Weapons

The world of Youjo Senki has, with the exception of the presence of magic, a lot of similarities to Europe during the time of the First World War. As such, numerous real-life weapons from the period appear in the anime and manga.

The following weapons are listed:

WEAPONRY
Empire=

=Small Arms=

Luger P08
Tanya is seen armed with a Luger P08 semi-automatic pistol in the ending sequence. It is a toggle-locked recoil-operated semi-automatic pistol. The design was patented by Georg J. Luger in 1898 and produced by German arms manufacturer Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken (DWM) starting in 1900 with other manufacturers; it was an evolution of the 1893 Hugo Borchardt–designed C-93. The Swiss army was the first to adopt the Luger in May 1900. The Luger was the standard issue pistol for the German Army in both world wars, and presumably plays a similar role for the Empire.

Mauser Gewehr 98
Regular infantrymen in the Imperial Army are armed with the Mauser Gewehr 1898. In real life, the Gewehr 1898 is a rifle that fires 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridges from a 5-round internal clip-loaded magazine that was the German service rifle from 1898 to 1935. As with most bolt-action rifles of its time, it was a powerful and accurate rifle with long range that was poorly suited for the close quarter fighting of trench warfare. The considerable length of the rifle and the minimum sight setting of 400 meters (far in excess of the typical range in trench battles) were particular handicaps.

Oddly though, many of the Gewehr 98 designs in the anime omitted the recognizeable rear v-notch quadrant (Lange-Visier) sights.

Mondragón Rifle
Mages in the Imperial Army use Mondragón rifles at their primary weapons, often firing magic rounds out of them. In real life, the Mondragón was a Mexican semi-automatic rifle of the early 1900s, the first such weapon to become standard issue in a national army. The Mondragón was sold to Germany in the First World War, but proved unreliable in the muddy conditions of the trenches, and was thus mostly used as an aircraft weapon until enough machine guns were available. The use of the weapon by mages somewhat mirrors it's real-life deployment in the First World War.

Gewehr 43 (left hand)
In the manga, mages of the Imperial Army use the anachronistic Gewehr 43 semi-automatic rifles instead of the Mondragón rifles. In real life, the Gewehr 43 did not exist until 1943. It was the result of Walther modifying the less successful Gewehr 41(W) through the incorporating of a short-stroke piston gas system that was similar to captured Soviet SVT-40 rifles. The weapon uses the 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge, and is fed by a 10-round detachable box magazine.

In the story, all Gewehr 43 rifles are scoped, and unlike the real-life Gewehr 43, a bayonet can be attached to the rifle.

MG 34 (right hand)
The MG 34 is the other primary weapon used by Imperial Mages. In the Rhine Front, Tanya was wielding both weapons during her search and rescue mission. Overall, more mages are seen using the MG 34 than the Gewehr 43.

The MG 34 used by the mages received modifications that are not found in their real-life counterparts. They are modified to accept magazines instead of belts, and a forward grip has been added below the barrel sleeve so that the mages can hold the machine gun with two hands.

Gustloff Volkssturmgewehr
Gustloff Volkssturmgewehr is the name of an assault rifle design by Karl Barnitzke of the Gustloff-Werke for the Primitiv-Waffen-Programm ("primitive weapons program") in 1944 and was intended to be used by the Volkssturm. It was greatly simplified as an attempt to cope with severe lack of resources and industrial capacity in Germany during the final period of World War II. The weapon employed the same 7.92×33mm Kurz intermediate cartridge as the earlier StG 44 assault rifle and also used the same detachable 30-round box magazine. In the context of series, the Imperial marine mages use it as their primary weapon. Nevertheless, the weapon's appearance is anachronistic.

PTRD-41
PTRD-41 was an anti-tank rifle produced and used from early 1941 by the Soviet Red Army during the Second World War. It was a single-shot weapon which fired a 14.5×114mm round. Although unable to penetrate the frontal armor of German tanks, it could penetrate the thinner sides of early-war German tanks as well as thinly armored self-propelled guns. The rifle used a bolt based on the Mauser Gewehr 98 rifle, as this design is legendary for its strength and simplicity and has become the most widely adopted and copied designs of all time.

Abnormally and anachronistically, this gun appears in the Imperial weaponry, described as the "anti-armor sniper rifle" that was useful in trench warfare against the panzer's armor and the mage's shield. During World War I, the weapon that served such purpose for the German Army was the 13 mm Mauser 1918 T-Gewehr.

MP 40
Maschinenpistole 40 was a submachine gun chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. It was developed in Nazi Germany and used extensively by the Axis powers during the Second World War. It was heavily used by infantrymen (particularly platoon and squad leaders), and by paratroopers, on the Eastern and Western Fronts. Its advanced and modern features made it a favorite among soldiers and popular in countries from various parts of the world after the war. It was often erroneously called "Schmeisser" by the Allies, although Hugo Schmeisser was not involved in the design or production of the weapon.

In the novel vol.4, MP 40 appeared in Loria's imagination, and was hugged by Tanya.

