military classics illustrated 01

8/10/2019 Military Classics Illustrated 01

1/51

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4

Gateway

to

Hell

49

The Liberator Pistol

The trenchesofWorldWar I s Western Front

This welded sheet-metalwonderwasone of

stretched

from the English Channel to theAlps.

the secret

weapons

ofWorld War

II.

By Philip Schreier

By Garry James

Model

1886Lebel

5

Guns

of the

Spanish-AmericanWar

Thoughawkward bymodern standards,this The arms used

in

the

United

States

first

revolutionaryarm

was th e

secret

weapon

international

war

were an oddmixture

of

of

its day.

oldand new.

Staff Report

By Philip

Schreier

7

RedNine C 96 Mauser

6

Model

1896 Krag-Jorgensen Carbine

This variant

ofthe

famed Broomhandle

This handylittle

repeater

wouldforever find

was

usedas a stopgap sidearmduring

fame as th e armcarriedby the Rough Riders

WorldWar

I

at

th e Battle of SanJuan

Hill.

Staff Report

Staff Report

Winchester Russian

Model

1895

63

Roundheads and Royalists

Ordered as anemergencyarm in World War I

English Civil WarTroopers-From

thislevergun

is

stilla goodshooter.

Lobsters to Light Cavalry

By

Garry

James

Philip Schreier

By

Dale Shinn

3

Model

1917 Colt

New

Service

7

Sixguns of

the

Empire

Thisbig revolver turned

out

to

be

a

reliable-

FromIndiaand Africa to Australia and North

ifmoderately

used-substitute

sidearm

Americaand points

between

British revolvers

during two WorldWars.

did their dutyfor Queen, King and country.

Staff Report

By Garry James

6

Custer in

the

Movies

83

The Continental Rifleman

Withouta doubt,GeorgeArmstrong Custer

Just howeffective

were

these homespun

is America s mostcinematicallypopular

heroes of the AmericanRevolution?

militaryman. But just

how

close

were

most

By

David G Weidner

films to the realfacts?

9

By Dan Gagliasso

Chasing Villa

3

With hisraid on Columbus,NewMexico, Pancho

D-Day:

U S

Paratroopers at Normandy

Villa stirredup a hornet s nest that resulted in

Death From the Sky: Guns

and

Gear

of

the

an American invasion

south

of th e border.

82nd and 101stAirborne

By

John P Langellierwith Kurt Hamilton

Cox

By

Philip Schreier

46

The M1 Carbine

ON

THE

COVER:

From

th e 17thcentury to th e

1940s,

th e fighting man has beenseenas a hero, invader,

Loved bysome

Gis hated

byothers,this little

victim

and

vanquisher;

read

all about him on

th e

.30semi-auto is still a great plinker and

following pages.

collector spiece.

By Garry James

Photographyby lynn Pedigo

MILIT RYCL SSICS ILLUSTR TED 3


3/51


4/51

ate counterattack no U.S.UnIdal

lost groundwould be

L

given up withoutimmediate attempts distinctappearances andsoonbecame

to regain thereal estate. TheBritish quite standardized in their composi

though not as attackhappy as their tion. Sandbags became the coinof the

French comrades felt tha t their t rench rea lm on the front lines. Everysoldier

system ifgiven in totoo many creature approaching the front oftencarried

comfortswould becomefar too com- halfhis body weight in suppliesand

fortable andresultin aless thanenthu- buildingmaterials such as sandbags

siasticresponse from themen if called planking and

wire.

Eyewitnesses

upon

to

leave

them for

an

attack. reported thatin therain-soaked fields

Thereforeimprovementss uch as grand ofFlanders soldiersoftendisappeared

pianos and othercuriosit ies

were

into sink holes neverto be seen from

strictly forbidden. again as theweightof their equipment

The trenches

themselves

took on often

prevented them

from escaping

TheseYanks arestationedin someprettytidydigs The sandbaggedfiringholes andsteps werecommon.In fact fillingsandbagsbecame

mostsoldiers secondoccupations.WhileaI/lookscomfy now a seriousrainstormcould tum thisshelterinto a muddy soddenmorass.

MILIT RY L SSI S ILLUSTR TED

7

established took on a palatiallook to

them. Some dugouts wereso deep that

a few were recorded as having as many

as 30stepsto reachthe bottomwhere

entire rooms opened

up

to revealall

the major comforts

of

home,

four

posterbeds,

fireplaces

and mantels

andin onerecorded dugout. ..agrand

piano

to

entertain the troops.

TheBritish and French on the other

hand

were

not so

comfortableand that

condition

was by deSign. The

French

battle planfor thewar calledfor elan

a doctrine of always forward.

