Click on image to see a larger, clearer view! |
This is a curious image. It is scan of a photocopy of a postcard
from around the turn of the last Century (odd how that sounds, even though
we are now in the 21st!). This image clearly shows United States Marines
on a shipboard firing detail of some sort. However, instead of 6mm
Winchester-Lee rifles they appear to be armed with German GEW 88 Commission
Rifles!
Even though the scan is a bit fuzzy (the photocopy was not any better) one can see the cleaning rod below the barrel and the thickness of the barrel. The Winchester-Lee has a much thinner barrel and no cleaning rod. Also, notice the magazine, it is definitely that of the Commission rifle. Where did these Marines acquire these rifles and why were they using them? My thinking is that these were picked up in China during the Boxer Rebellion (or depending upon your perspective, Uprising). Perhaps they were battle trophies, or they were used in place of the Winchester-Lees when the contingent in the foreign legation compound ran out of ammunition. Somehow I do not think we will ever know with certainty. |