Pre WWI USMC Army Wire Cutters & Carrier (“R.I.A. 1915”) Mint NOS Unissued

Description

Pre WWI (and
PUNITIVE Mexican BORDER EXPEDITION)
U.S.M.C. Army Wire Cutters and Canvas Carrier (“R.I.A. 1915”).
Both are in Absolutely "New Old Stock" Unissued condition!!
This particular
UNTOUCHED
pair of
“Cutters, Wire, Light"
, with polished faces, have been variously described
War Department
publications as
either
M1908, M1910
, or
M1916 CUTTERS is in NOS Unissued Condition...and rates as 'Mint' the superficial corrosion notwithstanding!
- The
'Teeth'
and the '
Cutting Edges'
of this pair are razor-sharp and
ABSOLUTELY FLAWLESS!
- The
HANDLES
of this pair
NEVER
had any Rubber
INSULATION
applied. They are in 'original' condition.
- There is minor,
superficial rust
on the Polished Faces of the Jaws and at several spots on Handles, consistent with over a century of long-term Depot storage.
*****
The
OD#3 Canvas Web
"M1910 Carrier/Cover"
is in Absolutely Mint NOS Unissued Condition!
-
ZERO
stains, frays, loose stitching, signs of wear, stenciling, or wear or corrosion!!
- Well-marked on the rear with the data of the
ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL
, Rock Island, Illinois (
"R.I.A. 1915")
in blue/purple ink as well as the
R.I.A. Inspector's initials
("L.H.F.")
on the
ATTACHMENT TAB
for the Blackened Brass
M1910 BELT HOOK.
*****
These were a
CAVALRY, INFANTRY, ENGINEER DEPARTMENT,
and
SIGNAL CORPS
piece of equipment. These were also issued to the
U.S.M.C
. troops in the
American Expeditionary Force
in Europe. No doubt, these WWI-era Cutters were re-issued in the early months of WWII as well.
This set was manufactured and issued contemporaneously with the
PUNITIVE (Mexican) BORDER EXPEDITION (1916-1917)
to apprehend
Pancho Villa
, led by
John J. Pershing
, who later commanded the
A.E.F.
and would also have seen use by
MARINES and Doughboys
on the tangles of wire of
No-Man’s-Land
of the
Western Front.
There were various configurations of cutters/pliers, some with
"bare" Handles
, some with
"insulated" Handles
(capable of withstanding
‘5000V’
) — all foundry stamped with the
“U.S.”
cypher on each limb. Some were manufacturer/ contractor stamped, e.g.
“KRAEUTER & CO., Newark, N.J.”
, and others were not.
“Wire (Fence) Cutters”
were among the items of standard-issue Cavalry equipment listed in the May 14, 1905
Ordnance Department
manual, titled,
HORSE
EQUIPMENT and
EQUIPMENTS FOR OFFICERS AND ENLISTED MEN,
page 90.
*****
PUNITIVE (Mexican) BORDER EXPEDITION (1916-1917)
14 March 1916-7 February 1917.
An increasing number of border incidents early in 1916 culminated in an invasion of American territory on 8 March, when
Francisco (Pancho) Villa
and his band of 500 to 1,000 men raided
Columbus
, New Mexico. Elements of the 1
3th Cavalry
repulsed the attack, but there were 24 American casualties (14 military, 10 civilian). Immediate steps were taken to organize a punitive expedition of about 10,000 men under
Brig. Gen.
John J. Pershing
to capture Villa. The
7th, 10th, 11th,
and
13th Cavalry
regiments,
6th and 16th Infantry
regiments, part of the
6th Field Artillery
, and supporting elements crossed the border into Mexico in mid-March, followed later by the
5th Cavalry, 17th and 24th Infantry
regiments, and engineer and other units. Pershing was subject to orders which required him to respect the sovereignty of Mexico, and was further hindered by the fact that the
Mexican Government
and people resented the invasion. Advanced elements of the expedition penetrated as far as Parral, some 400 miles south of the border, but Villa was never captured. The campaign consisted primarily of dozens of minor skirmishes with small bands of insurgents. There were even clashes with
Mexican Army
units; the most serious was on 21 June 1916 at Carrizal, where a detachment of the
10t
h
Cavalry
was nearly destroyed. War would probably have been declared but for the critical situation in Europe. Even so, virtually the entire
Regular Army
was involved, and most of the
National Guard
had been Federalized and concentrated on the border before the end of the affair. Normal relations with Mexico were restored eventually by diplomatic negotiation, and the troops were withdrawn from Mexico in February 1917.
