Mauser In China: Mauser-China 1885 Mod.80 Contract
In early 1885, Mauser sold 6000 Serbia Mod.80 to China. The backstory of 1885 contract is straightforward, the Sino-French war broke out in December 1883. Chinese forces lost substantive man power and equipment. China’s then capability of arm manufacturing was too weak to supply its own troops use. They had to buy any rifles and ammunition they could find in the global market. Main ground battles took place in North Vietnam abreast to Guangxi Province and Taiwan. Guangxi Province was one of two provinces that under the jurisdiction of Governors-General of Liang’guang who is accounted to raise and equip forces to defend French invasion. To meet desperate needs of firearms, then Governors-General of Liang’guang, Zhang Zhidong, filed a report to the Emperor on November 13, 1884 asking for purchasing 20000 rifles and 10 million rounds of ammunition. The Emperor authorized Li Hongzhang, Governor-General of Zhili, to buy these weapons per Zhang’s request. Chinese Minister in Berlin, Xv J