MP.28

The MP 18 is a German submachine gun designed and manufactured by Bergmann Waffenfabrik. Introduced into service in 1918 by the German Army during World War I, the MP 18 was intended for use by the ''Sturmtruppen'', assault groups specialized in trench combat, as a short-range offensive weapon that would provide individual soldiers with increased firepower over a pistol.

Although MP 18 production ended after World War I, it was highly influential on subsequent small arms design; it formed the basis of most submachine guns manufactured between 1920 and 1960.

History

What became known as the "submachine gun" had its genesis in the early 20th century and developed around the concepts of fire and movement and infiltration tactics, specifically for the task of clearing trenches of enemy soldiers, an environment within which engagements were unlikely to occur beyond a range of a few feet.

In 1915, the German Rifle Testing Commission at Spandau decided to develop a new weapon for trench warfare. An attempt to modify existing semi-automatic pistols (specifically the Luger and C96 Mauser) failed, as accurate aimed fire in full automatic mode was impossible due to their light weight and high rates of fire of 1,200 rounds per minute. The commission determined that a completely new kind of weapon was needed. Hugo Schmeisser, working for the ''Bergmann Waffenfabrik'', was part of a team composed of Theodor Bergmann and a few other technicians. They designed a new type of weapon to fulfill the requirements, which was designated the ''Maschinenpistole'' 18/I. The ''I'' stands for the number ''1.'' Four different versions of the MP 18 were evaluated by the German Army, known as the models I, II, III, and IV. They shared the same basic design but exhibited differences in the feed system.

The MP 18/I used the same ''Trommelmagazin'' drum as the artillery Luger. No details are available concerning the MP 18/II, however it is known that the MP 18/III and the MP 18/IV both fed from a straight, 90° magazine feed which took Mauser pattern box magazines, of the same type used in Mauser's experimental C06/08 pistol and C17 'Trench Carbine' (the latter was possibly a rival to the MP 18/I) and later the SIG Bergmann. Full-scale production began in early 1918.

The MP 18 is often credited as the very first submachine gun, as some sources discount the Villar Perosa, on account that it was originally fielded as a light support weapon on a mount. Whether the MP 18 was actually the first submachine gun is debated.

In October 1915 the Austro-Hungarian ''Standschützen-Battalionen'' trialed a submachine gun chambered in the 8x18mm Roth cartridge, known as the ''Maschinengewehr Hellriegel''. This was tested as both a support weapon fired from a prone position, and an assault weapon fired from the hip. In late 1916, the Military Aviation Corps of the Italian Army created the first official demand for a submachine gun when they requested the development of a single-barreled Villar Perosa with a detachable stock, which was made in early 1917 and later adopted as the '' Carabinetta Automatica OVP'', with 500 being issued to observation crews. The designer of the Villar Perosa, Colonel Bethel-Abiel Revelli, had already conceived the principles of the submachine gun in September 1915, when he wrote that his gun could be converted to a single-barreled version that "may be mounted in the manner of a rifle so that it may be fired from the shoulder".

It remains a matter of controversy as to whether he made a weapon matching this description, but it is proven that the MP 18/I was merely one of many submachine gun concepts that were developed at the time, and that it cannot be referred to with any certainty as the first. The MP 18/I was the first mass-produced submachine gun to see extensive use in an infantry assault role in warfare.

World War I

The MP 18 was introduced during the final stages of World War I in 1918. Contrary to popular belief, there is no concrete evidence that the Bergmann MP 18/I reached the front lines in early 1918 or that submachine guns were employed by German Sturmtruppen during the Spring Offensive.

The MP 18 was primarily fielded in the second half of 1918 as the war drew to a close.

The first recorded unit to receive the MP 18/I was the 237th Infantry Brigade of the 119th Infantry Division, which consisted of the 46th and 58th Infantry Regiments, the 46th Reserve Infantry Regiment and the 119th Storm Division. The brigade received 216 MP 18/1 submachine guns for field trials in July 1918 – after the Spring Offensive ended.

Shortly after reaching the front, the MP 18/I was used at the Battle of Amiens. Canadian troops from the 13th Battalion of the 5th Regiment Royal Highlanders of Canada were photographed with a captured MP 18/I on 11 August. The total number of MP 18/Is manufactured during the war, and the number accepted by the German army, remains controversial.

Major-General Ernst von Wrisberg, the director of the Prussian War Ministry, wrote shortly after the end of the war that some 17,000 guns had been delivered by October 1918. This estimate is backed up by military acceptance stamps reaching into the 17,000 serial mark. Existing serial numbers bear greater numbers, into the 30,000 range. One estimate, based on the serial numbers of surviving guns, is about 35,000 made during 1918 and possibly 1919. The vast majority were not actually accepted into service and likely remained in the factory until a new demand was created in the interwar years. According to a French report made after the war, the Germans produced 50,000 units in 1918, but only 8,000–10,000 were delivered.

The number that actually reached the front is probably lower. The best indicator is the serial number range of the examples captured by the Allies in the second half of 1918. All MP 18s that were captured were low serial numbers, typically in the hundreds, a reasonable estimate is that around 4,000 guns saw combat. The presence of an MP 18/I at the Sarsılmaz Museum in Düzce, suggests the possibility that some MP 18s were supplied to the Ottomans at the end of the First World War.

Treaty of Versailles

A common claim is that the gun proved so effective that it was banned by the Treaty of Versailles. Restrictions are laid out in Tables No. II & No. III of the treaty which gives the number of rifles, carbines, heavy machine guns, and light machine guns. A clause that appears in some copies reads "Automatic rifles and carbines are to be counted as light machine guns". This does not constitute a ban, but a restriction to 1,134 guns. The number is so low that it would have stunted the German Army's distribution of weapons of this type, but it does not say the MP 18/I would be banned. There is nothing in the treaty that says that Germany was not allowed to manufacture submachine guns.

Post-war service

The MP 18 proved to be an excellent weapon. Its concept was well-proven in trench fighting. The basic design directly influenced later submachine gun designs and showed its superiority over the regular infantry rifle in urban, mobile, and guerrilla warfare.

One of the most notable post-war users of the MP 18/I were the ''Freikorps'' who armed themselves with weapons appropriated from military depots. After the armistice, Germany found itself embroiled with domestic strife in the form of the Spartacist uprising. Many submachine guns that had not been sent to the front were issued to ''Freikorps'' volunteers; the government collaborated closely with the ''Freikorps'' to crush the uprising and initially did little to stop these guns from falling into paramilitary hands. The MP 18/I proved to be particularly popular among these irregular forces.

The MP 18/I was gradually retired from military service and allocated to police forces, particularly the ''Sicherheitspolizei''. The government's implementation of the Treaty of Versailles in 1924 approved the distribution of ''maschinenpistole'' by the ''Ordnungspolizei'' (uniformed police, though probably meaning the SiPo), provided that they were not issued at a rate any higher than one gun for every twenty men. These weapons were stamped "1920" to signify that they had been approved for government issue. These guns were in legal possession of the state, but many more of the c. 50,000 guns that had been produced fell into the hands of unofficial paramilitaries or criminal elements.

In 1922 Foreign Minister Walther Rathenau was assassinated by ultranationalists armed with a stolen MP 18/I.

During the failed 1924 Estonian coup d'état attempt, the MP 18 was used to defend the Tallinn barracks from Communist militants; some of whom were armed with Thompson submachine guns. This was possibly the first engagement where submachine guns were used on both sides.

All the limited conflicts between 1920 and 1940 saw an increasing use of this new class of weapons, first in South America during the Chaco War

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