Picture of the day

I know I'm early by one war with this pic, but I couldn't resist it, and it's kinda on topic:

51C208B8-1560-95DA-43A0B940AEE3A0A5.jpg


A portion of the Saskatchewan 27th Light Horse Regiment, 1914. Serious looking lads, those.

And, to drop back to Thompsons for a minute, here's Private Harry McDowell, 48th Highlanders of Canada, Caltagirone, Italy, ca. 2-3 August 1943. Nice hat, kid. The RSM OK'd that, did he? :)

20070911_3aug43_Caltagirone.jpg
 
purple said:
There are still places in the world where a pack mule could be a great logistics asset, helicopters notwithstanding.
Click to expand...

1340197490_web-train_2.jpg


Picture was taken in 2012 in the mountains of northeastern Switzerland.

They're most usefull in the mountains, especially after floddings and avalanches. They can get through long after vehicles had to give up.
They also don't have the same problems as choppers during bad weather.

A while ago there was talk of getting rid of the 4 companies of pack horses. Someone pointed out to the generals that in this case they'd have to double the size of our chopper-fleet.

Germany and Austria also still use pack horses.
 
Dark Alley Dan said:
I know I'm early by one war with this pic, but I couldn't resist it, and it's kinda on topic:

51C208B8-1560-95DA-43A0B940AEE3A0A5.jpg


A portion of the Saskatchewan 27th Light Horse Regiment, 1914. Serious looking lads, those.

And, to drop back to Thompsons for a minute, here's Private Harry McDowell, 48th Highlanders of Canada, Caltagirone, Italy, ca. 2-3 August 1943. Nice hat, kid. The RSM OK'd that, did he? :)

20070911_3aug43_Caltagirone.jpg
Click to expand...

read an account by a canadian dispatch rider in italy, he said that civilian hats with cut down brims were quite popular with troops in the heat
 
scott585 said:
read an account by a canadian dispatch rider in italy, he said that civilian hats with cut down brims were quite popular with troops in the heat
Click to expand...

The troops can always be pretty adaptable. There's a story about FM Montgomery encountering a Canadian soldier in Italy who was totally naked save for a black tophat which he doffed in salute as Monty drove by. Monty was hardly one to be critical of deviations from dress regulations because of his own imaginative uniform creations, like the civvy sweater and corduroy trousers which he wore in the field. Monty's response to the naked Canadian incident was to issue an order stating that the wearing of tophats was forbidden in the 8th Army.:)
 
purple said:
The troops can always be pretty adaptable. There's a story about FM Montgomery encountering a Canadian soldier in Italy who was totally naked save for a black tophat which he doffed in salute as Monty drove by. Monty was hardly one to be critical of deviations from dress regulations because of his own imaginative uniform creations, like the civvy sweater and corduroy trousers which he wore in the field. Monty's response to the naked Canadian incident was to issue an order stating that the wearing of tophats was forbidden in the 8th Army.:)
Click to expand...

That sounds like something the infamous Ernest “Smokey” Smith would have done. IIRC, they actually had him under guard, not technically locked up, when they pulled him off the line to receive his VC. He had such a reputation, that they didn't want to risk the collateral damage of him showing up to receive his medal after a night on the town.
 
Kampfhamster said:
1340197490_web-train_2.jpg


Picture was taken in 2012 in the mountains of northeastern Switzerland.

They're most usefull in the mountains, especially after floddings and avalanches. They can get through long after vehicles had to give up.
They also don't have the same problems as choppers during bad weather.

A while ago there was talk of getting rid of the 4 companies of pack horses. Someone pointed out to the generals that in this case they'd have to double the size of our chopper-fleet.

Germany and Austria also still use pack horses.
Click to expand...

