The Defiant Sidearms, SMGs, and Grenades

When a bolt-action is the wrong length, The Defiant still has a period answer. Publisher and Steam copy name the Mauser C96 (the “Mauser Military Pistol”) and the SIG Bergmann Model 1920 / Bergmann MP18 submachine gun family. The IGN range session added basic hand grenades, potato-masher grenades, and a broadsword. This page is that half of the weapons hub. Long guns are on rifles.

Mauser C96

The C96 is one of the most recognisable pistols in Chinese military history: broomhandle grip, magazine forward of the trigger, optional stock in some configurations. In The Defiant it is the named legendary sidearm. Use it as the second slot next to a Hanyang or Liao rifle. It is the gun you draw when a QTE is too late and a bolt is too slow. We do not have a round count or a sight picture from a UI screenshot. We do have decades of real-world context: this pistol was everywhere in the War of Resistance, which is why Hoothanes put it on the poster.

If the shipped game allows a stocked C96 carbine variant, it will blur the rifle/sidearm line. Until a trailer shows that furniture, treat it as a pistol.

Bergmann MP18 and SIG Bergmann Model 1920

Early German submachine guns and their licensed cousins circulated in China. Steam lists the SIG Bergmann Model 1920; press materials say Bergmann MP18. Those names sit on the same family tree. In play, this is your interior and Shanghai stealth primary: short, automatic, hungry for ammo you may not want to spray in a quiet street. Save it for the moment stealth collapses, or for trenches where a bolt-action’s cycle time gets people killed.

Automatic fire in a grounded WWII game is a resource, not a lifestyle. The preview’s health vignette still applies — see How to Play — so an SMG does not let you ignore cover.

Grenades

Two families were on the range: conventional hand grenades and potato-masher (stick) types. Stick grenades are the German Stielhandgranate silhouette that also appeared in Chinese use. They are the tool for rooms, bunkers, and the clumps of infantry IGN described in the snow mission. There is no published throw arc, cook timer, or lethal radius.

IGN noted the absence of improvised Chinese landmines (brick and ceramic mines using older powder techniques) despite a mission full of defensive holds. That is a preview gap, not a promise they will never exist. If mines ship, they will be listed here, not on the rifle page.

Broadsword and melee

A broadsword was available for close attacks in the range. Campaign melee so far is mostly scripted: bayonet surprise, knife QTE in a farmhouse. Do not build a melee character. The sword is flavour and a last resort when both guns are dry. Co-op players who rush with melee in a four-to-eight-player PvE map will learn the vignette system the hard way.

Suggested pairings

Chapter fantasy	Slot A	Slot B	Throwable
Northeast combat	Liao / Hanyang	C96	Stick grenade
Shanghai spy	SMG or C96	Compact second gun	Use grenades only after alarm
Rail sabotage	Rifle	SMG	Frag for carriages
Co-op holdout	Rifle or MG nest	SMG	Share grenade duties

These are planning rows, not extracted loadout screens. The campaign overview explains why chapters want different tools.

Ammo and attachments

No magazine sizes, no suppressor that has been shown, no red-dot optics. If a stealth pistol with a can appears in a later trailer, this page will say so. Until then, stealth is positioning and lights, not a loadout checkbox.

Return to the weapons hub for the ranking frame, or to Getting Started if you are still at the wishlist stage.