. Husqvarna produced military pistols for Colombia when FN was unwilling to resume production in the 1930s. Sweden had manufactured 89,230 pistols when production ended in 1942. Early Husqvarna-produced pistols included the slide marking of either "Browning's Patent" or "System Browning". This practice was discontinued after World War I at the insistence of FN, which had been granted the exclusive right to use John Browning's name for the purpose of firearms marketing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Husqvarna_Vapenfabrik Husqvarna Vapenfabriks Aktiebolag or simply HVA; was a Swedish firearms manufacturing company in the town of Huskvarna by lake Vättern. In 1867 the company became a limited company under the name Husqvarna Vapenfabriks Aktiebolag. When military orders dropped after the Danish-Prussian War of 1864 and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, Husqvarna begun making shotguns and hunting rifles. They also started manufacturing stoves, sewing machines and bicycles. In 1903 Husqvarna made their first motorcycle. Husqvarna continued firearms production, though mostly civilian firearms except during the two world wars and some shorter periods of military production.

Charlatan skin for Mle 1903 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlatan): A charlatan (also called a swindler or mountebank) is a person practicing quackery or a similar confidence trick in order to obtain money, power, fame, or other advantages through pretense or deception. Infamous individuals: -Grigori Rasputin (reference to Nagant Revolver's The Rasputin skin), a self-proclaimed holy man and healer who gained considerable influence on the family of Tsar Nicholas II and was involved in the political turmoil on the brink of the Russian Revolution. -Ivar Kreuger, the Swedish "Match King", who ran a worldwide Ponzi scheme in the 1920s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivar_Kreuger Ivar Kreuger (2 March 1880 – 12 March 1932) was a Swedish civil engineer, financier, entrepreneur and industrialist. By aggressive investments and innovative financial instruments, he built a global match and financial empire. Between the two world wars, he negotiated match monopolies with European, Central American and South American governments, and finally controlled between two thirds and three quarters of worldwide match production, becoming known as the "Match King". Another biographer called Kreuger a "genius and swindler", and John Kenneth Galbraith wrote that he was the "Leonardo of larcenists". Kreuger's financial empire collapsed during the Great Depression. The Price Waterhouse autopsy of his financial empire stated: "The manipulations were so childish that anyone with but a rudimentary knowledge of bookkeeping could see the books were falsified. Kreuger formed Swedish Match by merging his father's business with other match factories he had quietly bought during World War I. Its initial capital was around $10 million ($160 million in 2022 dollars) and Ivar owned about half of it, held all senior positions and controlled the board of directors. This company group now covered the entire match industry in Sweden, including all the major companies that manufactured the production machines used in the factories. The total number of employees working in match production in Sweden in 1917 was around 9000. A German chemist had invented phosphorus (reference to the BAR M1918's Phosphorus skin) matches in 1832 but they were dangerous because the yellow phosphorus used was poisonous and because it was in the match head and thus could easily light by accident. The Swedes improved on the design by using a safer red phosphorus, which they put on the striking surface of the matchbox. They called them "safety matches". They made Sweden the leading exporter of matches and made matches the most important Swedish export.

Bruiser skin for Mle 1903: triple question mark ??? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baylor_Bears#Costumed_mascots Bruiser and Marigold are the costumed bear mascots of Baylor University.
Even though Baylor began its intercollegiate athletics in the 1890s, they did not have an official mascot until 1914. President Samuel Palmer Brooks held a vote to choose a mascot from dozens of options including the buffalo, bookworm, antelope, and ferret. It was then when the student body decided to pick an American black bear as their new mascot. In 1917, troops of the 107th Engineers donated a live bear named Ted to the university. Ted made his debut at the 1917 Baylor–Texas A&M football game. https://www.baylor.edu/alumni/magazine/1203/news.php?action=story&story=142733 The creation of Camp MacArthur in 1917 brought thousands of U.S. Army troops into Waco to prepare for combat in World War I. Members of the 107th Engineers of the Army's 32nd Division were stationed at the camp, and they acquired a live bear as a mascot. When the Baylor Bears played Texas A&M in football on Nov. 10, 1917, at Waco's Cotton Palace grounds, members of the 107th Engineers decided to put their bear in a truck, take him to the football stadium and parade him around—the first time a live bear attended a Baylor event. The bear was taken back to the camp. The 107th Engineers received orders on Jan. 13, 1918, to depart from Waco, and they decided to donate their furry pal to Baylor. The bear, referred to as both Ted and Bruin, was kept in the small zoo on the Cotton Palace grounds and brought out occasionally for Baylor events.

M1907 SL skins
Legendary: The Blue Devil, De Pierrot, The Old Drum
Distinguished: Deadlock, Frantz, Voisin, Ypres

Ypres skin for M1907 SL (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ypres): Ypres (Dutch: Ieper; West Flemish: Yper; German: Ypern) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name Ieper is the official one, the city's French name Ypres is most commonly used in English. During the First World War, Ypres (or "Wipers" as it was commonly known by the British troops) was the centre of the Battles of Ypres between German and Allied forces. Ypres occupied a strategic position during the First World War because it stood in the path of Germany's planned sweep across the rest of Belgium and into France from the north (the Schlieffen Plan, reference to the Gewehr 98's von Schlieffen skin). The German army surrounded the city on three sides, bombarding it throughout much of the war. To counterattack, British, French, and allied forces made costly advances from the Ypres Salient into the German lines on the surrounding hills. In the First Battle of Ypres (19 October to 22 November 1914), the Allies captured the town from the Germans. The Germans had used tear gas at the Battle of Bolimov on 3 January 1915. Their use of poison gas for the first time on 22 April 1915 marked the beginning of the Second Battle of Ypres, which continued until 25 May 1915. They captured high ground east of the town. The first gas attack occurred against Canadian, British, and French soldiers, including both metropolitan French soldiers as well as Senegalese and Algerian tirailleurs (light infantry) from French Africa. The gas used was chlorine. Mustard gas, also called Yperite from the name of this town, was also used for the first time near Ypres, in the autumn of 1917. Of the battles, the largest, best-known, and most costly in human suffering was the Third Battle of Ypres (31 July to 10 November 1917, also known as the Battle of Passchendaele), in which the British, Canadian, ANZAC, and French forces recaptured the Passchendaele Ridge east of the city at a terrible cost of lives. After months of fighting, this battle resulted in nearly half a million casualties to all sides, and only a few miles of ground won by Allied forces. During the course of the war the town was all but obliterated by the artillery fire. The Cloth Hall today is home to In Flanders Fields Museum (reference to the M1911 Pistol's In Flanders Fields skin), dedicated to Ypres's role in the First World War and named for the poem by John McCrae.

Deadlock skin for M1907 SL (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_during_World_War_I): Chemical weapons were first used systematically in this war. Chemical weapons in World War I included phosgene, tear gas, chlorarsines and mustard gas. At the beginning of the war, Germany had the most advanced chemical industry in the world, accounting for more than 80% of the world's dye and chemical production. Although the use of poison gas had been banned by the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, Germany turned to this industry for what it hoped would be a decisive weapon to break the deadlock of trench warfare. Chlorine gas was first used on the battlefield in April 1915 at the Second Battle of Ypres (reference to the M1907 SL's Ypres skin) in Belgium. The unknown gas appeared to be a simple smoke screen, used to hide attacking soldiers, and Allied troops were ordered to the front trenches to repel the expected attack. The gas had a devastating effect, killing many defenders or, when the wind direction changed and blew the gas back, many attackers. The wind being unreliable, another way had to be found to transmit the gas. It began being delivered in artillery shells. Most chemical weapons attacked an individual's respiratory system. The concept of choking easily caused fear in soldiers and the resulting terror affected them psychologically. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Front_(World_War_I) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Front_(World_War_I) To break the deadlock of the trench warfare on the Western Front, both sides tried new military technology, including poison gas, aircraft, and tanks. The adoption of better tactics and the cumulative weakening of the armies in the west led to the return of mobility in 1918. The German spring offensive of 1918 (reference to MP18's The Kaiserschlacht skin) was made possible by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk that ended the war of the Central Powers against Russia and Romania on the Eastern Front. Using short, intense "hurricane" bombardments and infiltration tactics, the German armies moved nearly 100 kilometres (60 miles) to the west, the deepest advance by either side since 1914, but the result was indecisive.

The Blue Devil skin for M1907 SL https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/The_Empires_Best_(Codex_Entry) With the French Blue Devils, The Italian Arditis (reference to Modello 1915 Pistol's The Arditi skin), and the German Stormtrooper using radical Hutier (reference to MP18's The Hutier skin) infiltration tactics, a new aggressive combat style saw the light of day during the Great War. This revolutionary approach to warfare was a clear departure from the costly practice of using mass infantry for frontal assaults. Stormtrooper attacks usually began with a smaller but violent artillery barrage concentrated on a smaller point rather than a wide front, after which the Stormtroopers did a rapid assault across no man's land, taking key positions and continuing beyond the trench lines to create confusion and paralyze the enemy in the rear. In many cases, this was then followed up by regular infantry sent forward to secure the captured territory. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chasseurs_Alpins The chasseurs alpins (English: Alpine Hunters) are the elite mountain infantry force of the French Army. They are trained to operate in mountainous terrain and in urban warfare. France created its own mountain corps in the late 19th century in order to oppose any Italian invasion through the Alps. In 1859–70 Italy became unified (reference to the Modello 1915 Pistol's Il Risorgimento skin), forming a powerful state. The French army saw this geopolitical change as a potential threat to their Alpine border, especially as the Italian army was already creating troops specialized in mountain warfare (the Alpini). On December 24, 1888, the first troupes de montagne ("mountain troops") corps were created from 12 of the 31 existing Chasseurs à pied ("Hunters on Foot'"/"Foot Rifles'") battalions. Initially these units were named bataillons alpins de chasseurs à pied ("Alpine Battalions of Hunters on Foot"/"Alpine Foot Rifle Battalions"). Later this was shortened to bataillons de chasseurs alpins ("Alpine Hunter Battalions"/"Alpine Rifle Battalions"). From their establishment the chasseurs Alpins wore a plain and practical uniform designed to be suitable for mountain service. This comprised a loose-fitting dark blue jacket and blue-grey breeches, together with a large beret carrying the yellow (daffodil) hunting horn insignia of the Chasseur branch. Various traditions: When marching with the band and horns, the marching pace is 140 steps a minute - faster than most other armed forces units, with the exception of the Italian Bersaglieri (reference to the Cei-Rigotti's Bersaglieri skin), whose pace is 180 steps per minute. The chasseurs alpins are informally known as Les diables bleus (Eng: The Blue Devils). Monuments and memorials to the unit, such as Memorial to the Chasseur Alpins are marked Aux Diables Bleus (Eng: To the Blue Devils).

Voisin skin for M1907 SL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voisin_(aircraft) Aéroplanes Voisin was a French aircraft manufacturing company established in 1905 by Gabriel Voisin and his brother Charles, and was continued by Gabriel after Charles died in an automobile accident in 1912; the full official company name then became Société Anonyme des Aéroplanes G. Voisin (English: Aeroplanes Voisin public limited company). During World War I, it was a major producer of military aircraft, notably the Voisin III. After the war Gabriel Voisin abandoned the aviation industry, and set up a company to design and produce luxury automobiles, called Avions Voisin. The company, based in the Parisian suburb of Billancourt, was the first commercial aircraft factory in the world. It created Europe's first manned, heavier-than-air powered aircraft capable of a sustained (1 km), circular, controlled flight, including take-off and landing, the Voisin-Farman I (reference to the Model 8 Autoloading's Farman skin). Having learned to fly with a Voisin, on 8 March 1910, Raymonde de Laroche became the first woman to receive a pilot licence when the Aéro-Club de France issued her licence #36. Production of the Voisin III Type LA and LAS increased with the outbreak of the First World War, with examples being built under licence in Italy by S.I.T., in Russia by Anatra, Breshnev-Moller, Dux Lebedev and Schetinin, and in the UK by Savages of King's Lynn, with production exceeding 1,350 airframes. Soon after the outbreak of the First World War, it became apparent that the French aviation industry could not produce aircraft in sufficient numbers to meet military requirements. Manufacturers from various other fields became aviation subcontractors, and later license-builders as did many smaller aircraft manufacturers who had been unable to secure orders for their own designs.