No

attack couldpass withoutan immedi-

During the war the grim facts of battle were sugar coated for

civilians and heavycensor ship was imposed. Soonafter how-

ever antiwar factions were onlytoo glad to publish photos

showingthe stark reality.

uringth I ',11 War that number was

an astoundin men per day

DRAWING THE LINE

THE STALEMATEBEGINS

The rm na rmysaw the immed i-

ate adval1l g In h

sing

the

high

ground a th y I tr at d across France

and

Belgium and I c te d r idges

and

terrain thatwould favor

them

defen

sively. For th

rmans

a defensive

strategy wa d fiant ly inorder. Their

strategyw a t h

Id

the lines that they

had andt

bl

d th nemywhi te as

the

enemy wa t d

themselves

on

barbed

wi

r in fr nt f their Maxim

machin guns. Th irt renches once

Trench fighting mayhave beena new

phenomenain Europe but itwas noth

ingnew to Americans. Their own war

between thestates hadconcluded after

a number of campaigns

ended with

bothUnion

Confederate troops

going to ground especiallyduring the

battles ofVicksburg

and

Petersburg.

Statisticians havewritten that the aver

age Civil War soldier

of the 1861

to

1865 periodsawcombatone day in 50.

For thesoldierof the GreatWar com

bat was amind-numbing experience

that lastedfor weeks and months at a

stretch. Duringthe AmericanCivilWar

combat casualties averaged out over

fouryears

to

be 500 casualtiesper day,

Unquestionably one of the worst horrors of the trenches wasgas.From thetime

of its introduction

by

the Germansas theBattle

of

Ypres in

1915,

many styles of

respirators

and

maskswere designed to deal with mustard chlorine

and

phos-

gene gases more

or

less effectively.

Tanks first usedby

the

British at theBattleof Cambrai were

thought

by experts to

be

just the

ticket

for breakingup thetrenchwarfarestalemate.Unfortunatelythey

werecranky miserable

to

man and prone

to

breakdown.Thebehemoth German

A7 V

for instance had a crew

of

18

and

weighed

33

tons.

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6 MILIT RY

L SSI SILLUSTR TED


5/51

Though theyhad beenusedfor centuries,

handgrenades,such as thisFrenchrac

quettesQrle achievednew levels of

sophisticationduringthe GreatWar

MILIT RYCL SSICS ILLUSTR TED 9

sparking as they struck

barbed

wire.

Once thelevelofthe sparkingwirewas

found thegunnerscouldwork theirway

up

anddownthelinesmakingthejobof

awiring partyextremely hazardous.

I t wasn ' t long

before

iron stakes

made

the jo b

somewhat easier.

The

new

design

had a

corkscrew-style

base so thata soldiercould effectively

just twist it

directly into the

ground

with a minimum of noise.

Wire

was

then just p l aced over l oops

that

resembled pig tails and twisted a

bit

further

to

lock thewire

in

place.

Wire was never really much more

than anuisanceto ei thers ide. I twasa

risky job to put it in place

as

well

as

to

padded with sandbags to

deaden

the

noise ofthe repeatedblows.

On moonless nights, thought t obe

thebest for wiring partiesand Zeppelin

raiding, enemy scouts

in

established lis

teningposts would keep anacuteear to

the

noises from

the enemy

lines. Any

signsofwiringpartiesaboutand a Signal

would be

sent back to

the

company

machine gunnerwho wouldcommence

shootingintothe darkness

in

the general

vicinityofthe sounds ofstake pounding.

As

he traversed the

horizon with

lead

thegunnerwould keephiseyesopen for

the

sudden

appearance of fire flies in

the enemy'sfront. This wasthe Signal

thatthe bulletsfrom theMaxims were

SomespecialQrarms were developed for thetrenches. Thisrare Gew98Mauserhas

anextended20-roundmagazine,givingthe soldier 15extrashots beforereloading.

Fantasy and

realiQr

This

1916

cover of

Punch

showing Tommies

writingletters and wateringgeraniums incozysurroundingswas

meant for homeconsumption. The menwere morefamiliarwith

the lesssalubriouseffects of shot shelland gas above).

Sight cleV:\llon

incbe

Stronf; Slnlp tl,

Rigid.

Weight 23 Oo

Largel icld,

ifeguard

Collapsible Periscope

U

I sa y ,o l d

mont

just look a t t hat

Hun sn ip e r th ro u gh my

'Lifeguard'

Periscope.

U By God thedefinitionis topping

\Vhat

s

t

he price?

Only 20/- completo ,andthey fitted

these special mirrols 10 myoid {Life

guard' for 1.6.

