 It fired the newly developed 9mm Parabellum pistol cartridge, which was designed for low recoil without sacrificing penetration and stopping power.These machine pistols proved to be quite effective in close range trench warfare and led the Germans to develop the 9 mm Parabellum Bergmann MP-18, the first practical submachine gun.The Mauser C96 was introduced in 1896, it was one of the first commercially successful and practical semi-automatic pistols.