Interdisiplinary Journal of Research and Development, Vol. 4, no. 3, 2017 91

Gjergj THANASI1

THE GUN” BY J.C. CHIVERS A THOROUGH STUDY OF THE MOST FAMOUS ASSAULT , KALASHNIKOV AK 472

Abstract

Albanian literature awfully lacks translations of popular scientific works from English military literature. A few translations in the early nineties of XX century and almost nothing else. “The Gun” is a thorough study of the history of the creation of AK by Michael Kalashnikov. The book is also a detailed description of the proliferation of AK till it became the most famous and the most produced assault rifle with some 100 million (originals, derivatives, knock offs, licensed copies, copy cats etc.). The book offers rich information on the countries, armies, police forces and militias armed with Kalashnikovs from the very beginning to nowadays. J. C. Chivers making use of access to recently opened archives of communist countries, included unfolds to the reader new and fascinating info on AK 47 and its derivatives. “The Gun” is the first book to display detailed info on Albanian Kalashnikovs, imported from Soviet Union, communist China or locally produced by “Kombinati Mekanik Polican”, known as ASH 78 Tip 1 a clone of the Chinese Kalashnikov known as model 56, ASH 82 a copy of Soviet an improved version of the initial AK 47. The book describes also other Albanian derivatives of AK 47 such as its derivatives ASH 78 tip 2 which is a close copy of Soviet light RPK, ASH 78 tip 3, which is a hybrid rifle for multi-purpose roles mainly Marksman rifle with secondary assault rifle and grenade launcher capability) and also a subcompact version, a copy of the Soviet AK 47 pistol. What this book offers on Albanian Kalashnikov is new to most Albanian readers but a few top rank officers of the defunct Albanian People’s Army. Key words: Kalashnikov, Albania, proliferation, army, ammunition

1 Lecturer at UAMD; [email protected] 2 Paper presneted in “3 International Conference ‘Foreign Languages in a Global World, Linguistics, Literature, Didactics” Durres, June 2017” 92 Interdisiplinary Journal of Research and Development, Vol. 4, no. 3, 2017

“The Gun that Changed the Battlefield” by C.J. Chivers

Kalashnikov literature in the framework of English Popular Military Literature One of the most prolific genres of the literature in the English language is popular military literature. Unfortunately even after the collapse of communism in Albania there is almost no translation fin from such a genre of literature, but for a book published by our MOD in the early nineties of the last century on the Operation “Desert Storm” and the American four star general Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. A special sub family in the popular military literature covers weapons, their make, their usage, their tactical data and alike. “The Gun that Changed the Battlefield”, widely known as simply “The Gun” by the renown American journalist and veteran military columnist of NYT (At War Blog) C.J. Chivers is an astounding example of such type of popular literature. “The Gun” is the story of the most prolific and maybe the best known firearmAK 47 the Kalashnikov.

AK 47 Kalashnikov in the popular military literature and “The Gun” By C. J. Chivers

A 70 years old notorious assault rifle as AK 47 the Kalashnikov would certainly attract many a writer to write down its story, its tactical data, production figures, its tactical employment on the battlefield and alike. Chiver’s book is not the first and one can bet on it will not be the last one to focus on the old venerable assault rifle designed by Michael Kalashnikov some 70 years ago. We can mention here several predecessors of Chiver’s book such as “AK 47” by Michael Hodges, “The AK 47 the Assault Rifles Series” by Gordon L. Rottman, or even “ The AK 47 and AK 74 Kalashnikov Rifles” by Joy Poyer. There are at least 38 books of popular military literature in English wholly dedicated to the assault rifle called AK 47 Kalashnikov. Some of them have translations in severalEuropean languages Russian included. A couple of them have been translated in other than European languages as well. We can mention here “AK 47 Assault riffle : The Real Weapon of Mass Destruction” by Nigel Bennett translated in Swahili, or “AK 47, The Weapon which Changed the Face of War” by Larry Kahaner translated even in the exotic Yiddish, but not in Hebrew the official language of the State of Israel. We have also a translation in Urdu (the language spoken in Pakistan) of the Michael Hodges book “AK 47: The Story of the People’s Gun” Interdisiplinary Journal of Research and Development, Vol. 4, no. 3, 2017 93

“The Gun” facts, figures, myths.

