Pike – SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR)

London: St James Palace! (25.8.2023)

26/08/2023 Adrian (釋大道)

We had to head South-West from Trafalgar Square around 0.6 miles toward Buckingham Palace. Our intention was to show the children – Mei-An and Kai-Lin – how the soldiers carry-out their duties in an orderly and well-organised manner. Although the frontline ‘Guards’ had been drawn back away from the crowds decades ago at Buckingham Palace – I knew that the general public could still get reasonable close at the nearby St James Palace – but on the day of our visit – the soldiers were not to be seen in their usual places! Indeed, most were absent except for the side-gate which is used for the main entrance (pictured above) – but even here – the soldiers had been pulled-back behind the metal fence and away from the public.

USSR: Red Army Cavalry 1938 Model ‘Carbine’ (17.5.2022)

17/05/2022 Adrian (釋大道)

The concept of the ‘carbine’ may well have originated during the late 1500s in France and referred to the weapon these ‘Light’ Cavalrymen used to carry. In this instance, this may well have been a ‘slang’ term used in the French language which referred to mounted archers from Flanders who were considered deadly shots and sure bringers of ‘death’! (The association is unclear but may refer to an assumed connection between the ‘carrion beetle’ and the ‘plague’, etc). Whatever the origin, a ‘carbine’ appears to refer to a ‘short’ and highly effective weapon carried when sat in the saddle and used when riding the horse whether into or out of battle. The 1938 ‘Carbine’ Model measured just 1020 mm (or 3.4 feet) long (minus a bayonet) – and fired a round measuring 7.62 mm! The ‘Carbine’ Model 1938 was sighted to fire up to 1000 meters! The Izhevsk Machine-Manufacturing Plant was the only place equipped for producing this ‘Carbine’ between 1941-1942 – during the height of the ‘Great Patriotic war’ – when the workers of this factory produced over 1,106,510 which were sent immediately for frontline service!

The Use of the Cavalry Lance (‘Pike’) and the Red Army (1924)

11/05/2022 Adrian (釋大道)

In general, the combination of today’s ‘unusual’ cavalry soldier with this type of horse is very far, unfortunately, from the image that is desirable or associated with a ‘traditional’ cavalryman. Meanwhile, a ‘pike’ (or ‘lance’) is good only in the hands of an excellent rider, sitting on an excellent and well-trodden horse! History sufficiently proves (through a number of examples) that in the absence of these two vital attributes – the pike is only a burden that rushes into battle without finding any effective use for itself!