Frantz skin for M1907 SL (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Frantz): Joseph Frantz, né le 7 août 1890 à Beaujeu (Rhône) et mort le 12 septembre 1979 à Paris1, est un aviateur français de la Première Guerre mondiale, célèbre pour avoir participé au premier combat aérien victorieux de l’histoire. L’année suivante, toujours sur avion Voisin, Frantz descendit un second appareil. Il met ensuite ses qualités d'ingénieur et de pilote d'essai au service de la firme Voisin et met au point douze prototypes d'avions dont le biplan quadrimoteur Voisin de 37 mètres d'envergure. https://earlyaviators.com/efrantz.htm October 5, 1914, Sergeant Joseph Frantz (born in 1890, died in Paris in 1979) and his mechanic Louis Quénault (dates unknown), were attached to flotilla V 24. Flying a Voisin Type 3 biplane (reference to the M1907 SL's Voisin skin), they fired on a German Aviatik with a Hotchkiss machine gun. It was being piloted by Sergeant Wilhelm Schlichting with Lieutenant Fritz von Zangen as his observer. They were engaged in a reconnaisance mission close to Jonchéry on Vesle. After they exhausted the ammunition for the machine gun, they found themselves being fired upon by the German observer with his rifle. Sergeant Quénault responded with his own rifle and one of the shots hit the pilot. The plane, out of control, crashed to the earth and was destroyed. This event marked the first confirmed air victory of the First World War, and indeed in History at the same time.
There had been occasional exchanges of shots between the pilots of planes during the first weeks of the conflict, but Frantz and Quénault are credited with being the first aviators to shoot down an enemy plane.

De Pierrot skin for M1907 SL (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierrot): Pierrot is a stock character of pantomime and commedia dell'arte, whose origins are in the late seventeenth-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne. Performing unmasked, with a whitened face, he wears a loose white blouse with large buttons and wide white pantaloons. Pierrot played a seminal role in the emergence of Modernism in the arts. He was a key figure in every art-form except architecture. In music, historians of Modernism generally place Arnold Schoenberg's (reference to the Maschinenpistole M1912/P.16's Schoenberg skin) 1912 song-cycle Pierrot lunaire at the very pinnacle of High-Modernist achievement. Students of Modernist painting and sculpture are familiar with Pierrot (in many different attitudes, from the ineffably sad to the ebulliently impudent) through the masterworks of his acolytes, including Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Georges Rouault, Salvador Dalí, Max Beckmann, August Macke, Paul Klee (reference to the Parabellum MG14/17's Paul Klee skin), Jacques Lipchitz—the list is very long. In film, a beloved early comic hero was the Little Tramp of Charlie Chaplin, who conceived the character, in Chaplin's words, as "a sort of Pierrot". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Diamond_Troupe The Diamond Troupe was the concert party of the 29th Division, a First World War infantry division within the British Army. Also known as the "Incomparable Division", the 29th was formed in 1915 by combining units that had previously been acting as garrisons about the British Empire. The division fought throughout the Gallipoli Campaign and, from 1916 to the end of the war, on the Western Front in France. Concert parties were an integral element of the war effort, and by 1917, virtually every division had at least one. They mirrored the Pierrot troupes of music halls and seaside resorts, offering soldiers a respite from war, reminding them of home, and providing a neutral outlet to air grievances about "food, conditions, and sergeants". The Diamond Troupe was one of a small number of concert parties to achieve considerable notoriety, both on the battlefield and at home. The name “Diamond Troupe” was inspired by the 29th Division’s logo, a red half-diamond, and by the tactical superiority of the diamond formation in a military advance.

The Old Drum skin for M1907 SL triple question mark (???) or why are there dog breeds (The Golden Retriever skin, The Boykin Spaniel skin, ...) as skin names in Battlefield 1? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Graham_Vest George Graham Vest (December 6, 1830 – August 9, 1904) was a U.S. politician. Born in Frankfort, Kentucky, he was known for his skills in oration and debate. Vest, a lawyer as well as a politician, served as a Missouri Congressman, a Confederate Congressman during the Civil War, and finally a U.S. Senator. Vest was best known during his lifetime for his "a man's best friend" closing arguments from the trial in which damages were sought for the killing of a dog named Old Drum on October 18, 1869. It was at this time in 1869 that Vest was asked to represent Charles Burden and Old Drum in the case that would make him famous, Burden v. Hornsby. Vest took the case tried on September 23, 1870, in which he represented a client whose hunting dog, a foxhound named Drum (or Old Drum), had been killed by a sheep farmer, Leonidas Hornsby. The farmer (Burden's brother-in-law) had previously announced his intentions to kill any dog found on his property; the dog's owner was suing for damages in the amount of $150 (equivalent to $3,471 in 2022), the maximum allowed by law. During the trial, Vest stated that he would "win the case or apologize to every dog in Missouri." Vest's closing argument to the jury made no reference to any of the testimony offered during the trial, and instead offered a eulogy of sorts. Vest's "Eulogy of the Dog" is one of the most enduring passages of purple prose in American courtroom history (only a partial transcript has survived): Gentlemen of the jury - The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog. Vest won the case (the jury awarded $50 to the dog's owner) and also won its appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court. A bust of the dog resides in the Missouri Supreme Court building in Jefferson City, Missouri. In 1958, a statue of the dog was erected on the Johnson County Courthouse lawn containing a summation of Vest’s closing speech, “A man’s best friend is his dog.”

I found another reference to "The Valiant" skin for Bodeo 1889.

The Valiant skin for Bodeo 1889 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Vaux): The defence of Fort Vaux (reference to the Model 10-A's Vaux skin) was marked by the heroism and endurance of the garrison, including Major Sylvain-Eugene Raynal. Under his command, the French garrison repulsed German assaults, including fighting underground from barricades inside the corridors, during the first big engagement inside a fort during the First World War. The last men of the French garrison gave up after running out of water (some of which was poisoned), ammunition, medical supplies and food. Raynal sent several messages by homing pigeon (including Le Vaillant), requesting relief for his soldiers. In his last message, Raynal wrote "This is my last pigeon". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Vaillant Le Vaillant (French: The Valiant) (died 4 June 1916) was a pigeon used by the French Army in the First World War. The bird was the last held at Fort Vaux before it was overrun in the Battle of Verdun (reference to the M1909 Benét-Mercié's Verdun skin). Le Vaillant carried a message from the fort's commander Sylvain Reynal to his senior officers requesting reinforcements but was mortally wounded in flight. The bird was posthumously appointed to the Legion of Honour and is commemorated by a plaque at the fort.

This short historical fact may also refer to the Bodeo 1889's "The Valiant" skin name displayed on the loading screen:

Model 10-A skins
Legendary: The Cleveland, The Riot, The Rock of the Marne
Distinguished: Brawler, Dillinger, Gondrecourt, Vaux

The Riot skin for Model 10-A (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remington_Model_10): The Remington Model 10 is a pump-action shotgun designed in 1908 by John Pedersen for Remington Arms. The United States military used a short-barreled version known variously as the "trench" or "riot" shotgun. The Winchester Model 1897 was the major production, but Remington made 3,500 of the Model 10-A version for issue to U.S. troops during World War I. The Model 10 was modified by reducing the barrel length to 23 inches (58 cm) and adding sling swivels, a wooden heat shield over the barrel, and an adapter with bayonet lug for affixing a M1917 bayonet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riot_shotgun A riot shotgun is a shotgun designed or modified for use as a primarily defensive weapon, by the use of a short barrel and sometimes a larger magazine capacity than shotguns marketed for hunting. The riot shotgun is used by military personnel for guard duty and was at one time used for riot control, and is commonly used as a door breaching and patrol weapon by law enforcement personnel, as well as a home defense weapon by civilians.

Dillinger skin for Model 10-A (https://www.thefreelibrary.com/LONG+GUNS+OF+THE+ROARING+TWENTIES%3A+Shotguns+%26+Carbines.-a0625235203): In 1908, Remington introduced their Model 10 shotgun on the market. Designed by John Pedersen, like the M1897, it was a pump action repeater with a five round tubular magazine under the barrel. While never quite as popular as the Winchester, more than 275,000 were produced by 1929 with many seeing service with sportsmen, police agencies, private security agencies, the U.S. military ... and gangsters. Caption: The FBI's display of guns confiscated from the John Dillinger gang included a Ithaca Auto & Burglar gun, Remington Model 11 riot and "whippet" guns, and two Winchester Model 07s, one of which is a Leman full auto conversion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dillinger John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He led the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprisoned several times and escaped twice. He was charged with but not convicted of the murder of an East Chicago, Indiana, police officer, who shot Dillinger in his bullet-proof vest during a shootout; it was the only time Dillinger was charged with homicide. J. Edgar Hoover, director of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI), used Dillinger as a campaign platform to evolve the BOI into the Federal Bureau of Investigation, developing more sophisticated investigative techniques as weapons against organized crime. He returned to Chicago in July 1934 and sought refuge in a brothel owned by Ana Cumpănaș, who later informed authorities of his whereabouts. On July 22, 1934, local and federal law-enforcement officers closed in on the Biograph Theater. When BOI agents moved to arrest Dillinger as he exited the theater, he tried to flee. He was shot in the back; the deadly shot was ruled justifiable homicide. https://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Dillinger_(1945) Dillinger (1945). The following firearms can be seen in the 1945 film Dillinger: -Remington Model 10. Doc Madison (Marc Lawrence) carries a Remington Model 10 Riot Gun during the train robbery.

The Rock of the Marne skin for Model 10-A https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_Infantry_Division_(United_States) The 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) (nicknamed Rock of the Marne) is a combined arms division of the United States Army based at Fort Stewart, Georgia. The division has a distinguished history, having seen active service in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Global War on Terror. The Medal of Honor has been awarded to 61 members of the 3rd Infantry Division, making the division the most honored in the Army. Medal of Honor recipient Audie Murphy, featured in the Hollywood movie, "To Hell and Back," was a member. The 3rd Division was activated on 21 November 1917, seven months after the American entry into World War I, at Camp Greene, North Carolina. Eight months later, it saw combat for the first time in France on the Western Front. At midnight on 14 July 1918, the division earned a lasting distinction. Engaged in the Aisne-Marne Offensive as a member of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) to Europe, the division was protecting the French capital of Paris with a position on the banks of the Marne River. The 8th Machine Gun Battalion of the 3rd Division rushed to Château-Thierry (reference to the M1897 Shotgun's Château-Thierry skin) amid retreating French troops and held the Germans back at the Marne River. While surrounding units retreated, the 3rd Division, including the 4th, 30th, and 38th Infantry Regiments, remained steadfast throughout the Second Battle of the Marne, and Colonel Ulysses G. McAlexander's dogged defense earned the 38th Infantry Regiment its nickname as the "Rock of the Marne". General John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing (reference to the M1917 MG's Black Jack skin), Commander-in-chief of the AEF on the Western Front, called this stand "one of the most brilliant pages in the annals of military history". During the war, two members of the division were awarded the Medal of Honor. Casualties during the war were 3,177 killed in action with 12,940 wounded.

Gondrecourt skin for Model 10-A (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gondrecourt-le-Ch%C3%A2teau): Gondrecourt-le-Château est une commune française située dans le département de la Meuse en région Grand Est. Pendant la Première Guerre mondiale, la commune abrita à partir de 1917 un camp d'entraînement et un hôpital de campagne de la 1re division d’infanterie de l'armée américaine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gondrecourt-le-Ch%C3%A2teau Gondrecourt-le-Château is a commune in the Meuse (reference to the M1897 Shotgun's Meuse skin) department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. https://www.facebook.com/ww1centennial/photos/a.290566277785344/809507142557919/?type=3 "First to Fight" in France! -- The 5th Marine Regiment, by historian Steve Girard. After spending several weeks at Base Camp #1 at the AEF Port of Debarkation at St. Nazaire, the 5th Marine Regiment is finally given their orders to preceded by rail to the new 1st Division, AEF Training Area at Gondrecourt, France on the afternoon of Sunday, July 15th, 1917. Once the 5th Marine Regiment is settled into their new living area and surroundings of both Gondrecourt and Menaucourt, they will begin their new training program with the famed French "Blue Devils" (reference to the M1907 Selfloading's The Blue Devil skin) of 8th, 30th, 70th, and 115th Bataillons de Chasseurs Alpins in the coming weeks and months until the early Fall of 1917.

