German Captured 1886/M93 Lebel - Rastatt Rework

Hi Guys,

This was a late 2024 acquisition, and one I enjoyed photographing. It's a well-known fact that the Germans captured a lot of allied equipment through the course of the war. This is clear through substantial photographic evidence, as well as examining surviving examples. The regulations required application of a property marking before use by German forces. There have been a few German-issued Russian Mosins and Belgian 1889 Mausers documented here in the past. Here is a captured French 1886/M93 Lebel. I picked in up in a lot from RIA and it surprisingly flew a bit below the radar.

This rifle is a survivor and is salty, with a "been there" look. The metal bears some significant oxidation on the left side (makes me wonder if the rifle sat left side down in the mud before it was picked up.( I can't quite make out the manufacturer, but it appears to be a Châtellerault. The barrel looks to be a 1904 dated one. The stock appears to be a French armorer's replacement, as there is no plug or french cartouches. The German "DEUTSCHES REICH" property mark is clearly and crisply stamped on the right side of the stock (albeit a partial miss). The bolt appears to have been renumbered to match the action and there is a "7" (Rastatt) marking on the buttplate. There is an interesting number engraved on the triggerguard, which I'm guessing is either an inventory number for a museum or collector.

The rifle also includes the rare bayonet adaptor for use with German bayonets. The adaptor is removable, but the screws looked rather untouched and I didn't want to tempt fate. I tried a couple dozen of my bayonets on it and the best fit was an EB45. The 98/05s didn't engage right and some of my other ersatz had spacing issues.

In any case, here are the photos:

More pics


Here is a captured Lebel bayonet with a German property marking that I also have. Naturally, the adapter renders this bayonet unusable on the subject rifle, but would have been used with other captured Lebels.


Finally a group shot of some of my other WW1 Beutewaffen rifles:

COOL!!!! I like it alot! Did anyone else aside from the Germans Blue the bolts on Lebel rifle's?

Very neat example Chris! A true rarity!

That thing is awesome

This is such a neat rifle, I really like the Deutsches Reich marking you find on captured weapons. What letter is the cypher on the bayonet adapter? I have to wonder how many Lebels and Berthiers ended up on the German side and how many of those got these bayonet adapters. And what letter is the cypher on the bayonet adapter (C/D)?Congrats on picking up an awesome rifle!

ASG88/98 is the best choice on this, unfortunally the french adapter on barell was probably removed by attach of the german adapter, so old Lebel bayonet could be not fixed on this rifle already.

That’s a cool rifle Chris….. congrats! WW1 Beutewaffen is a really neat Imperial subset. Nice grouping my friend

very cool.. for some odd reason I like these. I owned a Belgian 89 conversion years ago.

I love the WW1 era capture weapons, very cool.

A weapon I would never even know to look for.
Very cool!

Strange is mixage of parts as the barell looks like C also Chatellerault serialed but the other side speaks for MAT also Tulle production, the bolt and magazine is marked with FJ which is from Saint Etienne rifle. Bolt was reserialed to barell.

Chris,
Definitely a great threesome ~ proofed rifle stock, bayonet, and the adapter! Fantastic score ! !

Jdt said:

COOL!!!! I like it alot! Did anyone else aside from the Germans Blue the bolts on Lebel rifle's?

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Thanks! The bolt actually isn't blued though; it just has a heavy patina.

krukster86 said:

Very neat example Chris! A true rarity!

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Thanks Mark, it was a nice way to end 2024!

AN-94 said:

This is such a neat rifle, I really like the Deutsches Reich marking you find on captured weapons. What letter is the cypher on the bayonet adapter? I have to wonder how many Lebels and Berthiers ended up on the German side and how many of those got these bayonet adapters. And what letter is the cypher on the bayonet adapter (C/D)?Congrats on picking up an awesome rifle!

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There are a variety of acceptance letters-- these adapters are covered in great detail in German Ersatz Bayonets During WWI, by Mery. Great book if you can get a copy. Navy and Landssturm units got a decent number of the captured weapons. Lots of photos out there of them with those type of troops.

joryfreeburg said:

That’s a cool rifle Chris….. congrats! WW1 Beutewaffen is a really neat Imperial subset. Nice grouping my friend

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Thanks-- I've been fairly lucky with it, but I wont complain. A decent German captured Mosin can be found with some patience. The ones from the Western Allies seem to be quite a bit more difficult to find.

mauser99 said:

very cool.. for some odd reason I like these. I owned a Belgian 89 conversion years ago.

