Military postcards? Help please...

I've bought these postcards ages ago, as part of a large & varied bundle. They've been hanging around ever since. Old and very faded, I keep looking at them... and getting nowhere! So any insight is appreciated!



The first one looks like a photo of two soldiers (?) cooking dinner. There's something on the shoulder of the man on the right but the image is so faded it's hard to see. WWI? Could they be prisoners? Or am I completely off the mark?





Three faded photos on one postcard which makes it hard to see, but some sort of (training) camp? Again war related? The third photo looks like a railway. There are two other postcards like this (with three photos each) which I can share if interested...

Thanks

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Forgot to say... nothing on the back of the first postcard (just a dividing line and that's it). The back of the second postcard with the 3 small photos says 'Carte Postale' so must be French:

 

The shots with the railroad cars look European, but the guys with sandals ... Viet Nam? They're wearing uniforms and with the French imprint on the card it would make sense. The other cards may well just be shots of barracks. There are soldiers lined up outside, and you wouldn't put prisoners in areas without fencing smack next to railroad tracks. I'm guessing that's Basic Training. I'll leave the jokes about French troops and French Leave to someone else.

 

Hum... Would be either an internment or military camp and as men in full uniform (including caps) visible and watching what appears to be a soccer game, I'd assume the later. If you look close at left side of center photograph, there are several rows of Nissen huts. That would date your photographs to World War I. Given number of railroad cars, likely a depot.

Debora

 

Thanks everyone! You've confirmed some of what I was thinking - military training camp for the second postcard, plus rail depot. Must be in France, given the reverse of the card.

As for the first postcard, I hadn't considered Vietnam, although it would make sense... definitely Asian. It's a pity there's nothing written on the back of any of these cards!

 

Sorry, I don't see anything that can identify the first card as "definitely Asian."
What is leading you in that direction?

Debora

 

I should probably have used the word 'likely', not 'definitely'. My initial impression when I saw this postcard was that the men looked Asian, especially the man on the right. Everyone I've asked so far (including outside the forum) has the same impression. What is your impression?

Of course, it's faded and difficult to see details, which is why I'm opening it to the forum, hoping that someone with a military knowledge might be able to help!

 

The man on the right looks vaguely Asian, but the man on the left does not, at least to me. The groups of buildings look like a military boot camp. If it was a concentration camp, wouldn't there be towers with guards? It's all flat. In one it looks like a soccer match or something with men lining the field watching. Those flat fields with those lines of trees in the background look very much like Northern Belgium or France. We've spent many years visiting that area and it would look pretty much the same today.

 

I should probably emphasise that although these postcards were part of the same bundle, they aren't necessarily related.

I think the 'camp' is probably a military training camp in Northern France (I agree with Bev that the flat fields are very reminiscent of that area). And I'm inclined to agree with daveydempsey's thoughts about the other postcard. I was hoping there might be something about the uniform that would be distinctive but the sandals and the way the men are squatting down is enough to sway me.

Many thanks again for the comments!

 

Another thought - I wonder if there's any significance to the man on the right having the bottom of his trouser leg securely tied?

 

Thanks, makes sense...

 

It could be something to do with messenger riding; guys on motorcycles and bicycles used to have to find ways to keep their clothing out of the gears.

 

Even today the people who bike around here wear what the military calls "blousing bands" on the leg that's toward the chain side of the bike.