We shipped in all 30,582 heavy Brownings to the American Expeditionary Forces, 27,894 going on supply ships and the rest in the hands of 12 divisions of troops.
These shipments actually put in France before the armistice was signed enough heavy Brownings to equip completely all the American troops on French soil. However, at the time these supplies were arriving the fighting against the retreating German Army was at its height, and there was no time for the troops on the line to exchange their British-built and French-built machine guns for Brownings, nor to replace their Chauchat automatic rifles with light Brownings, of which there was also an ample supply in France.
A report of the Chief Ordnance Officer, American Expeditionary Forces, as of February 15, 1919, shows that, except for antiaircraft use, Vickers and Hotchkiss machine guns with troops had been almost entirely replaced by heavy Brownings on that date, and that Chauchat automatic rifles had been replaced by light Brownings.
BROWNING EXPENDABLE CARTRIDGE BELT BOX, MARK I, MOUNTED ON A BROWNING MACHINE GUN TRIPOD, MODEL 1917.
BELT-FILLING MACHINE FOR BROWNING MACHINE GUN, MODEL 1917.
BROWNING TANK MACHINE GUN, MODEL 1919, MOUNTED ON TANK.