Vaux skin for Model 10-A (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Vaux): Fort Vaux (French: Fort de Vaux), in Vaux-Devant-Damloup, Meuse (reference to the M1897 Shotgun's Meuse skin), France, was a polygonal fort forming part of the ring of 19 large defensive works intended to protect the city of Verdun (reference to the M1909 Benét-Mercié's Verdun skin). Vaux was the second fort to fall in the Battle of Verdun after Fort Douaumont (reference to the Sjögren Inertial Shotgun's Douaumont skin), which was captured by a small German raiding party in February 1916 in the confusion of the French retreat from the Woëvre plain. Vaux had been modernised before 1914 with reinforced concrete top protection like Fort Douaumont and was not destroyed by German heavy artillery fire, which had included shelling by 16-inch (410 mm) howitzers. The superstructure of the fort was badly damaged but the garrison, the deep interior corridors and stations were intact when the fort was attacked on 2 June by German Stormtroops. The defence of Fort Vaux was marked by the heroism and endurance of the garrison, including Major Sylvain-Eugene Raynal. Under his command, the French garrison repulsed German assaults, including fighting underground from barricades inside the corridors, during the first big engagement inside a fort during the First World War. After the surrender of the garrison on 7 June, Crown Prince Wilhelm (reference to the Selbstlader M1916's Kronprinz skin), the commander of the 5th Army, presented Major Raynal with a French officer's sword as a sign of respect. Raynal and his soldiers remained in captivity in Germany until the Armistice of 11 November 1918. The fort was recaptured by French infantry on 2 November 1916 after an artillery bombardment involving two long-range 400 mm (16 in) railway guns. The underground installations of the fort are well preserved and are open to the public for guided visits.

The Cleveland skin for Model 10-A (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grover_Cleveland): Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837 – June 24, 1908) was an American politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. In the years before his presidency, he served as a mayor and governor in New York state, winning fame as an anti-corruption crusader. Cleveland is the only president in U.S. history to serve non-consecutive presidential terms. Cleveland was one of two Democrats elected president (followed by Woodrow Wilson in 1912) in an era when Republicans dominated the presidency between 1861 and 1933. Cleveland was elected mayor of Buffalo in 1881 and governor of New York in 1882. While governor, he closely cooperated with state assembly minority leader Theodore Roosevelt (reference to the Russian 1895's The Teddy skin) to pass reform measures, winning national attention. Cleveland's military policy emphasized self-defense and modernization. Sixteen additional steel-hulled warships were ordered by the end of 1888; these ships later proved vital in the Spanish–American War of 1898, and many served in World War I. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grover_Cleveland_Alexander Grover Cleveland Alexander (February 26, 1887 – November 4, 1950), nicknamed "Old Pete", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He played from 1911 through 1930 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals. He was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1938. His father was a Democrat, and Alexander was born during the first term of President Grover Cleveland, a Democrat, so his parents named him for Cleveland. Alexander spent most of the 1918 season in France as a sergeant with the 342nd Field Artillery Regiment, 89th Division. While he was serving in France, he was exposed to German mustard gas and a shell exploded near him, causing partial hearing loss and triggering the onset of epilepsy. Alexander returned to the United States in April 1919 on the SS Rochambeau. Following his return from the war, Alexander suffered from shell shock (reference to the M1917 Enfield's Shellshock skin) and was plagued with epileptic seizures, which people often misinterpreted as a sign of drunkenness; this only exacerbated his drinking problem.

Brawler skin for Model 10-A: triple question mark (???) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sereno_E._Brett Sereno Elmer Brett (October 31, 1891 – September 9, 1952) was a highly decorated brigadier general in the United States Army who fought in both World War I and World War II and played a key, if little recognized today, role in the development of armored warfare along with the creation of the U.S. Interstate Highway. He was also a lifelong friend of U.S. President, and former army colleague, Dwight D. Eisenhower (reference to M1903's The Eisenhower skin). https://www.breakthroughassault.co.uk/great-war-us-bretts-brawlers-gusab01/ Great War US Brett’s Brawlers (GUSAB01) Spotlight. The first thing I noticed looking at the US and French army deals (and the rules to be fair) is that both armies look very similar. This is down to the fact the US were equipped and trained with French Doctrines and equipment having come late to the fight.

MG15 N.A skins
Legendary: Die Deutsche Dogge, The König, The Schütte-Lanz
Distinguished: Bapaume, F-patrone, Moltke, Oigee

Moltke skin for MG15 N.A (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmuth_von_Moltke_the_Elder): Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke (26 October 1800 – 24 April 1891) was a Prussian field marshal. The chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years, he is regarded as the creator of a new, more modern method of directing armies in the field and one of the finest military minds of his generation. He commanded troops in Europe and the Middle East, in the Second Schleswig War, Austro-Prussian War and Franco-Prussian War. He is described as embodying "Prussian military organization and tactical genius". He was fascinated with railways and pioneered their military use. He is often referred to as Moltke the Elder to distinguish him from his nephew Helmuth von Moltke the Younger (Helmuth Johann Ludwig von Moltke), who commanded the German Army at the outbreak of the First World War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmuth_von_Moltke_the_Younger Helmuth Johannes Ludwig Graf von Moltke (25 May 1848 – 18 June 1916), also known as Moltke the Younger, was a German general and Chief of the Great German General Staff, a member of the House of Moltke. He was also the nephew of Generalfeldmarschall Graf Helmuth Karl Bernhard von Moltke, who is commonly called "Moltke the Elder" to differentiate the two. Upon becoming the head of the General Staff, Moltke led the German Army from 1 January 1906 to 14 September 1914 during the opening months of World War I. His legacy remains a matter of controversy, due to his involvement in Germany's decision to go to war and in the execution of the invasion of France and Belgium that culminated in the First Battle of the Marne. Following the German retreat from the Marne, Moltke allegedly reported to the Kaiser (reference to Gewehr 98's The Kaiser skin), "Your Majesty, we have lost the war.

The König skin for MG15 N.A (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_German_monarchs_in_1918): The term German Empire (Deutsches Kaiserreich) commonly refers to Germany, from its foundation as a unified nation-state on 18 January 1871, until the abdication of its last Kaiser (reference to Gewehr 98's The Kaiser skin), Wilhelm II, on November 9, 1918. Germans, when referring to the Reich in this period under the Kaisers, 1871 to 1918, typically use the term Kaiserreich. Federal prince (Bundesfürst) was the generic term for the royal heads of state (monarchs) of the various states making up the German Empire. The empire was a federal state, with its constituent states remaining sovereign states. The Kaiser as head of the empire was granted the title German Emperor (the style "Emperor of Germany" being deliberately avoided), and was simultaneously a federal prince as King of Prussia, the sovereign of its largest federal state. Of the princely heads of state, 4 held the title King (König) (the Kings of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, and Württemberg), 6 held the title Grand Duke (Großherzog), 5 held the title Duke (Herzog), and 7 held the title Prince (i.e. Sovereign Prince, Fürst). Following the abdication of Wilhelm II on 9 November 1918 and German Revolution of 1918–19, the German nobility and royalty as legally defined classes were abolished on 11 August 1919 with the promulgation of the Weimar Constitution, under which all Germans were made equal before the law, and the legal rights and privileges, and all following German Houses, titles, insignia and ranks of nobility were abolished. Nevertheless, the proclamations and Wilhelm II's abdication triggered a powerful domino effect: the same day a number of other princes stepped down, and within a week most monarchs in Germany had followed suit. The last to abdicate was King William II of Württemberg on 30 November 1918.

Bapaume skin for MG15 N.A (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bapaume): Bapaume (original Dutch name Batpalmen) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. Bapaume is a farming and light industrial town located some 23 km south by south-east of Arras (reference to the Lewis Gun's Arras skin) and 50 km north-east of Amiens. Bapaume has been called the Seuil de Bapaume (Bapaume threshold) due to its position as a crossing point between Artois and the Flanders plain (reference to the Artillery Truck's Flanders skin) on one side, and the Somme valley (reference to the Auto Revolver's Somme skin) and the Paris Basin on the other. Bapaume was occupied by the Germans on 26 September 1914 then by the British on 17 March 1917. The town hall was destroyed on 25 March by a delayed action mine left by the Germans, killing 24 people including Australian soldiers and two French members of parliament. Ernst Jünger wrote in his Storm of Steel that the explosion was caused by an Improvised explosive device (IED) that had been left by retreating German troops. On 24 March 1918, the Germans took over the city again. In 1918 the Second Battle of Bapaume, 21 August–3 September, was part of the second phase of the Battle of Amiens, the British and Commonwealth attack that was the turning point of the First World War on the Western Front and the beginning of the Allies' Hundred Days Offensive. On 29 August the New Zealand Division, after heavy fighting, occupied Bapaume, having broken through, with the British 5th Infantry Division, the very strong Le Transloy-Loupart trench system and having overcome many other strong points around the town. The First Battle of Bapaume ran from 24 to 25 March 1918 and the Second Battle of Bapaume from 21 August to 3 September 1918.

F-patrone skin for MG15 N.A (https://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/showthread.php?p=322414): In WW1, most incendiary bullets were ignited on firing and burned as they passed through the air. They didn't necessarily emit a visible flame, but more usually smoke. This acted as a "day tracer" as the pilot could see the smoke trail. Another extract from "Flying Guns": "Incendiary and high-explosive (HE) bullets had a hollowed-out centre filled with a suitable compound. Some types of incendiary, such as the British Buckingham (reference to the SMLE MKIII's Buckingham Mark I skin) which contained a phosphorous (reference to the BAR M1918's Phosphorous skin)/aluminium mixture, were ignited on firing and burned slowly throughout their flight, while others ignited on impact. Most HE bullets were not purely explosive because the rifle-calibre ammunition was too small to carry an effective quantity of explosive; they were usually intended to burst violently in order to distribute the incendiary compound over a wide area. The British Pomeroy HE bullet (reference to the M1909 Benét-Mercié's Pomeroy skin), which contained nitro-glycerine and was purely explosive, was an exception but the Brock (reference to the Huot Automatic Rifle's Brock skin), which contained potassium chlorate, and the RTS (RTS standing for Richard Threlfall and Sons) with both nitro-glycerine and phosphorous, had both high explosive and incendiary effects. Use of these bullets was initially somewhat hazardous as the early versions had a reputation for premature detonations, and elaborate handling precautions were required." For their 7.92x57 ammunition, Germany made the following special loadings for aircraft use during WW1: -An AP-incendiary (believed to be known as "F Patrone" - Flugzeugbrand) which did not burn in flight, but only on impact with the target. This was a late-war development, intended purely for attacking aircraft (not balloons).

The Schütte-Lanz skin for MG15 N.A (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sch%C3%BCtte-Lanz_airships): Schütte-Lanz (SL) is the name of a series of rigid airships designed and built by the Luftschiffbau Schütte-Lanz company from 1909 until 1917. The Schütte-Lanz company was an early competitor of the more famous airships built by Ferdinand von Zeppelin. It is common for all rigid airships to be informally called zeppelins regardless of their manufacturer, and Schütte-Lanz airships are often referred to as such, but the Zeppelin name technically only applies to those manufactured by the Zeppelin company. When the Zeppelin LZ 4 met with disaster at Echterdingen in 1908, Professor Johann Schütte (1873-1940) started to consider the problems of airship design. He decided, with the co-operation of his students, to develop his own scientifically designed, high performance airship. In partnership with Dr Karl Lanz, an industrialist and wood products manufacturer, he started constructing the Schütte-Lanz Luftschiffbau on 22 April 1909. The airships were successful at first, and introduced a number of highly successful innovations. Wood composites had a theoretical superiority as the structural material for airships up to a certain size, after which the superior strength of aluminum (and later duralumin) in tension was more important than the superior strength of wood in compression. Schütte-Lanz airships until 1918 were made of wood and plywood glued together. Moisture tended to degrade the integrity of the glued joints. The German Navy had bases closer to the sea, and thus more humid. They were reluctant to accept wooden composite craft. As a result, the primary customer for Schütte-Lanz airships was the German Army. The German Army decided well before the German Navy that airship operations were futile in the face of land-based heavier-than-air opposition.
Twenty-four Schütte-Lanz airships were designed before the end of the World War I, most of which the company was not paid for due to the collapse of the German Monarchy. By the time the last eight ships were ready, most of them could not be operated due to the loss of trained crews.

