The Greek Gras Bolt Action Rifle,During the 1870’s and 1880’s, the French Gras single sh
The Greek Gras Bolt Action Rifle,During the 1870’s and 1880’s, the French Gras single shot bolt action rifle was very popular with the militaries of new nations, particularly Latin American nations and Greece. The Mle 1874 Gras rifle was a cartridge firing upgrade of the earlier Chassepot rifle, a needelfire rifle which used a paper cartridge popularly used by the French in the Franco Prussian War. In the later half of the 19th century, around 60,000 Gras rifles were purchased by the Greek Army, seeing use in the Greco Turkish War. Despite it lacking a magazine and being a single shot only, it continued to see use in the 20th Century, being used as a reserve arm in the Balkan Wars and World War I. It was also popular among Greek guerrilla fighters, especially those revolting against the Ottoman Empire, and by the Greek Resistance during World War II. Because of its use revolutionaries and resistance fighters, the Gras has earned legendary status in Greece, even being mentioned in folk songs.The Gras rifle used by the Greeks was no different the standard French service rifle, the Mle 1874. However, the Greeks could not purchase them from France as the French could not produced enough for their own needs. Rather, production was licensed to Steyr of Austria. Steyr markings are stamped on the receiver, with a Greek cartouche on the buttstock. -- source link
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