The Lebel was the 'rifle of revenge'. This was the gun that was going to help win back the lost provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. It was also the world's most modern bolt-action rifle when it was first adopted in 1886. The 8mm Lebel round was specially developed for it and was the very first round to utilise 'smokeless' powder (all previous and current guns were still using black powder as the propellant). Cordite allowed for concealed firing, as it was not accompanied by a cloud of smoke and as such, the Lebel is the grandfather of all modern sniper rifles. The gun featured an 8-shot tubular magazine, directly under the barrel, although this was intended as a reserve with single shot being the preference until such time as the officer gave the order.
By 1914, the Lebel was obsolete and would have been phased out of use completely had it not been for one task that only it could perform. During WW1, one of the many advances made was in that of grenade technology. The increased efficiency of TNT meant that they needed to be propelled further and rifle grenades provided the means to achieve this. One of the best types developed was that designed by Vivien and Bessières (VB). Only the Lebel offered the integral strength to cope with the undue pressure of discharging these devices and so the Lebel remained in service long after it should have been replaced.
The Lebel weighed 4.18 kg (9.2 lb) (unloaded) and was 130 cm (51.2 in) long.