centurion Posted 2 July , 2009 Share Posted 2 July , 2009 For comparison's sake - a Roman soldier was expected to do about 15 miles per day (modern miles not Roman ones) carrying his weapons (sword and two thowing spears) shield, armour, helmet, various bits of camp equipment (as might be shared around a unit), five days basic rations, and any personal gear. Distances are based on distances between marching camps (In difficult going 6 miles a day might be the norm and 25 miles is known to have been achieved in emergencies). Sounds as if not a lot changed in 2,000 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muerrisch Posted 2 July , 2009 Share Posted 2 July , 2009 In the war diary of thr 5th Royal Scots landing in Gallipoli, it lists items carried by each man. In the pack contents ,between the socks and the biscuits is "1 housewife". What is this? Glen NOT a blow-up doll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlenBanna Posted 2 July , 2009 Author Share Posted 2 July , 2009 OK. Next on the list "iron meat rations". Why iron? Is this because they were tinned or because they were a source of iron Glen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Upton Posted 3 July , 2009 Share Posted 3 July , 2009 Don't forget the button stick, Andrew. Usually folded in with the hussif. Wouldn't do to get sniped on a foreign shore with manky buttons. Technically I could include that under the "etc" , but it's come up on the forum before that officially the button stick wasn't carried in the field (unofficially may be a different matter however). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 3 July , 2009 Share Posted 3 July , 2009 OK. Next on the list "iron meat rations". Why iron? Is this because they were tinned or because they were a source of iron Glen Because they were hard. Long before WW1 hard biscuits were described as iron rations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlenBanna Posted 3 July , 2009 Author Share Posted 3 July , 2009 I understand, but in the light of your answer where did the "meat" come in to biscuits? Glen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piorun Posted 4 July , 2009 Share Posted 4 July , 2009 OK. Next on the list "iron meat rations". Why iron? Is this because they were tinned or because they were a source of iron Glen Because they were tinned. "Fray Bentos" bully beef tins have been found in trenches from WWI. Antony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piorun Posted 4 July , 2009 Share Posted 4 July , 2009 NOT a blow-up doll. A housewife (pronounced "hussif") was a sewing kit - buttons thread, needles, thimble, etc. Still got my old army one in the house - with the wife Antony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 4 July , 2009 Share Posted 4 July , 2009 Because they were tinned. "Fray Bentos" bully beef tins have been found in trenches from WWI. Antony I don't think tinned corned beef were iron rations - biscuits certainly were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlenBanna Posted 4 July , 2009 Author Share Posted 4 July , 2009 Found this interesting site. Trouble is, it is describing German rations. Is it possible these rations contained both biscuits and tinned meat. Glen http://www.ir459.org/ration.htm In the frontlines soldiers often had to rely on their "iron rations." The "iron rations" consisted of: <LI style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt; COLOR: black; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt" class=MsoNormal>250 grams - biscuit <LI style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt; COLOR: black; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt" class=MsoNormal>200 grams - preserved meat or bacon <LI style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt; COLOR: black; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt" class=MsoNormal>150 grams - preserved vegetables <LI style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt; COLOR: black; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt" class=MsoNormal>25 grams - coffee 25 grams - salt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piorun Posted 4 July , 2009 Share Posted 4 July , 2009 I don't think tinned corned beef were iron rations - biscuits certainly were. We're both right "Food supply was a major problem when soldiers advanced into enemy territory. All men carried emergency food called iron rations. This was a can of bully beef, a few biscuits and a sealed tin of tea and sugar. These iron rations could only be opened with the permission of an officer. This food did not last very long and if the kitchen staff were unable to provide food to the soldiers they might be forced to retreat from land they had won from the enemy." Yours, Antony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piorun Posted 7 July , 2009 Share Posted 7 July , 2009 Found this interesting site. Trouble is, it is describing German rations. Is it possible these rations contained both biscuits and tinned meat. Glen In the frontlines soldiers often had to rely on their "iron rations." The "iron rations" consisted of: 250 grams - biscuit 200 grams - preserved meat or bacon 150 grams - preserved vegetables 25 grams - coffee 25 grams - salt Interesting take on the difference between the German emergency diet (coffee/salt or smoked beef) and the UK with tea and sugar. Thank God I'm out of the army Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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