TOPIC:

Here is a good question: Were Mannlicher rifles used during the 2nd Anglo-Boer War?

This question has interested me since I first heard someone reference an apparent Boer carved Mannlicher, I think it was a M1888, in one of the Carvings from the Veld volumes. As I don't own any of the splendid books in the series, I can confirm nor deny this claim. My curiosity was re-ignited today after my purchase of a copy of "Die Boer se Roer tot Vandag" ( translating roughly to the Boer, or Afrikaner's, weapons of choice through the years ). This book contains an interesting chapter on the 2nd Anglo-Boer war in which I came across a collection photo in which two Mannlicher model rifles were pictured, a M1888 and some variant of the M95. The caption of this photo only refers to these rifles as the 8mm Mannlicher rifle and 8mm Mannlicher carbine. The rifles pictured in this photo belong to the Lategan-Collection in the Fort-Bloemfontein Museum.

I find the M95 rifle to be strange as it is refered to as a carbine, but does not seem to be as short as carbines of the model seen online. the backsight also appears to be longer than that of the standard M95 carbines seen online. Could this be some commercial variant?

Thank you;

J.I.W




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As a result of my visit to the AWM back in 2019, I illustrated amongst other things, the M95 Mannlicher sporting rifle in 6.5mm Rimmed which was reputed to have been the property of Cronje and captured by a member of NSWMR at Paardeberg. That pattern of Mannlicher was clip loading and had a turning bolt.
From your pic, it is difficult to be certain about the two "8mm Mannlichers"; however the LHS long rifle looks to be an M1888 Austrian Mannlicher straight pull in calibre 8mm rimmed and the cut down job on the RHS looks to be based on the later M1895 version of the same straight pull Mannlicher system (also in calibre 8mm rimmed).
How the users ever thought they would be able to obtain ammunition supplies in non-standard calibres through the British blockade is a mystery.
IL.

After studying the contents of a chapter in the "Boer se Roer tot Vandag", I have found evidence that Mannlicher-type rifles were indeed used during the 2nd Anglo-Boer war. However, I can personally only confirm the use of the Mannlicher M1888 rifle. In the book I found an image of the Windburg Kommando taken in the Ladysmith district in 1899. In this image a gentleman, Mike Geldenhuys (far left), is seen holding a Mannlicher M1888 rifle. Further there is an example of a Haenel-Mannlicher/Mauser M88 commission rifle clip of five rounds picked up from the veld said to be from the 2nd ABW. Lastly a 8x52mm R casing, used by the Mannlicher models m1888 and m95, is portrayed, ehich was found outside Britstown. In the book it is said multiple times that M95s saw use in the 2nd ABW, but in my opinion there is a lack of evidence to be able to confirm this particular models use in the war. However, photographic and archeological evidence (the discovery of 8x52mm R casings and rounds in the veld) leads me to confidently be able to confirm the use of the Mannlicher M1888 rifle in the conflict.








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I have also been trying to identify the exact model of M95 carbine the M95 carbine is in the photos, as there seems to be quite many small differences, as is often seen on military weapons, between the many M95s used by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Finding out a particular pattern or model could allow me to pinpoint the adoption or start of production time period of the particular firearm. This has proven to be quite difficult, but I have found a carbine which has the same long backsight and rear barrel band, which is definitely closer to the rear sight than on some other M95 carbines. This one was listed on an American firearms website:
store.webuyguns.com/steyr-m95-austria-hu...ilitary-rifle-8x56r/






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IL, I have found a photo of Cronje's Mannlicher. It is currently still in the collection of the Australian War Memorial:
www.awm.gov.au/collection/C134712

It seems to be built on a Mannlicher M93 action.

I have also found another example of a Mannlicher m1888 used during the 2nd ABW, also part of the collection of the Australian War Memorial. It is called a Model M1895 by the AWM, which must be incorrect.

www.awm.gov.au/collection/C135720




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Kaapse Rebel
Obviously, Cronje's rifle in the AWM is a sporterised version of the Mannlicher and in 6.5mm and likely that he favoured a sporter made from a Dutch M95 as his personal weapon.
Now, some observations on turn-bolt Mannlicher actions. Ferdinand von Mannlicher - or his design bureau - had an early success with the German adoption of his packet loading turn-bolt action in their M1888 Commission 8x57mm rifle. However, the military of his native Austria preferred his straight pull packet loading design and adopted same in calibre 8x50R about 1890 (and subsequently modified in 1895). However, Von M's turn-bolt system had development prospects and especially when paired with a smaller calibre.
There were probably as many claimants to the development of the calibre 6.5mm as there were to the discovery of Troy; however the calibre and a cartridge to go with it was seemingly a Swiss/Italian effort and adopted by Italy in rimless form in 1891. It gave good ranging and better penetration than certain larger calibres. The System Mannlicher and the calibre had a certain following in the early and mid 1890's; Roumania adopted it with a rimmed cartridge case in 1892-3 and Holland adopted an almost identical version in 1895.
Not only was the turn-bolt system Mannlicher a success on the military scene - it and its cartridge had quite a vogue on the sporting front. In the UK, the Dutch Mannlicher in 6.5mm was favoured for Deer hunting and the army was most interested in its ballistic properties after its performance in long range Match Rifle events at Bisley.
My contention that the AWM Cronje sporting rifle is built on an M95 Dutch Mannlicher action is that the slightly earlier M93 Roumanian Mannlicher featured a different magazine profile. Readers who would contend that point should go on-line and look up the physical/design differences between the two. I could do it here but no one would read it. Besides the AWM obviously got Cronje's rifle's designation wrongly, the "1897" probably refers to the production date of the action. The AWM also erred in their designation for the "1895" Mannlicher long rifle. You can't get everything right.
This reply may seem to be off-topic; however it does appear that the small arms to be found in Boer hands in the early stages of the campaign could be a motley lot and certainly not just the 7mm M93 Mauser. Were the odd Mannlichers, etc., in non-standard calibres a reflection of the attitude of foreign volunteers for the Boer cause that things would be more like a short sporting event than what it proved to be?
Regards
IL.