This is something I've always wanted to see for this game. I thought it would be a mod but the modding community has put their time towards other efforts instead.
But with new French weapons being included in patches it seems to be becoming easier and easier to make it happen. Either through a mod or even an official update. I'm also stuck on a boat for 3 hours and it's dark so there's nothing to do.
French Forces Post WW2
The French arms industry after WW2 was in tatters. French factories has been taken over by the Germans and either retooled to produce German stuff or continue producing French weapons for garrison troops. As such they were the targets of allied bombing raids. The few that escaped bombing were destroyed by the Germans as part of their scorched earth policy. So after WW2 the rebuilt French army didn't have much. The British and Americans supplied them with many German weapons along with any extra's they didn't want. Carbines, Thompsons and sten guns. By 1948 things were mostly repaired and between 1948-1952 the majority of MAS-36 rifles were made. They were producing LMGs and MAS-38s again as well. In 1949 both the MAT-49 and MAS-49 were accepted with the MAT-49 seeing a large production run before the war was over. Pistols, LMGs and Snipers were still in short supply and so many foreign designs were used.
​​​​​​​
The Viet Minh went from being a rag tag guerrilla group armed with sticks to becoming a conventional army with equipment to rival the French. Between 1946-1949 their operations were mainly limited to raids. The French tactic was to bait them into attacking fortified positions where they would then inflict heavy casualties on the Viet Minh. This tactic as the war went on became less and less viable for the French. As the Viet Minh were becoming better equipped with infantry weapons equal to that of the French along with heavy artillery and rockets to bombard French defences. At one point a standard Viet Minh battalion would be equipped with more automatic weapons than an equivalent French battalion. The only advantage the French ended up having by the end was air support. Which the Viet Minh effectively countered with mass AA gun emplacements.
Their weapons by 1950 were mainly supplied by the Chinese and soviets. However they also locally manufactured weapons. Sometimes tens of thousands of them. In the early years locally manufactured bazookas were common as they were easy to make. But in the later years they were churning out SMGs, rifles and pistols.
French weapons:
MAS 36: The standard bolt action of the French army
MAS 49: A semi automatic rifle used in smaller numbers
MAS 38: A WW2 era French SMG used a lot early on.
MAT 49: A post war SMG that gradually replaced the MaS 38
MP40: A German SMG supplier to the French in relatively large numbers
Sten gun Mk V: The British donated many of these to the French after WW2
M1A1 Thompson: The Americans supplied a few of these to the French but they were rarer to see.
G43 sniper: The French lacked scoped rifles so German scoped rifles were used.
M1903A4 scoped: The French also used scoped American Springfield as sniper rifles.
MAS-49 sniper: These only became available in 1953.
MAS-36 sniper: I don't know if they even used this in Indochina. During WW2 they were using scoped Berthiers. A scope mount for the MAS-36 existed but it's unknown if they were used.
FM 24/29 LMG: The primary light machine gun of the French forces.
M1919A6: Used in relatively small numbers
MG34: Used in even smaller numbers.
MAS-35: The standard pistol of the French army
MAC-50: Started to replace the MAS-35 pistol
M1911: Could often find this in officers hands.
P38: A German pistol in 9mm that were captured in WW2
M1 carbine: The French got a lot of these to supply rear troops but many found their way to the front
M1A1 carbine: Used by French paratroopers just like how American paratroopers used it.
M2 carbine: The French received conversion kits and 30 round magazines to convert many M1s to be M2s.
Viet Minh weapons:
Type 24 rifle: Chinese rifle in 7.92 Mauser. A derivative of a German G98 carbine. In communist service it was called the Type 74. This rifle was locally manufactured as well.
Type 88 rifle: A copy of the German G88 rifle. Not As common as the type 24.
M44 mosin Carbine: It became the most common rifle by the end of the war
M91/30 mosin: Surprisingly rare. But it was the predominant sniper rifle.
Type 38 rifle: Numbers unknown. Potentially locally manufactured.
