Here is a hypothetical question for the gun cranks and history buffs.?
Suspend disbelief and imagine the year is 1908.
You are in charge of what is ostensibly a major archeological expedition to study the Silk Road. To all appearances, the Smithsonian Institute, the British Museum, and the Royal Geographic Society jointly finance your expedition. In actuality, you have a second and more important mission from the British Military Intelligence Service/
Your mission is to travel the Silk Road from Shanghai, China all the way to the Mediterranean Coast at Antioch, Turkey. Along the way, you are to determine the military and political situation among the Central Asian tribal states, access Russian goals in the area, and sound out possible allies against a possible Russian move against India. The expedition will last at least three years and possibly as long as five years. A thorough survey of military potential outweighs any need for speed.
Since your expedition is going to travel through wild and lawless areas, it is to be expected that it will be heavily armed, any problems with Chinese, Russian, and Turkish authorities have been smoothed away diplomatically.
Your expedition staff will consist of some fifty trained archeologist, artists, botanists, zoologists, geographers, cartographers, geologists, and clerical staff. In addition to the academic members, there will be some 200 European and Americans (some of whom will actually be members of the British and American Armies on detached service) who will act as a military force to protect the expedition against warlords, bandits, and treachery from Russian, Chinese and Turkish agents. There will also be a few hundred coolies laborers, muleskinners, grooms, camel drivers, cooks, servants, guides, porters, translators, and guards.
Your task in this question is to explain how you plan to arm your expedition. Be specific, if you mean a Webley Irish Constabulary Revolver, say so, don’t just call it some ugly old British revolver. There are only three limitations. 1- the firearms and other weapons must be available in 1908, so no Magnum handguns or rifles, no modern assault rifles, and no M-1911 Colt Pistols. 2 - Military issue small arms should be avoided in order to provide deniability if there are spy charges made. 3 - The weapons must be light enough to be transported through some of the most rugged country in the world using only animal transport.
So fellow gun cranks, how will you equip your expedition?
Doc
Come on folks! You can do better than that! What about sidearms? Are you going to pack any machineguns or gatlings? Any artillery?
Remember you might have to fight off a couple of thousand screaming tribesmen.
We are thinking along similar lines Habanero!
FWIW, many companies operated with the use or machine guns, and even light artillery from time to time. One American coal company owner said in the 1930's "How the hell can you mine coal without machineguns?"
OK Sixtus, next time it will be an African adventure.
OK, here are my thoughts on the matter.
As WWD mentioned, I'd have a personal hunting battery consisting of a couple of best grade Holland and Holland double rifles in that new .470 Nitro Express cartridge that Holland brought our last year, and a Winchester M-1895 in 405 Win. I'd also want a coupld of Holland & Holland SXS 12 bores. For a side arm, I'd stick with the expedition's general issue weapon, a Colt New Service in .45 Long Colt.
The standard rifle for the European and American force will be a Winchester M-1895 chambered in .303 British.The expedition's native guards will be armed with Martini-Henry single-shot rifles. This might cause us a bit of a problem if we detour into India, but we'll take our chances.
For heavy weapons, we will bring ten Maxim Machine Guns also chambered for .303 British. Four of these machine guns will be kept in reserve just in case some break beyond repair. We will also carry a battery of five Krupp Model 1905 5 CM Mountain Guns.
Doc