1 'IIsend forouto ,

From afl Op irilJll1or

Solt

Milkers

F DUERR b. SONS

Manchester S W

Who/til/ItACln/J JI I'It,ul' l,I.lit. LOdo

Instantlycloses lO

; j t X 4 ~ C ~ i l 1

Almo t

In\'lslble

Barbed wir ,an American invention,

made its

app

arance shortly after the

first spad full f

dirt

was turned on

the fronL lin ach s ide s ent ou t

wiring

pani

on a night ly basis to

putup new wir and fix existing wire

damaged

by sh

fire during the previ

ous

day.

fir Lboth sides

mounted

their

wire n

woodenstakes ham

mered imo

lh groundwith

shovels

Entrepreneurswere quick to realize that

themiseryof thetrenchescould actually

beturnedinto

a

source of tidyprofit.

Some wereuseless, while others were

eminentlypracticallikethis Lifeguard

periscope.PeriscopesofvarioussQrles

weresold privately, and evenissued for

usein observationand sniping.

Each

side

constructed a front line

trench thatwasbetween 6 and 12 feet

deep. The parapet was thewall of the

trench

that

wascloses t to the enemy

whilethe rear of the

trench

wallwas

called theparados. Thetrench walls

were revettedwith sandbags andwood

planking and

thef loors of

the trench

were

covered

with a planking called

duck

boards. Insome

regions

where

mud and

water

were

more prevalent

thana drytrenchfloor, theduckboards

were pul led up

before

an

expected

attack or raid to allowincoming

hand

grenades to sink deep into the oozeand

explode with only a fraction

of

the

powerthat they would have produced

had they gone offwhile sitting

in

the

clearand open

on

awooden platform.

Ashallow trench zigzagged itsway

to therearof thel ines every25 yards

orso andwas calleda communications

trench. This allowed

not

only runners

accessas the

name

implies but also it

allowed

the swif t

deployment

of

reserves

and

reinforcements to reach

the f ront

trench

without

exposing

themselves

to enemy fire.

Dugouts,

kitchens

and

aid stations comprised

most of

th e

improvements to

th e

reserveline oftrenches.

Bothsides made useof shellholes to

establish listeningposts close to

enemy linesat night. Fromthese posi

tions intelligence officers could often

times overhear careless

talk

from

the

enemy

and acquire veryusefulinfor

mation

in

addition to discerningwhere

enemyweaknessesmay be.

The American-designed

Lewis

gun wasvery

popular

wi th theBr i ti sh in .303,

andlater

with

the Yanks in .30-06. Like the Maxims, it was adaptable to useon

land

and i n theair.

A Doubie Shie ld

Where

Most Needed.

Made in exclusive Bur;berry materials.

Tbe

Tielockcn doubly

~ ~ ~ ~ : c : . \ i l i ~ ~ ~ ~ e ~ ~ l ~ ~ O l k b ~ e ~ t I ~ h ~ ~ ~ r ~ ~ ~ t ~ ~ t ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

agains tra in or cold.

ReliablyPro tective, Yet Hygienic.

The

Tielocken,'being self-yentilating,relies for its protecti,,{:

powers entire lyupon theweaving andproofing of itscloth, and

givessatisfyingsecuritywithout recOtlrse to rubber,oiled-silkor

any

other heat-condensing agent

that

would make it unhealthy

and cumbersome.

No

Buttons

to

Fasten or I..ose.

Another distinctive fe.1.ture o f Th e TieJo ck en is the avo id

ance qf

bUltons.

Except

for

the

adjustmentof the upright

collar, thecoat is securely ~ e l d

by

a single slrap-andbuckle.

Rt'ef7bur{ (rry .1t1I nt is

ta6t ktf

8urhrry$,

BURBERRYS Haymarket LONDON

8

n l

10

Boul.

death's grasp. British Captain Bruce

Bairnsfather,

who would

become the

GreatWar's Bill Mauldin, drew a car

toon of a Tommy

cavalryman

being

helped out

of a rain-swollen shell

crater. As his comrades struggle to res

cuehimhe begs theirindulgencewhile

he

tries to free

himself

from

the

stir

rupsofhis

now

submerged horse.

As fate

would

have i t,

the weather

on the

Western Front between 1914

:

1918

was

the coldest

and

wettest

during

those

four years than for

the

rest ofthe century.

It

seemslike everywar lends itsname

to

some kind

of

garment.Suchwas the

case withWorldWarI and the famous

trench coat. These

practical

rigswere

purchased

by

officersin thethousands

from a number of different makers.

8 MILIT RYCL SSICS ILLUSTR TED


6/51

Trenchestook o theirown personalities.Invariably the

Germans'were themost organized and elegant. Some

evensportedrec rooms with grandpianos

until he found theprize and

positioning himself under

the muzzle

would

raise

on

his hind legs to grasp at

t he mea l. See ing the ra t

approachthe soldierraised

the

rifle

high

enough

to

make it really stretch for the

food. Then just as therat

la id its

hands upon

it the

soldierpulled the trigger,

sendingbits ofrat,

as

well

as

abullet,towardthe Hun.