=Light Weapons & Explosives=

MG 08 Maxim
The Empire uses the Maschinengewehr 08, or MG 08, as their primary support weapon. In real life, the MG 08 was an adaptation of Hiram S. Maxim's original 1884 Maxim gun. In the anime, the MG 08 has a disk-shaped muzzle that is normally seen on Chinese-made Type 24 Maxims, which were not manufactured until 1935.

The gun used 250-round fabric belts of 7.92×57mm ammunition, and was water-cooled by using a jacket around the barrel that held approximately one gallon of water. Like the 1884 Maxim gun, the MG 08 operated on the basis of short barrel recoil and a toggle lock. Once cocked and fired the MG 08 would continue firing rounds until the trigger was released or until all available ammunition was expended. Its practical range was estimated at some 2,000 metres (2,200 yds) up to an extreme range of 3,600 metres (3,900 yds).

Stielhandgranate
The Stielhandgranate is the Imperial Army's standard issue grenade. In the anime, Tanya and the Imperial Mages used Stielhandgranates twice. First bombing the Dacian invasion forces, the second in downing the lead bomber of the Entente Alliance bomber formation. In the real world, it was the standard issue of the German Empire during World War I and World War II. The very distinctive appearance led to it being called a "stick grenade", or "potato masher" in British Army slang.

The Model 24 Stielhandgranate is used in the anime, which is correct as it first appeared in 1924. The main distinction between the Model 1924 and previous models is a slightly shorter charge head. Another very minor change in the design was a lengthening of the wooden handle. The intent of these design alterations was simply for mobility.

Wechselapparat
The Wechselapparat is the Imperial Army's main flamethrower. As part of the entrapment of the Republican forces at the Rhine theatre, the Empire deploys special troops with Wechselapparat units to wipe out trapped Republican forces. In real life, the Wechselapparat was introduced in the German army as a man-portable flamethrower that was smaller than the Kleinflammenwerfer. It had a doughnut-shaped backpack fuel container with a spherical propellant container in the middle.

=Artillery=

10 cm Kanone 14
The 10 cm Kanone 14 is an Imperial field gun that makes for the bulk of Imperial artillery units during the war. In the real world, 10 cm Kanone 14 is an heavily modified upgrade of the older 10 cm Kanone 04 built by Krupp. It was also designed to be able engage targets on the ground and in the air. However, modifications intended to provide the gun a dual role as an anti-aircraft gun proved to be a complete failure in that respect. Because the effective firing range (12,000+ meters) was deemed insufficient by the German military, the 10 cm Kanone 14 was upgraded in 1917 with a longer barrel under the designation 10 cm Kanone 17.

8.8 cm Flak 18
The 8.8 cm Flak 18 is the first of a series of guns that would be commonly called in real life as the eighty-eight. In the anime, the Flak 18 appears to fire standard artillery shells instead of anti-air shells. Its real-world version was originally built as an anti-aircraft gun, hence the origin of the term Flak, which is a contraction of German Flugzeugabwehrkanone ("aircraft-defense cannon").

15 cm sFH 18
The 15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze 18 or sFH 18 (German: "heavy field howitzer, model 18"), nicknamed Immergrün ("Evergreen"), was the basic German division-level heavy howitzer during WWII, serving alongside the smaller but more numerous 10.5 cm leFH 18. Its mobility and firing range and the effectiveness of its 44 kilogram shell made it the most important weapon of all German infantry divisions. A total of 6,756 examples were produced. In the novel, they were equipped by Salamander Combat Group in 1926.

7.58 cm Minenwerfer
7.58 cm Minenwerfer was a German mortar used in WWI. The Russo-Japanese War of 1905 had shown the value of mortars against modern fieldworks and fortifications and the Germans were in the process of fielding a whole series of mortars before the beginning of World War I. Their term for them was Minenwerfer, literally mine-thrower; they were initially assigned to engineer units in their siege warfare role. By the Winter of 1916-17, they were transferred to infantry units where the leMW's light weight permitted them to accompany the foot-soldiers in the advance.

Krupp K5
The Krupp 28-cm-Kanone 5 (E) with the (E) signifying Eisenbahnlafette (railway car gun-mount) was a German 283 mm railway gun during WWII. After WWI, Germany was banned from developing large-caliber artillery by the influence of Treaty of Versailles. Nevertheless, they still developed large-caliber artillery on the pretext of developing navy. In 1933, Germany started a series of development of new heavy guns to support Wehrmacht. Finally, Krupp's case was adopted. K5 has a simple and classic design. Its efficient ammunition handling equipment, precise loading mechanism, and slender body shape win itself the nickname "schlanke Bertha (Slim Bertha)". During the Invasion of France, Wehrmacht found it having problem of barrel splitting, and rectified it with changes to the rifling after the campaign ended. K5 sooner got reliable, and they were used by Nazi Germany until the end of WWII.

=Armored Vehicles=

Leichttraktor (Manga)
Leichttraktor was a German experimental tank. After the end of World War I, Germany was restricted in military development by the Treaty of Versailles, however a secret program under the name cover "Traktor" was developing armoured military vehicles and artillery. Its engine was mounted inside the front portion of the hull and the turret was mounted above the fighting compartment in the rear of the tank. The Germans tested the tank in the Soviet Union under the Treaty of Rapallo – agreed between the USSR and Germany in 1922 under high secrecy and security. In the early years of World War II it was used as a training tank.