Oigee skin for MG15 N.A (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflector_sight): A reflector sight or reflex sight is an optical sight that allows the user to look through a partially reflecting glass element and see an illuminated projection of an aiming point or some other image superimposed on the field of view. These sights work on the simple optical principle that anything at the focus of a lens or curved mirror (such as an illuminated reticle) will appear to be sitting in front of the viewer at infinity. The earliest record of the reflector sight being used with fighter aircraft was in 1918. The optical firm of Optische Anstalt Oigee of Berlin, working from the Grubb patents, developed two versions what came to be known as the Oigee Reflector Sight. Both used a 45 degree angle glass beam splitter and electrical illumination and were used to aim the plane's machine guns. One version was used in operational trials on the biplane Albatros D.Va and triplane Fokker Dr.1 fighters. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Bolle_(flying_ace) Rittmeister Carl Bolle (also as Karl Bolle, 20 June 1893 – 9 October 1955), was a fighter ace with 36 aerial victories during World War I. He became a Jagdstaffel commander during that war, and an advisor to the Luftwaffe during World War II. The Fokker Dr.I triplane supplied was a plane of limited speed but great maneuverability and climb rate. Its slower speed made it more difficult to close to short distance for gunnery against faster fighters. Bolle's solution was the use of an Oigee telescopic sight for his guns. He also painted distinctive white stripes on his upper wings, to denote his leadership role, along with a yellow fuselage band edged by black and white to honor his old cavalry regiment. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gewehr_98 In the spring of 1915, it was decided to fit 15,000 Gewehr 98 rifles, selected for being exceptionally accurate during factory tests, with telescopic sights for sniper use, though the Gewehr 98 was not designed for use with aiming optics. The Scharfschützen-Gewehr 98 (sniper rifle 98) was officially adapted in 1915 featuring for the period advanced 4× Görtz or Zeiss telescopic sights. The wartime Scharfschützen-Gewehr 98 program intended to regularize equipment issued for snipers but failed. The telescopic sights used consisted of 2.5×, 3× and 4× models, made by manufactures like Görtz, Gérard, Oigee, Zeiss, Hensoldt, Voigtländer and various civilian models from manufacturers like Bock, Busch and Füss.

Die Deutsche Dogge skin for MG15 N.A (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Dane): The Great Dane is a large sized dog breed originating from Germany. The Great Dane descends from hunting dogs from the Middle Ages used to hunt wild boar and deer, and which were also used as guardians of German nobility. It is one of the two largest dog breeds in the world, along with the Irish Wolfhound. These dogs were called Englische Docke or Englische Tocke – later written and spelled: Dogge – or Englischer Hund in Germany. The name simply meant "English dog". In 1878, a committee was formed in Berlin which changed the name of the "Englische Dogge" (English mastiff derivatives) to "Deutsche Dogge" (German mastiff), this being the Great Dane. This laid the foundations from which the breed was developed. During the 19th century, the dog was known as a "German boarhound" in English-speaking countries. Some German breeders tried to introduce the names "German Dogge" and "German Mastiff" on the English market, because they believed the breed should be marketed as a dog of luxury and not as a working dog. However, due to the increasing tensions between Germany and other countries, the dog later became referred to as a "Great Dane", a literal translation of a name used for it in French, "Grand Danois", even though the breed has no known connection to Denmark. In Germany, it remains known as "Deutsche Dogge."

C93 skins
Legendary: The General, Hymn of Hate
Distinguished: Marauder, Spion Kop

Spion Kop skin for C93 https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/C-93_Pistol_(Codex_Entry) The C-93 was the first ever mass-produced semi-automatic pistol, designed in 1893 and based on the same kind of toggle lock mechanism that was used in the recently developed heavy machine guns. Although it was never officially adopted, the pistol did see action in the Second Boer War of 1899 - 1902, and was likely used as a private purchase sidearm by some officers in WW1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spion_Kop_(mountain) Spion Kop (Afrikaans: Spioenkop) is a mountain in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This mountain has historical significance. Its hilltop was the site of the Battle of Spion Kop (one of the most important battles of the Boer Wars) from 23 to 24 January 1900, near the Tugela River, Natal in South Africa. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Spion_Kop The Battle of Spioen Kop (Dutch: Slag bij Spionkop; Afrikaans: Slag van Spioenkop) was a military engagement between British forces and two Boer Republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, during the campaign by the British to relieve the besieged city Ladysmith during the initial months of the Second Boer War. The battle was fought 23–24 January 1900 on the hilltop of Spioen Kop, about 38 km (24 mi) west-southwest of Ladysmith. It resulted in a Boer victory.

Hymn of Hate skin for C93 (https://behindtheirlines.blogspot.com/2016/01/hymn-of-hate.html): However, the most famous hate-the-enemy, nationalistic poem of the war was written by Ernst Lissauer, a German-Jewish poet. His “Hymn of Hate” was composed shortly after war broke out in 1914, and in just a few short months, it was translated and published in the United States (then a neutral nation). The New York Times admired Lissauer’s technical skill, but described the poem as “simply abominable,” and “a brutal and wicked production.”* In Germany, not surprisingly, the poem was an immediate success. The Kaiser (reference to Gewehr 98's The Kaiser skin) honored Lissauer, and the Crown Prince of Bavaria (reference to the Selbstlader M1916's Kronprinz skin) ordered that the poem be printed and distributed to his troops. Curiously, the poem became almost as popular in England as in Germany. Lissauer, who had also coined the German Army’s slogan “Gott Strafe England” (may God punish England), could not have anticipated that the British would view his war slogan as a compliment, nor that the British would find a great deal of amusement in parodying his “Hymn of Hate.” Newspapers in England published the text of the poem with an accompanying musical score, and the choir at the Royal College of Music performed it as a joke. Lissauer himself grew to regret writing the poem. In 1926, he wrote that instead of writing a poem of hatred against England, he should have written a poem of love for Germany.

The General skin for C93 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_de_Gaulle): Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970), commonly known in France and many nations as le général de Gaulle (General de Gaulle) or simply as le Général (the General), was a French army officer and statesman who led Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Republic from 1944 to 1946 in order to restore democracy in France. He was a decorated officer of the First World War, wounded several times and later taken prisoner by the Germans at Verdun (reference to the M1909 Benét-Mercié's Verdun skin). As a platoon commander, de Gaulle was involved in fierce fighting from the outset. He received his baptism of fire on 15 August and was among the first to be wounded, receiving a bullet in the knee at the Battle of Dinant. De Gaulle's unit gained recognition for repeatedly crawling out into no man's land to listen to the conversations of the enemy in their trenches, and the information brought back was so valuable that on 18 January 1915 he received the Croix de Guerre. On 10 February he was promoted to captain, initially on probation. As a company commander at Douaumont (reference to the Sjögren Inertial Shotgun's Douaumont skin) (during the Battle of Verdun) on 2 March 1916, while leading a charge to try to break out of a position which had become surrounded by the enemy, he received a bayonet wound to the left thigh after being stunned by a shell and was captured after passing out from the effects of poison gas. He was one of the few survivors of his battalion. He was pulled out of an empty shell crater by German soldiers and taken prisoner. De Gaulle spent 32 months in six different prisoner camps, but he spent most time in the Ingolstadt Fortress, where his treatment was satisfactory. In Ingolstadt were also journalist Remy Roure, who would eventually become a political ally of de Gaulle, and Mikhail Tukhachevsky, a future commander of the Red Army. During his time as a POW, de Gaulle became well acquainted with Tukhachevsky, whose theories about a fast-moving, mechanized army closely resembled his. Originally interned at Rosenberg Fortress, he was quickly moved to progressively higher-security facilities like Ingolstadt. In total, De Gaulle made five unsuccessful escape attempts, and was routinely punished with long periods of solitary confinement and the withdrawal of privileges such as newspapers and tobacco. He attempted escape by hiding in a laundry basket, digging a tunnel, digging a hole through a wall, and even posing as a nurse to fool his guards. In his letters to his parents, he constantly spoke of his frustration that the war was continuing without him, calling the situation "a shameful misfortune" and compared it to being cuckolded. As the war neared its end, he grew depressed that he was playing no part in the victory, but despite his efforts, he remained in captivity until the armistice.

Marauder skin for C93: triple question mark (???) The Marauder Battalion has a proud lineage dating back to the first military training program for African Americans built by General Charles Young. General Charles Young is renowned for his trail-blazing achievements as the third African American graduate of West Point, a superb leader of the Buffalo Soldiers, and the first African American superintendent of a national park. His role as an educator of military officers in the ground-breaking Marauder Battalion, while less well known, was profoundly influential in the development of the next generation of African American officers in the U.S. military. Ohio Senators John Sherman and Calvin S. Brice, and Ohio Congressman George W. Hulick urged President Grover Cleveland (reference to the Model 10-A' The Cleveland skin) to establish a military training program at Wilberforce University, the first private, historically black university in the United States. At the outset of Young’s teaching at Wilberforce University, he developed a constructive training regime and curriculum to prepare the students for a successful future in the military. Young used pedagogic techniques similar to those used during his time as a student at West Point. Young was determined to continuously improve the program. In doing so, he organized a cadet battalion that modeled a conventional military unit. His teaching strategy was recognized by the U.S. Army as a valuable method for producing candidates qualified to serve as officers in the state militia or National Guard units. Today, the cadet battalion is called the Marauder Battalion named for the mascot of the battalion’s home institution, Central State University, and continues to use the techniques Young implemented.

No. 3 Revolver skins
Legendary: Holiday Package, Imshee, The Legionnaire
Distinguished: Achi Baba, Hitman

Holiday Package skin for No. 3 Revolver: "Holiday Mission #4 2017" reward (Dec 22, 2017): Get 200 kills with a pistol this weekend to unlock the super rare No.3 Revolver Holiday package skin.

Achi Baba skin for No. 3 Revolver (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achi_Baba): Achi Baba (Turkish: Alçıtepe) is a height dominating the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey, located in Çanakkale Province. Achi Baba was the main position of the Ottoman Turkish defenses in 1915 during the World War I Gallipoli campaign. Mediterranean Expeditionary Force Commander-in-Chief Sir Ian Hamilton had set the capture of Achi Baba as a stated priority for operations during the Allied landing at Cape Helles (reference to the Battlefield 1's Cappe Helles map) on 25 April 1915. Four separate attempts were made by the Allies to seize Achi Baba and the village of Krithia between April and July, but the heights remained in Turkish hands for the duration of the campaign. https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Achi_Baba_(Codex_Entry) The heights of Achi Baba Hill dominated the Gallipoli Peninsula and were the prime objective for the landing Allies. The Ottoman defenders had dug in around the village of Krithia and prepared camouflaged machinegun and artillery nests. From the heights, the defenders could direct their fire on the landing zones and every attempt to seize their positions would be an uphill struggle against an entrenched defender. For Sir Ian Hamilton, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Expeditionary Force, the hill with its slopes reaching towards the Aegean and the Dardanelles represented the major obstacle on his way to succes and he ordered several infantry attacks to seize its crest. They all failed. The hill remained in Ottoman hands at the cost of several thousand Allied casualties. https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Achi_Baba Achi Baba is a map featured in the first phase of the Battlefield 1: Turning Tides expansion.

Imshee skin for No. 3 Revolver (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/imshee): Imshee Etymology, From Arabic اِمْشِ‎ (imši, “go away!”). Alternative forms: imshi, imshy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digger_slang Digger slang, also known as ANZAC slang or Australian military slang, is Australian English slang as employed by the various Australian armed forces throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. There have been four major sources of the slang: the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The name Digger slang derives from the cultural stereotype of the Digger in the First World War. The soldiers also incorporated Arabic words learned at their training grounds in Egypt, such as "saieeda" for "goodbye" and "imshi" for "go". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Light_Car_Patrol_%28Australia%29 The 1st Light Car Patrol was formed in Melbourne in June 1916, and designated the 1st Armoured Car Section; it was also known as the 1st Armoured Car Battery. The patrol was disbanded in 1919 as repatriation of soldiers was underway. The unit was raised in Melbourne during 1916 as part of the Australian Imperial Force during World War I, and left for Egypt in June of the same year. The 1st Armoured Car Section became the 1st Light Car Patrol on 3 December. As their original three vehicles became worn out from hard use in the Western Desert and were irreparable due to shortages of spare parts, the unit was reequipped with six Ford light cars. Extra drivers and motorcycles were provided. The cars were given names: Anzac, Billzac, Osatal, Silent Sue, Imshi and Bung.

