Lee Enfield at War

[Luis Bren]

Malta A 3-inch mortar team laying a smoke screen during a demonstration exercise, 13 April 1942. Note helmet camouflage.

[Peter Laidler]

They obviously hadn't heard of the principles of camouflage. Shape, shine, shadow etc etc. The first principle is to break upo the shape of obvious objects....., like helmets!

[browningautorifle]

What's that emblem though? Free French?

[Paul S.]

Possibly The Kings Own Malta Regiment. Or-Bat shows their 3 Battalion was there then.

[browningautorifle]

Paint pattern's the same, the emblem not so much...

[Paul S.]

The vast majority of histories of the Malta campaign are dedicated solely to RN and MN or RAF (&FAA) participation. Land forces are grossly ignored. The best internet reference to the land force Or-Bat is this thread from another website: Malta Garrison 1942 - Axis History Forum

[Ro-bert]

Attachment 61750Attachment 61749

[LithgowMKIII]

That must have made a terrifying sight for the receiving end:

Attachment 61750Attachment 61749

[RobD]

All 3 of these are posed, but give an idea of Tommies on campaign in South Africa 1899-1902.

[RobD]

This one shows MLM Mk IIs (I think), in use at Modder River.

This photo explains at a glance the high number of head wounds sustained by British troops. The British attributed this to the uncanny marksmanship of the Boers, but it is actually just a function of shallow trenches, flat trajectories, and huge volumes of rifle fire.