Deployment
The ZB-26 saw service with the Czechoslovak infantry, as well as being the primary or secondary armament on many later model Škoda armored vehicles. The gun possessed a bipod and could also be mounted on a tripod for better fire support efficiency if needed.
The Wehrmacht soon adopted the ZB-26 after the occupation of Czechoslovakia, renaming it the MG 26(t); it was used in the same role as the MG 34, as a light machine gun. In the opening phases of World War II, the ZB-26 in 7.92 mm Mauser caliber was used in large numbers by elements of the German Waffen SS, who at first did not have full access to standard Wehrmacht supply channels. In its most famous incarnation the ZB-26 was modified by ZB and British technicians, entering service as the famous Bren gun. Many more countries imported or produced the design under license, including China, Yugoslavia, and Lithuania. Chinese Nationalist forces used the ZB-26 in 8x57 IS in their struggle with Communist Chinese and later Japanese forces. According to Brno, from 1927 to 1939, a total of 30,249 ZB-26 were exported to China. During this time due to high demand, Chinese small-arms factories, state owned as well as those controlled by various warlords, were producing the ZB-26. During the Korean War, Chinese Communist forces employed the ZB-26 against UN forces, and PVA ZB gunners developed a well-deserved reputation for long-range marksmanship. During the First Indochina War with French and later South Vietnamese forces, the ZB-26 was found in the hands of both North Vietnamese army and Viet Minh guerrillas.
Read more about this topic: ZB Vz. 26