Does anyone have aclue about the origins of the US soldiers in this photograph?


http://www.armchairgeneral.com/forum...ad.php?t=58306

I wondering if it
A. Was a tongue in cheek title for a non-existant unit. In other words, men from an official unit found some horses and was riding them instead of walking. They look loaded down with personal belongings.

B. An extremely temporary group formed for a task and was provided commandeered or captured horses for it.

Certainly far from an expert on it, but the tack doesn't look like US issue.

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Best Regards,
JW

great pic!

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Scott

The second animal in looks like a mule, which would indicate that it was not a standard issues animal. These were probable captured German animals.

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The US Army in Italy formed several provisional....digressing here for a moment: Provisional units in the US Army are ones that are formed locally in the field. They lack an "official" TO&E issued by the Army and are instead hobbled together out of local resources....
units that were mounted on (generally) mules. These included reconnissance detachments and supply units. The reason these units were formed was that local conditions and terrain made the use of mules more practical than either foot porters or mechanized transport. Generally, these units were formed for use in very mountianous terrain where the only "roads" were trails and foot paths that could not be improved for vehicle movement by engineers.
In most of these provisional units the mules or horses were procured locally by the military supply system by purchase but sometimes through confiscation.