The vz.24 became the primary rifle of the Czechoslovak Army before World War II. It resembled the German Karabiner 98k, which it predated by more than a decade. Unlike the K98k, the vz. 24 has a longer top handguard, and it retains a straight bolt handle. Between 1924 and 1938, Czechoslovakia manufactured more than 775,600 rifles, with the first rifles entering service in 1926. The final order was placed in July 1938, as tensions escalated with Nazi Germany over the Sudeten Germans. Following the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, production continued for the Slovak Republic (a Nazi client state). The exact number of rifles manufactured between 1938 and 1939 is unknown, but may be less than 10,000, based on serial numbers of surviving rifles.