Panzer I (Manga)
Anachronistic Panzer I tanks were seen counterattacking the Legadonia forces that marched into Norden. In real life, the Panzer I was a light tank used by the German army between 1934 and 1945. Armed with just 2 machine guns, it was meant to be used for training, but saw service in the Spanish Civil War on the Nationalist side. By the outbreak of the Second World War, it was still the most widely used tank in the German army. Later, due to production shortages of newer tanks, Panzer I continued to see limited use throughout the war.

Panzer II (Manga)
Panzer II is the common name used for a family of German tanks used in World War II. In 1934, after completing the development of the Panzer I, Germany was going to develop some advanced main tanks, which would eventually become the Panzer III and Panzer IV. Since those tanks couldn't be made available for the army immediately, they decided to develop another, less advanced tank to be produced to as the stopgap. Thus, the Panzer II was born, armed with a cannon that would allow gunners to get the hang of tank gun. Most tank versions of the Panzer II were armed with a 2 cm KwK 30 L/55 auto-cannon. Some later versions used the similar 2 cm KwK 38 L/55. The Panzer II also had a 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 34 machine gun mounted coaxially with the main gun. Panzer II had a wide array of variants, both as development of the light tank and for specialised tasks.

Panzer III
Unusually for the World War I-like setting of the anime, the tanks used by the Empire are identical to real-world Panzer III tanks used by Germany in World War II. The Panzer III was the primary German medium tank early in the war, armed initially with a 37 mm main gun. It was intended to fight other armoured fighting vehicles and serve alongside and support the Panzer IV. However as the Germans faced the formidable T-34, the Panzer III effectively became obsolete in the anti-tank role and was supplanted by the Panzer IV.

Krupp Protze
Krupp Protze was the unofficial designation of a series of military six-wheeled German truck and artillery tractor developed from Krupp L2H43, L2H143, Kfz.69, to Kfz.70 and produced between 1934 and 1941. It was heavily used in World War II, extensively used on the Eastern Front, during the North African campaign and in France and Sicily. It was powered by a 55 hp or, from 1936, 60 hp Krupp M 304 4-cylinder petrol engine. Its main purpose was to tow artillery, especially the PaK 36, and transport motorized infantry. As a successful design, it was converted into several variants. Total production was about 7,000 units.

=Aircraft=

He 51
The Heinkel He 51 was a German single-seat biplane which was produced in a number of different versions. It was initially developed as a fighter, a seaplane variant and a ground-attack version were also developed. 6 of the He 51 were delivered to Spain to fight in the Spanish Civil War along with the faction of the army in revolt. While a failure as a fighter, the Heinkel proved successful as a ground-attack aircraft, being used by Wolfram von Richthofen to develop the close support tactics which were used by the Luftwaffe in World War II. It continued in use as a ground attack aircraft for the remainder of the Spanish Civil War, although losses were heavy. After the war the 46 surviving aircraft would be joined by another 15 new builds, and serve in the utility role in Spain until 1952. In manga chapter 16 and 20, they were also used as fighters.

Junkers Ju 87
The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka(from Sturzkampfflugzeug, "dive bomber") was a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. It can be easily recognized by its inverted gull wings and fixed spatted undercarriage. The Stuka operated with considerable success in close air support and anti-shipping at the outbreak of World War II. Later, it was also used for general ground support, as an effective specialized anti-tank aircraft and in an anti-shipping role. Although sturdy, accurate, and very effective against ground targets, the Stuka was vulnerable to contemporary fighter aircraft, like many other dive bombers of the war. Once the Luftwaffe lost air superiority, the Stuka became an easy target for enemy fighter aircraft on all fronts. In the novel and manga, it was used to retrain the trainees of V601.

Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI
The Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI is a four-engined German biplane strategic bomber of World War I. It is the most numerous of the R-bombers built by Germany, and also among the earliest closed-cockpit military aircraft. Each one can carry up to 2000 kg of bombs. It first served on the Eastern Front, and soon were transferred to Western Front. In the manga, it was used by the Northern Air Control.

Junkers F.13
The Junkers F.13 was the world's first all-metal transport aircraft, developed in Germany at the end of World War I. Since it was developed as a civil aircraft, there was an enclosed and heated cabin for four passengers with windows and doors in the fuselage sides. Passenger seats were fitted with seat belts, unusual for the time. From 1920 to 1930, F.13 was used by more than 30 countries.

Me 323
The Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant ("Giant") was a German military transport aircraft of World War II. It was a powered variant of the Me 321 military glider and was the largest land-based transport aircraft of the war. In the anime, it has 6 Gnome-Rhône 14N-48/49 14-cylinder two-row air-cooled radial engine on its massive wings. It was used to carry 203rd Mage Battalion.

