Chinese history is deeply strange. One of the most jarring parts of it (at least to modern eyes) are the images of Chinese Nationalist troops wearing Wehrmacht-designed uniforms and carrying Mauser Kar98k rifles during World War II. It looks absurd, but it actually happened, and therein lies a fascinating story.
The German Connection
By the 1890s, the feeble Qing Dynasty was desperately trying to modernize its armed forces so that it could reassert control over its territory, which was by that time covered with a patchwork of treaty ports and concessions. China’s inland waterways were patrolled by foreign warships and her taxes were collected by foreign bureaucrats – a truly intolerable situation.
This is where the Germans come in. Imperial Germany was a latecomer to the international scene, and it spent the latter part of the 19th Century trying to catch up with the likes of the Netherlands and Portugal, both of whom had extensive overseas holdings.
At that time, weapons technology was undergoing rapid change. The flintlock rifle had been the mainstay of warfare for two centuries, but the development of percussion caps, shaped bullets, effective breech locks and smokeless power produced a dizzying array of weapons that quickly went out of date. By 1892, the first versions of the iconic Mauser rifle were in production, a development that rendered the existing German Gewehr 1888 “Commission” rifle obsolete. At the same time, Chinese ambassadors were wandering around Europe seeking modern weapons and the tools to make them domestically. For obvious reasons, England, France and Russia were not excited about this, but Germany found it the perfect opportunity to gain inroads into China, weaken their rivals’ military advantage, and offset the expenses of re-equipping their army with new weapons.
Accordingly, the Germans agreed sell China a bunch of Gew88s as well as the tooling to make them. An arsenal was built at Hanyang (now part of Wuhan) and by 1895, production was in full swing. It would last until 1944, when the factory finally switched over to the Kar98k. More than a million of these rifles were produced and though minor alterations were made, they are genuine, parts-interchangeable German Commission rifles.
Warlords and the Rise of the Nationalists
The Qing Dynasty was overthrown in 1911, and the nascent Republic of China disintegrated into feuding warlords using a hodgepodge of weapons. The strongest were able to create their own arms manufacturing capability, typically copying foreign weapons, either through licensing or reverse-engineering. Production at Hanyang also continued to chug along, but it was becoming obvious that the Gew88 was now hopelessly obsolete. Its chief virtue was that it was better than nothing, but superior options were available.
Because of the pre-existing German relationship, many Chinese warlords looked to Mauser – both for the iconic C96 “Broomhandle” pistols and updated versions of the Kar98. Going to the trouble and expense of obtaining new rifles may seem strange given the massive amounts of surplus weapons available in the 1920s, but a primary concern for the Chinese was ammunition supply. The 7.92mm Mauser cartridge was already being produced domestically in large quantities, so staying with that made sense. (There isn’t space here to go into proposed calibers unique to China or the differences in the bullets used in Gew88 andKar98 cartridges. Suffice to say that swapping bullets is much easier than entirely new casings.)
In addition, the new generation of Nationalist leaders wanted modern weapons for a modern China. By this time, Chiang Kai-shek was already a prominent leader in the movement, and sought aid wherever he could get it – including Japan and Soviet Russia. In addition to weapons, the Nationalists needed leaders, and the Whampoa Military Academy’s first classes are something of a who’s who of future Chinese leaders (much as West Point was a nexus for American Civil War generals on both sides).
While the Kar98k had not yet been standardized, by 1924, two upgrade versions were available: the Standard Modell and a Czech variation, the Vz24. The Nationalists bought thousands of both, along with ZB-26 light machineguns (the forerunner of the Bren).
Here Come the Nazis
By the mid-1930s, the Nationalist movement had split, and the Communists were expelled. Chiang Kai-shek launched a series of “encirclement” campaigns against them, and these were so successful that the Communists had to flee central China and take refuge in the north via the famous Long March. The defeat of the Communists was made possible by considerable assistance provided by Nazi Germany, which shared the Nationalists’ hatred of Communism. As part of their aid package, the Nationalists gained training instructors, web gear, helmets and the tooling to make their own versions of the Kar98k. A total of 10 infantry divisions were brought up to a high standard of equipment and proficiency, and these troops gave the Nationalists a decisive edge over both the Communists and the remaining warlords.
Four Kar98k factories were set up, and the production runs of each contained subtle variations between them in terms of markings, stocks and minor fittings. For all that, the rifles were generally of excellent quality, and it is said that upon inspecting them, Chiang Kai-shek was so impressed that he allowed the rifle to carry his name, which in Mandarin form is Zhong Zheng. This is why these are often called “Zhong Zheng” or “Generalissimo” pattern rifles.
By 1937, China was well on the way to achieving unity and internal peace, as well as enough military strength to finally control her own territory. This is perhaps why the Japanese struck when they did.
