Document Source: 1945 Brief History of the 2nd Infantry Division (Indian Head). The members of the 2nd Infantry Division were the wearers of the famed Indian

Being a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd World Country Depends on Its Cold War Orientation

Murata weight 4 kg lenght 1294 mm cal 11x60 mm R Murata Lee Metford MK 1 weight 4,74 kg lenght 1264 mm cal .303 british Gewehr 88 weight 3,8 kg lenght 1245 mm cal 7,92x57 mm Mauser Gras model 1874 weight 4,2 kg lenght 1310 mm cal 11x59 R Vetterli Vitali weight 4,2 kg lenght 1349 mm cal 6.5x52 (10,4 x 47 mm) Werndl-Holub M1867 weight 4,4 kg lenght 1280 mm cal 11,15X58 R Berdan weight 4,2 kg lenght 1300 mm cal 10,75 Springfield weight 3,9 kg lenght 1240 mm cal 30.06 The First World War was a voracious monster devouring men, animals and materials. During the great war the production of rifles was always less than demands, and the reserves of the time of peace were not enough to arm the millions of men called to arms, for example, in Italy before the war the monthly production of ordnance rifles was of 12,000 pieces per month, during war the production raised up to 80,000 per month, and since the end of war were produced 3,316,000 rifles and muskets 91. To counter the demand for weapons they were often used prey of war rifles such as the captured Russian Mosin Nagant used by Germany to arm some navy and home guard divisions, but most of all were used large quantities of old rifles, and often the operating life of these old glories continued after the Great War, until 1930 they continued to arm many colonial armies of European nations, taken by a megalomania I quote myself ;) andreasilva60.deviantart.com/a… Most of these weapons were single-shot and were feeded by black powder cartridges that had a caliber of more than 10 mm, but were much less powerful than the modern smokeless powder little ammo. Some of these weapons were modified to accept the modern ammo of new ordnance rifles, such as the Italian Vetterli-Vitali which was also equipped with the Mannlicher-Carcano charger package, or the Japanese Murata type 20, to whom was added a tubolar charger too. This operation was very dangerous because the bolts, which were not designed for the high pressures of modern cartridges, at best lost gas, at worst burst. It is necessary to say that these weapons generally armed the home guard, or were used to train the new recruited men, thus they were not usually issued to the front line army and actually fired a few shots in the war. Some of these rifles are really old-fashioned, and even not cosidering their mechanisms, this results clear just from their shape, such as the Berdan or even more the Werndl, others as the Lee-Metford seem modern while they were actually a wrecks of the past, because they were designed to shoot black powder cartridges, indeed the British soldiers under the fire of the Boers' M1895 Mauser regretted bitterly the adoption of this weapon. The Grass Rifle was the Chassepot heir, even a rich army like the French one chosed to adopt a rifle that was a modification of the old Chassepot, allowing the old weapon stock in the depots to be refurbished. The Gewehr 88, often mistakenly called Mauser 1888 or M88 , while deriving from a state project, was a modern weapon that initially suffered from design mistakes and worst cartridges, it must be understood that at the end of 1800 the study of smokeless ammonitions was at a pioneering stage, while Springfield was the American model of a Danish military rifle. Strangely, the US adopted this weapon already obsolete towards the end of 1800, and indeed its duration in service was very short, as soon as possible, after the War of the Philippine, it was replaced by the model 1903, in this case too a Mauser -the M93 managed by the Spanish army- was very envyed by those who underwent his shot. During ww1 all the ordnance rifles of all nations involved in war were more or less as good as the Mauser, the technological gap had been already filled.

Learn about fascinating stories and discoveries throughout history, from the ancient world to the modern era.

Browse 60 Years Since First V2 Rockets Hit London latest photos. View images and find out more about 60 Years Since First V2 Rockets Hit London at Getty Images.

Comprehensive collection of rare color photographs from World War II.