Junkers G.38
The Junkers G.38 was a large German four-engined transport aircraft which first flew in 1929. The G.38 carried a crew of seven. Onboard mechanics were able to service the engines in flight due to the G.38's blended wing design, which provided access to all four power plants. Only 2 examples were constructed in Germany. Both aircraft flew as a commercial transport within Europe in the years leading up to World War II. One crashed in Dessau during a post-maintenance test flight in 1936, and another was destroyed on the ground during an RAF air raid on Athens on 17 May 1941. In the manga, it was used to carry 203rd Mage Battalion.

V-1
In the series, the V-1 is an acceleration booster rocket for long range deployment, and doesn't have an explosive charge. Imperial scientist Aldelheid von Schugel designed the V1 rocket as the best development in rocketry around 20 years before its real-life version appeared in a war situation. V-1 rockets are launched on a ramp that is pointed towards the intended destination. They fly too high and too fast to be intercepted by mages or planes. Tanya and her Mages used V-1 rockets to enter deep into Republican territory during Operation Shock and Awe.

The main difference between the anime and real-world versions of the V-1 is the presence of 5 boosters containing 5 hydrogen-fuelled engines instead of a single booster. As a result, the V-1 in the anime can break the sound barrier after the boosters are spent and ejected from the main compartment. Tanya refers to the V-1 as a "one-way transport to Hell".

Junkers Ju 52
Junkers Ju 52 is a transport aircraft produced by Junkers from 1932 to 1945. It is famous for its tough corrugated duralumin metal skin which wins itself the nickname "Aunt Ju" and "Iron Annie". Besides used for transportation, it also served as bomber during the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War. It also provides civil aviation services in Swissair and Lufthansa.

Originally, its prototype only had a single engine. However, this design did not meet the safety requirements of aviation regulations at that time. As the result, the company changed its design and further installed an engine on each of the two wings, which became the adopted design, Ju-52/3m.

=Warships=

Bayern-class Battleship
Just as in real life, the Bayern-class was a class of super dreadnought battleships built by the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy). The ships from that class were 180 metres long and 30 metres wide. Each ship had 3 Parsons turbines and 14 boilers. The ship's maximum speed was at 21 knots. Each Bayern-class ship had an armament consisting of 4 twin-barreled guns (38 cm), 16 one-barreled guns (15 cm), 2 anti-aircraft guns (8.8 cm), and 5 torpedo tubes (60 cm). In both the anime and the manga, the Bayern super dreadnoughts were the central pieces of the Imperial Northern Fleet that shelled enemy positions beyond the Orse Fjord ahead of troop landings.

Helgoland-class Battleship (left)
The Helgoland-class was the second class of German dreadnought battleships. The ships from that class were 167.2 metres long and 28.5 metres wide. Each ship had 3-shaft, 4-cyl vertical triple-expansion engines. The ship's maximum speed was at 20.5 knots. Each Helgoland-class ship had an armament consisting of 6 twin-barreled guns (30.5 cm), 14 one-barreled guns (15 cm), 14 anti-aircraft guns (8.8 cm), and 6 torpedo tubes (50 cm). In the novel, the Helgoland dreadnought was the flagship of the Imperial North Sea Fleet. It also appears in the manga.

Nassau-class Battleship (right)
The Nassau-class was the first class of German dreadnought battleships. The ships from that class were 146.1 metres long and 26.9 metres wide. Each ship had 3-shaft vertical triple-expansion engines. The ship's maximum speed was at 20.2 knots. Each Nassau-class ship had an armament consisting of 6 twin-barreled guns (28 cm), 12 one-barreled guns (15 cm), 16 anti-aircraft guns (8.8 cm), and 6 torpedo tubes (45 cm). It only appears in the manga.

Kolberg-class Cruiser
The Kolberg-class was a group of four light cruisers built for the German Imperial Navy and used during the First World War. The ships were built between 1908 and 1910, and two, Kolberg and Augsburg, were modernized in 1916–1917. The ships from that class were 130.5 metres long and 14.0 metres wide. Each ship had 2 sets of 4-shaft Germania Steam turbines and 15 boilers. The ship's maximum speed was at 25.5 knots. Each Kolberg-class ship had an armament consisting of 12 one-barreled guns (10.5 cm), 4 anti-aircraft guns (5.2 cm), and 2 torpedo tubes (45 cm). In the manga, they took part in the battle of Osfjord.

Type 1936-class Destroyer
Also unusual for the World War I-like setting of the anime, the Type 1936-class destroyer is used by the Imperial Navy as the class of ships most widely used by the Northern Fleet. In real life, the Type 1936 destroyers saw service during World War II for the Kriegsmarine. The most probable explanation behind their appearance in the anime is the fact that Type 1936 destroyers took part in the 1940 Battles of Narvik, in which all but one were either sunk or scuttled.

Republic=

=Small Arms=

Model 1892 Revolver
The Modèle 1892 is the standard issue revolver of Republican Army officers. In the real world, the Modèle 1892 is a solid frame revolver with the cylinder on a separate frame swinging right for manual reloading. The Modèle 1892 was first fielded in 1893 and was prominent among French military officers during the First World War, and later the French police until the mid-1960s. A mechanically tight and very well finished handgun, the Modèle 1892 fires 8mm rounds with a striking power equivalent to that of a .32 ACP round. It also features a smaller calibre than many other military revolvers of that time period.