TRENCH R ID

Of

greater concern to the

average

soldier were

the

chances that they might get

bombed shot gassed or

mortared during

their stay

in the front lines. Snipers

made qu ick work

ofany

who carelessly

exposed

themselves above the trench

line. One reportindicated

that a Britishofficer,new to

the front, had a look about

andwashit

by

two different

snipers

before

his lifeless

body

collapsed

out

oftheir

The constrictions of trench warfare oftendictat-

view.

TheGermanswere the

ed

that

grenadeshave greater ranges than

first

efficiently make use

couldbe achievedbysimplythrowing themby

ofsnipers and their ability to hand This German is about t send Tommy such

eliminate thosewho would

surprise from

thegrenadelaunchingcup fit ted

recklessly endanger them- t

his

Gewehr 98

Mauser.

MILITARY

CLASSICSILLUSTRATED

by chatt ing the ar tof

de-lousing

one'sclothing. Thiswas accomplished

by sitting

around

with

a

candle

and

heating up aspoonor wireuntilit was

redhot andrunningit along the seams

ofyour tunic and trousers to kill hid

den lice eggs. It effectivelykilled off the

l icefor a period ofalmost oneday, if

onewas lucky. More often than not it

had the effect ofkillingoffeggs as well

as seams, resultingin uniforms that

becameunserviceablein recordtime.

Rats posed another problem.

The

never-ending supply of fresh corpses

created a bountyof abundancefor the

pink-tailed vermin. With perfect eco

logical conditions, one breeding pair

ofrats canproduce over 500 offspring

in

oneyearalone Tens ofmillions of

rats

prospered and

grew

fat

on

the

WesternFront, devouring everything

from corpses towoundedwho could

n't protect themselves. Though meth

ods to control the population were by

mostaccounts ineffective, funwas had

at the ir expense byat least a few who

sought a way to seek

revenge upon

those furry creatureswho oftenwoke

them

in the

middle

of

the

night by

running across theirfaces

in

search of

food. One accountdescribeda compa

nyof

men

who affixed bits offood to

their bayonets

and held

their

rifles

invertedover the parapet.A ratwould

eventuallylumber along the sandbags

front lines

without

the ability tend

to their feet or ac es s t o t h e needed

supplies

combat the ever-present

danger offoot rot . Three pairsof dry

cleansockswerestandardissue

as

well

as

treatingthe foot in a solutionof lard

and paraffinthat acted

as

a sealant. In

prac tice the foot oil d idmore to trap

moisture in thankeepit out.

Failure to tend to ones fee t wasa

serious offense. In 1915, when stale

mate became de rigueur and morale

sunk tolow levels, incidences oftrench

foot escalated to a pointwhere, at least

in the BritishArmy, foot neglect was

seen as serious a cr ime agains t his

majesty

as

a self-inflictedwound.

Vermin and

pestilence

also

found

their way

into

the trenches.

As

if life

wasn't miserableenough, the soldiers

ofboth sides were visited by plagues of

lice

and

rats. The lice

epidemic

was

combatted by shaVing one's head

and

F TE WORSE TH N

F TE WORSE TH N DE TH

Life

i n t he

trench

ha d

hazards

above

an d

beyond th e expected

attack from theenemy. Perhaps more

troublesome than flying bullets or

falling mortar rounds were thee le

ments that ravaged the effectivefight

ingstrengthsof allcombatants.

Copious amounts of rainbrought

with it aseries ofproblems that vexed

thecommoninfantry man

as

much

as

the enemydid. Trenchfoot was a con

ditionwhere thefoot phYSically began

to rotawaydue to prolongedexposure

to moisture.

This

malady was no t

uncommon wi th t roops whohad

servedconstant stretches oftime in the

strands thickerthan conventionalBritish

and French wire, resultingin a cutting

tool whose openingwas inadequateto

acceptthe thickerGerman

wire

MILITARYCLASSICS ILLUSTRATED

attack

i t f rom the f ron t.

Unending

artillery barragesweres upposed

to

soft-

en the enemy and destroyhis entangle

mentsbut more oftenthannot, themen

who survivedlong enough

to

makeit

to

the wire emplacementsdirectlyin front

ofthe

enemy,

foundmost ofthe

wire

still

inplace andin more ofan impassable

heap

than

it wasbefore the shelling

began. TheBritish developed awire cut

ting device that affixed the end of

theirNo.1

MKIII

SMLE rifles. Acurious

contraption,it resembleda fishhook

thatcaughtstrands ofwire, and as you

thrust forward in a bayonettingstyle

with an upwardturn ofyour gun the

device was supposed

to

severthe wire.