The Legionnaire skin for No. 3 Revolver (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Foreign_Legion): The annexation of Alsace and Lorraine by Germany in 1871 led to numerous volunteers from the two regions enlisting in the Foreign Legion, which gave them the option of French citizenship at the end of their service. With the declaration of war on 29 July 1914, a call was made for foreigners residing in France to support their adopted country. While many would have preferred direct enlistment in the regular French Army, the only option immediately available was that of the Foreign Legion. In World War I, the Foreign Legion fought in many critical battles on the Western Front, including Artois, Champagne, Somme (reference to the Auto Revolver's Somme skin), Aisne, and Verdun (reference to the M1909 Benét-Mercié's Verdun skin), and also suffered heavy casualties during 1918. The Foreign Legion was also in the Dardanelles and Macedonian front, and was highly decorated for its efforts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Seeger Alan Seeger (22 June 1888 – 4 July 1916) was an American war poet who fought and died in World War I during the Battle of the Somme, serving in the French Foreign Legion. He is lauded for the poem "I Have a Rendezvous with Death" (reference to the M1917 MG's Rendezvous skin), a favorite of President John F. Kennedy. A statue representing him is on the monument in the Place des États-Unis, Paris, honoring fallen Americans who volunteered for France during the war. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Bullard Eugene Jacques Bullard (born Eugene James Bullard; October 9, 1895 – October 12, 1961) was one of the first African American military pilots, although Bullard flew for France, not the United States. Also a boxer and a jazz musician, he was called "L'Hirondelle noire" in French (literally "Black Swallow"). World War I began in August 1914. On October 19, 1914, Bullard enlisted and was assigned to the 3rd Marching Regiment of the Foreign Legion (R.M.L.E.), as foreign volunteers were allowed only to serve in the Foreign Legion. In 1954, the French government invited Bullard to Paris to be one of the three men chosen to rekindle the everlasting flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (reference to the M1917 Enfield's The Unknown Soldier skin) under the Arc de Triomphe. In 1959, he was made a Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur by General Charles de Gaulle (reference to C-93 Pistol's The General skin), who called Bullard a "véritable héros français" ("true French hero").

Hitman skin for No. 3 Revolver: triple question mark (???) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_%26_Wesson_Model_3 The Smith & Wesson Model 3 is a single-action, cartridge-firing, top-break revolver produced by Smith & Wesson (S&W) from around 1870 to 1915, and was recently again offered as a reproduction by Smith & Wesson and Uberti. Like the other Model 3s, they were also reportedly popular with lawmen and outlaws in the American West, and were reportedly used by Jesse James, Bob Ford (who used one to kill James), John Wesley Hardin, Pat Garrett, Theodore Roosevelt (reference to Russian 1895's The Teddy skin), Virgil Earp, Billy the Kid (reference to British Bulldog's The Kid skin), and many others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Ford_(outlaw) Robert Newton Ford (January 31, 1862 – June 8, 1892) was an American outlaw who killed fellow outlaw Jesse James on April 3, 1882. Hoping to keep the gang alive, James invited the Fords to take part in the robbery of the Platte City Bank in Missouri, but the brothers had already decided not to participate; rather, they intended to collect the $10,000 bounty placed on James by Governor Thomas T. Crittenden. Crittenden promised Ford a full pardon if he would kill James, who was by then the most wanted criminal in the US. Living with the James family, the Fords became part of the daily routine, and James's wife cooked for them. On April 3, 1882, after eating breakfast, the Fords and James went into the living room before travelling to Platte City. According to Robert Ford, it became clear to him that James had realized they were there to betray him. However, instead of scolding the Fords, James walked across the living room to lay his revolvers on a sofa. He turned around and noticed a dusty picture above the mantel, and stood on a chair to clean it. Robert Ford drew his weapon and shot James in the back of the head. https://www.imfdb.org/wiki/The_Assassination_of_Jesse_James_by_the_Coward_Robert_Ford The following weapons were used in the film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford: -Smith & Wesson New Model No.3. Bob Ford uses his Smith & Wesson to kill Jesse James.

M1897 Shotgun skins
Legendary: The Burnett, The Sweeper, The Washington
Distinguished: Château-Thierry, Lieutenant Kelly, Meuse, Trenchbroom

The Sweeper skin for M1897 Shotgun (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Model_1897): Unlike most modern pump-action shotguns, the Winchester Model 1897 (versions of which were type classified as the Model 97 or M97 for short) fired each time the action closed with the trigger depressed (that is, it lacks a trigger disconnector). Coupled with its five-shot capacity, this made it effective for close combat, such that troops referred to it as a "trench sweeper". This characteristic allowed troops to fire the whole magazine with great speed, known as "slam firing". The Model 1897 was so effective, and feared, that the German government protested (in vain) to have it outlawed in combat. https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/M1897_Shotgun_(Codex_Entry) The original design was modified by adding a perforated steel heat shield over the barrel and a bayonet lug. Because of the lack of a trigger disconnector, the M1897 fires each time the user cycles the pump-action while the trigger is depressed. This feature earned it the nickname "Trench Sweeper" among the troops.

Trenchbroom skin for M1897 Shotgun (imfdb.org/wiki/Winchester_Model_1897): The United States military used a short-barreled version, often called the "trench gun" by US troops, who made extensive use of it in both World Wars. This version was modified by adding a perforated steel heat shield over the barrel, and an adapter with bayonet lug for affixing a M1917 bayonet. Unlike most modern pump-action shotguns, the M1897 fired each time the action closed with the trigger depressed (that is, it lacks a trigger disconnector), allowing even a moderately trained soldier to slam-fire all six shells in around two seconds. The six-shot capacity made it extremely effective for close combat, and gave it nicknames like the "trench broom" and "trench sweeper."

Meuse skin for M1897 Shotgun (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meuse): The Meuse is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of 925 km (575 miles). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meuse_(department) Meuse is a department in northeast France, named after the River Meuse. Meuse is part of the current region of Grand Est and is landlocked and borders by the French departments of Ardennes, Marne, Haute-Marne, Vosges, Meurthe-et-Moselle, and Belgium to the north. Front lines in trench warfare during World War I ran varying courses through the department and it hosted an important battle/offensive in 1916 in and around Verdun (reference to the M1909 Benét-Mercié's Verdun skin). The First World War dealt a heavy blow to the department, and by 1921, only 207,309 inhabitants were recorded. Many residents had fled, and entire villages that were on or near the front line in 1916 were destroyed. Meuse thus has several uninhabited communes because the villages were never rebuilt, and in fact are known as "Morts pour la France" ("Died for France"); the number of displaced persons from the villages varies from 131 to 718. Since the end of the Battle of Verdun in 1916, these communes have been unoccupied with an official population of zero; the villages are Beaumont-en-Verdunois, Bezonvaux, Cumières-le-Mort-Homme (reference to the Sjögren Inertial Shotgun's Le Mort-Homme skin), Fleury-devant-Douaumont (reference to the Sjögren Inertial Shotgun's Douaumont skin), Haumont-près-Samogneux (reference to the Battlefield 1's Verdun Heights map) and Louvemont-Côte-du-Poivre. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meuse%E2%80%93Argonne_offensive The Meuse–Argonne offensive (also known as the Meuse River–Argonne Forest offensive, the Battles of the Meuse–Argonne, and the Meuse–Argonne campaign) was a major part of the final Allied offensive of World War I that stretched along the entire Western Front. It was fought from September 26, 1918, until the Armistice of November 11, 1918, a total of 47 days. The offensive was the principal engagement of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in World War I. It was one of a series of Allied attacks, known as the Hundred Days Offensive, which brought the war to an end.

Château-Thierry skin for M1897 Shotgun (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau-Thierry): Château-Thierry is a French commune situated in the department of the Aisne, in the administrative region of Hauts-de-France, and in the historic Province of Champagne. Château-Thierry is the birthplace of Jean de La Fontaine and was the location of the First Battle of the Marne and Second Battle of the Marne (reference to Model 10-A Shotgun's The Rock of the Marne skin). In 1918, a mounting for the Paris Gun was found near the castle, though the cannon itself had apparently been moved prior to the emplacement's discovery. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ch%C3%A2teau-Thierry_(1918) The Battle of Château-Thierry was fought on July 18, 1918 and was one of the first actions of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) under General John J. Pershing (reference to the M1917 MG's Black Jack skin). It was a battle in World War I as part of the Second Battle of the Marne, initially prompted by a German Spring Offensive (reference to the MP18's The Kaiserschlacht skin). German and local actions at Château-Thierry recommenced on May 31 to July 22, 1918, against the AEF, an American Expeditionary Force, consisting of troops from both the United States Army and Marine Corps (reference to the M1903's Marine skin) units. These units were the newest troops on the front in France and just barely out of training. The AEF counter-offensive combat action at Château-Thierry was relatively brief starting on July 18, 1918 and lasting for less than a week and was part of the allied effort to push back the recent German advance. American forces had linked up with their French allies at the Marne River on June 3, 1918 and had forced the Germans back across the river. This set the stage for the action at Château-Thierry and at the Battle of Belleau Wood (reference to the M1903's Belleau Wood skin). However, the later action raged for another three weeks.

Lieutenant Kelly skin for M1897 Shotgun (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_Field): Kelly Field (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) is a Joint-Use facility located in San Antonio, Texas. It was originally named after George E. M. Kelly, the first member of the U.S. military killed in the crash of an airplane he was piloting. Kelly Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I, being established on 27 March 1917. It was used as a flying field; primary flying school; school for adjutants, supply officers, and engineers; mechanics school, and as an aviation general supply depot. Kelly Field is named in honor of 2nd Lieutenant George Edward Maurice Kelly. Lt. Kelly, who after a course of training at the Curtiss Aviation School, Rockwell Field, California, was ordered to Fort Sam Houston, near San Antonio. While attempting to land on 10 May 1911 in order to avoid running into a tent and thereby possibly injuring several others, Kelly died in a crash, falling into the ground. In November 1915, the newly created 1st Aero Squadron arrived at Fort Sam Houston after a cross-country flight from Fort Sill, Oklahoma. However, the squadron remained at the post only until March 1916, whereupon it left to join Brigadier General John J. Pershing’s (reference to the M1917 MG's Black Jack skin) Punitive Expedition against Pancho Villa (reference to the Russian 1895's Pancho Villa skin) on the U.S.-Mexico border. Problems experienced by the 1st Aero Squadron on that expedition and the ongoing war in Europe persuaded Congress to improve and expand the nation's air arm. On 5 April 1917, four aircraft took off from Fort Sam Houston, flew across San Antonio and landed on the new airfield, which at the time was a cleared cotton field. Tents had been erected as hangars, however, a permanent presence at the airfield was not established until 7 May when 700 men arrived. A week later, the population had grown to 4,000. Construction of the facility was rapid, with the United States now at war and the mission of the new airfield was to train aviators to be sent to the Western Front in France. Many of the American-trained World War I aviators learned to fly at Kelly field, with 1,459 pilots and 398 flying instructors graduating from the Kelly aviation schools during the course of the war. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_E._M._Kelly George Edward Maurice Kelly (11 December 1878 – 10 May 1911) was the 12th pilot of the U.S. Army's Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps and the first member of the U.S. military killed in the crash of an airplane he was piloting. He was a 2nd Lieutenant.

The Burnett skin for for M1897 Shotgun https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Mongolia_(1903) SS Mongolia was a 13,369-ton passenger-and-cargo liner originally built for Pacific Mail Steamship Company in 1904. In March 1917, following the German declaration of a submarine blockade around Britain, Mongolia was chartered as an Army transport and received a self-defense armament of three 6-inch (150 mm) deck guns manned by U.S. Navy gun crews. One month later, Mongolia became the first American vessel to test the blockade, using those guns to drive off (and possibly sink) a U-boat seven miles southeast of Beachy Head, in the English Channel. That was the first armed encounter for an American vessel after the US's entry to World War I. For the next year, Mongolia ferried American troops and supplies to Europe. Two American nurses, Clara Ayres and Helen Burnett Wood, were accidentally killed during one of these crossings, and another was wounded. During the afternoon of 20 May 1917, the nurses were on the deck of the Mongolia, observing the firing of the aft 6-inch gun, when they were struck by fragments of the shell's brass casing. https://evanstonroundtable.com/2021/11/11/evanston-world-war-i-casualty-helen-burnett-wood/ Evanston WWI veteran Helen Burnett Wood is honored in America and Scotland. Wood, a nurse who volunteered to serve in the war, was born in Scotland and immigrated to Evanston in 1909. In 1914, she earned a nursing degree from the Evanston Training School for Nurses, a school affiliated with Evanston Hospital and Northwestern University. In 1917, she volunteered to serve as a nurse with U.S. Base Hospital 12, a unit largely composed of Northwestern University students, alumni and faculty. Wood set sail for France in May 1917. Tragically, she and fellow nurse Edith Ayres were killed when one of the ship’s guns misfired during a routine practice. Wood and Ayres were the first members of an American unit to be killed in service during World War I.

