International treaty constraints were an obstacle to the sale of long arms to the Chinese, beginning shortly after 1911. These constraints were extended, to some degree, to handguns which is why the Mauser C96s that went to China mostly did so via factors in Japan. In today’s parlance, Japan was regarded as the official end user – think of it as straw purchases on a grand scale.
But the major block to German sale of Imperial contract C96s (i.e. Red Nine C96s) remained the fact that they were war material and government property. This is the same obstacle to Imperial Army MP-18 submachine guns being sold or exported to any buyer, so I’m inclined to doubt any of the Imperial Army MP-18s were sold to anyone, including China
Let’s remember that the MP-18 wasn’t purchased by the imperial German Army until 1918, and of the roughly 50,000 MP-18s ordered by the Imperial German Army only about 10,000 were actually delivered before the end of the War. There were an estimated 30,000 MP 18s produced before the end of the War, but with only 10,000 delivered that leaves 20,000 not delivered to the (former) Imperial German Army that went somewhere – and that “somewhere” may well have been partially to Japan for resale in China. Again commercial sale of arms that were never property of the German Army or government, and not military surplus.
Regarding the Bergman submachine guns you have seen in China chambered for the .30 Mauser, they may have been of domestic Chinese production or of Swiss origin as SIG bought the license to produce the MP-18 from Bermann, and produced a significant number in 7.63 Mauser (a well as 7.65 Parabellum) for export.
To bring this full circle back to the C96, the Austrian MP-34, chambered for the 9x25 Mauser Export cartridge, is a descendent of the Bergmann MP-18 – as was the Spanish Naranjero, chambered for the 9x23 Largo (AKA 9 mm Bergmann).
The tale of the MP-18 is almost incestuous :-)
|