The MPi and Austrian Gebirgsjägers

Discussions on the small arms used by the Axis forces.
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mrwolfe1988
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Location: Ireland

The MPi and Austrian Gebirgsjägers

#1

Post by mrwolfe1988 » 13 Nov 2019, 00:03

Hello there,

I am translating my great grandfather's memoirs into English. He was in the Austrian Gebirgsjägers and spent most of the war fighting in the Finnish tundra on the Eastern Front trying to reach Murmansk.

Amongst the Karabiner 98k he makes numerous references to how he and his comrades carried M Pi's. I do not know much about small arms although this project has certainly been very educational on that front. Some rampant googling on my part seems to hint that "M Pi" is the name given to some assault rifles which were used by the German Democratic Republic after the War, while the machine pistols used by the Axis forces were mostly named MP with a number, and no "i". The references do seem to turn up closer to the end of the War, around 1943 onwards possibly even as late as 1944.

My question therefore would be if anyone is aware of small arms that would have been named "M Pi" in use on the Eastern front during WW2. My Great Grandfather did write these memoirs in the 80s, and so it is possible that he is remembering the name of this weapon incorrectly, but his memory in the rest of the book is really rather impressive, and I'm presuming that he would have handled these weapons often enough that it would be unlikely that he should have false memories on this topic.

Below I quote a few occasions when this gun is referenced for those that speak German

Thanks as always for your help.

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„Mein Gott, steh mir bei,“ meint kopfschüttelnd Hutegger, der, lässig seine M Pi geschultert, gerade von einem kleinen Geschäftchen hinter einem Stein vorkommend, auf die Straße tritt, „wie kann man hier nur als Bauer hausen, wir haben im hintersten Salzburgischen auch recht primitive Keuschen, aber dies hier, ich versteh die Welt nicht mehr.“

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Da kommt Leutnant Kellersberg auf mich zugestürzt:

„Otto, komm gib mir deine Pistole, ich habe keine Waffe mehr.“
Weiß der Teufel wie ihm seine Mpi abhanden gekommen. In Eile stecke ich ihm die Pistole zu, gebe ihm noch ein Reservemagazin Munition. Ich selbst habe meinen Karabiner 98 k den ich bei Scharf schon im Rainerlager gegen die Mpi umgetauscht.

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Da schlagen die Büsche auseinander, ich will das Gewehr in Anschlag bringen, da steht ein Mann unserer Kompanie vor mir.
„Feldwebel“ sagt er „ einige Meter vor, liegt Leutnant Kellersberg, tot, Brustschuß... ich habe ihm Ring und Erkennungsmarke abgenommen.“
Ich gehe mit dem Mann weiter, bin nun vielleicht hundert Meter vom MG entfernt.
Noch immer sehe ich nicht unsere Anschlußgruppe.
Da kommt mir... eine Mpi im Arm, Major Grumm entgegen.
Ich mache Meldung, berichte auch über den Tod vor Leutnant Kellersberg.
Translated Memoirs of Otto Poschacher, Gebirgsjäger in the 2nd Gebirgsdivision.

https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&r ... _sr_book_1

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peeved
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Location: Finland

Re: The MPi and Austrian Gebirgsjägers

#2

Post by peeved » 13 Nov 2019, 00:30

Post-WW2 in addition to DDR the abbreviation MPi appears to have seen official use in Austria; cf. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steyr_MPi_69

Markus


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Poot
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Re: The MPi and Austrian Gebirgsjägers

#3

Post by Poot » 13 Nov 2019, 08:35

Mrwolfe1988,
This of course is an unsubstantiated guess, but it's hard to imagine (given what is known about small arms available to German troops at the time) that M. Pi. means anything other than 'Machinen Pistole.' In that case, it's highly likely it was a MP-40, or even an MP-38. They are shown in some photos of 6th Waffen-SS troops on reconnaissance missions in the same area of operations.

A somewhat less likely but still documented and photographed possibility would be the Finnish Suomi KP/-31 submachine gun, which also saw use among German troops in the east, and especially in the Finnish hinterland/NW USSR.

Best,
Pat
He who lives by the sword, should train with it frequently.

MilindTign
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Joined: 17 Dec 2019, 01:22
Location: U.S.

The MPi and Austrian Gebirgsjägers

#4

Post by MilindTign » 23 Dec 2019, 13:31

Ahoy Sealords and Ladys
How about this one? A new topic with jokes. Maritime's are prefered, but are not obliged.

For those who wishes to add any jokes to this topic:
A few Rules:

FiveStars
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Joined: 02 May 2020, 12:01
Location: Ukraine

Re: The MPi and Austrian Gebirgsjägers

#5

Post by FiveStars » 05 Sep 2020, 13:29

Apologies for necromancing, but MP(i) was an informal use to designate the Beretta M38/42 and it's variants in German service. It sometimes also referred to as "MP42".

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