A mechanized army in mountain terrain is confined to the roads on the valley floors and can be very vulnerable to a lightly equipped and more mobile enemy who holds and operates on the dominating high ground. We saw examples of this with the Chinese intervention in Korea in the winter of 1950-51, and more recently with the Mujadahin vs the Russians in Afghanistan. We thought this way when preparing to counter Soviet incursions into northern Norway, but lacked a reliable means of getting the troops in place and keeping them resupplied. Pack mules or horses would have been a big help here because we were pretty much road-bound ourselves and helicopters are always very weather dependant in the mountains. The Norwegians were still using pack horses to a limited extent, but I suppose that they have now been discontinued.

In the post WW2 era the Austrian Army, which needs to operate in mountainous terrain, developed two specialized off road military vehicles for this purpose called the Haflinger and Pinzgauer (both named for a type of rugged horse that the Austrians had bred for use in the mountains). The Austrian UN Contingent on the Golan heights used Pinzgauers for their troops on Mt Hermon, which dominates at the intersection of Israel, Syria and Lebanon, on account of the steep terrain and deteriorated roads and tracks. In the late 80s I attended a Staff College class reunion in Switzerland which was hosted by my two Swiss classmates who had a lot of things at their disposal, including Pinzgauers. They had thoughtfully arranged for a Pinzgauer loaded with chilled Swiss wine to follow us around, which we quickly renamed the "Winesgauer". This was an elegant bit of uniquely Swiss hospitality I thought.:cool:
 
purple said:
The troops can always be pretty adaptable. There's a story about FM Montgomery encountering a Canadian soldier in Italy who was totally naked save for a black tophat which he doffed in salute as Monty drove by. Monty was hardly one to be critical of deviations from dress regulations because of his own imaginative uniform creations, like the civvy sweater and corduroy trousers which he wore in the field. Monty's response to the naked Canadian incident was to issue an order stating that the wearing of tophats was forbidden in the 8th Army.:)
Click to expand...

Didn't know Monty had a sense of humour!!!!!:d
 
zupermann said:
I saw a story on US network news about robotic pack mules being developed by some agency for use in mountain terrain.
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BigDog by Boston Dynamics. Being funded by DARPA.

Typically American endeavour. Hundreds of millions into a few prototypes that are noisier, slower, less reliable, can handle less terrain, and carry less, than a $200 mule.


Also, when it fails in the field, it isn't even a source of protein.
 
grelmar said:
BigDog by Boston Dynamics. Being funded by DARPA.

Typically American endeavour. Hundreds of millions into a few prototypes that are noisier, slower, less reliable, can handle less terrain, and carry less, than a $200 mule.


Also, when it fails in the field, it isn't even a source of protein.
Click to expand...


I agree with most of what you say but I haven't seen a Mule sell for less than $2000 for over 20 years.
 
Dark Alley Dan said:
I know I'm early by one war with this pic, but I couldn't resist it, and it's kinda on topic:

51C208B8-1560-95DA-43A0B940AEE3A0A5.jpg


A portion of the Saskatchewan 27th Light Horse Regiment, 1914. Serious looking lads, those.

And, to drop back to Thompsons for a minute, here's Private Harry McDowell, 48th Highlanders of Canada, Caltagirone, Italy, ca. 2-3 August 1943. Nice hat, kid. The RSM OK'd that, did he? :)

20070911_3aug43_Caltagirone.jpg
Click to expand...

two WONDERFUL photo's!! ... angora wooly chaps .. the real thing! and one of Lady Astor's "D" Day dodgers in "Sunneee Italeee...."
 
Dark Alley Dan said:
I know I'm early by one war with this pic, but I couldn't resist it, and it's kinda on topic:

51C208B8-1560-95DA-43A0B940AEE3A0A5.jpg


A portion of the Saskatchewan 27th Light Horse Regiment, 1914. Serious looking lads, those.

And, to drop back to Thompsons for a minute, here's Private Harry McDowell, 48th Highlanders of Canada, Caltagirone, Italy, ca. 2-3 August 1943. Nice hat, kid. The RSM OK'd that, did he? :)

20070911_3aug43_Caltagirone.jpg
Click to expand...

I am assuming he is the spare barrel man on a crew served weapon.
 
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