Yet Chivers’ book, “The Gun” is to the reader somehow like a new glance thrown to an old master’s painting. It is understandable that a comprehensive work on the good old Kalashnikov will include a lot of staff, story, knowledge, figures and facts already dealt with, told and retold by previous authors, still “The Gun” has an attraction and fashionable kernel of its own. We thought it appropriate to inform the audience, the readers first of some facts and figures on the veteran assault rifle and its “off springs” of the old and the new century and then the peculiarities, the special treatment, the new stuff generously supplied by Chivers in his “The Gun”, as a new entry in the literature of the “science” of Kalashnikovology. Kalashnikov is the most produced assault rifle in the world. Up to 2015 the factories in USSR (present day Russian Federation and other ex Soviet Union republics), in their satellite states of Eastern Europe produced 75 million Kalashnikovs. This number includes also copies made under license from PR of China to Iran, from Venezuela to Sudan, several clones and unauthorized copies or even copies of the copies of the Soviet Union Kalashnikov assault rifle. A case at issue is the ASH 82 the Albanian Kalashnikov, which is a very close copy of the Chinese Model 56 assault rifle, which on its turn is almost an exact copy of a refined successor of AK 47, the Soviet made AKM (Modernizirovanniy Avtomat Kalashnikova). If we add to this number also some 25 million of AK variants of assault rifle, submachine guns, rifles, LGM-s (light machine guns) we come to the threshold of 100 million pieces. The second most produced assault rifle is the American M 16 (M 4 ) which in all its variants is produced to a mere 8 million copies! Less than one tenth of the quantity of the AK and its “heirs” production worldwide. The British Lee Enfield rifle which soldiered on during two world war was produced in only 15 million pieces. Nowadays Kalashnikov is part of the armament of the armed forces or the police force of 54 countries and countless of militias, armed bands, guerrilla forces etc. Kalashnikov is featured in the national flag of Mozambique as well as in the flags of the paramilitary organization of Hizbullah in Lebanon. The first foreign powers to copy Kalashnikov was Finland and the factory “Cervena Zastava” of Yugoslavia of Marshal Tito. The last to produce artisanal (handmade) copies of Kalashnikov are the blacksmiths of Panjshir Valley in the tribal area of Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan” The last national armed forces to mothball and send to the reserve the old Kalashnikov is our country Albania, trying to replace it with Italian made rather vintage Beretta AR 70/90 and the modern Beretta ARX 160 as well as the American M4 , a derivative of 94 Interdisiplinary Journal of Research and Development, Vol. 4, no. 3, 2017

M 16 assault rifle. This fact was made available to the English language public for the first time by C.J. Chivers in his book “The Gun”. Anyway this is not the only first, fact, figure, discovery in Chivers’ book. Kalashnikov even the old version of AKM (first produced in 1950 in Soviet Union) was, is and certainly will be in the foreseeable future a preferred weapon for armies and police forces of countries who could not afford shiny, new and expensive “toys”. Kalashnikov is not only the longest produced assault rifle (from 1947 to 2017), but also the longest produced breech loaded rifle in general. The venerable British Lee Enfield bolt action rifle including its modernized variants was produced from (1895 to 1957) only 63 years compared to Kalashnikov production life of 70 years plus I believe many other years to come. Kalashnikov is the weapon of choice for national armies and police forces, for guerrilla armies and militias as well as for bank robbers, drugs plantation watchmen, terrorists including Bin Laden and his iconic photo with a subcompact AK 74 right after 9/11 terrorist attack, prison guards in countries suffering from security problems etc. It has been used in high profile assassinations and assassination attempts from the assassination of Anwar Sadat the President of to the assassination of Gaddafi of Libya.Kalashnikov has been instrumental to bring down tyrants and dictatorships in its 70 years long life, as well as it has been used by such tyrants to mow down crowds of their own people when they used to rise against their oppressors. Kalashnikov was partially responsible for several genocides or genocidal acts after Second World War such as that in Ruanda, the genocidal act of the Massacre of Srebrenica in Bosnia or the lesser known Massacre of Mehja or that of Krusha e Vogel in Kosova. According to Chivers book all factories in the world producing cartridges suitable for Kalashnikovs (the 7,62X39 mm caliber and 5,45X39mm caliber) from 1947 to nowadays have churned out at least 16 trillion rounds of ammunition suitable for all the weapons of the Kalashnikov family. Despite quite a number of draw backs Kalashnikov (AK 47, AKM, AK 74 and alike) are famous for being a rugged, reliable, relatively cheap, relatively precise, with a respectable stopping power and naturally quite easy to use an assault rifle. Being cheap and easily manageable even by illiterate peasants and herdsmen, kids and women it has become a desirable weapon for guerrilla armies, militias and of course gangs even in gangs urban warfare. Several myths on Kalashnikov are also exposed in “The Gun” written By C.J. Chivers. The first myth is that of the Kalashnikov being the best assault rifle in the world. No it is not! According to Chivers it is the best ratio assault rifle of price, reliability, simplicity in usage and maintenance, availability, relative accuracy, endurance of abuse and alike. Interdisiplinary Journal of Research and Development, Vol. 4, no. 3, 2017 95

