Hello all. Seeing that some questions were asked about the Turkish MGs units, I decided to post this (posed?) period photograph. Perhaps this will help a bit.
Cheers
Joe

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm...MG-Stellung.jpg

Looks like they are on the rifle range judging by the tents in the background and the people casually walking around.

Len

Thanks Len for noticing those details, I missed them.
Joe

An undoubtably staged photo, but very nice. Do remember that a Turkish MG company had four guns, and probably over 100 men, to transport, support, and protect these scarce and valuable weapons. The photo implies a crew of 3 or 4 per gun, and is misleading.

Bob Lembke

Thanks for the input, Bob. Appreciated.
Joe

Irrespective of whether it is a photo from a range day and that it doesn't show the other two machine guns of the company, nor the other 53 men of the company (peace establishment) or the 98 men in the ammunition train included in the war establishment, with its many pack animals and other baggage, the picture does show something quite important and very rare - the export model Maxim tripod!

The fact that it only shows two machine guns means it is an image of one of the two machine sections in a company, probably the smallest tactical sub-grouping of the guns in the Ottoman Army.

As for the other 151 men, 81 horses and five carts, it would be exceptional to see them on the firing line. I would expect to find them not as a single group anywhere, but everywhere from the divisional or regimental ammunition dump restocking machine gun belts, through the regimental admistrative rear area cooking the daily meal for the forward troops, to shuttling the ammunition, water and food to the guns.


Cheers,
Hendo

Thank you Hendo, for your comments. Always appreciated.
Cheers
Joe