What weapons will we get in Battlefield 1?
We have a bunch of information about the weapons and vehicles of Battlefield 1, but there are still pieces missing. We know that each kit will have seven or so class weapons available at release, with three shown in play so far. The customization screens show 16 weapon slots, with 6 filled, allowing for an additional three to five weapons, depending on the number of variants of each (some will have three, so five is unlikely). The variations can have different characteristics other than just simple handling (like fire rate or damage), so while they are technically the same weapon model, they can actually play like different weapons.
There are eight sidearms, and we’ve seen four of them, two in use in the livestream. For vehicles, the aircraft were all German models, but the trailers and other info show that more models will be in use, serving similar roles. Tanks and armored cars, on the other hand, suffer from the problem of not having that many variants developed and used during the war, so we are stuck with all factions sharing models.
In all cases, the weapons and vehicles were real and almost all saw some actual service in the war, even if it may have only been in the final days.
So what weapons could be still to come in the full game? Let’s look at what has been revealed so far.
http://battlefield.wikia.com/wiki/Battlefield_1
Weapons of Battlefield 1
Submachine Guns
Automatico M1918 · MP18
Shotguns
M1897 · M1912 · Model 10-A
Light Machine Guns
Lewis Gun · Madsen MG · MG 08 · M1909 Benét–Mercié · MG15 n.A.
Sniper rifles
Gewehr 98 · M1903 Springfield · Russian 1895 · SMLE MKIII
Semi-automatic rifles
C96 Carbine · Cei-Rigotti · M1907 SL · Mondragon
Sidearms
M1911 · C96 · P08 Pistol · Webley Mk VI
Other
T-M1918
Battle Pick Up
Kleinflammenwerfer (flamethrower)
One thing to keep in mind about World War 1 is that before the war, all the nations involved traded with each other, and it was common to use weapons built by makers in nations which were now your enemy. This is especially noticeable in the LMG and Sidearm categories. Once the war started, each nation had to equip its troops with weapons it could get within its alliance, and this is most strongly noticed with the most widely issued weapons, the standard bolt action rifles.
Pilot/Tanker Mechanic
Mauser C96 Carbine (semi-auto pistol) . Could use attached stock to act like a short carbine, the C96 itself is a 7.63mm Mauser caliber with a 10 round clip magazine (though 9mm versions were also made for export).
What others might we see? It is hard to say, I find references to carrying semi-auto rifles as with the Medic kit, but not much on anything as specialized as the C96 Carbine Pistol.
Medic
M1907 SL semi-auto or slow auto, Winchester, a few thousand used by France
Mondragon M1908 — developed by Mexico, Manufactured by SIG, many sold to Germany and used by air crew
Cei-Rigotti — a very early automatic rifle, semi and full auto at possibly 900 rpm (but will overheat before that, but then, so will most automatic rifles).
Prototypes only. Used same ammo as bolt action Carcano M1891. Why include this one? It has a strong claim to being the first automatic rifle, and despite not seeing deployment, that gives it an important place in history.
Note that the relatively small magazine size of all the semi-auto weapons makes full auto fire very limited anyway — you only get a couple of seconds of fire. The fire rate is so slow compared to either SMG or LMG that you aren’t going to win that either, and you have to cope with recoil, so it really is only meant to be used up close.
Assault
MP18 SMG
MP1918 Automatico SMG
M10-A Shotgun Remington (shorter barrel version for war), 6 round magazine.
M1897 Winchester shotgun, external hammer, pump action. Note that the pump could trigger the gun, so you could fire as fast as you could slide it, making it feel more like a semi-auto in hip fire. We’ll have to see how that mechanism plays out. A good example of this sort of use is Ash’s fight at the end of Army Of Darkness, just repeatedly firing the shotgun by using the pump. (Edit: Ash used a lever action Winchester and a double barrel shotgun, though we did see pump action models in the store. Still gets the feel of how you use it). 5 round magazine.
M1912 Winchester pump action shotgun, 6 round magazine. Military followup to the M1897.
Support
M1909 Benet-Mercie LMG (side magazine) Hotchkiss Gun (light machinegun, not the heavy one used on vehicles)
Madsen LMG Danish gun sold widely before the war, used by all sides. A bit handier than most of the era.