The largest number of human beings killed in action are killed by Kalashnikov and its clones is another myth which is exposed in Chivers’ book. There are no accurate account but it is widely believed that more people are killed by bolt action rifles like the British Lee Enfield and the German Karabiner 98 K bolt action rifle than by all sorts of Kalashnikov assault rifles. The family of Maxim machine guns and the American made and licensed M2 Browning machine gun and its derivatives certainly have killed more people than Kalashnikov and all its tribe. Kalashnikov era is quickly coming to an end myth is also turned down in Chivers’ book. Kalashnikov and especially its latter modernized “cousins” will be on the battlefields or in the hands of the criminal gangs for decades to come. For instance nowadays AK 100 is the main of the Russian and Belarusian armed forces and will be such in the immediate future, just like modernized M16 a derivative of Vietnam era M16 American assault rifle will be the main assault rifle for the US Army and the US Marine Corps. Chivers is right in coming to such a conclusion that Kalashnikovs life span will stretch well into the XXI century. New ground covered in “The Gun” As we have already mentioned Kalashnikov is the subject of many a popular military literature book, yet “The Gun” of NYT journalist C.J. Chivers has several peculiarities and it breaks quite an amount of new ground in the all comprehensive treatment of the history and the capabilities of the Kalashnikov assault rifle family. Chivers has included in his books scores and scores of unknown or at least lesser known facts regarding the Kalashnikov. We can mention that the first usage of a Kalashnikov assault rifle by a revolutionary was in November 1956 by the Hungarian anticommunist rebel Jozef Tibor Fejes to gun down a security officer of AVO, the then communist secret police of Hungary. To show the durability and the ruggedness of the Kalashnikov Chivers offers a fact out of his own experience. In 2010 he was embedded as a journalist in a company of American marines stationed in Helmand Province in Afghanistan. There Chivers came across a Kalashnikov produced in 1954, at a time when even some of the parents of the marines of the company he was embedded with were not yet born! That Kalashnikov was old but deadly and functioning as a Swiss watch. Always out of his personal experience the author of “The Gun” offers to the reader the example of the soldiers of the South African contingent in Iraq, who almost unanimously preferred to buy privately second hand AKM-s and use them instead of new and shiny M4 American carbinesthey were issued with. They preferred Kalashnikovs because of their ruggedness in adverse conditions and 96 Interdisiplinary Journal of Research and Development, Vol. 4, no. 3, 2017 their better range compared to M4.By the way our MOD and minister Kodheli in person keep boasting that our armed forces have already bid farewell to the old Kalashnikov assault rifles replacing them with the new, shiny and expensive US M4 carbines (Sic!). A new feature of Chivers book compared to other books focused on Kalashnikov assault rifleis the way he dates back on the history of automatic fire arms. Other books generally begin their argument with the Second World War German assault rifles such as the Walther Gew43 or at best they goup to the first attempts of Russian scientists of producing a working assault rifles (automatic fire rifles) such as that of Vladimir G. Fedorov’s M1916 based on the less powerful rifle of the era the 6,5X50 Sr Japanese one. That rifle had also a 25 rounds magazine, an astounding innovative feature for that era. Chivers goes back not just to World War I, but up to Maxim and Gatling machine guns of the late 60-ties of the XIX century to analyze the development of capable of delivering automatic fire.

