After the assassination of Austria’s Archduke Franz Ferdinand (and his wife Sophia) by Gavrilo Princip, Austria declared war on Serbia, and then Serbia’s ally Russia entered the fight. The handguns used by the Serbians and other Balkan nations included the big, ugly Roth-Gasser revolvers. Ever seen a Montenegrin service revolver? The Austrians were equipped with pistols including the Roth-Steyr and the Steyr-Hahn. Additionally, Imperial Russia brought the Model 1895 Nagant revolver into the fight, and that wheelgun would continue to serve well into World War II—outlasting the empire that adopted it in the first place.
For more American Rifleman TV segments, go to americanrifleman.org/artv.
Handguns of The Great War: Austria, Serbia and Russia
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