Berthier rifle
In the early period of manga, Republican infantry used Berthier rifle. The Berthier rifles and carbines were a family of bolt-action small arms in 8mm Lebel, used in the French Army from the 1890s to the beginning of World War II (1940). The first Model 1886 was once a revolutionary design for offering in firing a smokeless cartridge with small-caliber jacketed bullet from an eight-round tube magazine. However, with the advancement of technology and more capable designs, it quickly got obsolete and many of its variants were born. About 2 million of guns were produced overall.

Lebel Model 1886
Analogous to troops from the real-life French Third Republic, regular infantrymen from the Francois Republic are equipped with the Lebel Model 1886 rifle. The rifle itself revolutionized infantry small-arms by being the first service rifle to fire a smokeless cartridge, which dramatically increased the rifles effective range as well as better concealing the soldier.

The Lebel M1886 was the main French infantry rifle during the First World War, but it was already outclassed in other areas by its competitors. The Lebel was one of the longest and heaviest of the standard infantry rifles of WW1, making it less suitable for combat in trenches. it featured an unusual tubular magazine under the barrel, which provided a large capacity of 9+1 bullets, but it also meant that the Lebel was slower to reload than its stripper clip-fed competitors.

RSC M1917
Mages in the Francois Republic's Army use the RSC M1917 rifles as their primary weapons, often firing magic rounds out of them. In real life, the Fusil Automatique Modèle 1917 is a semi-automatic infantry rifle that was used by the French Army during World War I. The acronym RSC stands for the names of the weapon's 3 designers - Ribeyrolles, Sutter, and Chauchat. Developed in 1917 and produced until the end of World War I, it went into service with the French Army near the end of the war. The rifle was chambered in the same cartridge as the Lebel Model 1886, with which it shared some parts. With 86,000 rifles manufactured before production ended in 1918, the RSC 1917 was one of the first semi-automatic rifles to be adopted on such a large scale.

Karabiner 98 kurz
The Karabiner 98 kurz, often abbreviated Kar98k or K98k, is a bolt-action rifle that was adopted on 21 June 1935 as the standard service rifle by the German Wehrmacht. It was one of the final developments in the long line of Mauser military rifles. It remained the primary German service rifle until the end of the war in 1945. For snipers, Kar98k rifles selected for being exceptionally accurate during factory tests were fitted with a telescopic sight as sniper rifles. It had an effective range of up to 1,000 m when used by a skilled sniper. Since millions of them were captured by the Soviets after WWII, they continued to appear in conflicts across the world as they are taken out of storage during times of strife.

=Light Weapons=

Vickers Machine Gun
The Vickers Machine Gun is used by the Francois Republic Army as their primary support weapon. However in real-life, only the French Air Service (precursor to the current French Air Force) used the Vickers while French infantry used the Hotchkiss M1914 as the standard machine gun. During World War I, the Vickers gun was the British Army's standard machine gun since 1912. Based on the successful Maxim gun, Vickers improved the design of the Maxim gun after the Maxim company was bought by Vickers. Improvements include a reduced weight by lightening and simplifying the action, and substituted components made with high strength alloys. A muzzle booster was also added.

=Artillery=

Canon de 155mm GPF
The Francois Republic Army uses the Canon de 155 Grande Puissance Filloux (GPF) mle.1917 as its main heavy field gun. During the first half of the 20th Century, the gun was designed during World War I by Colonel Louis Filloux to meet France's urgent need for modern heavy artillery, and became the standard heavy field gun of the French Army from 1917 until World War II. It was also adopted by the United States as the M1917, and a close derivative of it was made in and used by the US as the M1918 through World War II.

Canon de 75 modèle 1897
Canon de 75 modèle 1897 was a French towed field gun known as the first modern artillery piece. It was so famous that it received the nickname French 75, Soixante-Quinze (French for "seventy-five"), or even just 75. It was the first field gun to include a hydro-pneumatic recoil mechanism, which kept the gun's trail and wheels perfectly still during the firing sequence. Since it did not need to be re-aimed after each shot, the crew could reload and fire as soon as the barrel returned to its resting position. From 1897 to 1940, about 21,000 canons were produced.

3.7 cm Pak 36
3.7 cm Pak 36 is a 3.7 cm caliber German anti-tank gun used during the Second World War. It was the main anti-tank weapon of Wehrmacht Panzerjäger units until 1942. It first saw service during the Spanish Civil War in 1936, where it performed well against the light tanks of the conflict. It was first used during the Second World War against Poland in 1939 and had little difficulty with any of the Polish tanks. The Battle of France in 1940 revealed its inadequate penetration capability against French and British heavy tanks, receiving the derisive "door-knocker" nickname from its crews, but it sufficed to defeat the bulk of the Allied armor in the campaign. The invasion of the Soviet Union brought the Pak 36 face to face with large numbers of T-34 and KV-1 tanks, which were invulnerable to its fire. The Pak 36 was replaced from late 1940 onward by the 5 cm Pak 38 anti-tank gun and from November 1941 by the 7.5 cm Pak 40.