Ammunition for AK 47 assault rifles series

“The Gun” unlike other Kalashnikov focused books makes an analyses of the Klalashnikov ammunition, too. It is not simplified description of what is called intermediate cartridge of the caliber 7,62X39 mm i.e. neither a pistol cartridge nor a bolt action , something in between. There are facts and figures of the production of this type of ammunition from the beginning of the fifties of the last century to nowadays in Soviet Union, Russian Federation and other successor states of the Soviet Union. Then other facts and figures about the ammunition production in other countries ranging from China and Vietnam to East and Cuba, Albania included. Then other facts and figures of ammunition production and distribution of Arab and African countries (Syria, Egypt, South Yemen, Libya, Sudan Angola, Ethiopia, Guinea Bissau etc.) There is info on the production of 7,62X39 mm caliber rounds in Latin America in countries like Venezuela, Peru and Nicaragua. A special attention is paid to the production of this kind in ammunition in South Africa and Israel, whose standard assault rifles are modified copies of Kalashnikov such as IMI Galil assault rifle of Israel. A curious case is the mass production of this type of ammunition in Finland, a neutral country during the Cold War. The archives in the countries of the now defunct Warsaw Treaty are gradually opening up. The author of “The Gun” has exploited that fact thus “unearthing” a lot of info previously not known about Kalashnikov, its production, its distribution, its export, its copies etc. To us as Albanians is of importance the Interdisiplinary Journal of Research and Development, Vol. 4, no. 3, 2017 97 fact that it is “The Gun” the first book in the Kalashnikov Saga books to inform the reader about the Albanian Kalashnikov. Previous books simply mentioned that Albania imported Model 56 assault rifles the Chinese version of AKM Kalashnikov, or at best they added that there were homemade Kalashnikovs in Albania and that’s all.

Kalashnikovs in Albania

Chivers focuses in detail on Kalashnikov in Albania. He stresses the fact that Soviet Union supplied free of charged a few thousand AK 47 type 3 (1954- 195 year issue) assault rifles to Ministry of the Interior and also to the Ministry of Defense of Albania in the late fifties of the XX century. Then he lists details of Chinese Model 56 assault rifles, known in Albania as: Automatiku model 56 reaching Albania as donation of Mao Zedongto his only European ally the Albanian communist leader Enver Hoxha. Chivers offers a figure of 40 000 Model 56 assault rifles being donated to Albanian from 1963 to 1975. There is no reference for this figure, yet we tend to accept it as a correct one. This quantity of Kalashnikovs included also several hundred sub compact ones suitable especially for urban warfare. The Chinese Kalashnikovs donated to Albania had spiked bayonets roughly two thirds of them and ladder bayonets (similar to early Soviet AK 47 Kalashnikov bayonets) the other third. The Albanian government issued these Kalashnikovs to their army and ministry of Interiors troops. In late eighties of XX century Kalashnikovs became so abundant that they were issued even to third rate troops like armed youth of the higher and secondary education. They were issued also to at least squad leaders in territorial defense units. Chivers offers detailed information on the production of Kalashnikov in Albania. We are quoting from his book mot a mot even the names in Albanian of those Albanian clones of Kalashnikov. Automatiku Shqiptar model 56 (ASH-78 Tip-1) Albanian Automatic Assault Rifle Model 56 Type-1 [Made in Poliçan Arsenal] (Straightforward copy of Type 56, which in turn is a clone of the Soviet AKM rifle) Automatiku Shqiptar Tipi 1982 (ASH-82) Albanian Automatic Assault Rifle Type 1982 [Made in Poliçan Arsenal] (Straight forward copy of AKMS) Automatiku Shqiptar model 56 (ASH-78 Tip-2) Albanian [Made in Poliçan Arsenal] (Straight forward copy of RPK) Automatiku Shqiptar model 56 (ASH-78 Tip-3) Albanian Automatic Hybrid Rifle Model 56 Type-3 [Made in Poliçan Arsenal] (Hybrid rifle for multi-purpose roles mainly Marksman rifle with secondary assault rifle and grenade launcher capability). 98 Interdisiplinary Journal of Research and Development, Vol. 4, no. 3, 2017

