All governments treat the sale and export of arms as an extension of foreign policy.  Arms are sold, loaned, leased or given to friends and allies, supplied to colonies and client states, and in keeping with the old maxim "An enemy of my enemy is my friend," made available to all manner of groups and organizations based on the politics of the moment.  Sometimes there are official records,  other times, not.  Sometimes the arms are marked with the symbol of a particular group or government.   Sometimes the only hint is a passing reference buried in a document or an old faded photograph, easily overlooked, easily forgotten.

Here we will pursue evidence that Enfields were used in a particular time and place, and research the how and why they might have ended up there.  We may not always have a rifle to lay our hands on.  When we don't, we'll rely on photographs and documents.

LATVIA
In 1916-1917 Remington, Eddystone and Winchester exported more than 1.2 Million Pattern of 1914 rifles under British contracts.  Yet in 1924 Britain reported only 768,463 P14 rifles in inventory.  Where did the other 475,052 rifles go?  Some photographs and a 1934 Army Manual take us to LATVIA to on a hunt for the missing Enfields.

PORTUGAL
A reference in Sniping in France and a picture taken of a sentry on the Western Front in 1917 has us after more information on PORTUGAL'S ENFIELDS.


AFGHANISTAN
The British influence in Afghanistan dates back to the 1800's.  With the fall of the Taliban in 2001 some Enfields are making their way back into the hands of collectors. We take a brief look at some of the marks found on Afghan/Taliban Enfield oilers.