Czech Army postcard

[tude]

I inherited an army postcard showing the interwar Czech army with heavy maxim machine guns. I would like to the description translated to English.

 

[murphydog]

There are lots of abbreviations in the caption, so you’ll probably need someone fluent in the language as opposed to an online translation program. My guess is the last word is a city.

 

[bigwheelzip]

My guess is the last word is a city.

Not just any city. Ceske Budejovice is the namesake and original home of our Budweiser beer. The city's name in the area's South Bohemian dialect is Budweis.

 

[jeffrefrig]

Front row, 3rd from left; that looks like a 15 year old behind that machine gun! I would bet Mrs. Trump could translate that. From what I hear she's a genius and is fluent in several languages. Is it dated or anything? Just guessing it's during wartime, as their uniforms aren't very uniform. But they do look intimidating, and I'm sure the camera guy was nervous with those guns pointing at him! Cool pic.

 

[Speedo2]

Since the photo is from the interwar period, I'm thinking they may be part of the Chezck Legion during the Russian Civil War, perhaps during their trek across Russia via the trans-Siberian RR. Just a guess. -S2

 

[mikerjf]

I think kurs is course, perhaps training? As mentioned, C Budovice is a city.

cet I’ve only seen in numbers, where “jedna cet nula” would be “one point zero”, etc.

IMO 36 is probably a unit or class number… can’t be a month or day, unlikely to be a year, and C Budovice is too big to be doing the village “numbered buildings” thing.
It’s a tough language!

 

[mikerjf]

Czech out the guy in the window… Sam Browne and a Lucky Strike?

 

[crows]

Those machine guns look like Austrian Swarzlose. Since what became Czechoslovakia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire before and during WWI, maybe that is a clue.

 

[PeteC]

Kurs: Course or training
kul. = kulomet or kulometnik: machine gun or gunner
čet.IV. = četa 4: 4th platoon or unit
pol.pr.36. = polovina první 36: first half (of) 36

Machine gun/gunner training, 4th platoon, first half of 1936, České Budějovice, photo by ...

It was probably something like a class picture, taken by a photographer, and bought to send to your family, friends, or keep to remember friends who trained with you.

The remainder of the Czechoslovak Legion was evacuated via Vladivostok around 1920, so this pic would be too late to be connected to it.


edit:


Btw, I think the belt-fed machine gun that would have been in use in the 1930's by the regular army, would have been the ZB-50, and I think this does not look like it. Good chance this was some kind of military school with retired weapons and uniforms, or possibly a "State Defense Guard" unit (something like the National Guard).

 

[PeteC]

Those machine guns look like Austrian Swarzlose. Since what became Czechoslovakia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire before and during WWI, maybe that is a clue.

I think you are correct! It was in service with the Czechoslovak army until replaced by the ZB-50. See link below:
ZB 50 - Modern Firearms

 

[DWalt]

Some may be aware that the U.S. Army also once fielded a Maxim gun, the Maxim Model 1904 in .30 caliber. It was a slightly modified version of the European Maxim guns, mainly in its caliber. It remained in Army service through WWI, but it saw very little combat use. During WWI, its only deployment was for stateside training. The earliest 90 or so were made in England by Vickers, with around 200 later guns being made by Colt. It was too heavy and took too much training to be very popular among the troops. I have several interesting historical pictures of it I obtained from the Army museum at Fort Sam Houston. They have an example of the M1904 on display. My favorite is this one of a M1904 strapped to a pack mule. The poor mule looks really bored.

 

[tude]

PeteC, thanks for the answer. My grands parents emigrated from the Carpathian mountain region. I have later photos from the 60s but have no clue who the people are. The answers died with my dad and his siblings.

 

[walnutred]

I can't tell if some of those guys are wearing berets or have their soft caps turned sideways. As an 82C we were authorized to wear our soft caps backwards while surveying. Maybe the gunner or A gunner were authorized to wear their soft caps sideways, so that was considered kind of a status thing for the picture.

 

[PeteC]

PeteC, thanks for the answer. My grands parents emigrated from the Carpathian mountain region. I have later photos from the 60s but have no clue who the people are. The answers died with my dad and his siblings.

That is actually a distinct geographical and ethnic area.

It was administered by Czechoslovakia during the "First Republic", and called Podkarpatská Rus in Czech, and Carpathian Ruthenia in English. It tried to declare independence, and was involuntarily annexed by Hungary, and later absorbed by Ukraine. It had its own language and culture once, called "Rusyn", and their own ethnic costumes, churches, coat of arms, etc. Very beatiful area, very messed up during the wars, and not treated well under Hungarian and Russian occupation. Some still live in eastern and central Slovakia.

Carpathian Ruthenia - Wikipedia

The area where your picture was taken was on the other side of the country from Carpathia, and full of military industry...

(By 1938, and before WWII) Czechoslovakia had fielded a modern army of 35 divisions and was a major manufacturer of machine guns, tanks, and artillery, most of them assembled in the Skoda factory in Pilsen...

In a speech ... Hitler stressed the military importance of occupation, noting that by occupying Czechoslovakia, Germany gained 2,175 field cannons, 469 tanks, 500 anti-aircraft artillery pieces, 43,000 machine guns, 1,090,000 military rifles, 114,000 pistols, about a billion rounds of ammunition and three million anti-aircraft shells.

This amount of weaponry would be sufficient to arm about half of the then Wehrmacht. Czechoslovak weaponry later played a major part in the German conquests of Poland (1939) and France - countries that had pressured Czechoslovakia's surrender to Germany in 1938.

 

[tude]

I was baptized and had my first communion in my Dads American Carpathian Russian church in Binghamton NY. I was just inquisitive about the caption on the old post card.

 

[Ameshawki]

I can't tell if some of those guys are wearing berets or have their soft caps turned sideways. As an 82C we were authorized to wear our soft caps backwards while surveying. Maybe the gunner or A gunner were authorized to wear their soft caps sideways, so that was considered kind of a status thing for the picture.

I noticed that as well. It seems no two soldiers are wearing it the same way.

 

[quikdraw67]

Not just any city. Ceske Budejovice is the namesake and original home of our Budweiser beer. The city's name in the area's South Bohemian dialect is Budweis.

Fun fact - the beer brewed in Budejovice and sold around the world is know as Budvar.

EXCEPT in the US, where it is called Czechvar.

Trademark thing, don't 'cha know.