Lugers in the Boer War?

[Levallois]

Does anyone have documented evidence that the model 1900 Old Model Luger was used in the Boer War on either side? That war lasted until 1902 and Dwight Gruber writes in his excellent research on the early guns that "7,147 Old Model Commercial Parabellums had been manufactured" (by October 1901). So, it's within the realm of possibility. I'd appreciate any evidence or suggestions on where to look for this info. - Thanks!

John

[Navy]

John,

While the possibility is certainly real, I have never run across any examples. I have encountered numerous C-96 boer war vets, tho.

Tom A

[Vlim]

The Boers were mainly Mauser customers and real Mauser fans as well. They would have preferred the Mausers first as a result, many Mauser rifles and C96 pistols ended up there.

It's not impossible, but in my eyes very unlikely that DWM made lugers were used there.

A postcard sent from South Africa during the Boer Wars:


And a card that was for sale a while ago:

[Levallois]

Tom A. and G. van Vlimmeren,

Thank you for replying - I hadn't seen any reference to Lugers used during the Boer War either but I wanted to make sure.

I guess what I'm trying to get at is when was the first time a Luger was used "in anger?" The Germans were busy colonizing Africa at the beginning of the 20th Century and had their fair share of conflicts:

- the "Hottentot" uprising in SW Africa - 1903-1908
- the Insurrection in Cameroon 1904-1905
-the Maji Maji Uprising in East Africa 1905

There were quite a few German colonizers going to Africa at that time that could have brought along their Pistole Parabellum. These conflicts are a little more difficult to find photos of, however.

John

By the way - terrific old photos/post cards!

[Lugerdoc]

John, Due to the loose connection between the Dutch Govt and the the "Africaneers" in SA, I doubt that any of the Dutch test lugers saw action there (see "The Dutch Luger" by Bas Martens & Guus de Vries) but it is certainly possible that that a photo of a private purchased luger may show up, used in that conflict. TH

[Levallois]

I appreciate the replies. I'll look into the Dutch connection. As Tom A pointed out, the Brits were huge fans of the Mauser C96 Broomhandle - another German gun - so if the Luger was available for them late 1901, it is possible some British officer might have taken one to SA. I agree the Boers were primarily rifleman but perhaps some of their German allies might have had a Luger? As much as I love the Broomie - I have a Boer War era "Westley Richards" marked conehammer - the Luger would have been light years ahead as a side arm.

I doubt I'll find the evidence but it's fun to think about.

John

[Roadkill]

How prevalent was the .30 Luger cartridge at that time? Commercial sources only, perhaps not the best to take to a conflict, especially in Africa.

[unspellable]

Somewhere I ran across mention of the Germans using Lugers somewhere in East Africa prior to WWI. Nothing to do with the Boer War but at least in Africa.

[Vlim]

The Boers were fans of the Maxim 37mm 'Pom Pom', though.

A nice anekdote is that Hirams Stevens Maxim was approached by some sources to have a chat with the Boer leaders and offer them a large cash sum if hostilities were suspended and the local mines could be taken back in operation. Talks between Maxim and a Boer delegation were held in The Hague but with not results.

[Mauser720]

The main title of the post card shown above states: "Greetings from South Africa's Battle Fields" and above this is the inscription: "God and the Mauser - united in the fight for freedom and justice." According to Olson, these post cards were German instigated. The Boer militia was using the model 1895 Mauser rifles in 7mm Mauser caliber. At the time it was an excellent choice for the open terrain and long range shooting conditions encountered in South Africa.

[Vlim]

In the DWM company history, they show some photos of the packaging/crating department. It's quite interesting as the wall of the department is lined with stencils used to mark the crates for shipping.

Amongst them, just visible, is one stencil marked 'Pretoria'.
The history itself confirms deliveries of ammunition to Oranje-Vrijstaat in the 1897-1900 timeframe.

Maxim himself mentioned his 'Boer War Mission' on page 288 of his autobiography (which must be read not with a grain of salt, but with a bucketload).

[Levallois]

Originally posted by tacfoley
Ahem, you may be barking up the wrong tree here, Sir.

1. The young Winston Churchill, who was a war correspondent, took a C-96 to a war in Africa, that much is true.

2. British officers were required to carry a service revolver of the appropriate and common calibre - that is to say - .455 Webley - not an untried item of foreign manufacture in what was seen at the time by the British War Office as being a piddling mouse-killing calibre.

3. I would hazard a guess that you are as likely to find any evidence of an British officer in Africa carrying a Luger as you are to find one carrying a Glock.

As for the Boers, there is very little evidence that they carried handguns at all. Certainly, when I visited the Anglo-Boer War museum in Bloemfontein a few years ago, there were no formerly Boer-owned handguns on display.

My $0.02.

tac

Tac,

It would not be my first bark up the wrong tree. However, I found a book called "Small Arms of the Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902" by Ron Bester and Associates. If you are interested in Boer War weapons, this is the book.

In the British Military handguns chapter, he presents data from a survey conducted by the British in 1901 with 360 out of 603 who were polled replying and 40 of them carried Broomies in SA or 11 percent. While not overwhelming, considering the newness of the technology, I think this is a signicant number who don't seem to mind "piddling mouse-killing calibres." There are a few accounts of its use during the conflict.

In the Boer Handguns chapter Mr. Bester confirms the Boers did not use many handguns but when they used them they were Webleys and Mauser Broomhandles. In fact the Broomies were "popular" with those Boers who did carry handguns including Jan Smuts himself.

No mention of Lugers but there were three who carried the Borchardt.

John