The main weapon of the German army was the Kar98k bolt action rifle chambered in 8mm. These rifles were used extensively throughout the war. This rifle was the direct descendent of the WW1 issued Gewehr 98. It was made slightly shorter and lighter and issued as a carbine but it was essentially the same rifle that the previous generation carried into battle. In addition to the k98, the German army used a number of obsolete and captured Foreign rifles. The drawback to these was primarily the different caliber of ammunition needed which created logistics issues. In addition to these Germany produced two self-loading or semi-automatic rifles each of which was available in two forms. The first of these semi-automatic rifles was the Gewehr 41. This rifle was produced in two forms the G41(m) with a backup bolt action and the G41(w) without. These rifles worked well enough but they proved to be somewhat unreliable. The next German Semi-Automatic Rifle was the Gewehr 43. This also existed in two forms the Geweh43 (G43) and the Karabiner 43 (K43). These were essentially identical rifles with only a nomenclature change. This rifle proved very popular with the soldiers and were quite reliable. ​

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These photographs and information were taken from a number of online sources and auction sites.  They are presented here for educational purposes.