Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Two of the same


A couple of British dispatch riders in France.
At times I lose track of what I have in my collection. The 2nd card was purchased about 6 months after the 1st.  Not often can you find multiple prints of the same studio portraits. Either each subject purchased one or one of them bought two.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Royal Flying Corps

A common motif for photographs during the war was posing the tallest and shortest members of a unit together. Here are two members of the Royal Flying Corps somewhere in Great Britain.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Blainville

A couple of soldiers from the 12e Regiment in Blainville. The only reference I can find about Blainville is about the detrainment of the American 28th Division there in 1918.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Breteuil near Montdidier

A damaged hospital train in Breteuil, France. About 30 miles from the front at the time of the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The Germans did capture Montdidier in June of 1918 about 13 miles away. They held on to it until August when a combine Allied assault retook it.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Russian Prisoners


A card from a member of the 84th Infantry Division showing some Russian prisoners in 1916. There are two German soldiers in amongst the group. A medical orderly and a guard in the center looking quite relaxed.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Belgian Card Players

Nothing on the back of this card to help with the where or when of this photo.  The dark pants lead me to believe that this was taken before the war. In 1915 the army was supplied with Khaki uniforms modeled after those worn by the French Army.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Bersagliere Ciclista

A similar picture of this Italian cyclist can be found in the Oprey book The Italian Army of World War I. The difference is that in this picture he chose to pose with his Carcano Model 1891 infantry rifle.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Beverloo Camp


A group of Belgium soldiers at Camp Beverloo in Leopoldsburg, Belgium after the armistice.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Russians in Sweden

Picture here is a group of Russian soldier in Haparanda, Sweden in 1916.  Prisoner exchange between Germany and Russia went through neutral Sweden. This would have been their last stop before going on to Finland, a Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire at the time. Photograph by Mia Green.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Kraftfahrer in Bucharest

Another motor driver this time wearing the shorter leather tunic. This photo was taken by W. Oppelt of Bucharest. Falkenhayn's cavalry captured Bucharest in December 1916 so this picture was most likely taken in 1917 or 1918.