Biography

A detailed Paul Mauser biography is available in the book: Paul Mauser - His Life, Company, and Handgun Development 1838 - 1914. 

Paul von Mauser, by

Hans A. Krause - 21st

March 1931

A            heavyweight            amongst technicians   of   German   ancestry   is Paul   von   Mauser.   His   greatness   is not        only        visible        in        his entrepreneurship          and          his righteousness   but   also   in   his   iron will and his character. As   the   youngest   of   13   children   of a   gun   smith   working   at   the   Royal Rifle     Factory     in     Oberndorf     am Neckar   he   was   born   there   on   the 27th     of     June     1838.     The     large number   of   children   in   the   family made    that    there    was    never    an amount   of   wealth   present   in   the marital    house.    Money    problems were     always     present.     But     the simple,    honest    father    who    also produced    ammunition    at    home after   work   in   order   to   make   some extra    money,    did    not    shy    away from   the   costs   needed   to   provide his   sons   with   a   good   education. With   this   they   should   be   able   to accomplish   things   that   he   never could.        So        besides        normal education   a   special   education   in drawing       and       geometry       was arranged,   all   5   sons   followed   this education.   The   were   to   follow   in their   fathers   footsteps   with   better results    and    all    had    the    skills    to accomplish     this,     the     strongest however   were   the   two   youngest sons Wilhelm and Paul. At   the   age   of   14   Paul   joined   the factory,     where     his     father     had been   working   for   decades,   as   an apprentice. The   work   there   did   not   pay   very well    but    since    his    qualifications were   obvious   he   wa s   soon   given more     specialist     jobs.     He     also made   minor   improvements   which also    helped    his    reputation.    He followed   a   short   military   training and       was       assigned       to       the Ludwigsburg Arsenal in 1859. It   is   interesting   that   his   requests for    leave    at    home    were    denied because   they   feared   that   the   rifle factory   in   his   home   town   would keep    him    there    as    a    very    good gun    smith.        The    work    there    did not    pay    very    well    but    since    his qualifications     were     obvious     he was    soon    given    more    specialist jobs. In   1857   he   had   the   opportunity   to study     a     Prussian     needle     gun, which    he    immediately    identified with   his   keen   expert   eyes   as   the rifle   of   the   future,   and   even   then he   had   the   plan   to   occupy   himself with    the    production    of    this    rifle together   with   his   brother    Wilhelm after    his    military    service    ended. So   they   started   in   1860   in   the   old paternal      workshop      with      two apprentices.    They    succeeded    in designing,   and   more   importantly, building a breech loading cannon. The   credits   for   this   surprising   and impressive   piece   of   craftsmanship should      go      equally      to      both brothers.          The          King          of Württemberg     was     offered     the design   of   the   new   weapon   for   his consideration,     he     acquired     the model   of   the   gun   for   the   model collection   of   his   arsenal   and   paid the    brothers    a    modest    sum    for their work. It   was   the   foundation   of   restless new    work,    but    it    didn't    lead    to improvements   on   the   gun   but   for researching         a         new         rifle construction,   that   was   based   on the     principles     of     the     Prussian needle   gun.   They   started   in   1863 and   already   2   years   later   the   first model    was    ready:    a    needle    gun with a calibre of 14mm. The      shooting      tests      produced excellent     results.     The     brothers presented     their     design     to     the Austrians    who,    after    the    war    of 1866,   were   looking   at   improving their    small    arms,    like    all    other countries. This   step   produced   no   immediate result.    But    the    American    called Norris,      representative      of      the Remington   rifle   factory,   at   which an     older     Mauser     brother     was working,   saw   the   new   rifle   at   the Austrian War Ministry. This     made     him     aware     of     the Mauser   brothers   and,   recognizing possible   business   for   his   factory, contacted them. He   bought   the   rights   of   the   first rifle   and   contracted   the   brothers to    manufacture    the    rifle    at    his costs    in    Liege,    the    heart    of    the Belgian     gun     industry.     On     the 22nd   of   September,   1867   Wilhelm and   Paul   Mauser   went   to   Liege. Here      they      absorbed      a      vast amount      of      weapons      related knowledge    and    here    they    also encountered        the        pulse        of international         business         and learned    that    not    only    Germany was      available      as      a      possible market,   but   the   entire   world.   The small   residential   house   at   the   Rue du   Vert   Bois   in   which   they   lived became    the    birth    place    of    the German army rifle M/71 . Already   in   1869   Norris,   for   whom the    brothers    worked    exclusively, had     offered     the     rifle     to     the Prussian       state,       but       Prussia refused.    On    the    14th    of    April, 1870,   just   before   the   outbreak   of the     French-German     war,     both brothers,    with    little    money    but with   rich   experiences,   returned   to their     home     town,     freed     from Norris    and    his    money.    Early    in May    the    Prussian    military    rifle school,   where   they   had   presented the   gun   again,   tested   the   rifle   for acceptance    as    army    rifle.    Daily shooting     trials     exposed     some issues   here   and   there,   which   were corrected.    