The Washington skin for for M1897 Shotgun: triple question mark (???) or why are there dog breeds as skin names in Battlefield 1? https://www.history.com/news/george-washington-dogs George Washington: Founding Father—And Passionate Dog Breeder. Among the names the future first president gave his dogs were Sweet Lips, Venus, Trulove, Taster, Tippler, Drunkard and Madame Moose. But few may know the founding father was also a dog lover who even bred his own unique breed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_of_the_Armies General of the Armies of the United States, more commonly referred to as General of the Armies, is the highest military rank in the United States Army. The rank has been conferred two times: to John J. Pershing (reference to the M1917 MG's Black Jack skin) in 1919, as a personal accolade for his command of the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I, to George Washington in 1976, as a posthumous honor during the United States Bicentennial celebrations. The grade is sometimes described as a six-star general, as being senior to the five-star grade of General of the Army, but no six-star insignia was ever officially created and Pershing, the only person to be General of the Armies during his own lifetime, never wore more than four stars. The General of the Armies enjoyed several privileges not afforded to other generals, including a much higher salary and the right to retire at full pay and allowances. Even in retirement, Pershing was the second-highest-paid official in the federal government, after only the president of the United States. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonus_Army The Bonus Army was a group of 43,000 demonstrators – 17,000 veterans of U.S. involvement in World War I, their families, and affiliated groups – who gathered in Washington, D.C., in mid-1932 to demand early cash redemption of their service bonus certificates. Organizers called the demonstrators the Bonus Expeditionary Force (B.E.F.), to echo the name of World War I's American Expeditionary Forces, while the media referred to them as the "Bonus Army" or "Bonus Marchers". The demonstrators were led by Walter W. Waters, a former sergeant. Washington police met with resistance, shot at the protestors, and two veterans were wounded and later died. President Herbert Hoover then ordered the U.S. Army to clear the marchers' campsite. Army Chief of Staff General Douglas MacArthur commanded a contingent of infantry and cavalry, supported by six tanks. The Bonus Army marchers with their wives and children were driven out, and their shelters and belongings burned.

Howdah Pistol skins
Legendary: The Big Smoke, The Colonel
Distinguished: Abu Klea, Hussar
Other: Frontiersman

The Colonel skin for Howdah Pistol (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancaster_pistol): The Lancaster pistol was a multi-barrelled (2 or 4 barrels) handgun produced in England in the mid-late 19th century, chambered in a variety of centrefire pistol calibres—chiefly .38 S&W, .450 Adams, .455 Webley, and .577 inch. The Lancaster pistol exists as the Howdah Pistol in the 2016 video game Battlefield 1. Use in Sudan. When facing charging tribesmen like the Zulus (reference to the Martini-Henry's Zulu skin) or Ansar (the so-called Sudanese Dervishes), more modern ammunition tended to go straight through the enemy who would keep going. What was needed was a heavy lead bullet that would lodge in their body and bring them down. One famous user was the photographer and film maker Lieutenant Colonel John Montague Benett Stanford (1870-1947), who killed a fanatical assegai-wielding Sudanese Ansar with a Lancaster pistol while working as a war correspondent at the Battle of Omdurman. The Khartoum Campaign, 1898 Or the Re-Conquest of the Soudan by B. Burleigh: Many officers equipped themselves with powerful pistols specially for the Sudan campaign. Scudamore spells this weapon as ‘Lankaster’. Churchill (reference to the C96 Pistol' Churchill skin) had a Mauser pistol with 10 shots. A fellow correspondent put the best gloss he could on this incident: 'Mr Bennett Stanford, who was splendidly mounted, with a cocked four-barrelled Lancaster pistol aimed deliberately at the dervish, who turned towards him'. https://www.victorian-cinema.net/benettstanford John Montagaue ('Mad Jack') Benett-Stanford (1870-1947): Rogue, fox-hunter, war cameraman and archetypal English squire. His next service assignment was the Sudan expedition of 1898, where he acted as war correspondent for the Western Morning News, and, like Frederic Villiers was present at the battle of Omdurman. Before leaving Britain he had managed to obtain a film camera from Prestwich, and with this he filmed the British commander, Kitchener, as well as a view of the Grenadier Guards fixing bayonets and marching off on the day before the battle. This brief film had a huge success, being the only film taken at Omdurman, a notable British military victory.

Abu Klea skin for Howdah Pistol (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Abu_Klea): The Battle of Abu Klea, or the Battle of Abu Tulayh took place between 16 and 18 January 1885, at Abu Klea, Sudan, between the British Desert Column and Mahdist forces encamped near Abu Klea. The Desert Column, a force of approximately 1,400 soldiers, started from Korti, Sudan on 30 December 1884; the Desert Column's mission, in a joint effort titled "The Gordon Relief Expedition", was to march across the Bayuda Desert to the aid of General Charles George Gordon at Khartoum, Sudan, who was besieged there by Mahdist forces. The place is generally known in British military records as Abu Klea, which arose as a contemporary British spelling of its Arabic name, 'Abu Tͅuleiħ (أَبُو طُلَيْح). The British forces consisted of 1,400 British of the Desert Column under Sir Herbert Stewart, against a Sudanese force of approximately 14,000 fighters. The British force was composed of four regiments of camel-mounted troops (Guards, Heavy, Light and Mounted Infantry), detachments of the various infantry regiments in Egypt and of the River Column, and a detachment of the 19th Hussars (reference to the Howdah Pistol's Hussar skin), mounted on horses. The battle was short, lasting barely fifteen minutes from start to finish. Casualties for the British were nine officers and 65 other ranks killed and over a hundred wounded. The Mahdists lost 1,100 dead during the fifteen minutes of fighting, made all the worse by only 3,000–5,000 of the Dervish force being engaged. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Feathers The Four Feathers is a 1902 adventure novel by British writer A. E. W. Mason that has inspired many films of the same title. Against the background of the Mahdist War, young Feversham disgraces himself by quitting the army, which others perceive as cowardice, symbolized by the four white feathers they give him. He redeems himself with acts of great courage and wins back the heart of the woman he loves. The 2002 version starring Heath Ledger is set during the 1884–85 campaign. The British infantry square was broken in the battle of Abu Klea, and the British are forced to retreat. The central battle is accurately portrayed in the film Khartoum (1966).

Hussar skin for Howdah Pistol (https://www.alloutdoor.com/2021/06/04/potd-lancaster-four-barreled-pisto/): This pistol was made in 1895 and sold to a Mr. Harold S. Maur. This may be Major Richard Harold St. Maur (1869-1927) , often known as Harold St. Maur, of the 14th Hussars and Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry, a veteran of the Boer Wars and First World War. Many officers assigned to Africa and India chose Lancasters as their personal sidearms, but the total production of these pistols is estimated at just 712 further subdivided into smaller volumes in the various calibers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussar A hussar (Hungarian: huszár; Polish: husarz; Serbo-Croatian: husar) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry regiments in European armies during the late 17th and 18th centuries. By the 19th century, hussars were wearing jackets decorated with braid plus shako or busby hats and had developed a romanticized image of being dashing and adventurous. Historically, the term derives from the cavalry of late medieval Hungary, under Matthias Corvinus, with mainly Serb warriors. On the eve of World War I, there were still hussar regiments in the British, Canadian, French, Spanish, German, Russian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Romanian, and Austro-Hungarian armies. In most respects, they had now become regular light cavalry, recruited solely from their own countries and trained and equipped along the same lines as other classes of cavalry. https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Legendary_Russian_Hussar_Cavalry_(Codex_Entry) Legendary Russian Hussar Cavalry is a Codex Entry featured in Battlefield 1, introduced in the Battlefield 1: In the Name of the Tsar expansion. In the Russian advance in the summer of 1914, the Hussars were often sent on reconnaissance missions far ahead of the infantry. They also guarded their infantry's flanks, screened their maneuvers, and intercepted enemy patrols. Outfitted with carbines and revolvers, they were even able to dismount and fight on foot, but were no match against well-positioned or entrenched infantry. Instead, they fought smaller skirmishes or exploited gaps in the frontline with their speed.

The Big Smoke skin for Howdah Pistol (https://slll.cass.anu.edu.au/centres/andc/annotated-glossary/j): Jack Johnson: A large German or Austrian low-velocity shell. Facetious use of personal name. Jack Johnson (1878-1946) was a famous American boxer whose nickname was ‘The Big Smoke’. Shells that gave off a dense black smoke when they exploded thus were dubbed ‘Jack Johnsons'. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Johnson_(boxer) John Arthur Johnson (March 31, 1878 – June 10, 1946), nicknamed the "Galveston Giant", was an American boxer who, at the height of the Jim Crow era, became the first black world heavyweight boxing champion (1908–1915). His 1910 fight against James J. Jeffries was dubbed the "fight of the century". Johnson defeated Jeffries, who was white, triggering dozens of race riots across the U.S. According to filmmaker Ken Burns, "for more than thirteen years, Jack Johnson was the most famous and the most notorious black boxer on Earth". In the trenches of World War One, Johnson's name was used by British troops to describe the impact of German 150 mm heavy artillery shells which had a black color. The book of poetry, The Big Smoke by Adrian Matejka, is inspired by Johnson's voice and life and written in forms ranging from sonnets to prose poetry.

Frontiersman skin for Howdah Pistol: tripple question mark (???) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/25th_(Frontiersmen)_Battalion,_Royal_Fusiliers The 25th (Frontiersmen) Service Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a British Army unit that served during World War I. It was raised by the Legion of Frontiersmen. The battalion served in the African Theatre of the war from 1915 to 1918, centered mostly in the area around Lake Tanganyika, British East African and German East African territory. The battalion was largely composed of older men who hailed from diverse backgrounds and varied occupations, some of whom were Boer War veterans. The unit was formed on 12 February 1915 by Lieutenant-Colonel Daniel Patrick Driscoll, who was, at that time, fifty-five years of age, well above that of an average soldier. Another noted serving officer (and eventually the Second in Command of the battalion) was Frederick Courteney Selous, a veteran of various small African wars and skirmishes, a big-game hunter and friend of Theodore Roosevelt (reference to Russian 1895's The Teddy skin). Selous had previously hunted with Roosevelt during his famed 1909 African safari. Selous is also known for having served as the inspiration for Sir H. Rider Haggard to create his fictional Allan Quatermain character, a 19th-century African explorer and hunter of big-game beasts. Captain Selous was later killed in action with the unit, shot through the mouth by a German sniper in January 1917. The unit gained the nickname "Old and the Bold", due to its members' ages, their veteran status, and reputation for endurance and daring against the enemy, even though the majority of volunteers were young men. The exploits of "The Old and the Bold" were later the loose basis of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles episode "The Phantom Train of Doom" (German East Africa, November 1916).

Autoloading 8 skins
Legendary: The Arneson, The Happe, The Hunter
Distinguished: Brusilov, Farman, La Chauve-Souris, Moses

Moses skin for Autoloading 8 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Browning): The Remington Model 8 is a semi-automatic rifle designed by John Browning and produced by Remington Arms, introduced as the Remington Autoloading Rifle in 1905, though the name was changed to the Remington Model 8 in 1911. On October 16, 1900, John Browning was granted U.S. Patent 659,786 for the rifle, which he then sold to Remington. Outside the U.S., this rifle was made by Fabrique Nationale of Liege (reference to the Gewehr 98's Liege skin), Belgium, and marketed as the FN Browning 1900. Under an agreement between Remington and FN, the Model 8 would be sold in the US while the FN 1900 would be sold elsewhere. Despite having a larger market, the FN 1900 was sold predominantly to hunters in Western Europe and Canada. Due to lackluster sales, only 4,913 Model 1900s were ever produced compared to the over 80,000 Model 8s produced. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Browning John Moses Browning (January 23, 1855 – November 26, 1926) was an American firearm designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms – many of which are still in use around the world. He is regarded as one of the most successful firearms designers of the 19th and 20th centuries and pioneered the development of modern repeating, semi-automatic, and automatic firearms. He invented, or made significant improvements to, single-shot, lever-action, and pump-action rifles and shotguns. He developed the first reliable and compact autoloading pistols by inventing the telescoping bolt, then integrating the bolt and barrel shroud into what is known as the pistol slide. Browning's telescoping bolt design is now found on nearly every modern semi-automatic pistol, as well as several modern fully automatic weapons. He also developed the first gas-operated firearm, the Colt–Browning Model 1895 machine gun – a system that surpassed mechanical recoil operation to become the standard for most high-power self-loading firearm designs worldwide. Browning's most successful designs include the M1911 pistol, the water-cooled M1917, the air-cooled M1919, and heavy M2 machine guns, the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle, and the Browning Auto-5 – the first semi-automatic shotgun.

