Upon arrival in France, the 369th Infantry Regiment was assigned, like the other regiments in the 93rd Infantry Division, to the French Army. They were fitted out with French equipment, including helmets, cartridge belts, and Berthier Model 1907/15 rifles. They continued to wear their US uniforms, however. The Berthier Model 1907/15 (issued to French allies and colonial troops, and to relieve a shortage of Lebel rifles) as well as the Lebel Model 1886 M93 rifle (the basic French infantry rifle) were both capable of mounting a removable grenade launcher, here used on a Lebel. The launcher was designed by French military engineers Jean Vivien and Gustave Bessière. It was found that the Berthier rifle was not particularly suited to using the launcher, because its stock was too weak and often could not take the stress of firing the launcher properly. The launcher was nicknamed the tromblon or "blunderbuss" (a type of shotgun) because it resembled the large barrel of the weapon.