In manga chapter 29, Pak 36 was used by republican forces to destroy the imperial Panzer II.

=Armored Vehicles=

FT-17
The FT-17 was a light tank used by the French army from 1917, for supporting the infantry. It has a rotating turret to set a Puteaux SA 1918 37 mm gun or an 8 mm Hotchkiss machine gun. It is the first tank that is armed with the rotating turret, proving the superiority of single rotating turret. It was also recognized as the most useful tank in WWI. Over 3,000 Renault FT tanks were manufactured by French industry, most of them during 1918. Even about 1800 Renault FT tanks served in French Army when the WWII broke out. Unfortunately, when it appears on the Rhine Front in the manga, the Empire has already equipped Panzer III, which can penetrate FT-17's 22 mm of armour with 37 mm tank gun from 1000 m.

Renault R35
The Renault R35, an abbreviation of Char léger Modèle 1935 R or R 35, was a French light infantry tank of the Second World War. This tank was designed to replace FT-17 and serve as the standardized light infantry support tank, which was used to assist infantry units in executing offensive operations. R35 has five wheels at each side, fitted with horizontal leaf springs. It was relatively well-armoured but slow and lacking a good antitank-capacity, fitted with a 37 mm Puteaux SA 18 cannon. This tank had some severe drawback: the captain had to serve as the gunner, the reloader, and the commander at the same time. After the late-model R35 was equipped with a radio station, the burden on the captain was even further exacerbated. Besides, it also lacked of off-road and anti-skidding capabilities. In manga chapter 29, it was used by the Republic in Rhine Front. It seems some magic bullets from the Imperial mages ricocheted off its armor.

SOMUA S35
The SOMUA S35 was a Cavalry Tank used by France in the Second World War. The S-35s were built from 1936 until 1940 and were equipped by French armored cavalry divisions. In terms of weight standards at the time, the S-35 had relatively high maneuver and weapons to the other medium tanks. It was constructed from well-sloped, mainly cast, armour sections, that however made it expensive to produce and time-consuming to maintain. During the German invasion of May 1940, the SOMUA S35 proved itself to be a tactically effective type, but this was negated by the French command's strategic mistakes in deploying the Cavalry armoured divisions. Its development program revealed the doctrine of French Army toward the upcoming war against Germany in east.

=Aircraft=

Dewoitine D.520
Dewoitine D.520 was a single-wing fighter produced by France during the Second World War. It was one of the most advanced fighters of the French Air Forces at that time. Unlike the Morane-Saulnier M.S.406, which was at that time the most numerous fighter in the French Air Force, the Dewoitine D.520 came close to being a match for the latest German types, such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109.

Bloch MB.200
The anachronistic Bloch MB.200 was a French bomber aircraft of the 1930s designed and built by Societé des Avions Marcel Bloch. A twin-engine high-winged monoplane with a fixed undercarriage, over 200 MB.200s were built for the French Air Force. The type was also licence built by Czechoslovakia, but it soon became obsolete, and was largely phased out by the start of the Second World War. Nevertheless, the gradual German conquest of Czechoslovakia meant that MB.200s eventually passed under their control, including aircraft that were still coming off the production line. As well as serving in the German Luftwaffe, some bombers were distributed to Bulgaria. Vichy France deployed a squadron of MB.200s against the Allied invasion of Lebanon and Syria in 1941. In the manga, it was used to bomb the trenches of the Empire until they came up facing Tanya and the 203rd Flight Mage Battalion.

Potez 650
Anachronistic Potez 650 planes were sent by the Francois Republic to airdrop Mages in assisting Republican partisans in the city of Arene. In the real world, the high-wing twin-engine Potez 650 was a French-built military transport monoplane that saw service in World War II. Derived from the Potez 62 airliner, the 650 was specifically built for paratrooper units. Neither the Potez 62 nor the Potez 650 were built until 1935 and 1937 respectively. The French military high-command did not have grandiose plans for paratroopers, hence only two paratrooper companies were formed, and only 15 Potez 650s were manufactured.

=Warships=

Bretagne-class Battleship
In real life, the Bretagne-class battleships were the first "super-dreadnoughts" built for the French Navy during the First World War. The ships from that class were 166 metres long and 26.9 metres wide at the beam. Each ship had a propulsion system made of steam turbines and 4 shafts. The ship's maximum speed was at 20 knots. Each Bretagne-class ship had an armament consisting of 10 Model 1912 guns (340 mm), 22 Model 1910 guns (138.6 mm), 4 QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns (47 mm), and 4 torpedo tubes (450 mm).

In the anime, a battleship of the Bretagne class is seen in the port of Brest, assisting in the evacuation of Republican soldiers and of the exiled government towards the colony of Malgeria. Notice that the battleship here is depicted in its original configuration before modifications were made during the real-life interwar period.

Commonwealth=

=Small Arms=

M1 Garand
The Entente Alliance mages use the M1 Garand rifle, an American rifle that saw service in the Second World War. This weapon is, along with a few others, do not fit the World War I theme of the anime. In real life, the M1 Garand is a .30 caliber semi-automatic rifle that was the standard U.S. service rifle during World War II and the Korean War and also saw limited service during the Vietnam War. Most M1 rifles were issued to U.S. forces, though many hundreds of thousands were also provided as foreign aid to American allies. The Garand is still used by drill teams and military honor guards.

