A miniature model of the original Mauser Pistol, model 1916.

This is one of the earliest models of automatic pistol in the world. A pilot model was tested as early as March 15, 1895.

Germany’s last Kaiser Wilhelm II was the first to shoot such pistol on August 20,1896, after which the model sprang into immediate popularity.
For instance, Winston Churchill carried such pistol during the Boer War (1899 —1902), who later was appointed as British Prime Minister.
The pistol became a cult weapon during the Russian Civil War (1918 — 1922) . Mauser pistols were popular among Red Army leaders and chief political officers, namely Semyon Budenny, Red Army Chief Cavalier, Commander of the First Horse Cavalry Army, who later was promoted to Army General of the Soviet Armed Forces.
Nestor Makhno, a legendary Ukrainian bandit and strong anarchist, used a Mauser C-96 as sidearm.
At the beginning of the Soviet Union, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (the highest body of State power) used Mauser C-96 as the highest award to be conferred on Red Army leaders for combating the global counterrevolution. Such pistols were decorated with golden plates bearing a presentation inscription. Only three persons were awarded, namely Sergei Kamenev, Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Armed Forces, Semyon Budenny, Commander of the First Horse Cavalry Army and his Chief Political Officer Klim Voroshilov.

A .9mm version chambered for the Parabellum’s cartridge, aka model 1916, was manufactured during the First World War.