German (?) Football Postcard Mystery

[Angyale]

I was wondering if anyone can help me ID the following group of postcards. They are from Germany and were advertised as being from around 1910. I think they may date to WWI. Could these be US POWs or an exhibition either before or after the War? The one titled Benning Line is a photo with a blank back and may be unrelated but was part of the same group. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks indvanced.

Eric

[judsonhamlin]

My guess is that they date to post-Armistice so 1919 or thereabouts. Given the numbers of AEF personnel captured by Germany and the general POW conditions by 1918, I would rule out that possibility. The Benning Line card might be a reference to Fort Benning which was founded in early 1918 as a basic training camp for troops being sent to France. Also, Coblenz am Rhine was in the U.S. Occupation zone from early 1919 until the last few thousand troops left in 1923

[jefferyepayne]

Originally Posted by judsonhamlin

My guess is that they date to post-Armistice so 1919 or thereabouts. Given the numbers of AEF personnel captured by Germany and the general POW conditions by 1918, I would rule out that possibility. The Benning Line card might be a reference to Fort Benning which was founded in early 1918 as a basic training camp for troops being sent to France. Also, Coblenz am Rhine was in the U.S. Occupation zone from early 1919 until the last few thousand troops left in 1923

Great info! Many service teams stayed together and played together after 1918 and would agree it is likely these are from post-Armistice.

jeff

[Angyale]

Thanks for the info guys. I did have another collector very knowledgeable with football let me know offline that the jacket and helmets suggest the photos could be from around 1910. That makes a little more sense as I would guess the sentiment toward the US in Germany after WW1 might not be as conducive to them wanting to make and sell American football postcards.

Eric

[judsonhamlin]

There were no U.S. troops in Europe before WW1 and, in fact, our army was fairly small - third world nation sized - until 1917. If the equipment predates 1918 (and I'm no expert on that) then they would be hand-me-downs or just old. The attitude towards our occupying forces actually wasn't too bad. To the Germans, we were better than the French, and fraternization wasn't unusual.

[jefferyepayne]

Originally Posted by judsonhamlin

There were no U.S. troops in Europe before WW1 and, in fact, our army was fairly small - third world nation sized - until 1917. If the equipment predates 1918 (and I'm no expert on that) then they would be hand-me-downs or just old. The attitude towards our occupying forces actually wasn't too bad. To the Germans, we were better than the French, and fraternization wasn't unusual.

+1

jeff