French Zigouilleurs
The little that is known about French trench sweepers indicates that they all used pistols. Although France never adopted the Browning 1900 as a military sidearm, the pistol soon became known for its reliability under adverse conditions. The relatively few FN Browning 1900s in French service during the war were either ex-Belgian military pistols or those collected from civilians or the commercial market. Those obtained from the commercial market often bear the retailer’s stamp and a French number near the magazine well. The significance of this number is unknown and is often disputed among collectors.The FN 1900 was a hot commodity among French sweepers. If they were not available, the French used select Ruby pistols. The Spanish Ruby had only one advantage over the FN 1900—its magazine held nine rounds instead of seven. Early Rubys were of decent quality but, as the war progressed, Spanish armsmakers started subcontracting, and quality and reliability suffered greatly. Some Rubys had an expected life span of only 500 rounds. The French quickly marked each pistol and all magazines with a two-letter code, which indicated the manufacturer. This avoided problems as the magazines and parts were generally not interchangeable. French sweepers using the Ruby must have selected those pistols that were better built. The Ruby is notoriously heavy, but the added bulk was necessary to compensate for the soft steel the Spanish used in manufacturing.
Interestingly, the Ruby was derived from the FN Browning 1905 Vest Pocket and not the FN Browning 1903 as often suggested. It embodies a simplified FN Browning 1905 mechanism, while the barrel resembles that of the Colt 1903. The Vest Pocket was initially copied in Spain in .25 ACP and later enlarged to the Ruby-sized .32 ACP pistol. The design was illegally copied, and no royalties were ever paid to John Browning or FN, which owned the European manufacturing rights.
The French also purchased Colt M1911 pistols, which were distributed among the first tank battalions, but it is not known if any were used by trench sweepers.