Then    war    breaks    out and      the      brothers      have      not reached anything. But   the   war   showed   that   Prussia learned     that     their     small     arms needed     serious     improvements. New    negotiations    with    Wilhelm Mauser    in    Berlin    and    Spandau took      place,      while      Paul      was constantly    working    at    the    work bench    at    home,    improving    the rifle. Will   power   and   hard   work,   both mentally     and     physically     finally produced     results     under     great difficulty:      in      May      1872      the decision    is    made    by    which    the model      M/71      is      accepted      as service   rifle.   The   simplicity   of   use, the   increased   rate   of   fire   and   the improved    range    were    the    main reason. The       payment       the       brothers received   for   their   rifle   was   12,000 Taler.    Besides    that    the    Prussian government    had    given    them    an order    for    the    delivery    of    some rifle    parts.    So    the    brothers    had new        possibilities        and        they decided   to   erect   a   factory   in   order to fulfill the contract. They   started   the   construction   of   a new     factory     building     in     their home   town.   There   were   multiple interesting    areas    for    developing such   a   company,   but   the   brothers decided    to    stay    in    their    home town.   Fifty   workers   started,   their numbers rising every day. The     gun     smiths     had     become factory    managers,    the    wishes    of their   father   had   been   fulfilled.   A major       event       challenged       the brothers    soon,    however:    on    the 20th    of    August,    1874    the    new factory   building   was   destroyed   by a great fire. But   the   factory   was   rebuilt   within 8   weeks   and   at   the   same   time   the Württemberg                 government offered   them   the   Oberndorf   Rifle Factory   for   sale,   with   the   contract to     deliver     Rifles     and     Carbines Model        71        to        the        entire Württemberg   Army.   The   contract was   tempting   but   the   money   for the     purchase     was     unavailable. After   a   lengthy   consideration   the brothers accepted the offer. With   a   capital   of   300,000   Marks   in August,      1874      the      Komandit- Gesellschaft   Gebr.   Mauser   &   Co. was    founded.    The    factory    with some        300        machines        was purchased.          This          purchase demanded   new   orders   and   they were     able     to     get     these     from Bavaria       and       Prussia.       Soon Württemberg    was    supplied    with 100,000    rifles,    Bavaria    with    the needed    250,000.    It    seemed    that the   former   royal   rifle   factory   was a    good    asset    for    the    company, much better than anticipated. They   were   able   to   produce   some 100   -   200   rifles   a   day   and   this   was needed    to    secure    the    business. But   soon   the   number   of   contracts became     too     small,     while     the output      had      increased      to      a surprising amount. This        introduced        the        next challenge:   to   remain   competitive. The      entire      world      called      for improved     fire     speed     and     this meant   capacity   problems   existed. Soon         even         the         brothers themselves   worked   in   the   factory, because       even       the       smallest decrease    in    output    could    cause financial       problems.       But       the unusual      work      ethics      of      the brothers   helped   to   avoid   trouble. Wilhelm   was   continuously   on   the road,    as    he    was    the    designated negotiator,            Paul            worked constantly at home. All    states    of    the    continent    were visited   and   for   years   Paul   had   to carry   the   burden   of   production   by himself.   But   it   took   his   brother   a lot   of   courage   and   will   power   to allow     him     to     run     the     factory alone,   as   he   knew   very   well   what challenges     there     were     and     he often       worried       whether       his brother   at   home   could   cope   with all this.  Years   passed   and   at   the   21st   of January,     1881     Wilhelm     Mauser found   himself   in   the   small   town at   the   Neckar   again,   welcomed   by factory   workers   and   staff   with   lit torches.   An   exhausting   battle   with a    large    competitor    had    drained his   energy.   It   had   been   too   much for       him.       He       did       see       the introduction       of       the       Mauser repeating      rifle      M71/84      being demonstrated   to   the   old   Emperor Wilhelm   in   the   summer   of   1881. But   that   was   the   conclusion   of   his life's    work.    He    passed    away    in January, 1882. His   brother,   who   had   to   run   the company       that       had       become famous      all      over      the      world, succeeded        in        having        the magazine    rifle    ready    two    years later.   Another   two   years   later,   as a   result   of   a   Turkish   contract ,   the small   calibre   rifle   was   developed which   would   later   be   accepted   as the   M98.   In   1896   the   long   years   of development    of    a    revolver    were ended.         Followed         by         the introduction    of    the    Mauser    self loading     pistol ,     which     like     the other     weapons     and     the     tools made    at    the    factory    helped    to make   Mauser   famous   all   over   the world. Shortly    before    the    outbreak    of World     War     One     Paul     Mauser, whose   work   had   given   his   country the    best    rifle    possible,    passed away.     He     would     not     see     the expansion         and         consequent collapse    of    his    company    during the   war   and   afterwards.   With   him a   man   had   gone   who   never   lost sight    of    the    soul    of    his    people, their        culture,        through        his technology.   A   man   who   not   only had   a   good   mind   but   also   a   good heart.   Even   when   his   work   lay   in ruins   after   the   war,   the   ruins   had kept    his    soul    alive    and    new    life would    spring    from    it.    And    from the   spiritual   and   physical   strength of   the   brothers   who   had   founded the      company,      from      deepest humiliation   a   new   company   rose from     the     ashes,     inspiring     the German   nation.   Today   it   produces a     variety     of     products     for     the peace   time   market.   It   shows   that only   a   strong   soul,   strong   courage and   a   strong   faith   can   accomplish what seems impossible to others.