Chapter 34: Submachine Guns and Light Machine Guns, Anything That Works Will Do

Lelouch’s first stop upon returning home was Thuringia to visit the Bergmann company; this was no random choice. He knew that historically, this very company had made immense contributions to the German military’s project of converting heavy machine guns into light machine guns, and later achieved great renown in the field of submachine guns.

Lelouch intended to form a stormtrooper unit, and light automatic firepower was a critical bottleneck he could not bypass. Moreover, these items were the most difficult and slowest to produce among his planned projects, so they naturally required immediate attention.

"Captain Lelouch, Captain Immelmann, you are truly young and promising. To have reached the rank of captain while only in your early twenties—you are surely destined to become generals one day."

The owner, Emil Bergmann, was extremely courteous with his pleasantries. He ushered the two into the back of a Benz sedan while taking the front passenger seat himself.

Once in the car, Lelouch got straight to the point with equal politeness: "Mr. Bergmann is far too kind. It is no wonder His Grace instructed me to make your company my first stop upon my return. I will be imposing on you for the next few days. The 6th Army has certain requirements regarding armaments, and we must rely on the full support of the Bergmann company. Rest assured, as long as you can produce what His Grace requires, future orders and profits will certainly not be an issue."

Bergmann replied, "Serving the Empire is my duty. Shall I take you to your accommodations first?"

Lelouch checked his watch. He had spent six hours on a plane that morning, and it was only just past noon. "Captain Immelmann has been piloting for six hours and needs rest. I slept enough on the flight, so let us discuss business after lunch."

Admiring Lelouch’s dedication, Bergmann made a last-minute adjustment and arranged for the company’s core technical staff to join them for a welcoming luncheon.

Demania was a culinary desert, and no one was particularly fastidious about food. The luncheon was simple, held in the company cafeteria. Aside from a few extra dishes prepared for the guests—such as roasted pork knuckle and beef tartare—there was nothing fancy. In such settings, the key was to seize the opportunity to build connections and talk shop.

Lelouch heartily finished an entire roasted pork knuckle himself and met two renowned designers at the table.

"This is my company’s technical director, Louis Schmeisser, and this is the famous designer, Hugo Schmeisser."

"A pleasure," Lelouch said, wiping his hands and clinking glasses with each of them.

Through this brief encounter, Lelouch could see that the company had a very strong family-run atmosphere, typical of an authoritarian decision-making style. The owner, Emil Bergmann, was the nephew of the founder, Theodor Bergmann. Even in the technical department, the two designers named "Schmeisser" held all the authority.

Historically, the elder Schmeisser—Louis—would be forced to retire due to age and illness in 1916, at which point his son, Hugo, would take over his position and subsequently develop the MP18 submachine gun. That even technical leadership could be "hereditary" was unimaginable in modern scientific enterprises, but it was quite common in early 20th-century Demania. Companies like Mauser, Siemens, and Porsche all had families where fathers, sons, and even grandsons were technical titans.

Lelouch had no time for slow build-ups, so after finishing his drink, he steered the conversation toward automatic light weapons: "I hear that since the war began, your company has been researching the lightweight conversion of our automatic weapons. Have there been any recent breakthroughs?"

Because the term "submachine gun" did not yet exist—the first one would not be built by an Italian for another year and a half—Lelouch had to use other terms.

The Demanian military had indeed been slow in the lightweighting of automatic firepower. Their MG08 heavy machine gun was a refined and effective weapon, superior to the British Vickers in range, accuracy, and reliability, with a comparable rate of fire. However, its weight was staggering—a full 65 kilograms, compared to the 40 kilograms of the Vickers.

The gun body alone accounted for an 8-kilogram difference, but the tripod was where the real gap lay; the MG08 used a 37-kilogram four-legged mount. While this mount provided world-class stability and accuracy, making recoil virtually non-existent, it was simply too heavy. It relegated the weapon to static defensive positions, making it useless for mobile offensives. The German military's tendency for "strong defense but weak offense" was partly to blame on the lack of mobility of these heavy machine guns.

Since the war began, companies like Mauser, the DWM parent company, its Karlsruhe subsidiary in the Duchy of Baden, and even Bergmann had attempted various lightweighting plans. Bergmann was arguably at the forefront.

However, as it was only November 1914, the elder Schmeisser felt somewhat insecure when faced with Lelouch’s query.

"We have done our best," he explained. "The Empire’s previous design philosophy for heavy machine guns was slightly skewed, prioritizing absolute firepower for static defense at the cost of mobility. It is not easy to reverse this overnight. We considered mimicking the Danish Madsen light machine gun, but that would require starting from scratch, taking at least a year or two. If we only modify the MG08, we might finish in a few months, but I cannot guarantee how light it will be."

Lelouch asked, "No need to rush. Tell me, what progress have you made in the four months since the war began? How much weight have you managed to shave off?"

The elder Schmeisser, two years away from retirement, could not recall the specific technical parameters and signaled his son.

