Gewehr 98

The Gewehr 98 (abbreviated G98, Gew 98 or M98) is a German bolt-action Mauser rifle firing cartridges from a 5-round internal clip-loaded magazine that was the German service rifle from 1898 to 1935, when it was replaced by the Karabiner 98k. The Gewehr 98 action, using stripper clip loading with the powerful 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge, introduced advanced infantry weapon features rapidly adopted in the Anglo-American Pattern 1914 Enfield/M1917 Enfield and the Japanese Arisaka Type 38/Type 99. The Gewehr 98 replaced the earlier Gewehr 1888 rifle as the German service rifle, first saw combat in the Boxer Rebellion, and was the main German infantry rifle of World War I. The Gewehr 98 saw further military use by the Ottoman Empire and Francoist Spain. Many have been converted to sporting use.

History

The Gewehr 98, named for 1898, the first year of its manufacture, superseded the earlier Gewehr 1888 in German service. The bolt-action design used for the Gewehr 98 was patented by Paul Mauser on 9 September 1895. The Gewehr 98 itself was the latest in a line of Mauser rifles that were introduced in the 1890s.