M1897 Trench Gun
Anson Sioux uses an M1897 Trench Gun, a pump-action shotgun modified for military service. In real life, the trench gun saw use by the US military as a trench assault weapon during World War I. Interestingly, Tanya notes that the use of the weapon is a treaty violation. It's a reference to the real-world German protests that the gun caused unnecessary suffering because of the multiple pellets, even going as far as threatening to execute any American prisoners captured with the weapon. The Model 1897 Trench was a modification from an existing design to allow troops to have greater close-range firepower in trench warfare. The pre-existing Winchester Model 1897 was modified by adding a perforated steel heat shield over the barrel which protected the hand of the user from the barrel when it became over-heated, and an adapter with bayonet lug for affixing an M1917 bayonet. Unlike most modern pump-action shotguns, the Winchester Model 1897 fired each time the action closed with the trigger depressed (that is, it lacks a trigger disconnector). Because of its effectiveness, troops referred to it as a "trench sweeper".

=Warships=

Lion-class Battlecruiser
With two 13.5-inch guns at the front deck and two 4-inch guns lying alongside under the second 13.5-inch gun, this warship refers to Lion-class Battlecruiser. The Lion-class Battlecruiser were a pair of battlecruisers built for the Royal Navy before World War I. The ships from that class were 213.4 metres long and 27.0 metres wide at the beam. Each ship had 2 sets of 4-shaft steam turbines and 42 Yarrow boilers. The ship's maximum speed was at 27.5 knots. Each Lion-class ship had an armament consisting of 4 twin-barreled guns (34.3 cm), 16 one-barreled guns (10.2 cm), and 2 torpedo tubes (53.3 cm). In episode 10, they were used to carry Drake's mage battalion and Anson Sue.

S-class Submarine(1931)
The British S-class Submarines(1931) were originally designed and built during the modernisation of the submarine force in the early 1930s to meet the need for smaller boats to patrol the restricted waters of the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, replacing the British H class submarines. They were the largest single group of submarines ever built for the Royal Navy. The third group, which was the most numerous one, were generally 66 metres long and 7.16 metres wide at the beam. Its maximum speed was at 17.5 knots surfaced, and at 8 knots submerged. It generally had an armament consisting of 7 torpedo tubes(53.3 cm, 6 bow, 1 stern), and one among them : an anti-aircraft canon(20 mm), a three-inch anti-aircraft gun(76 mm), a four-inch deck gun(102 mm), or 3 .303-calibre machine guns(77 mm). In the manga, Commonwealth S-class submarine Syrtis was used to carry the Legadonia councilor, Abensoll.

Entente Alliance=

=Small Arms=

Swedish Mauser
Regular Entente Alliance infantrymen use Swedish Mauser rifles as their primary weapons. In real life, "Swedish Mausers" are a family of bolt-action rifles based on an improved variant of Mauser's earlier Model 1893, but using the 6.5×55mm cartridge, and incorporating unique design elements as requested by Sweden. All Swedish Mausers, whether built in Germany or Sweden, were fabricated using a Swedish-supplied high grade tool steel alloyed with nickel, copper, and vanadium, a product than noted for its strength and corrosion resistance.

M1 Garand
The Entente Alliance mages use the M1 Garand rifle, an American rifle that saw service in the Second World War. This weapon is, along with a few others, do not fit the World War I theme of the anime. In real life, the M1 Garand is a .30 caliber semi-automatic rifle that was the standard U.S. service rifle during World War II and the Korean War and also saw limited service during the Vietnam War. Most M1 rifles were issued to U.S. forces, though many hundreds of thousands were also provided as foreign aid to American allies. The Garand is still used by drill teams and military honor guards.

SIG MKMS
Anson Sioux is gifted a SIG MKMS submachine gun as an early Christmas present from his daughter, Mary Sioux. Tanya ends up taking it after defeating Anson over the fjord, and later uses it against her enemies. In real life, the SIG MKMS is a straight blowback action version of the SIG MKMO. The SIG MKMO was designed for the Swiss military. Only 1,228 of these guns were produced. It saw limited adoption by Swiss police departments and the Swiss Guard at the Vatican. Finland purchased approximately 282 of the original MKMO variant, which were used by several Finnish forces during the Continuation War.

=Light Weapons=

Lewis Gun Mk III
The bombers operated by the Commonwealth unit sent to support the Norden rebels are armed with twin Lewis Mk III machine guns in a forward turret for defensive armament, which they use to shoot down several mages. In real life, the Lewis Gun was a weapon widely used in the First World War by the British Commonwealth, both on land and as an aircraft armament, much like how it is depicted in the anime. The Mk III is the purpose built aircraft version of the Lewis. The cooling fins were omitted to save weight, and the protective shroud around the barrel was removed. The wooden stock was removed and replaced with a "spade" grip, which resembled the handle of a garden spade. A 97-round drum magazine was introduced which required a larger magazine spigot on the body of the gun.

