Mess kits, eating utensils, cups and canteens, another chapter of Gus’ Gear. An army marches on its stomach and every soldier needed food and water to be capable of fulfilling his duties. Some countries put more planning into feeding their soldiers than others. To get the best flow with the photos and text, just click on the first photo and read the sidebar and then click on the arrow on the right side of the photo to continue.
Germany had a very good system of providing sustenance to the solders with well designed mess kits but a water bottle that was not very large. Shown here is an M1915 Kochgeschirr (mess kit), which is very similar to the M1910 mess kit, the most noticeable difference is the construction of the handle which is cast aluminum while the later kits had stamped steel handles. The large base of the mess kit has a decent capacity. The removable lid (featured top left) can be used to heat contents over a fire. A tent stake can be used to extend the handle (as shown in the photo) to avoid the heat of the fire and it serves well for a vessel for the consumption of the meal. The mess kit would be strapped to the back of the Tornester (back pack) normally with the lid to the right, it is assumed that the liquid contents would not be secure for any length of time. The folding fork/spoon was designed to store in the top of the mess kit. The water bottles had a capacity of .8 liters, the M1893 bottle (lower left) was made of aluminum with a cloth cover and leather strap to attach it to the bread bag, the M1893 cup was also made of aluminum with two folding wire bail handles and had a capacity of ¼ liter. The M1915 water bottle (lower right) was made of enameled steel as was the M1915 cup, with a single fixed handle.
The Austrians used two different mess kits, the M1899 (shown here) was a round bail-less pail with a shallow tray that fit into the top. These were tinned steel in construction. The M1912 mess kit (not shown) was a rectangular pail with a folding bail made of tinned steel or enameled. The top tray had a wire fold out handle. Either version of the mess kit would be carried strapped to the back of the Tornester (back pack).The Austrian version of the spork (spoon/fork combination) was slightly smaller than the German one. On the lower left is an example of the M1909 water bottle, made of aluminum. This was carried in the bread bag in a special pocket. On the lower right is an M1907 water bottle, made of enameled steel, both models of water bottle are the smallest of any of the belligerents at ½ liter capacity. In the lower center is a drinking cup made of enameled steel that would nest on the M1907 water bottle and would fit in the pocket in the bread bag.
The French also planned well to feed and provide water for the soldiers who served. The French M1852 mess kit (top and bottom left) was a bail-less pail that had a shallow dish that fit in the main body of the mess kit with a tight, press fit lid to contain any rations inside the kit. This was carried on the top of the back pack. The rectangular container in the upper right was used for extra rations, to protect them from the moisture and filth of the battlefield. The standard issue fork and spoon are of a common pattern and often the only thing that would indicate they are an issue items is the soldier’s identification number stamped on them. Beside the fork and spoon is and example of the can opener that most Poilus would carry. On the lower right is a quart, the soldiers drinking cup, so called as it held ¼ liter, it would normally be carried on the water bottle.
In 1914, the French soldier carried an M1877 water bottle that had a capacity of 1 liter (shown on the right). It was found that getting enough water to the fighting soldiers was difficult and the importance of hydration was recognized. Therefore, the M1877 2 liter water bottle (shown on the left), that was designed for use in the African colonies, was issued very shortly after the beginning of the war. By the end of the war, it was not uncommon for Poilus to carry two 2 liter water bottles. The drinking cup was normally suspended on the cords of the bottle plugs.
The British mess tin, “D” type, had a D shaped pail with wire bail and a tight fitting lid that with a folding wire handle that served as an eating vessel as well as a frying pan. The water bottle is in a Mills P1908 carrier and would be slung from the Tommie’s belt. It should be noted that the water bottle shown here is a post war example as it is painted olive green, the earlier bottles were painted with blue enamel.
The Belgian mess tin and water bottle were very similar to the German models. The water bottle is very much like the German M1893, made of aluminum with a .8 liter capacity, covered with wool and a spring clip to attach to the bread bag. The mess kit was smaller than the German version and the lid did not have its own handle. A spoon with a 90º bend on the end of the handle would be used to hold the lid as a dish or frying pan.