It

worked well on paperand evenin prac

tice

witha

few

well trained drill instruc

tors; however, whenit came time to the

combat tests it wasfound

to

benextto

useless.

No

one inGHQhad takeninto

account that

Germanwire

was two

Britishtrenches,while not

s

agreeable

s

theirGerman counterparts, wereat least serviceable. It wasnot uncommonfor

enemybodies

t

bepiled intoparapets.Often soldierswoulduse projectingarms and legs

s

handypegson which

t

hangtheir

equipment. Thesmellsof decaying bodies of men and horses,sewage and humanwaste werepervasive.

If there sone weapon that seems t personifythe great war,it'sthe machinegun. Itsdeadly chatter foreverchanged the face

of warfare. Boththe British and the Germans used version

of

theMaximmediumMG. TheBrits', in.303caliberwas calledthe

Vickers while the

8mm

Germanrepeaterwas termedthe MG-08.


7/51

. . I s th is e r e lht : Wllrw:cks?,.

.. Nno.

l l 1 d e o b u l ~ C s

blinkin L i ~ h t Infantry

A

pairof

Aussiesduring

a

lull

in

the

fighting. Infact,

a

gooddeal

of

the

action, especiallylater

in

thewar, was

done

at

night.Bothmenarekittedout

with tin hats (generally

hatedby

the

Australians,who muchpreferredtheir

slouchhats), box respirators,

P 08

web

gearand

bandoliers

of.303

ammo.

MILITARYCLASSICSILLUSTRATED 13

catchingthe glint ofthe sun, but had

no idea a s to their significance.

Distractions could hardlyhelp to

camouflage the purpose and eventu

al f at e o f

those who

went into the

f ron t l ines . On

both

sides me n

began to resent passesfor home

as

it

became

too painful

to leave loved

ones and return to a more than cer

tain fate

in

th e

trenches.

Movie

adaptations of contemporary writ-

ings such as ll Quiet

on

t Western

ront

and

Westfront

1918 accurately

portray the fatalistic mindset

that

gripped both sides.

Whenall was saidand done andthe

guns fell silenton the front, some20

million soldiers had become casual

ties in whatwasand still is considered

the most arduous combat everwit

nessed by man. The war d idn t end

withthe traditional parade througha

conquered

capitalby thevictors but

rather an agreement to cease

fire

ended the

hostilities

with

no

clear

tactical winner. Only another world

war 20 years laterwould finally settle

matters...for the timebeing.

G

trench raids and commenced a contest

to s ee

who

couldgather

the

most

Germanunit marked shoulderloopsof

differingunits.

A

fantastic display of

shoulder

boards

can beseena t the

Australian WarMemorial in Canberra.)

When no t filling in sandbags,

staking

barbed

wire, trench raiding,

chatting

or preparing for

t he b ig

push, soldiers found what little free

t ime they

had

was best spent with

thoughts, not so much of home and

loved ones,

but

by thoughts

of dis

traction that

would temporally pro

vide

an

escape

from

what

one sol

dier termed

as endless

stretches

of

misery and discomfort only broken

by moments ofsheerterror.

Games of chance

were popular

with

t he men

of both

s i de s . The

Australians introduceda gamecalled

two up, which is st il l played on

ANZAC

Day

where twoAussie pen

nies are tossed

up

into theairand bets

are placed

on whether

they

would

landheads , tails or odds. Germans

often reported seeing the copperpen

nies bounding

through

the a ir and

The New

Submarine Danger

They ll be torpedoin us if we sti ck ere much longer,

Bill

Despite thehorrors

of

thetrenches,the humanspiritfrequently

managed

to

rise abovethem

and

find

humor

inadversity. BritishCaptainBruce

Bairnsfatherwas themostpopular cartoonist

of

the war,

and

hiswork

achievedgreatpopularityat home

as

well

as

onthe front,where the

authenticity

and

irony

of

thesituationswas particularlyappreciated. Here

are

two typicalexamples

of

hiswork.

strength would b puton

alert

and

g iven a s et o f orders and objectives

for the r aid . The a tual

raid itself

would be prefaced by a bo x bar-

rage,

which was a w ay

of

laying

down a cover of artillery fire that

would

create

a

veritable

wal l o f

exploding

shells

behind, and

to the

sides of, the targetedenemy trench.

The trench raiders ould attack from

the open

end

ofthe box, across no-

man s-land, and access the trenches

of the stunned enemy. Raiders were

cautioned to leave all personal effects

behind aswell asmostof theirequip

ment

save for

their

rifles

and

a

ban-

dolier

of cartridges

and perhaps

a

knife

or

mace

for close combat. In

addition to personal effects, raiders

also tended to removeall regimental

markingsand insignia to further frus

trate enemy intelligence in case they

were captured or killed.

