Practice of Sandbag puttees

[tankengine888]

Hello!

Whilst reading through a few war diaries for Australian Battalions in France and one had an interesting piece in the DRO's (I think). It read 'Each man will secure a sandbag to each leg before going into action' or words to that effect. 

A quick search shows a few pictures/paintings of this, shown below.

I find this interesting, however there is a question that I must ask; That is, when did this practice start? Was it widely used among Commonweatlh troops? Could someone shed more light on this practice?

Zidane.

[Matlock1418]

6 hours ago, tankengine888 said:

'Each man will secure a sandbag to each leg before going into action' or words to that effect. 

TE888, I think the dating, location & exact wording, and a bit wider, may provide assistance since there may be more context to be provided.

The wrapping of sandbags around legs had been used from early in the war in the European theatre as a means of protection from the mud, cold and wet.  And one could imagine the same being necessary in Gallipoli in late 1915.

'In action' has a wide meaning.  During an attack the carrying of sandbags forward would commonly be required in order to reverse and reinforce an enemy trench.   Also during the process of relief in the trenches such stores would be commonly required to be brought forward.  But carried around the legs would seem to be unusual method to me. ???

So dating, location & exact wording and help with context please.

M

Edited 3 November , 2023 by Matlock1418
typos

[tankengine888]

4 minutes ago, Matlock1418 said:

So dating, location & exact wording and help with context please.

Can't find the exact wording but it was on the eve of Polygon Wood in September 1917 i think, or 1918; in the least, eve of a battle. 

Can't recall the battalion or exact wording. It was just that each man was to have two sandbags as puttees when going into action.

A quick search hasn't found the exact wording, but im sure on my paraphrasing being mostly correct..

Sorry for not being more helpful.

Zidane.

[TullochArd]

14 hours ago, tankengine888 said:

It read 'Each man will secure a sandbag to each leg before going into action' or words to that effect. 

An actual quotation immediately nullified by "or words to that effect"?   Zidane - come on now what would your English teacher say about that one!

That said, it would not surprise me if this was an actual tactical consideration.  The British Army still has a fondness for assaulting troops to carry a couple of sandbags.  It makes perfect sense as each man will arrive on the objective with his couple of empty sandbags to begin immediate consolidation of the position.  It also means that each man carries an insignificant amount of defence stores onto the objective rather than an individual being detailed to carry an impossible bundle of 50.  They are also handy at this point for redistributing ammunition, consolidating rations and collecting enemy documentation. 

As for secured to each leg ......  I think we need to see the exact wording as Matlock1418 has said.   

[stevenbecker]

When you consider how quickly Puttees become useless in bad weather condictions, then the use of sand bags makes sence.

Its hard enough to change your socks, let alone puttees

The caking of mud on puttees makes then useless, so a cover is best, like many other types of Army clothing was done during the war

IN the early 70's we still wore puttees in tropical dress (Malaya) , but not worn as per WWI fashion, but were issued the odd 37 pattern webb gaiter and later a US type long Gaiter which we painted Black only worn back home

The one's (puttess)  we were issued were very thin cloth, and there life spare was limited.

[TullochArd]

9 hours ago, stevenbecker said:

When you consider how quickly Puttees become useless in bad weather condictions, then the use of sand bags makes sence.

The available evidence dosn't support this theory Steven.  A sandbag isn't designed to replace puttees and unless secured in some remarkably clever and consistent manner would only prove a hinderance to assaulting troops.  Zidane does specify "going into action".  I wore Puttees Short for 15 of my 40 years in the Army and can confirm that, correctly rolled on and off, were no drama in any conditions. 

 ......  I think we need to see the that exact wording as Matlock1418 has said.   