Hugo Schmeisser quickly picked up the thread: "The original MG08 weighs 65 kilograms—28 for the body and 37 for the tripod. To convert it, we can discard the tripod. I have temporarily developed a 3-kilogram bipod, which cuts 34 kilograms. Additionally, I have simplified the gun body structure without affecting performance, saving another 3 to 5 kilograms. I currently have two plans: one retains the water-cooling system for a total weight of 27 kilograms, and the other uses an air-cooled system by replacing the water jacket with a perforated metal sleeve, saving another 5 kilograms to bring it down to 22. However, the air-cooled sleeve structure requires testing and optimization; the Empire has never attempted air-cooled machine guns, so we must start from scratch and learn from foreign designs."

Lelouch stroked his mustache, pondering deeply. He knew that historically, Bergmann would help refine the MG08/15 light machine gun based on the MG08. Without intervention, it would take another six months to pass trials and a year to enter mass production.

A 22-kilogram light machine gun was two-thirds lighter than the original, but still exhausting to carry in combat. Moreover, the gunner had to carry ammunition belts. The era used full-power cartridges; a Mauser 7.92mm round weighed over 20 grams including the casing and powder, meaning a 200-round belt weighed 5 kilograms.

Lelouch proposed two solutions: "The optimization of the barrel cooling structure can be gradual. I have captured research data on light machine gun development from the Belgian Lewis company; you can use it as a reference—it might help you avoid some pitfalls."

At the mention of this, Hugo Schmeisser’s eyes lit up; he was clearly aware of his peer in the industry. With this data, they could cross-reference, absorb strengths, and accelerate their progress.

What Hugo did not know was that in the original timeline, before Belgium fell, the Lewis company had escaped the German encirclement with the King and the cabinet, eventually helping Britannia finalize the Lewis light machine gun in 1915. In this life, thanks to the butterfly effect caused by Lelouch, the German army had annihilated the remnants of the Belgian forces at Ostend, preventing a significant breakout.

While high-end designers like Lewis had high priority and escaped on a *Pelorus*-class light cruiser, many of his assistants and junior technicians were left behind, and their technical documents were seized by the Germans. When Colonel Liszt’s 16th Infantry Regiment captured Ostend, other officers were busy looting valuables. Only Lelouch had thought to search for military intelligence and blueprints, and he had indeed stumbled upon valuable personnel and documentation.

Naturally, he had reported these findings, and the Duke had granted permission for him to bring them to Bergmann to accelerate development—a move that also helped Lelouch earn personal favors. It felt like Liu Bang entering Xianyang: while others were busy looting wealth and women, Lelouch was the only one like Xiao He, prioritizing the maps and registers.

As Lelouch spoke, he pulled several sets of blueprints from his briefcase and pushed them toward Hugo Schmeisser.

Hugo unfolded them and looked for a moment, his face lighting up. "With these, the development and production timeline for the MG08/15 can be cut by another six months. We can finalize the design early next year and move to mass production by the first half of the year! And I estimate we can shave off another two or three kilograms compared to my solo design."

"Finalized early next year... that’s within two or three months? For a mature weapon, that cycle is acceptable. However, I need a small batch of samples within a month that can be put into combat testing. Is that possible?"

Hugo looked troubled. "One month? If we use machine tools directly without waiting for expensive stamping molds, it is possible, though the cost will be higher. It is fine for prototypes."

Lelouch waved a hand. "You can make it even simpler. I see your air-cooled barrel jacket is a perforated round tube. That is too difficult to machine; why not make it a square tube with angled corners? It’s just a jacket, not the barrel itself—does it matter if it’s round or square? As long as it dissipates heat! And for test samples, the cooling holes don't need to be so dense. Make them larger and fewer. Ensure that in complex combat environments, if dirt or mud gets into the holes, the soldiers can stick their fingers in to clean them out. If you make them as fine as they are now, they won't be field-maintainable."

Lelouch pointed out several improvements aimed at reducing costs, easing production, and increasing field maintainability. These points were not difficult to conceive—as a military enthusiast, most knew that the later MG34 general-purpose machine gun was more refined than the MG42, but was too expensive and difficult to produce and maintain. The MG34 used a precise round air-cooled jacket, while the MG42 switched to a square, stamped-steel sheet design, drastically lowering costs.

Historically, the MG08/15’s air-cooled jacket was originally intended to be a round tube, but with Lelouch’s presence, there was no need to walk that path of "striving for perfection." On the battlefield, the difference in heat dissipation between a square and a round tube was negligible, while the improvements in production and maintenance were immense.

Hugo Schmeisser heard the suggestions with mixed feelings. He could see that Captain Lelouch’s methods would reduce costs and increase reliability and manufacturability... but the esteemed Demanian military industry no longer striving for perfection, but rather pursuing cost-efficiency? Hugo struggled to wrap his mind around it.

His father, the elder Schmeisser, was even more unable to accept it. He immediately retorted, "Captain Lelouch! The Bergmann company has always produced premium equipment. How can we settle for shoddy, cheap work?"