This is the complete story of Argentina’s contract Mauser rifles from the purchase of their first Model 1871s to the disposal of the last shipment of surplus rifles received in the United States in May 2002. Between 1891-1959 Argentina bought or manufactured nearly 500,000 Mauser rifles and carbines for itself as well as for its neighbors Peru, Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay. It also supplied Spain with rifles to help suppress the Melilla revolt in Morocco, which were eventually used against the United States during the Spanish American War of 1898. The Argentine Commission’s relentless pursuit of tactical superiority resulted in a major contribution to the development of Mauser’s now famous bolt-action system. The combined efforts of the Belgian, Turkish and Argentine arms commissions between 1889 and 1892 produced the origins of what became the Model 98 bolt-action system that is still in use today over 110 years later. Details include: thirty-seven identified variants; the history behind each purchase and the technical description of each variant; contract-by-contract, and in the case of the Model 1891, 1909 and 1947 weapons a month-by-month, detail of production and shipping data; over 400 pictures, illustrations, documents and blueprints; history and details of the manufacturing facilities in Europe and in Argentina as well as a description of the manufacturing process used by the “Matheu” (DGFM-FMAP) small arms factory in Argentina; interesting and colorful anecdotes about the people involved, including revelations about spying and secret alliances never before revealed.