Type 99 rifle: Numbers unknown. Potentially locally manufactured.
M1 Garand: Large numbers of these were imported from china.
M1903 Springfield: This became the most common US weapon in Viet Minh hands. Imported from china.
P17 Enfield: Numbers unknown. Over a hundred thousand of these made their way to
China in WW2. China dumped most of its US weapons into Vietnam during the Indochina war. But there's no information that even gives a rough estimate on how many made it.
M1 carbine: Came in 2 sources. From the OSS during WW2 and from China.
SVT-40: Extremely rare. The soviets held onto most of these and gave little away.
Sten gun Mk II: Almost all examples were locally manufactured versions of the sten. The most produced SMG in Vietnam.
PPSH 41: Large numbers were supplied by the soviets through China.
Thompson SMG: A few were supplied by the OSS, A good amount from china and this SMG was locally produced. In a crude manner.
MN91/30 scoped: Became the main sniper rifle of the Viet Minh.
Vz. 26 Light machine gun: Supplied by both the Chinese and the soviets this became the most common LMG in Viet Minh use.
BAR: A few were supplied from china.
M1919 machine gun: These would have likely all been M1919A4s which are tripod mounted. Unsure amount M1919A6s. Again from China
M1911 pistol: Came from many different sources all in small numbers and this was locally produced as well.
M1917 revolver: Supplied by the OSS in WW2 and was a common sight in the early years of the Indochina war. Given how it had to use half moon clips to even work properly it would have likely dropped out of use pretty quickly.
TT-33: Supplied from the Soviets.
.45 ACP C96 copies: China locally produced hundreds of thousands of Mauser C96 pistols in .45 ACP. Predominately the Shanxi Type 17. There are also different .45 copies such as the "Wauser" C96. When the Chinese changed to soviet cartridges they gave most of these away.
M1A1 bazooka copies: A tube is extremely easy to manufacture. Rockets aren't much more difficult. Many bazooka's were locally manufactured. Though variations were large.
M18 Recoilless rifle copies: Lots locally manufactured for the same reason as the bazooka's. They were easier to make than guns.
But with new French weapons being included in patches it seems to be becoming easier and easier to make it happen. Either through a mod or even an official update. I'm also stuck on a boat for 3 hours and it's dark so there's nothing to do.
French Forces Post WW2
The French arms industry after WW2 was in tatters. French factories has been taken over by the Germans and either retooled to produce German stuff or continue producing French weapons for garrison troops. As such they were the targets of allied bombing raids. The few that escaped bombing were destroyed by the Germans as part of their scorched earth policy. So after WW2 the rebuilt French army didn't have much. The British and Americans supplied them with many German weapons along with any extra's they didn't want. Carbines, Thompsons and sten guns. By 1948 things were mostly repaired and between 1948-1952 the majority of MAS-36 rifles were made. They were producing LMGs and MAS-38s again as well. In 1949 both the MAT-49 and MAS-49 were accepted with the MAT-49 seeing a large production run before the war was over. Pistols, LMGs and Snipers were still in short supply and so many foreign designs were used.
​​​​​​​
The Viet Minh went from being a rag tag guerrilla group armed with sticks to becoming a conventional army with equipment to rival the French. Between 1946-1949 their operations were mainly limited to raids. The French tactic was to bait them into attacking fortified positions where they would then inflict heavy casualties on the Viet Minh. This tactic as the war went on became less and less viable for the French. As the Viet Minh were becoming better equipped with infantry weapons equal to that of the French along with heavy artillery and rockets to bombard French defences. At one point a standard Viet Minh battalion would be equipped with more automatic weapons than an equivalent French battalion. The only advantage the French ended up having by the end was air support. Which the Viet Minh effectively countered with mass AA gun emplacements.
Their weapons by 1950 were mainly supplied by the Chinese and soviets. However they also locally manufactured weapons. Sometimes tens of thousands of them. In the early years locally manufactured bazookas were common as they were easy to make. But in the later years they were churning out SMGs, rifles and pistols.