Normandy landings and North-West Europe This uniform is that of a private soldier in the Gloucestershire regiment, 56th Independent Infantry Brigade, 49th Infantry Division. In 1944, the 2nd Battalion was transferred to the 56th Independent Infantry Brigade, and at 11:00 on 6 June, during the Normandy landings, the brigade landed without incident in the second wave at Gold Beach. The battalion saw action in the Battle of Normandy: at Tilly-sur-Seulles on 11 June during Operation Perch; along the Saint-Germain d'Ectot ridge on 30 July during Operation Bluecoat; and at Thury-Harcourt on 12 August in the prelude to Operation Tractable. In mid-August, having variously served under the commands of the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division, the 7th Armoured Division and the 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division, the 56th Brigade came under command of the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division, with which it remained for the rest of the war. During the advance to the River Seine, the 2nd Battalion suffered 53 casualties capturing Épaignes on 25 August, and crossed the river at Rouen on 2 September. It spearheaded the assault on Le Havre eight days later, and it was the first British unit to enter the city's fort, on 12 September, capturing 1,500 prisoners and much beer for the loss during the battle of 40 men killed and wounded

BRITISH ARMY PANTS LOOSE Green Selfedge Denim Here is a signature pant from the brilliant designer Nigel Cabourn from England. His clothes are inspired by the clothes of the 1st and 2nd World War. His huge personal collection of clothes from 100 years ago is his biggest inspiration. This is a high-waisted heavy beauty from Nigel's Japanese range. Made in Japan designed by Nigel. Important: Very small in waist size compared to Danish measurements. See schedule. BUT the buttons can be moved approx. 2 cm so the waist can be easily adjusted. The length gradually becomes longer with size Bonus detail: all buttons are sewn on by hand - and 3-4 times more thread is used than other brands. This is a solid craft and a friend for life. -They write: Our British Army Pant is based on the 1940's Battle Dress Pants from the British Army, combining some details from the 1960's Battle Dress Pants worn by the Rhodesian Security Force. Updated for this season in original details. 100% Cotton Denim Made in Japan Subtle Waist Pleats Patch Pockets Tapered Leg p18

In 1914, the German Army sought a swift decisive victory over France, invading from the north. The plan failed, leading to a years-long bloody stalemate where millions of soldiers braved horrific conditions fighting for mere yards of territory.

The 7th Queens Own Hussars regiment had been converted to tanks in 1937 and subsequently been trained in Cairo giving them a reasonable advantage. Although they might have thought that they were misplaced in Egypt, when Italy entered the war on 10 June 1940, that thought quickly slipped their mind. They formed part of the 7th Armoured Brigade in the 7th Armoured Divisionand were joined by the 8th and the 11th Hussars. On 14 June 1940 the 7th Hussars, with a company of the King's Royal Rifle Corps and a battery of 4th Royal Horse artillery captured Fort Capuzzo, while the 11th Hussars captured La Maddalena. They took part in the Battle of Sidi Barrani in December 1940 and at the Battle of Bardia in January 1941. Hitler created the Afrika Korps under the command of General Erwin Rommel to re-inforce the Italians: in April 1941, the allied troops in Tobruk were cut off by the Germans and Italians but in June 1941 the 7th Armoured Division was again prepared for battle as part of Operation Battleaxe, having received new tanks and additional personnel.Rommel then started to push the Allies back into Egypt. The regiment helped delay Rommel's advance although the commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Freddie Byass and many others were killed at the Battle of Sidi Rezegh in November 1941.

In the summer of 1941, German soldier Willi Georg entered the Warsaw Ghetto and took photographs of the people living there. This rare collection shows life and death in the Ghetto during the Holocaust.

When we think of World War 2 we think of black and white images and movies, however some of the cameramen were equipped with color film and shot the most

A look at the use of horses during World War II.

Part 16 of a weekly 20-part retrospective of World War II

In 1939, the Nazi German forces began their occupation of Poland. By 1944, the Russians were advancing from the East and the Allies from the West. The Polish Home Army, Armia Krajowa, was a secret rebel force that had been stockpiling weapons, strategizing, and waiting for the opportune moment to…

STUNNING photos of the US Army during the War in the Pacific have been brought to life through vivid colourisation. The breathtaking images capture the perils of war, from men being stretchered awa…