Imperial Russia Machine Gun Company CO - Turkish Front

[Chuck In Oregon]

I'm going to share an entire photo album. I only speculate from the photos that the first owner/photographer was a company commander.

Even the Turkish Front is only an educated guess. This looks like a Georgian or a Georgian-Armenian unit of heavy machine guns.

There are a total of eight photos. Well, nine if you count the tiny cut-out photo of his sweetheart on the front cover. That is a very endearing side of this man.

The pictures tell the story. This was a hard and lonely life. In the cover picture they are leaving a town or garrison that you can see in the background. My guess is that's him on the beautiful lead horse in the picture on the front cover, below.

[Chuck In Oregon]

This is the same unit, making their way through an orchard just outside a village. The same guy, riding the same horse, is in the lead and you can see a shadow that may be the photographer's. Heavy coats while on the march and no leaves on the trees, but no snow, make me think this is a late fall or winter scene.

[Chuck In Oregon]

And here's the happy band, all unlimbered and gathered together for a picture on a barren hillside. You can see what I think are Maxim and Browning machine guns. However, since I'm not a machine guy, they may be something quite different. It still looks cold there. You can also see the eternal unit dog in the front row. I think that may be the CO in the front row-center, just to the right (as you look at it) of the dog.

[Chuck In Oregon]

This looks like one of the MG sections at work. One of the loaders appears to have his hand raised as if to give a command to fire. However, I think this must be another posed photo. I think that's the CO there, with the sword, leaning on his right arm and looking to his front. One thing, it's a very neat firing pit, even though dug in some very rocky-looking ground. They must have had good discipline and plenty of time.

[Chuck In Oregon]

This is the same firing (command?) pit. Now the other loader (gun boss?) has his right hand raised. You can see the CO again, right hand near his mouth. You can see that his sword is actually a shaska, a traditional Caucasian weapon. They have re-sighted the left MG to fire more toward the front.

[Chuck In Oregon]

The happy band again, on yet another rocky hillside. Their TO&E must have been just those four MGs and supporting equipment and I suspect that this is all there is to their entire unit. You can see the wranglers (I'm sure they didn't call them that) holding their horses in the back. I think that's the CO again, standing between two other men in the back row. That looks like his horse on the right. The loyal pooch is still in the front row.

[Chuck In Oregon]

Here are two gun firing positions just barely scratched into the ground, if that. In the near position you can see a gunner and loader. In the farther-away position, you can see a gunner, loader and maybe a gun boss/section leader with his arm raised. One thing for sure, there wasn't much in the way of cover and concealment in this area. Not a tree to be seen anywhere. I think the officers may be observing a training drill here.

[Chuck In Oregon]

OK, this is the last picture and it may be the real deal. At least they're keeping their heads down in this very neatly dug gun pit, just below the military crest. It surely has a commanding view. I doubt if anything but artillery could move them out of a position like this one. Still not a tree to be seen in all this area, not even a stump. What a place for a war.

Has this thread been too much? Maybe photo overkill? I can understand it if you think so. Tell me and I'll try to think of another way to share my other album.

Chuck

[David Gregory]

Chuck,

The problem with your album presentation is the fact that it only contains a handful of images. So many photograph albums like this are split and sold as anonymous single images these days that it is a real pleasure to see them all togther.

I agree with most of your conclusions. The images were certainly posed, but they still show a typical small combat support unit of that era.

Please show us more of what you have.

Many thanks in advance,

David

[Guest Rick Research]

God, that is starkly desolate! Anything that moved must have been visible within range of field glasses, so maybe it was too hilly to get artillery up and down? Or too steep to fire uphill from below?

What's the ribbon used to secure the cover?

I'm wondering if these were taken during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 in Manchuria? The photos I have from Georgia look more like mountain areas of Mexico.

[Chuck In Oregon]

<<The photos I have from Georgia look more like mountain areas of Mexico.>>

Georgia has every type of terrain, from jungles near the coast, to high deserts, tea plantations, beautiful wine grape valleys, huge forests, great mountains ... you name it. One thing you see pretty much everywhere is some trees, or at least a little brush. This place looks more like the moon. I mean, there is nothing growing anywhere but a little grass. I bet it was hard to feed the horses off of that. Sort of put the kabosh on foraging for the troops, too.

I am pretty certain this is north-central Turkey in these photos.

Chuck

Edited December 15, 2005 by Chuck In Oregon

[GeorgeCL]

The Award ribbon is a type IX worn on the Medal for the Turkish War of 1877-78.

Maybe others Ill have to look this one up.

George