=Artillery=

28 cm (11.0 in) Krupp cannon
The Entente Alliance set up a total of twenty 28 cm Krupp cannons to defend the Orse Fjord. Until the intervention of the Empire's 203rd Air Mage Battalion, the cannons alongside the narrow fjord, numerous islands, and the steep cliffs made up for a perfect defence against any navy. In real life, Norwegian forces used those cannons during the Battle of Drøbak Sound in April 1940 to protect Oscarsborg Fortress, which was a natural point for the naval defence of Oslo. The gun battery and the torpedo battery at Oscarsborg Fortress contributed to the sinking the German heavy cruiser Blücher on April 9, 1940.

2 cm Flakvierling 38
With its notable quad-mounted anti-air guns design, it is the 2 cm Flakvierling 38. It was combined with four flak 38, which and flak 30 were the most numerously produced German light anti-aircraft gun throughout WWII. Each of the four mounted guns had a separate magazine that held only 20 rounds. This meant that a maximum combined rate of fire of 1,400 rounds per minute was reduced practically to 800 rounds per minute for combat use. It was fired by a set of two pedals, each of which fired two diametrically opposite barrels, in either semi-automatic or fully automatic mode. The effective vertical range was 2,200 meters. It was also used just as effectively against ground targets as it was against low-flying aircraft.

=Aircraft=

Blériot 127
The Entente Alliance employed a squadron of Blériot 127. These bombers are of a twin-engine monoplane design, equipped with a forward twin Lewis Gun turret, as well as two turrets on the rear of the aircraft for engaging enemy fighters or mages. The aircraft also carries a large bomb load. In real life, the Blériot 127 was a French bomber used from 1929-1934. It was a large monoplane of conventional configuration that featured open gunner's positions in its nose and at the rear of its two underwing engine nacelles. The wing airfoil was of sufficient thickness that these latter positions could be accessed from the fuselage in flight.

Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI
The Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI is a four-engined German biplane strategic bomber of World War I. It is the most numerous of the R-bombers built by Germany, and also among the earliest closed-cockpit military aircraft. Each one can carry up to 2000 kg of bombs. It first served on the Eastern Front, and soon were transferred to Western Front. Abnormally, the Entente Alliance used those German Bombers to attack the Empire in the manga.

=Warships=

Kirov-class Cruiser
The Kirov-class cruisers were the first large ships built by the Soviets from the keel up after the Russian Civil War. The ships from that class were 191.3 metres long and 17.66 metres wide at the beam. Each ship had 6 Yarrow-Normand water-tube boilers and a propulsion system made of 2-shaft steam turbines. The ship's maximum speed was at 35.94 knots. Each Kirov-class ship had an armament consisting of 3 triple-barreled guns (18 cm),6 one-barreled dual-purpose guns (10 cm), 6 anti-aircraft guns (4.5 cm), 4 anti-aircraft machine guns (1.27 cm), and 2 triple-barreled torpedo tubes (53.3 cm). In the manga, she was misidentified as a destroyer by Tanya, and her torpedo tube was blown by 203rd Flight Mage Battalion.

Principality=

=Small Arms=

Roth–Steyr M1907
The Dacian officer who attempts fire on Tanya and her unit carries a Roth-Steyr M1907. In real life, the Roth-Steyr M1907 was an Austrian cavalry side-arm. The defining features of this pistol, designed by Karel Krnka, include the bulky barrel frame (the barrel must be fully enclosed as the pistol operates on long-recoil action principle), the oversized iron sights, the stripper-clip-fed fixed internal magazine (detachable magazines DO NOT HAVE LANYARD SLOTS), and the large tubular bolt handle where one would usually expect a firing hammer. Sadly, it appears that the Dacian officer hasn't realized that it takes more than 5 rounds of 8x18 Roth-Steyr to break through a magical ballistic barrier!

Mannlicher M1893
Dacian infantrymen use Mannlicher M1893 rifles as their primary weapons. In real life, it was the standard service rifle of the Kingdom of Romania from 1893 to 1938. The rifle (and its 1892 predecessor) were the first repeating rifles to be widely issued in the Romanian military. However unlike the Austrian-issued Mannlicher M1886, M1888, and M1895 straight-pull bolt-action rifles, the Romanian rifle had a conventional turn-bolt.

Federation=

=Artillery=

1938 Railway Gun TM-3-12
In episode 12, the Russy Federation military deployed an anachronistic 1938 Railway Gun TM-3-12 on their Western border in anticipation of a war against the Empire. In real life, three TM-3-12 units were built by using Obukhovskii 12"/52 Pattern 1907 guns from the sunken battleship Imperatritsa Mariya. They were used in the Soviet-Finnish war in 1939-1940, especially in the defense of the Soviet naval base on Finland's Hanko peninsula. The guns were disabled by Soviet seamen when the base was evacuated, and were later restored by Finnish specialists using guns from the withdrawn Russian battleship Imperator Aleksandr III. After the war, these were handed over to the Soviet Union, which were maintained in operational condition until 1991. Withdrawn from service in 1999, they were the last Obukhov pieces still operational in the world.