Editing M1903 Springfield (section)

===Background===
During the 1898 [[Spanish–American War|war with Spain]], the [[Mauser Model 1893|Mauser M1893]] used by the Spanish Army gained a deadly reputation, particularly from the [[Battle of San Juan Hill]], where 750 Spanish regulars significantly delayed the advance of 15,000 US troops armed with outclassed [[Springfield Model 1892–99|Springfield Krag–Jørgensen]] bolt-action rifles and older single-shot [[Springfield model 1873]] [[Trapdoor mechanism|trapdoor]] rifles. The Spanish soldiers inflicted 1,400 casualties on the US in a matter of minutes. Likewise, earlier in the day, a Spanish force of 540 regulars armed with the same Mauser rifles, under Spanish general Vara Del Rey, held off General [[Henry Ware Lawton]]'s Second Division of 6,653 American soldiers and an independent brigade of 1,800 men for ten hours in the nearby town of [[Battle of El Caney|El Caney]], keeping that division from assisting in the attack on the San Juan Heights. A US Army board of investigation was commissioned as a direct result of both battles. They recommended replacement of the Krag.

The 1903 adoption of the M1903 was preceded by nearly 30 years of struggle and politics, using lessons learned from the recently adopted Krag–Jørgensen and contemporary German Mauser [[Gewehr 98]] bolt-action rifles. The design itself is largely based on the Mauser M1893 and its successive models up to the Gewehr 98 rifle. The M1903's forward receiver ring diameter is {{convert|1.305|in|mm|2|abbr=on}}, slightly over the  {{convert|33|mm|in|2|abbr=on}} ring diameter of the older "small ring" Mauser models and less than the "large ring" {{convert|35.8|mm|in|2|abbr=on}} Gewehr 98s. The US military licensed many of the Mauser Company's and other German patents, including the spitzer bullet, later modified into the .30-06 Springfield.<ref>The patent assigned by the [[US Patent Office]] to the [[Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken|Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken Aktien-Gesellschaft]] for an Improved Form for Projectiles for Hand-Firearms can be found under {{US patent|RE12927|US PAT No. RE12927}}.</ref> The M1903 not only replaced the various versions of the U.S. Army's Krag, but also the [[M1895 Lee Navy|Lee M1895]] and [[M1885 Remington–Lee]] used by the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps, as well as all remaining single-shot trapdoor rifles. While the [[Springfield Model 1892-99|Krag]] had been issued with barrel lengths of both 30-inch rifle and 22-inch [[carbine]] models, the Springfield was issued only as a short 24-inch-barrel rifle in keeping with current trends in Switzerland and Great Britain to eliminate the need for both long rifles and carbines.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Rifle |volume= 23 |last= Seton-Karr |first= Henry |author-link= Henry Seton-Karr | pages = 325&ndash;336; see page 328; first para, lines three and four |quote=and in 1903»the f short rifle ” was actually approved and issued generally.}}</ref>

The two main problems usually cited with the Krag were its slow-to-load magazine and its inability to handle higher chamber pressures for high-velocity rounds. The United States Army attempted to introduce a higher-velocity cartridge in 1899 for the existing Krags, but its single locking lug on the bolt could not withstand the extra chamber pressure. Though a [[stripper clip|stripper-clip]] or charger loading modification to the Krag was designed, it was clear to Army authorities that a new rifle was required. After the U.S. military's experience with the Mauser rifle in the [[Spanish–American War|1898 Spanish–American War]], authorities decided to adopt a stronger Mauser-derived bolt-action design equipped with a charger- or stripper clip-loaded box magazine.
[[File:Teddy on a white horse with a M1903.jpg|thumb|[[Theodore Roosevelt]] with an M1903]]