Lewis Gun LMG. Pan magazine on top gives it a lot of ammo for sustained fire.
Bergmann MG 15nA machine gun – 500 RPM, German counterpart to the Lewis gun, top drum magazine
MG 08 – the lMG 08/15 – a lighter — but still heavy — version of the MG 08, a German machine gun used on aircraft, which had to used aircooling rather than the water cooled mounted machine guns.
Scout
1895 Russian (Winchester) single/lever action (one has no scope by default), in Russian 7.62mm. Uses a box magazine rather than the tube loading of most lever action rifles.
Lee Enfield SMLE MKIII
Springfield 1903 sniper (trivia note: the US M1903A4 sniper version wasn’t made until WWII, in 1943, the standard issue rifles didn’t have scopes, but could have them added).
Mauser Gewehr 98 with scope (Sniper model)
Sidearms
Colt 1911 Pistol semi-auto ,45
Luger P08 Pistol semi-auto 7.65mm (the 9mm was developed later), 8 round magazine
Webley Revolver MK VI (1915), .455 Webley 6 shot revolver
C96 Mauser semi-auto pistol, 7.63mm Mauser. Pistol version of the air crew carbine.
Other
Lifebuoy M2 Flamethrower – Note: Found a reference to this, but as it was a British development of the German model and didn’t see service in the war, I don’t know that it will appear.
Rocket Gun, aka Vickers Q.F Mk II – a compact 40mm (1.59 in) caliber artillery piece. Despite its nickname, it is a shell firing small cannon, not a rocket weapon.
Mauser 1918 T-Gewehr — a bolt action 13mm antitank rifle, the first and only one used in WW1.
So what classic weapons are missing? What can we expect to see in the game?
Let’s address the standard issue bolt actions first. But first, a general comment on bolt action fire rates. A good shooter can do about 30 rpm on these, with the straight pull bolt models a bit faster to operate. Lever action rifles were no longer favored, though the Russian 1895 Winchester was used, in part because they were harder to operate prone, even though the fire rate could be higher.
Scout Snipers:
Lee Enfield MKIII (sans scope) British standard rifle
Mauser Gewehr 98 — Germany standard issue
Springfield M1903 – American standard issue iron sight bolt action rifle
Mosin-Nagant (called Mosin by most of its users), bolt action rifle widely used, Russia, Austria-Hungary
Carcano M1891 – Italian standard bolt action rifle
Berthier Fusil Mle 1907/15 – French standard bolt action rifle
Mannlicher M1895 Austria-Hungary standard issue bolt action rifle. Used straight pull bolt, unlike most of this era
The above four fill out the likely candidates for bolt action Scout weapons, as it gives each major faction (if we include the Russians) their own standard issue weapon. The Russian 1895 Winchester was not the standard issue Russian rifle, but was still widely used and is different from all the bolt action weapons.
Ross Rifle MKIII — Canadian bolt action rifle, notable for straight pull bolt and high accuracy. Retained as sniper rifle in service after WW1.
Arisaka Type 38 rifle — Japanese bolt action rifle, 6.5mm, used by Russia, among others
If any Japanese forces are shown, they would use the Arisaka as well. The Ross Rifle is noted for being especially accurate as a sniper weapon, and may be present simply for that reason.
These next two are variants of weapons already present, and could be represented by differences in appearance rather than being distinct weapons.
Mauser Model 1893 – Turkish Mauser. The predecessor of the 98, used by the Ottoman Empire, which also used the 98 when they could get them. In most elements very much the same, its sight markings were in Arabic. They didn’t manufacture their own rifles.
M1917 Enfield — US version of the British rifle — they used different ammo, but worked very much the same. Note that most US and British soldiers used one or the other of these. Correction/.clarification: This is a version of the 1914 .30-06 Enfield rifle, not the SMLE, and was built as an alternative to the Springfield 1903, sharing ammunition. It also has the same 5 round magazine size. In regards to this, a different skin/variant of the Springfield, due to similar performance.
