When the United States committed to World War in 1917, the Remington concern was charged with delivering a militarized version of their Model 10 (Model 10-A) (other firearms manufactures were also brought into the mix). This produced a line of weapons recognized generically as "Trench Shotguns". More or less faithful to their sporting core, Model 10 Trench Shotguns were given shortened 23-inch barrels for compactness, a wooden heat shield fitted over the barrel to protect the forward hand, sling swivels for a shoulder strap and bayonet mountings under the muzzle to support the US military's standard M1917 bayonet. These versions were used in a frontline fashion alongside the competing Winchester Model 1897 shotguns, the Winchester proving the principle US Army shotgun of the war. To shore up requirements for guard duty, the Model 10 was also procured in a 20-inch barrel form (recognized as the "Riot Gun"). Like the Model 1897, the Remington Model 10 was also purchased in 26- and 30-inch barrel forms for training aircraft gunners in the fine art of shooting moving targets at range. Some 3,500 to 5,000 Remington Model 10s were produced for the US Army during World War 1.
Shotguns certainly held value in close-quarters combat - whether they be used in house-to-house fighting or trench-clearing sorties. While the machine gun and service rifle dominated the long-ranged aspects of the war, it would be weapons such as shotguns, pistols, grenades and knives/bayonets that would be called to flush out or neutralized remaining enemy forces in defensive positions. The repeat-fire nature and inherent firepower of a shotgun proved priceless in the confines of trench warfare and the Model 10 did not disappoint in that respect (nor did any of the other competing shotgun marks for the US military during the conflict). Its lethality is what prompted German protests against the weapon in the latter stages of the war - of course the German Empire itself guilty of utilizing poison gas against Allied troops in the field.
Over 275,500 Remington Model 10s were eventually produced. In its militarized form, the shotgun would last in official operational service into the 1930s, particularly with US Marine Corps elements who recognized a solid weapon when they saw one. The Model 10 line was dropped by Remington in 1929 and today remains something of a rare, prized collector's item. Model 10s were in limited circulation during the Korean War (1950-1953) and the Vietnam War (1955-1975).
Remington's other shotgun design used in World War 1 was the Model 11 and this was a unrelated design based on a John Browning license with a notably different external appearance when compared to the Model 10.
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