Landships II

kieffer · Commander in Chief

French uniform and personal equipment

Brennan · Lieutenant-Colonel

Great Coat & Blanket Roll will be two (as he isn't waering the Capote). The other is probably one of the following at a guess:

groundsheet
shelter "half"
gas cape
rubberised or oilskin "poncho" for really @#$%^& weather!

hope that helps.

James H · Legend

IIRC, the French kept on adding more and more to the Infantry pack: boots, mess tin, tent section, blanket, tent pegs, entrenching tool, etc., plus, as Kieffer says,�private purchases such as waterproof gear.�Each man carried his personal equipment, and in addition an item of the squad's equipment. That could be a folding bucket, a large dixie called the bouteillon�http://www.laporterie.com/p5382-bouteillon-modele-1914-1918.htm , or the large pan shown in the pic. There is even a photo of a man carrying�the squad's�huge, round loaf strapped to his pack, just like the pan above. I should imagine the loaf would contain many additives by the end of a day's march.

This reenactor site is very handy: http://www.reenactor.net/units/151ri/8-une.html

-- Edited by James H on Thursday 20th of May 2010 11:56:12 AM

kieffer · Commander in Chief

Hi James,

the bread: the Belgians had during their first weeks behind the Yser French army bread.
They were not happy with the quality, as it was stone hard. Joffre bread they called it.
The French pan, on the picture the man on the right carries one again. The soup?can on the left, do you know how these were called?
Call me an old sentimental, but pictures like this, and the second photo, have that impact on me: the scarf the man is wearing, I don't think that was a regular issue, and the sock just visible (pic 2 left), the shoe, it all makes it just, well, vulnerable or human.

Personal belongings: there's that great movie, starring Philippe Noiret, he plays a French colonel who, in 1919 is commisioned to registrate the missing soldiers, and to document the few things they find back. Every few days foundings like combs, books, pipe bags etc. are exposed on large tables where relatives can try to identify these.

regards, Kieffer

James H · Legend

It looks to me as if the man on the left of your first picture is carrying the "bouteillon", and the man on the right the gamelle de campement, a pan large enough to cook rations for�four men, or (if you go right to the bottom of this page http://www.reenactor.net/units/151ri/8-une.html)�eight men.

The drawing is in the same style as the drawing of Belgian equipment in the Osprey book, so I think both drawings are from the same source.

jagjetta · Brigadier

kieffer wrote:

the bread: the Belgians had during their first weeks behind the Yser French army bread.

I am attaching a couple of photos just for the sake of conversation of French and Belgian bread issues

�Here is a photo of some French issue hardtack:

The photo of Belgians below is pre-war, but shows them with Belgian bread issue.

kieffer · Commander in Chief

Hi John, thanks for posting these great pictures!

The bread in this picture: it looks if they are making 'toast' on the stove. Looking old fashioned, I remember these when I was a kid. It's called 'Mechelse stoof', that is Malines' stove called after the town but we called it a 'platte buze', Flemish for "flat drum or big pipe.� On the top there was usually a pot of coffee, staying warm..for hours, brrr...�
The man on the left gives an interesting view on the top of his kepi.

Regards, Kieffer

kieffer · Commander in Chief

Hi James, thank you for the information!
That habit of carrying cooking gear on the rucksack, I guess it goes back to the Napoleontic era? The model figure pictured here has a cooking pan as well as some wood for making fire. The modelmaker isn't mentioned in the booklet, the pan is referred to as 'briquet'.
A word I only know as used for a piece of pressed pulverised coal, and a cheaper product as charcoal itself. Still widely used in the former DDR, but in western Germany too till earth gas took over in the 70's.

regards Kieffer

kieffer · Commander in Chief

great finding James, the re-enactorsite!
More on the bread issue: a picture of a bread slice, made of rye and potato-meal.
It's German, for the civilian population. Food shortage started already in 1915, meal rationed on a weekly based 1400gram.
The two slices: left is a German military, Kommissbrot', right a civilian again. Food shortage was an item all over of course, the French were appealed to use more potatoes instead of bread, the British certainly had rationing problems too and even the US government made an appeal to leave the meat, sugar, fat and meal to the fighting men as they needed energy-rich nutrition. Neutral countries by the way suffered too.
The piot slicing a loaf: Belgian bread is mainly a 'half' rounded "vloerbrood". Not that heavy as German bread though both are known for their quality.

regards Kieffer