According to Chivers there are also other unknown variants of the Albanian Kalashnikovs such as: Several other unnamed & unidentified versions of the AKMS have been produce mainly with short barrels similar to the Soviet AKS- 74U mainly for special forces, Tank & Armored crew also for Helicopter pilots and police. There have also been modifications and fresh production(after the fall of communism even after the year 2000) of heavily modified ASh-82 (AKMS) with SOPMOD accessories, mainly for Albania’s special forces RENEA & exports. “The Gun” goes into detail in the Albanian production of Kalashnikov, such as the countries and steel mills which produced the steel for the Albanian Kalashnikovs. Thus the steel came from the Steel Mill of Zenica in present day Bosnia and the steel from Domnarvet Company in Sweden. Even the wood of the Albanian Kalashnikov stock is discussed in Chivers’ Book. He specifies that it is used local oak and birch wood different from Chinese Qiu Wood (Chu Wood or the so called Blond wood) though it resembles in color to the Chinese wood stocks. Chivers offers up to now unknown or little known info on the exports of Albanian Kalashnikovs being them Soviet, Chinese and Albanian made Kalashnikovs and their 7,62X39 mm ammunition. He maps them from Helmand Province in Afghanistan to the militias fighting near the Port of Misurata in Libya, from Croatian Home Guard resisting in the outskirts of the town of Vinkovci to Muslim militia defending Gorazhde town in Bosnia. Albanian Kalashnikovs and Albanian made ammunition for Kalashnikovs had also their share and responsibility in the Genocide in Ruanda. Policani produced ammunition according to Chivers has reached the drug lords henchmen Kalashnikovs in Columbia or those of drug gangs in the Mexican State of Chiudad. According to Chivers it is more than normal to spot Albanian Kalashnikovs in the lands inhabited by Albanians in the Balkans such as The Republic of Kosova, FYROM, Montenegro, Serb Sandjak and South Serbia, too. Kalashnikovs and their ammunition made in Albania are widespread among the Albanian gangs in and but they are weapons of choice also for peasants in the Greek Island of Crete, for the Mafia people in Italy. Unfortunately Chivers offers no figures to how many pieces of Albanian Kalashnikovs and how many millions of rounds of ammunition have been exported worldwide.

Recommendations

I have one and only one recommendation: Please do translate “The Gun” by J.C. Chivers in Albanian!Why should it be translated in Albanian language? First-we lack in Albanian language translated works from the popular Interdisiplinary Journal of Research and Development, Vol. 4, no. 3, 2017 99 military literature in English. We really lack translated books in Albanian from the popular military literature in general, but for several scores of them translated from Russian in the fifties and sixties of the last century. Second-this book will offer to the Albanian reader a lot of previously unknown info to the general Albanian citizens but for top ranking communist officers. What was once a closely guarded secret now is available in this Chivers’ book! Third-the troubled year 1997 made Albania infamous worldwide for the usage of fire arms in civil commotion, and especially the Kalashnikov. The then opposition labeled even the parliament as the parliament of the Kalashnikovs! So to my opinion Albanians do need to learn more about the Kalashnikov assault rifle, which made their country notorious on the world media. Forth-it is nicely written book in English and a skilled translation can preserve such a quality in the language used in the book in Albanian, too. Fifth-It is not only nice to read, but it also focuses on the average reader not necessary one with a military background or one having weapons as a hobby. 100 Interdisiplinary Journal of Research and Development, Vol. 4, no. 3, 2017

REFERENCES

[1] The Gun by C.J. Chivers _by Justin Marozzi published by The Telegraph Nov. 7 2010 [2] The Gun by C.J.Chivers_ by Andrew Holgate published by The Sunday Times on Oct. 31 2010 [3] A history of the AK 47 a gun that made history_ by Mark A. Keefe IV Published by Washnigton Post on Oct. 29 2010 [4] Kalashnikov AK 47 Series by Martin J. Brayley ISBN 978 1 84797 526 3 [5] AK 47 The Weapon that Changed the Face of War by Larry Kahaner ISBN 1118040473, 9781118040478 [6] Firearms guide Forth Edition By Kresimir Mijic ISBN 0985305436, 9780985305437 [7] Kalashnikov Derivatives ISBN 123049622X, 9781230496221