Relocation and Civil War
While hostilities with Japan had simmered since 1931, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident kicked off total war. The Nationalists had long appreciated the vulnerability of their arsenals (many of which were in port cities) and immediately put long-developed relocation plans into effect. Just as would later happen in the USSR, the Chinese disassembled whole factories and transported their tooling deep into the interior of the country. This naturally disrupted arms production, but it did not stop it, and Kar98ks would be produced throughout the war.
While eventually Allied arms would arrive via Lend-Lease, the lack of ammunition factories to support them limited their usefulness. In fact, the U.S. actually began shipping additional 7.92mm Mauser ammo into China to shore up local supplies.
When the Japanese surrendered, American supplies were finally able to arrive in quantity. Since there was now tons of surplus Allied weapons, these were sent to China to aid the Nationalists against the Communists. During the subsequent civil war, both sides continued to rely primarily on Mausers, with the Soviets contributing rifles captured from the Germans to bolster the Communists. When the Communists won, their armies found themselves with vast stocks of random weapons, and while they would eventually embrace Soviet designs, Mauser rifles were the mainstay of their combat troops until after the Korean War.
Notable Features
Chinese Mausers are very much a niche market for collectors. They are scarce, and their condition varies greatly. Like just about everyone else, the Chinese used corrosive ammunition and many of the ones that have survived have abysmal bores. Another common feature is mismatched or re-marked parts. This was because replacement parts were in short supply and huge amounts of weapons were damaged during 12 years of total war. They are recognizable mainly through their straight bolt handle and the lack of a disassembly disc in the stock.
Condition aside, Chinese Mauser collectors also like to see clean factory marks on the receiver and they especially like to see Chinese characters carved into the stock. These are typically unit/location designations, and were added after the Korean War when both the Hanyang and Kar98k were pulled from the Chinese Red Army and sent to the People’s Militia.
The rifle I have is a complete rebuild, with very few matching parts. The bore is in reasonably good condition, but that is because it is a replacement barrel, and does not match the receiver. Both were made in 1945 at the 21st Arsenal, which was originally located in Canton but moved inland as the Japanese advanced. The marks on the receiver are in good condition, but the Zhong Zheng characters have been defaced, which is common with rifles that passed into Communist hands.
A unique feature is that it has a German-made stock and bolt, most likely salvaged from weapons provided by the Soviets. The cartouches on the stock (it has one on each side) indicate it was relegated to the militia after the Korean War. These rifles remained in militia service until the 1980s when the last off them were sold as surplus on the international market. Those rifles have the normal import marks, but many in the US do not, and there lies something of a puzzle.
How Did It Get Here?
Since 1968, all firearms imported in to the US are required to have a stamp indicating their country of origin. When foreign weapons lack this, it’s a sign that they either entered the country before that time, or via unconventional means.
For example, a significant amount of Soviet weaponry entered the US as the result of Francisco Franco selling off captured weapons from the Spanish Civil War in the 1950s. This was facilitated by Interarms, and in addition to Mosin-Nagant 91/30s, there are lots of other curiosities obtained through the grab-bag of weapons bought by the Second Spanish Republic of the time. A lot of Spanish Mausers also came over.
No such deal with struck with the Peoples Republic of China, which didn’t even have diplomatic relations with the United States until the 1970s. I’ve seen some people theorize that the rifles were provided as aid to Communist movements in Southeast Asis, were captured (or traded for drugs), and that CIA or someone else brought them into the country to make some off-the-books profit. All well and good, but I can’t see it being very a very economical way to make money. Put simply, the rifles are in lousy condition compared to other surplus, have no provenance to speak of, and so could only profitably be sold in bulk via mail order, which is how Interarms and other importers operated. If that were the case, there would be issues of the Shotgun News or other mail order catalogs highlighting them, and I’ve yet to see any evidence of that.
The only remaining option is that these were “bring backs” of some sort, either taken on the battlefield or bought on the local black market as a souvenir. This sort of thing was happening in Afghanistan, where GIs would go to the Khyber Pass and pick up cheap handcrafted or antique rifles. If one considers that these rifles would have been kicking around a conflict zone for more than 30 years, it makes sense. In fact, these types of rifles have been brought back from Vietnam.
To further document this as the most likely path, in the spring and summer of 2024, I did a series of sweeps on Gunbroker.com to see how many auctions of these rifles I could find and compared that to Arisakas. Over the course of two months, there were an average of 148 Arisaka rifles (of various models) up for sale. During that same period, there were an average of two Zhong Zheng rifles and less than one Hanyang available, and all had import marks, meaning none of them were bring backs.
The upshot is that the Zhong Zheng was manufactured in the hundreds of thousands and was a mainstay of Nationalist and later Communist forces. While much attention is given the Type 56 family of weapons, captured Zhong Zhengs bridged the gap until sufficient quantity of the Soviet pattern weapons were available.
This just goes to show how remarkable and complex Chinese military can be. Writing Walls of Men led me into to remarkable discoveries, not the least of which is the world of Chinese-built German-pattern rifles.
Chateau Lloyd 
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