greatwar-1914:greatwar-1914:Belgian Carabiniers March to the Front, August 1914 From the archives: B
greatwar-1914:greatwar-1914:Belgian Carabiniers March to the Front, August 1914 From the archives: Belgians prepare to meet the German invasion in August 1914. The Belgian army used dogcarts to pull its machine guns. A carabinier is a soldier who is equipped with a carbine. (Obvious, sorry.) A carbine is a firearm that is not a handgun but has a shorter barrel than a standard rifle/musket. They were often issued to horse soldiers as they were easier to load and shoot from horseback, especially when using a muzzle loader. Sometimes, however, they were issued to infantry (as here) for various reasons, including when moving through heavy undergrowth that would have snagged repeatedly on a long barreled gun.These gentlemen are wearing dark green coats and top hats - the uniform used in the previous century and never updated. -- source link
#belgian#carabiniers#carbine#soldiers#dog cart#war dogs#machine guns#firearms#great war