Also note the extra-tactical single point sling.
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The height of tacticool, circa 1916?
Great photo! Thanks for posting. This is first time I see a picture of a C96 being carried in this manner. It must have been taken early in the war (at least before February 1916 and the adoption of the stahlhelm), as the soldier in the background is still wearing a Pickelhaube (the spike is obscured by the shadow), complete with its fabric cover. The officer with the C96, strangely enough, seems to have a striking facial resemblance to actor Yul Brynner…
Cocked and (presumably) locked.
Now you know who invented Condition 1.