Brusilov skin for Autoloading 8 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksei_Brusilov): Aleksei Alekseyevich Brusilov (Russian: Алексе́й Алексе́евич Бруси́лов; 31 August 1853 – 17 March 1926) was a Russian and later Soviet general most noted for the development of new offensive tactics used in the 1916 Brusilov offensive, which was his greatest achievement. Born into an aristocratic military family, Brusilov trained as a cavalry officer, but by 1914 had realized that cavalry was obsolete against modern weapons of warfare such as machine gun and artillery. Historians portray him as the only First World War Russian general capable of winning major battles; his offensive strategy helped eliminate the Austro-Hungarian Empire as an independent fighting force. However, his victories resulted in heavy casualties that seriously weakened the Russian army, which was unable to replace its losses. Despite his noble status and prominent role in the Imperial Russian Army, he sided with the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War and aided in the early organization of the Red Army until retiring in 1924. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brusilov_offensive The Brusilov offensive (Russian: Брусиловский прорыв Brusilovskiĭ proryv, literally: "Brusilov's breakthrough"), also known as the "June advance", of June to September 1916 was the Russian Empire's greatest feat of arms during World War I, and among the most lethal offensives in world history. The historian Graydon Tunstall called the Brusilov offensive the worst crisis of World War I for Austria-Hungary and the Triple Entente's (reference to the Fighter's La Triple-Entente skin) greatest victory, but it came at a tremendous loss of life. It took place in eastern Galicia (reference to the Gewehr M.95's Galicia skin, present-day northwestern Ukraine), in the Lviv and Volyn Oblasts. The offensive is named after the commander in charge of the Southwestern Front of the Imperial Russian Army, General Aleksei Brusilov. The largest and most lethal offensive of the war, the effects of the Brusilov offensive were far-reaching. It relieved German pressure on French forces at Verdun (reference to the M1909 Benét-Mercié's Verdun skin), and helped to relieve the Austro-Hungarian pressure on the Italians. It inflicted irreparable losses on the Austro-Hungarian Army, and induced Romania to finally enter the war on the side of the Entente. https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Brusilov_Keep Brusilov Keep is a map featured in the Battlefield 1: In the Name of the Tsar expansion, named after the Brusilov Offensive, one of the most lethal offensives in world history.

La Chauve-Souris skin for Autoloading 8 (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. Chauve-souris: a bat (the French term literally means a bald mouse, reference to 12G Automatic's The Bats skin). This was used to refer to soldiers who flew at night, there were similar terms in German.

Farman skin for Autoloading 8 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farman_Aviation_Works): Farman Aviation Works (French: Avions Farman) was a French aircraft company founded and run by the brothers Richard, Henri, and Maurice Farman. They designed and constructed aircraft and engines from 1908 until 1936; during the French nationalization and rationalization of its aeronautical industry, Farman's assets were assigned to the Société Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques du Centre (SNCAC). The Farman brothers designed and built more than 200 types of aircraft between 1908 and 1941. They also built cars until 1931 and boats until 1930. In 1907, Henri Farman bought his first aircraft from Gabriel Voisin (reference to the M1907 Selfloading's Voisin skin) and soon began to improve the design of the aircraft; as a result it was known as either Farman I or Voisin-Farman I. A second aircraft, to be called Farman II, was built by the Voisin brothers incorporating design refinements to Farman's specification. Aircraft designed and built by Henri Farman had a HF prefix, while examples designed and built by his brother Maurice carried a MF prefix. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farman_MF.11 The Maurice Farman MF.11 Shorthorn is a French aircraft developed before World War I by the Farman Aviation Works. It was used as a reconnaissance and light bomber during the early part of World War I, later being relegated to training duties. The Maurice Farman Shorthorn was the aircraft in which Biggles, Capt W.E. Johns' fictional character, first took to the air in "Biggles Learns To Fly". On 6 September 1914 the first air-sea battle took place when a Japanese Farman MF.11 aircraft launched by the seaplane carrier Wakamiya (reference to the Type 38 Arisaka's Wakamiya skin) unsuccessfully attacked SMS Kaiserin Elisabeth (reference to the Gewehr M.95's Die Kaiserin Elisabeth skin) with bombs.

The Happe skin for Autoloading 8 (https://artblart.com/tag/aviation-in-world-war-1/): Captain Maurice Happe, rear seat, commander of French squadron MF 29, seated in his Farman MF.11 Shorthorn (reference to the Autoloading 8's Farman skin) bomber with a Captain Berthaut. The plane bears the insignia of the first unit, a Croix de Guerre, c. 1915. http://fandavion.free.fr/happe.htm Maurice Happe (15 avril 1882 - 20 octobre 1930), le diable rouge. Maurice Happe fut l'une des figures les plus brillantes de l'aviation de bombardement française au cours de la Première Guerre mondiale. Par bravade, il avait peint en rouge les roues de son appareil et dessiné des croix sur les plans. Le 14 décembre, Happe, surnommé « Roter Teufel » (Diable rouge) par ses adversaires, prenait le commandement du GB.4, groupe de bombardement constitué de la MF.29 et de la C.61. La ténacité et le courage des pilotes (Happe réussit durant cette période à abattre un Fokker avec son vieux Farman (reference to the Autoloading 8's Farman skin)) ne pouvaient néanmoins pallier la médiocrité du matériel. Dans un rapport adressé à la direction de l'aéronautique du GQG, Happe soulignait que ce type d'appareil ne pouvait plus être utilisé que pour le bombardement de nuit et préconisait son remplacement par des Sopwith. Le 20 octobre 1930, alors qu'il effectuait un vol au-dessus de la Belgique, son avion s'écrasa au sol, ensevelissant sous un amas de débris son pilote et le jeune mécanicien qui l'accompagnait.

The Hunter skin for Autoloading 8 https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Model_8_Autoloading_(Codex_Entry) The Model 8 used a long recoil operating system, which worked well for hunting but was prone to overheating and malfunctions with high volumes of fire. It did however build a reputation as a reliable and durable hunter's weapon. About 100 Model 8 rifles were sold to France in 1915 and used as aircraft rifles before the advent of aircraft machine guns. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_O%27Driscoll_Hunter Frank O'Driscoll Hunter (December 8, 1894 – June 25, 1982) was a World War I flying ace, being credited by the United States Army Air Service with downing nine enemy aircraft. Hunter became an advocate of fighter aircraft strategy and tactics. In World War II he served as commanding general of the VIII Fighter Command and, later, the First Air Force. Assigned to the 103rd Aero Squadron in May 1918, on his first combat patrol Hunter downed two German planes and landed safely despite being wounded. By the end of the war he had nine German planes to his credit, earning him recognition as an ace. Hunter was the last pilot remaining with the squadron before its return to the United States, transferring out on January 24, 1919. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross with four oak leaf clusters, more than any person other than Eddie Rickenbacker who received six oak leaf clusters to the DSC. His achievements in aerial combat earned him the French Croix de Guerre with palm.

The Arneson skin for Autoloading 8: triple question mark or (???). Arneson (also Arnesson, Arnison) is a surname of Norwegian origin.

M1911 skins
Legendary: The Care Package, In Flanders Fields, Lucifer, The Man Stopper, Poodlefaker
Distinguished: The Incarcerator, Package from Home, Protector, York

The Man Stopper skin for M1911 https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/M1911_Pistol_(Codex_Entry) It was with the US entry into WW1 that the M1911 saw large scale action for the first time, where its reliability and powerful .45 caliber bullet earned it the nickname "The Man Stopper". Patton (reference to the 1903 Hammerless's Patton skin) was a captain in WW1 and carried an M1911 with ivory grips engraved with his initials, and Sergeant York (reference to the M1911's York skin) famously used the M1911 during his heroic acts in Meuse-Argonne. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stopping_power Stopping power is the ability of a weapon – typically a ranged weapon such as a firearm – to cause a target (human or animal) to be incapacitated or immobilized. Stopping power contrasts with lethality in that it pertains only to a weapon's ability to make the target cease action, regardless of whether or not death ultimately occurs. Which ammunition cartridges have the greatest stopping power is a much-debated topic. "Manstopper" is an informal term used to refer to any combination of firearm and ammunition that can reliably incapacitate, or "stop", a human target immediately. For example, the .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) round and the .357 Magnum round both have firm reputations as "manstoppers".

York and The Incarcerator skin for M1911 (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/incarcerator): Etymology: incarcerate +‎ -or. A person who incarcerates. https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/1911_in_York_(Codex_Entry) Alvin York singlehandedly killed 28 enemy soldiers in an intense firefight, equipped with an M1917 rifle and his M1911 pistol. Rushed when he had emptied his rifle, he dealt with the attacks by switching to his pistol. A German Major who rose up from the trenches pleading in English "If you do not shoot any more, we will surrender." York was a pacifist at heart and accepted the surrender, capturing 132 men. His superiors officer heard about this achievement and said "Jesus Christ York, I hear that you captured the whole German Army!" York's' response was short "No sir, just 132 of them." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_York Alvin Cullum York (December 13, 1887 – September 2, 1964), also known by his rank as Sergeant York, was one of the most decorated United States Army soldiers of World War I. He received the Medal of Honor for leading an attack on a German machine gun nest, gathering 35 machine guns, killing at least 25 enemy soldiers and capturing 132 prisoners. York's Medal of Honor action occurred during the United States-led portion of the Meuse–Argonne offensive in France, which was intended to breach the Hindenburg line (reference to the MP18's Siegfriedstellung skin) and force the Germans to surrender. Despite being a regular churchgoer, York also drank heavily and was prone to fistfights. After a 1914 conversion experience, he vowed to improve and became even more devoted to the Church of Christ in Christian Union. York was drafted during World War I; he initially claimed conscientious objector status on the grounds that his religious denomination forbade violence. Persuaded that his religion was not incompatible with military service, York joined the 82nd Division as an infantry private and went to France in 1918. A 1941 film about his World War I exploits, Sergeant York, was that year's highest-grossing film; Gary Cooper won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of York, and the film was credited with enhancing American morale as the US mobilized for action in World War II.

Protector skin skin for M1911: tripe question mark or (???). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/protector A device or mechanism which is designed to protect. https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/the-doughboy-s-m1911-pistol-in-world-war-i/ Actions like York’s (reference to the M1911's York skin) proved that the pistol was still a valuable tool in modern warfare. The timing of its use was a critical factor. Apparently, American troops needed to be reminded that their fascination with the big pistol needed to be tempered with a healthy dose of realism and hand-gunner’s skill. To that point, the following is an excerpt from the U.S. Army’s Manual of the Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, Model of 1911,” published in Nancy, France during February of 1918. The Pistol As An Emergency Weapon. “Too much stress cannot be laid on the fact the pistol is an emergency weapon. The man who wants a stock on his pistol so that he can shoot it at a distance of several hundred yards has no understanding of the function of the arm. It is solely for the personal protection of the bearer when the enemy is within very short range and there is no possibility of accomplishing more with the other weapons with which the soldier may happen to be armed. For the average man, 25 yards may be taken as the maximum range at which the pistol should be fired. To fire at longer ranges will usually result in no casualties for the enemy but only an empty pistol at the crucial moment. This does not apply to a very small percentage of expert shots, but a man should be quite sure that he can be classed as such before violating the general rule.”

In Flanders Fields skin for M1911 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCrae): Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae (November 30, 1872 – January 28, 1918) was a Canadian poet, physician, author, artist and soldier during World War I, and a surgeon during the Second Battle of Ypres (reference to the M1907 Selfloading's Ypres skin), in Belgium. He is best known for writing the famous war memorial poem "In Flanders Fields". McCrae died of pneumonia near the end of the war. His famous poem is a threnody, a genre of lament. McCrae volunteered for service at age 41. He was appointed as Medical Officer and Major of the 1st Brigade CFA (Canadian Field Artillery). He treated the wounded during the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915, from a hastily dug 8-by-8-foot (2.4 m × 2.4 m) bunker in the back of the * along the Yser Canal about 2 miles north of Ypres. McCrae's friend and former militia member, Lt. Alexis Helmer, was killed in the battle, and his burial inspired the poem, "In Flanders Fields", which was written on May 3, 1915. From June 1, 1915, McCrae was ordered away from the artillery to set up No. 3 Canadian General Hospital at Dannes-Camiers near Boulogne-sur-Mer, northern France. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Flanders_Fields  "In Flanders Fields" is a war poem in the form of a rondeau, written during the First World War by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. Flanders Fields (reference to the Artillery Truck's Flanders skin) is a common English name of the World War I battlefields in Belgium and France. It is one of the most quoted poems from the war. Its references to the red poppies that grew over the graves of fallen soldiers resulted in the remembrance poppy becoming one of the world's most recognized memorial symbols for soldiers who have died in conflict. The poem and poppy are prominent Remembrance Day symbols throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, particularly in Canada, where "In Flanders Fields" is one of the nation's best-known literary works. The poem is also widely known in the United States, where it is associated with Veterans Day and Memorial Day.

