

In 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union as part of Operation Barbarossa. The Gewehr 43/Karabiner 43 joined the ranks of the Tokarev and Garand as general issue semi-automatic rifles during the war.


It was accepted and entered into service as the Gewehr 43, renamed Karabiner 43 in 1944, with production amounting to just over 400,000. In 1943, Walther introduced a new modified gas system with aspects of the G41(W) providing greatly improved performance. The Walther design fared better in combat but still suffered from reliability problems. The Mauser design proved unreliable in combat when introduced in 1941 and only several thousand were made. Germany's quest for a semi-automatic infantry rifle resulted in two designs - the G41(M) and G41(W), from Mauser and Walther Arms respectively.