The Italian mess kit is very similar to the Belgian mess tin. Made of tinned steel with a lid that could be used as a dish, using the special spoon to hold the lid more comfortably or over a fire. In the lower left is an M1907 Guglielminetti wooden water bottle with steel bands and a leather strap to attach to the side of the bread bag. The lower center is an example of the M1917 water bottle, made of tinned steel with a wool cover and canvas strap to attach to the bread bag. This bottle holds 1 liter of liquid. The small cup is tinned steel with small wire ring for a handle.
Russia had very limited mess equipment for its soldiers. The main part was the M1909 mess kit (in the lower right), it was an oval copper pail with a wire bail and one loop on one side to strap it to the end of the blanket roll. This superseded the M1889 round copper pail and the M1897 round aluminum pail (neither shown here). After Russia’s defeat by the Japanese in 1905, they scrambled to update some of their equipment. The aluminum spoon shown above the mess kit is standard issue, not all soldiers would have been issued one, so the carved wooden spoon is what many would have used to eat their soup from their pail. The water bottles start with the lower center, a wooden M1882 with steel bands. Most had no provision for attaching to the belt, but leather and cord harnesses were made to sling it over the shoulder. In the lower left is an M1894 aluminum water bottle that would be carried in a cloth cover with a strap to sling over the shoulder, like the German bottle, it would hold .8 liters. In the upper left is an ersatz glass bottle. After the Battle of Tannenberg, equipment losses were so high that it was a struggle to supply the new recruits. One way to speed up the production of water bottles was to make them out of glass, this did not require any strategic materials and could be done cheaply and quickly. The down side was the glass bottles had a capacity of ½ liter. The cup in the upper center is not an issue item, but it is marked as accepted by the Quartermaster. It is a crude vessel, made of brass pipe with a brass plug in the bottom and a strip of brass soldered for a handle. Brass was easy to work with and easy to obtain in The Russian Empire, while in Germany, brass was very dear.
A Great Aunt of mine told me of her life in occupied France during WWI. When the German soldiers came to their house, and they took the time to pull the brass tacks that held the rug down, her mother smiled. My Aunt asked her mother why she was happy. Her mother told her if the Germans are having to pull brass tacks out of the floor, then they will not be able to fight much longer.
Here is the only item of Ottoman mess equipment I have been able to obtain, it is a glass water bottle with a cloth cover. They had the same style of leather strap and hook as the German water bottles to attach to the soldiers belt or haversack. It has a unique construction as it is molded with ridges in the glass rather than smooth, presumably to be able to hold more water in the cloth to help cool the water.
The United States Army had the M1910 mess kit, utensils, canteen and cup, they were a well designed system that was used by campers and boy scouts
for nearly a century and the issue items were little changed over the next half century. In the upper right is the M1910 mess kit, it has a folding handle that makes the base also serves as a frying pan, the lid is tight fitting (almost water proof) and serves as a plate. The M1910 fork and spoon (shown below the mess kit) are tinned steel and the knife has a steel blade with a cast aluminum handle. The knife and fork have leather scabbards (to keep them from damaging the pouch) and are stored in the mess kit pouch on the back of the M1910 back pack. The M1910 canteen is at the bottom right and the M1910 cup is on the bottom left. The canteen nests in the cup for storage in the M1910 canteen carrier that is worn on the belt. The folding handle on the cup has a slot that allows the soldier to use his mess knife or bayonet to hold the cup over a fire without getting burned. Above the cup is an M1910 bacon tin, a tin plated steel container that has a tight fitting lid to contain meat (or meat like) portions for later consumption. Above the bacon tin is a condiment tin, it has two large compartments with screw on lids that would contain coffee and sugar, one of the lids has a small compartment with a press in lid for salt. At the top left is a hard bread tin, each soldier would be issued two to be consumed when food could not be delivered to the front. A single piece of hard bread is shown just to the right of the bacon tin. The hard bread is very likely just as tasty and nourishing now as it was 100 years ago.