Lucifer and Poodlefaker skins for M1911 (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. Lucifer - used to refer to a match and was taken from a popular match brand in those times. Poodlefaker – the trench slang for those who were only interested in how they looked as well as in wheedling women. https://www.songfacts.com/facts/helen-clark/pack-up-your-troubles-in-your-old-kit-bag Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag. The British music hall stars entered "Pack Up Your Troubles" in a wartime competition for the best morale-building song. It won first prize and became very popular, boosting British resolve despite the horrors of that war. Don't worry, the lyric "While you've a lucifer to light your *" doesn't have any satanic connotations. A "lucifer" was a popular make of match, and "*" is British slang for a cigarette. https://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-poo1.htm Poodle-faker. It’s long-outmoded British army slang. A poodle-faker was a young officer who was disparagingly considered by fellow officers to be over-attentive to women.

The Care Package and Package from Home skins for M1911: The M1911 "Play To Give" mission ends on 4 June, 2017. Reward on 12 June, 2017 (10 Kill Assists, 10 Savior Kills, Revive 10 players and Re-supply 10 players). https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/state_civil_society_and_relief_organizations_for_war Animated by goals of returning wounded soldiers to duty and of reintegrating the permanently disabled into civil society, various governmental, quasi-governmental, and supportive private agencies provided medical and rehabilitative services for injured troops. The development of care package delivery systems to bolster morale and improve the health of soldiers including millions held in captivity complemented these endeavors. The foremost method by which soldiers’ received family and community support during the war was through gift packages. An implicit understanding that governments would not adequately provide troops with essential clothing and foodstuffs undergirded this community outreach that began in 1914 and extended throughout the warring countries, their imperial possessions, and the diasporic global networks of European émigrés and sympathizers. Illustrative of this exchange were Liebesgaben (gifts of love) consisting of sweaters, socks, food, and sundries that were collected throughout the German Empire and distributed among German forces fighting in Europe. Government and military officials keenly understood that the fighting efficiency and cohesion of their armies depended heavily on gift parcels and morale-boosting services. Governments sacrificed precious cargo capacity and communications services to permit the shipment of gift packages and letters, and routinely facilitated the programs established by soldier-caring organizations. In France and other countries, however, regulatory controls were established to ensure that care packages (as they came to be called after the Second World War) would not dangerously clog the arteries of military transportation and the postal services. Captives in eastern European and Russian camps enjoyed far fewer comforts associated with packages and their mortality rates were accordingly ten times higher than troops imprisoned in western-central Europe who were adequately provisioned. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsa_Br%C3%A4ndstr%C3%B6m Elsa Brändström (26 March 1888 – 4 March 1948) was a Swedish nurse and philanthropist. She was known as the "Angel of Siberia" (German: Engel von Sibirien). In 1915, Brändström went to Siberia together with her friend and nurse Ethel von Heidenstam (1881–1970) for the Swedish Red Cross, to introduce basic medical treatment for the German and Austrian POWs. Up to 80 percent of the POWs died of cold, hunger and diseases. For the dedication with which she looked after men from Germany and Austria, many close to death with Typhoid fever, she became known as the Angel of Siberia. Back in St. Petersburg, she founded a Swedish Aid organisation but her work was severely hindered by the 1917 Russian Revolution and the Bolshevik coup. In 1918, the new Soviet Russian authorities withdrew her work permit, but she did not give up and made several trips to Siberia until being arrested in Omsk in 1920. Accused of being a spy, Brändström was initially sentenced to death by the Soviet authorities. The sentence was eventually revoked and she was interned in 1920.

12G Automatic, Autoloading 8, Automatico M1918, BAR M1918, Cei-Rigotti, Gewehr 98, Gewehr M.95, Hellriegel 1915, Huot Automatic, Lewis gun, M1897 Shotgun, M1903, M1907 SL, M1909 Benét-Mercié, Madsen MG, MG15 N.A., Martini-Henry, Model 10-A, Mondragón, MP18, Russian 1895, Selbstlader 1906, Selbstlader M1916 and SMLE MKIII skins
special: Battle of Côte 304, Battle of Eski Hissarlik, Battle of Festubert, Battle of Villers-Bretonneux

Battle of Côte 304 skins for "default weapons" (no sidearms): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Mort_Homme The heights of Le Mort Homme (reference to the Sjögren inertial Shotgun's Le Mort-Homme skin) or Dead Man's Hill (German: Toter Mann) lie within the French municipality of Cumières-le-Mort-Homme around 10 km (6 mi) north-west of the city of Verdun (reference to the M1909 Benét-Mercié's Verdun skin) in France. The hill became known during the Battle of Verdun during the First World War as the site of much fighting. The hill has two summits which are named after their height in metres: the northern crest is Côte 265 and the southern one is Côte 295. In late February 1916, following German attacks on the right bank of the River Meuse (reference to the M1897 Shotgun's Meuse skin) during the Battle of Verdun, the French had established artillery batteries on the hills on the left bank commanding the opposite, right-hand bank. Despite the cost, the Germans had identified in March that the key to taking Le Mort Homme was Côte 304, which dominated the approach to Le Mort Homme and was able to fire on the Germans attacking the hill. German attacks on Côte 304 had begun on 23 March but the French defended it stubbornly, fighting off many attacks. On 9 April, the Germans launched a second assault on both hills, once again the French held and the attack failed. It was not until 6 May that Côte 304 fell, following a 36 hour bombardment that had begun on 3 May and bitter hand-to-hand fighting. https://www.wereldoorlog1418.nl/battleverdun/battleverdun33/index.htm Wednesday - 3 May, 1916. On this scorching hot day a bombardment begins which lasts for 36 hours with utmost intensity. The French suffer horrible losses. At the front chaos rules: men are buried alive, there is no food and nothing to drink for days in a row; the thirst is so unbearable that some men are drinking their own urine. Screaming wounded are everywhere who cannot be taken care of. There is an unbearable smell of decay; estimations mention more than 10.000 deaths. In the night of the second day the Côte 304 is attacked and taken from the French who are completely broken. After this it takes another three days of bitter man against man fights, before Côte 304 is entirely in German hands. (Note: the bombardments have been so heavy that, with time, Côte 304 would become 7 metres lower).

Battle of Eski Hissarlik skins for "default weapons" (no sidearms): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eski_Hissarlik The Battle of Eski Hissarlik took place on 1 May 1915 and was an attempt made by the Ottomans, commanded by Liman von Sanders to push Allied (British and French) troops back to the sea. On 28 April 1915, Allied troops had attempted to capture the village of Krithia on the Gallipoli peninsula. They were unsuccessful and withdrew from the First Battle of Krithia after 10 hours. On 1 May 1915, Ottoman troops made a counter-strike designed to force the Allied troops back to the sea. At around 10:15 PM on 1 May 1915, Ottoman troops, commanded by Liman von Sanders, attacked the Allied troops' defenses close to the hill of Achi Baba (reference to the NO. 3 Revolver's Achi Baba skin). The British and French had been prepared for a night attack and inflicted heavy injuries upon the Ottoman forces. The British received far fewer casualties, and remained on the island. If the Allied forces had been pushed back to the sea, the Gallipoli campaign would have been over. Instead, they remained on the peninsula. 5 days later they would again attack the village of Krithia, in the Second Battle of Krithia. https://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/eskihissarlik.htm The Turkish Counter-attack at Eski Hissarlik, 1915. Liman - an attached German officer in command of Turkish forces on the Gallipoli peninsular - had received a firm directive from Turkish war minister Enver Pasha requiring him to organise a night attack against the combined British and French beachhead at Cape Helles (reference to the Battlefield 1's Cape Helles map). Consequently at 10pm on the night of 1 May 1915 a concerted attack was launched by 21 Turkish battalions directly following a brief artillery bombardment. The British in particular had however been well drilled to prepare for just such a night attack and consequently manned their positions rapidly. Nevertheless breaking through in two locations the Turkish infantry were subsequently thrown back by the arrival of timely Allied reinforcements. The line to the right, manned by French Sengalese troops, caved in and required assistance from the Royal Naval Division and 4th Worcesters. Turkish infantry losses were accordingly heavy as the British cut down troops advancing across open country in waves. The French under General d'Amade suffered some 2,000 casualties (and the British rather fewer). On the night of 3 May Liman repeated the night attack of two days earlier. It was to prove equally unsuccessful in the face of brutally effective French field batteries.

Battle of Festubert skins for "default weapons" (no sidearms): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Festubert The Battle of Festubert (15–25 May 1915) was an attack by the British army in the Artois region of France on the western front during World War I. After the failure of the breakthrough attempt by the First Army in the attack at Aubers Ridge (9 May 1915) tactics of a short hurricane bombardment and an infantry advance with unlimited objectives, were replaced by the French practice of slow and deliberate artillery-fire intended to prepare the way for an infantry attack. A continuous three-day bombardment by the British heavy artillery was planned, to cut wire and demolish German machine-gun posts and infantry strong points. The German defences were to be captured by a continuous attack, by one division from Rue du Bois to Chocolat Menier Corner and by a second division 600 yd (550 m) north, which was to capture the German trenches to the left of Festubert. The objectives were 1,000 yd (910 m) forward, rather than the 3,000 yd (1.7 mi; 2.7 km) depth of advance attempted at Aubers Ridge. The battle was the first British attempt at attrition. The resumption of the British offensive was intended to assist the French Tenth Army offensive against Vimy Ridge (reference to the Huot Automatic Rifle's Vimy Ridge skin) near Arras (reference to the Lewis Gun's Arras skin), by attracting German divisions to the British front, rather than reinforcing the defenders opposite the French. The battle was preceded by a 60-hour bombardment by 433 artillery pieces that fired about 100,000 shells. From 20 to 25 May, the attack was resumed but again made little progress. The offensive had resulted in a 1.9 mi (3 km) advance. The British suffered 16,648 casualties from 15/16 to 25 May; the 2nd Division suffered 5,445 casualties, the 7th Division 4,123, the 47th Division 2,355, the Canadian Division 2,204 and the 7th (Meerut) Division 2,521 casualties. The German defenders suffered c. 5,000 casualties, including 800 men taken prisoner.

Battle of Villers-Bretonneux skins for "default weapons" (no sidearms): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villers-Bretonneux Villers-Bretonneux is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. In the First World War the town was the site of the First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux and Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux. The first tank-against-tank combat in history took place here on 24 April 1918. In the First World War, on 24 April 1918, Villers-Bretonneux was the site of the world's first battle between two tank forces: three British Mark IVs against three German A7Vs. The Germans took the town, but that night and the next day it was recaptured by two brigades of the First Australian Imperial Force at a cost of some 1,200 Australian lives. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Villers-Bretonneux The First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux (30 March – 5 April 1918), took place during Operation Michael, part of the German spring offensive (reference to MP18's The Kaiserschlacht skin) on the Western Front. The capture of Villers-Bretonneux, close to Amiens (reference to the Battlefield 1's Amiens map), a strategically important road- and rail-junction, would have brought the Germans within artillery-range. In late March, Australian troops were brought south from Belgium as reinforcements to help shore up the line and in early April the Germans launched an attack to capture Villers-Bretonneux. After a determined defence by British and Australian troops, the attackers were close to success until a counter-attack by the 9th Australian Infantry Brigade and by British troops, late in the afternoon of 4 April, restored the line and halted the German advance on Amiens. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Villers-Bretonneux The Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux (also Actions of Villers-Bretonneux, after the First Battles of the Somme, 1918) took place from 24 to 27 April 1918, during the German spring offensive to the east of Amiens. Three German A7Vs engaged three British Mark IV tanks, two of which were female tanks armed only with machine-guns. The two Mark IV females were damaged and forced to withdraw but the male tank, armed with 6-pounder guns, hit and disabled the lead A7V, which was then abandoned by its crew. The Mark IV continued to fire on the two remaining German A7Vs, which withdrew. The "male" then advanced with the support of several Whippet light tanks which had arrived, until disabled by artillery fire and abandoned by the crew. A counter-attack by two Australian brigades and a British brigade during the night of 24 April partly surrounded Villers-Bretonneux and on 25 April the town was recaptured.