Classic Sidearms:
British Bull Dog revolver — .44 Webley caliber, a big fat tough-looking 5 round revolver
Colt Model 1908 Pocket Hammerless – .38 caliber US, 7 round magazine (the 1903 .32 caliber version has 8 rounds)
Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammer — another .38 ACP 7 round pistol
Colt New Service – .45 caliber US Army revolver, 6 shot
Enfield revolver – .476 caliber 6 round British Army revolver
M1917 revolver – Smith & Wesson 6 round .45 caliber revolver, had a reloader
Webley Self-Loading Pistol – .455 caliber semiauto pistol, 7 round clip, British pilot and cavalry pistol
Webley–Fosbery Automatic Revolver – a .455 caliber semi-auto revolver (similar in concept to BF4’s Unica 6), holding 6 shots. A variant with 8 shots using .38 caliber was also made. Has a very nice look to it, plus holds a unique place in gun history. Never standard issue because of its size and weight, used by British.
Nagant M1895 – 7.62mm 7 shot revolver, has a unique look, widely used, but developed for Russia
Steyr M1912 – 9mm semiauto pistol with 8 round clip, Austria-Hungarian standard army
Beretta M1915 – 9mm semi-auto pistol, 7 round magazine, Italian standard
FN Model 1903 – 9mm Browning semiauto w 7 round box magazine
Modèle 1892 revolver – 8mm 6 round revolver, French officer sidearm. Accurate but lower in power than similar military weapons of the era
Despite the long list, and more which could be added, it comes down to a couple models of each class and caliber — heavy and lighter revolvers, and roughly 3 size ranges of semi-auto pistols, a total of perhaps five which are different in more than just looks and feel. Guessing which four will be present in the game at the start isn’t easy.
My choices would be the Colt 1908, Webley-Fosbery, Nagant, and Beretta. It gives use a good selection of types, with interesting looking models.
Others
Medic Semiauto Rifles:
RSC M1917 Fusil Automatique Modèle 1917 closest thing to standard issue semiauto in the war, French, uses 8MM Lebel cartridge.
Fedorov Avtomat M1916 semi-auto/auto rifle. Used the 6.5mm Arisaka cartridge, 350 RPM, Russian.
Mauser M1916 — semiauto with a 25 round magazine, its cost and fragility limited its use to air service by Germany, and it was later replaced by the more reliable Mondragon.
Farquhar-Hill rifle – semiauto/auto .303 British rifle saw limited use by aviators, but never fielded on the ground. 700 RPM, making it despite its size closer to an SMG or LMG in role, and later developed as an LMG. 20 round drum magazine. An interesting detail with this weapon is that when you switch magazines, you must press the trigger once to close the bolt and ready it for firing.
Semiautomatic rifles were a recent development, and though all factions tried to field standard issue versions, they were not quite ready for general distribution.
With three weapons already revealed, there is room for another four easily, and not a lot of other likely candidates for this role.
Assault SMG and Shotguns:
Chauchat-Ribeyrolles 1918 submachine gun, a compact development of the RSC M1917, 8mm . Also called the 1918 carbine, even though it was short and fully automatic.
Thompson Submachine Gun. The 1918 models were only prototypes and never saw service in the war they were designed for. .45, about 600 RPM (later models shot faster and held more ammo)
Submachineguns were a new development, with the very first ones used in this war.
Browning Auto-5 — semi-auto shotgun. Also produced as Remington M11.
Note: Only the USA issued shotguns as standard military weapons. Any soldier could potentially have obtained one, and common hunting weapons were used during the war by all factions at times.
With five weapons revealed so far, and three having two variants each (three shotguns), will we get all these? There weren’t a lot of submachineguns in use yet, so I’d expect to see both of the above models. The semiauto shotgun is another example of innovation during this period. If each gets two variants, we could see all of these in the game.
Support LMGs:
Chauchat M1915/1918 LMG, USA and French use. Low rate of fire of 250 rpm, but heavy ammo still overheats, 8mm
M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle — LMG, USA, used as a replacement for the M1909 late in the war, .30/7.62mm with 20 round magazine. Intended as a general purpose automatic rifle, it was still heavier and served as an LMG instead.
With the five LMGs already listed, this brings us up to seven. As one of the ways to fill 16 slots is five with two variants and two with three, they may well show up in the game.
A Wide But Not Unlimited Selection
In listing weapons which we can expect to see in the game, we run into the problem that despite many innovations, the choices for weapons were not as wide as in modern wars. Many cool choices remain, however, and the variant configurations will give use more than enough options to equip our soldiers in the game.
