American Society of Arms Collectors shares with us the history of a Mauser C96 Broomhandle Pistol. A German general surrendered it to a US Lieutenant during the Ludendorff Bridge crossing in Remagen, Germany, World War 2.
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Video Transcript
History of the Mauser C96 Broomhandle: This is a Mauser C96 pistol from the head of the Constabulary Carl Kaiser to US Lieutenant during the World War 2. The Mauser is one of the first semi automatic pistols issued by the company since it has the first model trigger. It has an integral 10 round stripper clip outside of the gun in front of the trigger. The slide comes back about 1/2 inch and releases the handle with bolt to pick up the next cartridge for the reloading. There is also a wooden stock. The sights are set up to be for 1000 meters.
This is a predecessor to the luger pistol that is well known throughout World War Two from the German use, particularly on the gastapo and the stormtroopers. The long barrel and the high velocity cartridge gave it a superior range and better penetration than its the contemporary competition.
For this particular pistol as the allied troops were moving into get into Germany crossing the Rhine, the Ludendorff Bridge was captured intact, which was an anomaly since most of the bridges had been destroyed by the Germans to prevent the allies from coming into Germany. U.S. troops walked across the bridge and when they entered the town of Remagen, an imperial German general from World War One came out waving a white flag and asked to talk to the soldier’s commanding officers. There had been no officers so the soldiers had to run back across the bridge and bring a Lieutenant. The general said that he would surrender the town if the Americans promised not to harm any of the citizens. The Lieutenant said as long as no one shot at his troops then no German citizens would be harmed, at which time the general then presented this pistol while formally surrendering the city of Remagen to the US military