French weapons:
MAS 36: The standard bolt action of the French army
MAS 49: A semi automatic rifle used in smaller numbers
MAS 38: A WW2 era French SMG used a lot early on.
MAT 49: A post war SMG that gradually replaced the MaS 38
MP40: A German SMG supplier to the French in relatively large numbers
Sten gun Mk V: The British donated many of these to the French after WW2
M1A1 Thompson: The Americans supplied a few of these to the French but they were rarer to see.
G43 sniper: The French lacked scoped rifles so German scoped rifles were used.
M1903A4 scoped: The French also used scoped American Springfield as sniper rifles.
MAS-49 sniper: These only became available in 1953.
MAS-36 sniper: I don't know if they even used this in Indochina. During WW2 they were using scoped Berthiers. A scope mount for the MAS-36 existed but it's unknown if they were used.
FM 24/29 LMG: The primary light machine gun of the French forces.
M1919A6: Used in relatively small numbers
MG34: Used in even smaller numbers.
MAS-35: The standard pistol of the French army
MAC-50: Started to replace the MAS-35 pistol
M1911: Could often find this in officers hands.
P38: A German pistol in 9mm that were captured in WW2
M1 carbine: The French got a lot of these to supply rear troops but many found their way to the front
M1A1 carbine: Used by French paratroopers just like how American paratroopers used it.
M2 carbine: The French received conversion kits and 30 round magazines to convert many M1s to be M2s.
Viet Minh weapons:
Type 24 rifle: Chinese rifle in 7.92 Mauser. A derivative of a German G98 carbine. In communist service it was called the Type 74. This rifle was locally manufactured as well.
Type 88 rifle: A copy of the German G88 rifle. Not As common as the type 24.
M44 mosin Carbine: It became the most common rifle by the end of the war
M91/30 mosin: Surprisingly rare. But it was the predominant sniper rifle.
Type 38 rifle: Numbers unknown. Potentially locally manufactured.
Type 99 rifle: Numbers unknown. Potentially locally manufactured.
M1 Garand: Large numbers of these were imported from china.
M1903 Springfield: This became the most common US weapon in Viet Minh hands. Imported from china.
P17 Enfield: Numbers unknown. Over a hundred thousand of these made their way to
China in WW2. China dumped most of its US weapons into Vietnam during the Indochina war. But there's no information that even gives a rough estimate on how many made it.
M1 carbine: Came in 2 sources. From the OSS during WW2 and from China.
SVT-40: Extremely rare. The soviets held onto most of these and gave little away.
Sten gun Mk II: Almost all examples were locally manufactured versions of the sten. The most produced SMG in Vietnam.
PPSH 41: Large numbers were supplied by the soviets through China.
Thompson SMG: A few were supplied by the OSS, A good amount from china and this SMG was locally produced. In a crude manner.
MN91/30 scoped: Became the main sniper rifle of the Viet Minh.
Vz. 26 Light machine gun: Supplied by both the Chinese and the soviets this became the most common LMG in Viet Minh use.
BAR: A few were supplied from china.
M1919 machine gun: These would have likely all been M1919A4s which are tripod mounted. Unsure amount M1919A6s. Again from China
M1911 pistol: Came from many different sources all in small numbers and this was locally produced as well.
M1917 revolver: Supplied by the OSS in WW2 and was a common sight in the early years of the Indochina war. Given how it had to use half moon clips to even work properly it would have likely dropped out of use pretty quickly.
TT-33: Supplied from the Soviets.
.45 ACP C96 copies: China locally produced hundreds of thousands of Mauser C96 pistols in .45 ACP. Predominately the Shanxi Type 17. There are also different .45 copies such as the "Wauser" C96. When the Chinese changed to soviet cartridges they gave most of these away.
M1A1 bazooka copies: A tube is extremely easy to manufacture. Rockets aren't much more difficult. Many bazooka's were locally manufactured. Though variations were large.
M18 Recoilless rifle copies: Lots locally manufactured for the same reason as the bazooka's. They were easier to make than guns.
