Why I Included Self-Loading Rifles and Prototype Weapons in Trench

When most people think of World War I, they picture muddy trenches, bolt-action rifles, and the slow grind of attrition warfare. What they don’t picture — and rarely hear about — are the experimental weapons, self-loading rifles, early submachine guns, and armored vehicles that were being tested, deployed, or theorized before the war even ended.

That’s exactly why I chose to include them in the Trench series.

🔫 Because They Existed — Even If Forgotten
This isn’t a fantasy. Weapons like the Mauser Selbstlader M1916, Luger 1906 Rifle, Frommer’s early automatics, and even the Burstyn Motorgeschütz were real. Some made it to trials, some saw limited field use, and others lived in blueprints and arsenals until the war was over.

I’m not inventing new weapons — I’m resurrecting ones that were on the edge of deployment or completely overlooked.

🛡️ Same Goes for the Machines
You’ve seen the Tsar Tank if you’ve followed this series — a lumbering giant of metal and ambition that never got its moment. You’ve heard about the early half-tracks/ fulley tracked trucks, the Killen-Strait armored tractor, and multi-turreted landship concepts that made even generals scratch their heads.

Vehicles like these appear in Trench not to change history, but to honor what was possible during that time. They make the war feel alive, unpredictable, and more nuanced than the usual textbook take.

🎮 Creative Freedom Isn’t New
This isn't the first time this concept has been done — even Call of Duty: Black Ops used experimental weapons from the Cold War to deepen its world. It made the story more engaging while keeping the tone grounded. I’m doing the same for WWI — with the benefit of ten years of personal research, not just imagination.

📖 Why It Matters
I’m not writing for gatekeepers who think only one version of WWI is allowed — the one with British narration, black-and-white footage, and nothing beyond a Lee-Enfield and a whistle.

I’m writing for people who want to learn and be immersed. People who never heard of the Mauser M1902, the Bergmann M1897 carbine, or the Mannlicher semi-autos Austria-Hungary flirted with. I’m writing for readers who want something historical, but also human, bold, and alive.

And if someone didn’t read the Author’s Disclaimer at the beginning of my books — where I state clearly that this is a historical fiction series with creative freedom — then that’s on them. I can't fix willful ignorance.

🔥 This Is Just the Beginning
Maybe one day this project will expand beyond books — into film, animation, games, who knows? But it all started here: by giving WWI the spotlight it deserves, and showing that there’s so much more to this war than mud, gas masks, and clichés.

You don’t have to rewrite history to make it compelling. You just have to tell the parts no one else bothered to look at.

All these weapons were accurate for the time period and existed. If you're bitter about it not being historically accurate then you came to the wrong place or need to chill out since this suppose to be an epic adventure and action style book series.

-Jake Barrett

https://coff.ee/jakebarrettbooks