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The Belgians 8mm reworks are really neat. I've had three in my hands over the years. Two are now with good friends and one resides with me still.

AndyB said:

Strange is mixage of parts as the barell looks like C also Chatellerault serialed but the other side speaks for MAT also Tulle production, the bolt and magazine is marked with FJ which is from Saint Etienne rifle. Bolt was reserialed to barell.

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Yeah, i was discussing this with a friend yesterday. I'm wondering if it was a damaged rifle that was rebuilt at Rastatt and the bolt renumbered to match. Some of the Belgian 89 reworks are also mixed serial numbers and the Germans only renumbered major components like the bolt or barrel jacket.

ersatz said:

Chris,
Definitely a great threesome ~ proofed rifle stock, bayonet, and the adapter! Fantastic score ! !

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Thanks Ted! A good friend came across it in an otherwise unremarkable auction and it didn't take much convincing for me to go after it.

Very nice! I think they also captured that earlier French model (1866?), at least if I can remember correctly I have one of those too.

Rarest DEUTSCHES REICH marked captured rifle that I can think of is btw a Ross Rifle M1905 that a friend of mine owns since decades. Never heard or seeen of another one.

Absolut said:

Very nice! I think they also captured that earlier French model (1866?), at least if I can remember correctly I have one of those too.

Rarest DEUTSCHES REICH marked captured rifle that I can think of is btw a Ross Rifle M1905 that a friend of mine owns since decades. Never heard or seeen of another one.

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Thanks! Maybe you are thinking the 1874 Gras? I have seen those with the DR capture markings.

I think I remember you mentioning that Ross before. Pretty fantastic find.

Ah yeah. 1874 Gras! If there is need, I can picture that too.

Could have had that Ross .. but it would had required me to trade something that I currently still like more than the Ross, lol. Maybe one day!

Absolut said:

Ah yeah. 1874 Gras! If there is need, I can picture that too.

Could have had that Ross .. but it would had required me to trade something that I currently still like more than the Ross, lol. Maybe one day!

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That would be great if you get an opportunity to post it up. I've seen a few over the years, but your photos are always top notch.

Like anything, i guess it's always a function of what you are willing to give up. Money is always the easy part... certain trades not always so much.

Very nice rifle! I don't recall seeing one of these with that bayonet adaptor before. Those seem to most common on the captured Mosin rifles. The Germans must have kept somebody busy making those adaptors during the war!

Awesome rifle Chris, and so glad you got it for a great price. It was the perfect storm!! The German depot mark is very special. I had not seen one of these reworks with a depot mark before. Now we need to find a SMLE!! I'm convinced the Germans hated them, and melted them all down and burned the stocks for firewood lol.

Absolut said:

Ah yeah. 1874 Gras! If there is need, I can picture that too.

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I wonder if this is one of the 8MM Lebel conversions that the French did in 1914 (M14 Conversion)...?

AndyB said:

Strange is mixage of parts as the barell looks like C also Chatellerault serialed but the other side speaks for MAT also Tulle production, the bolt and magazine is marked with FJ which is from Saint Etienne rifle. Bolt was reserialed to barell.

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This Lebel had an interesting life that's for sure. I agree with Chris it looks like a Chatellerault built rifle originally, which given the 1904 Tulle barrel, was reworked there that year and given a new barrel. Tulle was the only state arsenal servicing Lebel rifles. The buttstock may have also been replaced in 1904, explaining the lack of an acceptance cartouche, or it could have been worn off (along with the stock S/N on the other side) by the time the German reworked it. Again, I think Chris is right that this rifle was mostly a German overhaul. The French would have force-matched the trigger group and the entire bolt including the prefix. It's pretty interested that the German put as much effort as they did to bring this rifle back into serviceable condition. Super cool those two pieces came off the same donor. Especially since it's a Lebel, and even more so since it's French haha.