Primaryobjectives of raidswere live

prisoners. One

prisonercould

be

a

fountain ofinformation to his enemy.

In addition to his personal dissemina

tionof information,volumescould be

garnered by information generatedby

captured

papers and

pay books.

Australians madea game ofgoingon

Generallyspeaking,the French trenches

had

theleast number

of

amenities, as

theirofficers, steeped

in

the philosophy

of

the

attack

didn t wantthem

to get

toocomfortable.In thelater years

of

the

war some

French unitsmutinied, refus

ing

to

leavetheirlinesfor

what

they

viewed

as

senselessslaughter.

Barbed

wire was

a constant

nui-

sance,

andmany

ways

were

devised

to

deal withit. ThisEnglish Enfield

mountedcutterworked

well intests

onBritish and French wire, but

failed

to cut

through the German

double-strandstyle.

Germans who trulyowned no-man s

landduringthe day due to the effective

deployment ofexcellent marksmen.

One way to break up the consistent

miserywas to participate

in

a trench

raid. Raidswereconducted asintel

ligence gatheringexercisesand sel

dom for their tactical effect. Usually

a company or units of evenlarger

I CANNOT speak too

highly in praise

of

the

,.Decca, which have had

Olt

her e { or a t

Jeast

three

months 'e ha\ c

u&Cd

o\er

COO needlt S, 90

ii has not

been idle .

has kept us

cheerful tbewhole time,and J

canhonestly sayI would Dot

change

it

{oranyother'm.ak e

Everydaysimilartestimony

~ o m s in from officers a t the

front.

Though

some

wereonthe drawingboards

and

underdevelopment, despitebeingideal

fortrench raids, fewsub-gunswere usedduringWorld War Theoneseenthe most

wasthe 9mm Gennan

MP 18

ergmann Itssnail-drum magazineheld 32 rounds.

selves. SpecialMauser rifles with prac

tical optics became the standard from

whichothers were measured allthe

way up until World War II. Although

the

Allies

made an

effort , i twas the

HE Decca is without doubtthe beSt

Gramophonefor

theFront.

Though

so

small its tone and c1e;\roess of reproduction are

unsurpassed. The Decca is entirelyself-contained

ha:

and needs

case

J

is ready to playimmediately opt1ec1.

has

locme

parts,

is

light and can be carriedas easi lyas n handbag ,nndtakesa l l makes

andsizes

of

needlerecords.

pJ \ECCA

The

truly Portable

V Gramophone

J M ~ ~ d c d .

Ol : 3

71

In I e o J > e CoIlpretud.

I

Sold or

Ilarrods

Anny &nd Stores

( Joh

Cue Fibl eCu

Cmvh.doC;:lse

\ \ hiteloY v,

Sctfrht(U I

Gam:age s an< ad

02 1.0.. Od 51.01:.Od. I. Od. leading Stores and

}fuSic

D e i l k : n ~

Wutrat.d Folder,311lQIk>

E

Oi

c

o

Z

This Yanqui trooperisal lki t tedout forhis Mexicanadventure.TheModel 1904

McClellan saddleequipment has been fitted with most of therequisite accou

trements including

a

saddlescabbard for the 1903 Springfield, saddlebags, picket

pin

and lariat, overcoat, shelterhalf,earlypatterncanteenand Model

1913

Patton

sword. The Montanapeak campaignhat is completewith

a

yellow, branch-of-ser

vicecavalry cord.

Officersoftenwere barelydistinguishablefrom enlistedmen

as

these

two

lieu

tenants flanking theirseatedcaptainseatedin the centerfrom Battery C 4th U S

Artillery demonstrate. Only their black andgold mixedhat cords, and thesilverbars

w orn ont he

battery

commander s

shirt

collar

offer

references to

their

status,

as

do

hisboots andthatof the subaltern to his right.

Theseenlistedmen fromTroop E 5th

U S Cavalrywear the 1911-pattern

shirts with pocket flaps) and breeches

inolivedrab, as well

as

carry

their

Colt

M1911 pistolsin theM1912 mounted

holster with swivels that allowedthe

weapon to becarried

with

relativecom

fort

on horseback

or

on foot.

Trooper s wore

a

varietyof leggings

from

canvas to leather, as

shown

here.The 1903 cartridge belt, like

some of the

other

accoutrements

sports snaps emblazoned

with

an

American eagle motif.

