A very rare Mauser — The Ethiopian MauserEthiopia has a proud history of being one of the few

A very rare Mauser — The Ethiopian MauserEthiopia has a proud history of being one of the few nations in Africa to have never been occupied by a foreign power.  In fact, Ethiopian sovereignty can be traced back to ancient biblical times.To fend off European colonial powers, Ethiopia needed the best in arms that was offered at an economical price.  During the 1930’s, the rifle of choice was the Mauser rifle, invented in Germany and manufactured all over the world.  The Ethiopian chose a variant of the 98 Mauser called the 33/40, similar to the 98K Mauser but slightly shortened with a straight bolt handle.  Due to Ethiopia’s lack of industrial infrastructure, the Ethiopian Mauser was manufactured by FN, then under contract by the Mauser Company.  All the Ethiopian Mausers were factory stamped with the Ethiopian crest on the top of the receiver as well as the “Lion of Judah” marked on the side of the receiver.The Ethiopian Mauser would see action when in 1935 Italian forces under Benito Mussolini invaded.  While the Ethiopians greatly outnumbered Italian forces, the Ethiopians lacked aircraft, tanks, and artillery, while their Italian opponents were well equipped for modern warfare.  Despite the  exceptional bravery of Ethiopia’s finest and being armed with a world class bolt action rifle, the ancient kingdom could not withstand the assault of a modern industrialized military.  Ethiopia suffered losses that number in the hundreds of thousands, especially after the Italians began using poison gas, illegal under the Geneva Convention.While Ethiopia had been beaten, it was not defeated.  Armed resistance groups sprang up all over the country, severely mauling the Italian occupiers.  Furthermore, the Italian Army began suffering the effects of African diseases.  In 1941 Ethiopian freedom fighters, with the assistance of British troops, removed the Italian occupation from Ethiopia. -- source link

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