This view inside the boxcar quarters of troops of the American Expeditionary Forces, North Russia, who are fighting the Reds along the line of the Vologda railway in early 1919, shows something interesting in the center– a Mosin-Nagant M91 complete with dog collar-style sling.
LOC: 111-SC-50646
Why is a Russian rifle in Russia interesting? Because the troops are of the 85th Infantry Division, likely of the 339th Infantry Regiment involved in the “Polar Bear Expedition,” and the Mosin shown was probably brought with them from the U.S.
Guard at the doorway of this warehouse of food supplies for the Allied troops campaigning south of Archangel in 1919 is an American of the 339th, note his distinctive M91, with its lengthy spike bayonet affixed. 111-SC-50607
Like the American Intervention forces that landed in Vladivostok in late 1918, the men of the 85th carried new U.S.-made Remington and Westinghouse Mosins with them from the States.
American sailors equipped with rifles and helmets in Vladivostok, Russia, 1918, largely citied to be from the old cruiser, USS Olympia. Note the third sailor from the right has the Mosin’s bayonet inverted for storage as no bayonet scabbards were issued, a typical Russian practice. 111-SC-50100
Tsar Nicky’s government, short on Mosins (and everything else needed for both war and peace) had ordered over 2 million M91s from the U.S. in 1915, although most were not delivered before the country dropped out of the war after the Bolsheviks came to power. The companies passed them on to Uncle Sam in 1918 on the cheap to recoup their losses and, other than the Russian vacation, the War Department continued to utilize them for training (Google= Cummings Dot Rifle) and ROTC use through the 1940s.
I recently had a chance to fool with a bunch of Mosins in the Guns.com Vault, ranging from a nice 1922 Izzy to 91/30s, M38s, M44s, PU snipers, and 91/59s as well as the occasional Chinese Type 53.