92 MILITAR YC LASSIC SILLU STR ATED

Despi te this

action Presidente

Carranza did not necessarilyenjoy total

acceptancein hisown land. Many others

vied for leadership

not

theleas tof

whom

was

on e

explosive m n -

Francisco Pancho Villa. To anumber

ofNorteamericanos

Villa

was abanditor

a marauder,

as

theU.S. Army scom

mander of thesizeable field force that

stretched

from Texas

to

California

Brigadier GeneralJohn J. Pershingsaw

him. But tomanymexicanos

E

Leondel

Norte (theLionof theNorth) and his

staunchDorados(goldenones)support

erswere revolutionaryheroes.

Vet

over timeVillasluster dimmed in

hisnative

nation

and after March

9

1916

became tarnished beyondrepair

north

of

the

Rio

Grande

I n t he

predawnof that fateful morning, Villa

gathered nearly 5 ofhis followers

with the

intention

of st r iking out

against the

United

States,

which

had

seen

fit

tosupport hisarch rivals as the

legitimate Mexican government over

hisownclaim torule. Bitterabout this

and other perceived

ill

treatment by the

Yanquis

who Villa nowcalled oureter

nal enemies...and ...barbarians ofthe

North, he wasintent on retaliation.

Most likely, though hisproposed

invasion was

not

some

irrational

vendetta. Rather itwas

based

on the

need

to

replenish his dwindling

LL


48/51

GOGGLES

Many

of the

men

had goggles. These

arevery desirable as the wind dust and

glare are very hard on the eyes. The best

kind are those of isinglass, all in

one

piece the upper partgreen the lowerpart

amber

and

the

inside lined with plush or

rubber.

M SS KIT

The new style mess kit is the same as

the old except

that

the knife fork

and

spoon

fit inside which is a decided advantage.

It

is

carried in the off side ofthe saddle bag.

BED

BL NKETS

Agoodway to carry

the

bed

blankets

is

under

the saddle folded

the

same way as

the

saddle

blanket.

It

distributes the weight

better on the horses

back

and

makes

the

shelter tent

roll smaller.

BREECHES

Breeches of Khaki are generally

worn.

It

would be well

to have

these reinforced out-

side

as well as insidethe knee asthey are

very

apt

to tear there when riding through

the mesquite or oak

brush.

A

belt

of

web-

bing

or

of

leather

wasused.

C MP IGN

H T

This

wasworn

in a peak with four

inden-

tations. Astring back of the ears

or

under

the

chin

was

veryuseful.

RMS NDEQUIPMENT

The Springfield Army

Rifle

and

Colt

Automatic

Pistol

were

carried.

Some troops

took

their sabres with

them

others

did

not.

The

pistol is carried on

the

web

belt the

holster

is

strapped

to

the

thigh. The

web

beltholds:

90 rounds

of rifle

ammunition

2clips of five cartridges each

to

a pocket

Over

the belt

is

slipped a pocket fortwo

automatic

pistol clips.

Seven cartridges

to a clip.

Attached to the belt by

hooks

is a first

aid

pocket. Extra ammunition if ordered is car-

ried in a bandolier over the

left shoulder.

The bandolier

will

hold 60

rounds of

rifle

cartridges. Wearing suspenders with the

cartridge

belt

was

optional.Where the

ban-

dolierwas used suspenders were usually

dispensed

with.

PUTTEES

The new regulation puttee is a cheap

affair does not

last

long and is not liked

by

the

men.

It

is

apt

to rub the heelwhere the

shoe and

puttee join. The men

preferthe

old laced

canvas legging

with

the strap

under the. instep

and

reinforced

with

leather

on

thehorse

side

of the leg.

MILIT RY

L SSI S

ILLUSTR TED

9


49/51


50/51

PrivateDillon

of

the16th U.S. Infantry left wears

goggles th t he h d purchased to helpkeepthe

dust fromhis eyes onthe march.Hisbandannarep

resents nothernon-regulationadaptation

to

envi

ronmentalconditions. The remainderof hisuniform

isstandardissue,includingthe webeltwith brass

framebuckle.

H Slle

V LL

elec ted to press on. Once more his

m en c au g ht u p w i th

s o me o f t h e

query. T h ey a g ai n

dismounted

to

bring

their rifles to b e ar o n the for

mer attackers turned prey.

At t h i s t i me

it

became

evidentto the Villista lead

ersthat they outnumbered

theAmericans. About 300

of

them

gathered for a

counterattack. Realizing

whatwasabout to happen,

Tompkins

withdrew

his

command toa betterposi

tion where he prepared to

face the expected charge.

TheMexicansnever made

goodtheir threat.

Nearly out of

ammuni

tion, facingsuperiorodds,

andexhausted froma run

ningbattlewithout food or

water

for

menand mounts,

Tompkins concluded he

h a d d o n e all h e c o ul d do

for thetime being. Hegave

theorder to mount up and

ridenorth.

