"Group of US Soldiers Pose with their M1911 Pitstols"

[BP Hunter]

I guess safety wasn't a big issue back then. Why? Because the American back then did not understand that when something went wrong, somebody had to award the victim millions of dollars for injuries. Yes, there were the good ol' days.

Oh, great picture, too!

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Again, they understood safety just fine. Every one of those guys knows that their 1911s cannot discharge by pulling the trigger if the hammer is already down and the hammer is down on those guns. Doctrine of the time also was not to carry with a round chambered. Guns won't discharge without a chambered round. Hammer down on an empty chamber is pretty darned safe on a 1911.

 

[Slamfire]

My guess the AEF Army of Occupation. We still had guys in 1919 over there, maybe later. I am curious about the city in the backdrop.

 

[3GunEric]

SlamFire1 see post #33 for city details.

 

[kBob]

3GunEric,

Good call. I was trying to remember. Artillery Officer 3AD HHB DIVARTY 81-82
Hanau. Went on the DIVARTY Officers Rhine Mosel river cruise summer of 82 and got smashed tasting the wines, fortunately not as badly as the new Female LT I was sponsoring that week, who made repeated passes at the ship captain.

I blew the photos up to 400 % to try to look at the left collar discs (all enlisted as they are discs) Only one seems remotely identifiable and it appears to be crossed somethings, whether sabers, cannons, or Muskets I can not tell. Not sure the MPs had their own insignia yet or a separate branch for that matter at the time this photo was made.

-kBob

 

[Roadkill]

Nice 1911 ya got there. Is that the original magazine? I read somewhere that they heat treated the top half of the magazine to preserve the feed lips.

Its all original. Old family gun. Took me years to track it down and another twenty or so before I got it. Its as tight as any modern gun I own. Sights really are bad though.

 

[3GunEric]

kBob,

Remember the Frauleins on Lamboy Strasse?

B Company 1-33 AR

 

[SC Shooter]

The back drop appears to be a generic drop down painting of a "typical" Europe image. I am guessing that with the exception of the two corporals, the rest are new recruits getting ready to deploy to Europe around 1915.

 

[Kernel]

ready to deploy to Europe around 1915

America was at peace in 1915. Congress declared war on April 6th 1917. It then took us about 10-12 months to get useful quantities of troops in theater, since we had almost no standing army.

I agree these are likely occupation troops. Posing in Koblenz, Germany. After the war. Outdoors, because the light would be best.