Minor clashes with Mexican irregulars continued to disturb the border from 1917 to 1919. Engagements took place near
Buena Vista
, Mexico on 1 December 1917; in
San Bernardino Canyon
, Mexico on 26 December 1917; near
La Grulla
, Texas on 8-9 January 1918; at
Pilares
, Mexico about 28 March 1918; at
Nogales
, Arizona on 27 August 1918; and near E1 Paso, Texas on 15-16 June 1919.
*****
Barbd Wire, from
‘militaryhistorynow’
,
Barbed Wire Goes to War
As early as the 1880s, the world’s militaries began adopting the novel new invention as a means of preventing enemy infiltration. In 1888, British Army manuals offered procedures on how to effectively lay down barbed wire perimeters. Ten years later, U.S. forces in the Spanish American War were fortifying their positions using barbed wire, as were British troops in the
Second Boer War.
It was also used extensively in the
Russo-Japanese War.
The Barbed Wire Battlefield
By the outbreak of the
First World War,
Europe’s militaries had long since added barbed wire to their inventories. After the
First Battle of the Marne
and the rise of static trench warfare on the
Western Front
, barbed wire appeared on both sides of
No Man’s Land
in ever increasing quantities. It seemed as if factories on both sides of the conflict couldn’t produce the stuff fast enough.
O What Tangled Webs…
Barbed wire was typically laid out in long zig-zagging strips or in belts running parallel to the trenches, often several rows and dozens of feet deep. Some wire obstacles were a little over knee-high to trip up and ensnare attackers, while the more heavy-duty barriers stood six feet tall or more to deter frontal assaults. Wire fields, particularly those on Germany’s densely fortified
Hindenburg Line
could reach as far as 300 feet out into
No
Man’s Land
. While the obstacles were intended to prevent enemy raiders from getting within grenade-lobbing distance of a trench or observation post, the wire would also be laid out to funnel masses of charging soldiers into pre-arranged machine gun kill zones.  Engineers on both sides even configured elaborate wire “traps” that featured deceiving gaps in the otherwise formidable barriers. Soldiers would charge through these inviting openings into pre-sighted enfilades where they would be slaughtered wholesale.
*****
The Rock Island Arsenal
The
Rock Island Arsenal
comprises 946 acres (383 ha), located on
Arsenal Island
, originally known as Rock Island, on the Mississippie River  between the cities of Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. It lies within the state of Illinois. Rock Island was previously used as the summer camp site for Sauk Native Americans, and the dispute over tribal ownership led to the
Black Hawk
War of 1832
, after the primary leader of the Sauk, Black Hawk.. It is now home of
First Army
headquarters, and the
US Army's
C
enter of Excellence for Additive Manufacturing.
The island was originally established as a government site in 1816, with the building of
Fort Armstrong
. It is now the largest government-owned weapons manufacturing arsenal in the U.S..
It has
manufactured military equipment and ordnance since the 1880s
. In 1919–1920 one hundred of the Anglo-American or
Liberty
M
ark VIII Tanks
were manufactured, although too late for World War I. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark.
Established as both an arsenal and a center for the manufacture of leather accoutrements and field gear, today it provides manufacturing, logistics, and base support services for the Armed Forces.  The
Arsena
l is the only active
U.S. Army
foundry, and manufactures ordnance and equipment, including  artillery, gun mounts, recoil mechanisms, small arms aircraft weapons sub-systems, grenade launchers, weapons simulators, and a host of associated components.
Some of the
Arsenal's
most successful products include the
M198
and
M119
towed howitzers
, and the
M1A1
gun mount. About 250 military personnel and 6,000 civilians work there. The 2000 census population was 145.