A l t h o ug h To m pk i n s

t u rn e d

back

th e

13th

Cavalrysoon would return

to

help

hunt

down Villa.

W i t h

e ight

A m e ri c a n

soldiers

and

10 civilians

de a d i n cl u d i n g on e

w om an a nd a n unborn

baby, the Columbus raid

provedthe final act that at

last setthe United Statesin

m o t io n a g ai n st u n r es t i n

Mexico Just a few days

later Washington launched

a

P u n i t iv e Ex p e d i t i on

designedto

bring

Villa to

bayand

to

disperse his followers.

Agreements

were made between

PresidentsWilsonand Carranza, that

American activitieswould be limited to

northern mexico and that Carranzistas

would, ifnecessarylendsupport.

Major General Frederick Funston,

the controversial feisty M e da l o f

Honor recipient from thePhilippine

Insurrection was placed in overall

command with headquarters at San

Antonio, Texas. It fell to BlackJack

Pershing however to

take to th e

sa ddle a n d f ol lo w t h e illusive

Villistas into Mexico.

Some 4 800

anqui soldiers

were

se n t a c ro ss

the

border. While

th e

majority werecavalry, there weresome

otherspecialized troops and branches

accompanying the force. Too, for the

first time in U.S. history, airplanes a

half-dozen Curtiss R2s) a n d m o t o r

transportconsisting ofa potpourriof

various makes and stylesof vehicles

went

a l on g w i t h

limited

success.

Plagued

by s u p pl y p r ob l em s a n d

inhospitableconditions

the

planes

were s o o n h o r s

de

combat and the

trucks and cars often fared littlebetter.

Pershing split his forces

into

two

c o l um n s a n d p r oc e ed o n a Mexican

wild goose chase, following leads of

Villa s whereabouts to little avail. There

were numerousskirmishes, some even

with government troops, sparking an

international incident that, for a time,

threatened to bring about a full-scale

warwithMexico.

American trooperstook what advan

tage theycould of the local amenities,

and

for a time, raisedthe

standard

of

livingof thenatives, conSiderably.

Troopers of 13thwould be included

inhis force. Theregiment was ready to

ride out ofColumbus on March 15 at

11 :30 a .m. This olive drab clad col

umn

soon reached the international

boundary, where at 12: 11 p.m. their

colonel orderedthe national colors and

regimental

standard to

c r os s a t t h e

head

of

t h e a s s em b l ed t r oo p s . O l d

Glory S

red, white and blue, along with

the regiment s yellowcavalry

silken

st a nd a r d b e a ri n g a n e m b ro i d er e d

American eagle announced thatUncle

Samwas on themove in reply tothe

Columbus raid. Villa s bold act was

about to have far reachingconse

quencesthat the revolutionary j had

not envisioned.

For

the

next

II

m o n th s h e w o ul d

be p u rs u ed

b u t n o t c ap t ur ed .

Nevertheless he would never gain

leadership ofMexico. In 1920assas

sins bullets

w o u ld c u t

h i m d o wn

while Pershing

would

go

on

to com

mand

the Allied Expedition Force

in

Europe

during

WorldWar

I,

earning

th e

recognition of h i s c o u n t ry as

general of thearmies for his role in

the Great War.

FOR

FURTHER

RE ING

Haldeen Braddy. Pershing s Mission in

Mexico.

EI Paso:Texas Western Press

1966.

Clarence C Clendenen

Blood

on the

Border:

The

United States Armyand the

Mexican Irregulars. New

York:

Macmillan

1969.

William C Machado.

Uniforms and

Equipment

of

the Last Campaign

1916:

The

Pursuit

of

Pancho Villa. Ontario CA William

C Machado

1993.

Herbert Molloy

Mason Jr.

The Great

Pursuit: GeneralJohn J

Pershing s Punitive

Expedition across the Rio Grande to

destroy

the Mexican

bandit

Pancho Villa.

NewYork:RandomHouse 1970.

JosephAllen Stout

BorderConflict:

Vil/istas, Carrancitas andthe Punitive

Expedition 1915-1920.

Ft. Worth: Texas

Christian University 1999.

FrankTompkins. ChasingVilla: The Last

Campaign

of

the U Cavalry. Harrisburg

PA: The Military Service Publishing

Company 1934.

Navy Arms Company 689 I3ergen lllvd. Ridgefield NJ 07657 Phone:201 945 6510

Fox

201 945 6859

.

Featured: 1892 R f e Ne w . e site. www.navyarms.com

Model RUSSan.

Inset.

1885Hgh Wa Rifle

1874 Sharps

SpOrTing

Rife

Cavalry ModelleMot

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SA A n I

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9 8 M I L IT A R Y C L A SS I CS I L LU S TR A TE D


51/51

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