[FROGSMILE]

If it turns out that the order relates specifically to September 1917 then I suspect that it might perhaps relate to the relatively long Battle of Paschendaele when destruction of the water table by bombardment had made constructing traditional trenches impossible and men instead had to try and reinforce shell holes in the least sodden places that they could find.  Filling sandbags with similarly structured soil was maybe intended to bolster the edges and form rudimentary parapets.  I think that such a case can just about be seen at the top centre position below.  The sandbags provided two functions by being carried in such a way, they afforded some protection to the puttees that otherwise became sodden, caked in mud, and difficult to clean and dry out, and they provided ready protection of key points such as for MG when collected together and consolidated.  Carrying them in the manner described was less burdensome when viewed alongside all the other paraphernalia that assaulting infantrymen were expected to carry forward and they were useful for a number of tasks during the consolidated of a position.

Edited 4 November , 2023 by FROGSMILE

[tankengine888]

I cannot for the life of me find the entry, however if you refer to the photograph I sent in the original post, it's caption read..
24 October, 1917
Men of the 57th Battalion drawing hot tea from a cooker, prior to marching out of the Swan area to the front line in the Ypres Sector. As protection from the mud, waders were worn and, where these were not available, sandbags were wrapped around the legs and tied over the puttees.

 

Another picture on the AWM can be seen below.

This photograph is captioned 
January 1917
Men of the 2nd Australian Division entering a bath house. Most of the men are wearing sandbags in place of puttees.

This is the only mention of sandbag puttees I can find for the moment. I am still trawling through war-diaries, through a balance of games and revision for exams.

Zidane.

[FROGSMILE]

1 minute ago, tankengine888 said:

I cannot for the life of me find the entry, however if you refer to the photograph I sent in the original post, it's caption read..
24 October, 1917
Men of the 57th Battalion drawing hot tea from a cooker, prior to marching out of the Swan area to the front line in the Ypres Sector. As protection from the mud, waders were worn and, where these were not available, sandbags were wrapped around the legs and tied over the puttees.

 

Another picture on the AWM can be seen below.

This photograph is captioned 
January 1917
Men of the 2nd Australian Division entering a bath house. Most of the men are wearing sandbags in place of puttees.

This is the only mention of sandbag puttees I can find for the moment. I am still trawling through war-diaries, through a balance of games and revision for exams.

Zidane.

I think it’s an incorrect AWM caption to say “in place of puttees”, it’s more accurately over the top of puttees.  It’s not the first time that I’ve seen the practice mentioned.

[Bob Davies]

2 hours ago, tankengine888 said:

I cannot for the life of me find the entry,

Hi Zidane and all,

from memory there is a mention about using sand bags instead of puttees in a book called 'Somme Mud' by E P F Lynch.

I will have to do some digging to find my copy.

Regards, Bob.

 

[Bob Davies]

@tankengine888

This is the passage from 'Somme Mud'.

Probably not what you were looking for but it is a reference, albeit from a questionable book if one reads the reviews.

Holding the line. Page 48. 

 

[FROGSMILE]

1 hour ago, Bob Davies said:

@tankengine888

This is the passage from 'Somme Mud'.

Probably not what you were looking for but it is a reference, albeit from a questionable book if one reads the reviews.

Holding the line. Page 48. 

 

That doesn’t sound very authentic to me Bob.  What does Somme Mud purport to be, is it an autobiography?  Weight of mud on strips of sand bag (which would fray to pieces if cut into strips) would be just as heavy as mud on puttees and so a pointless proposition, that whole scenario sounds a load of nonsense.

Edited 8 November , 2023 by FROGSMILE

[WhiteStarLine]

3 hours ago, FROGSMILE said:

a questionable book if one reads the reviews

Somme Mud is a great book, very well written by a school teacher based on his Great War experiences as a private soldier in an infantry battalion.  It is a work of fiction, but the writing style conveys the contradictory mixture of fatalism, resilience and hope as the years dragged on.

Much of the descriptions of the fighting are in accordance with other accounts.  Occasionally the author throws into the narrative some tall tales and true tales and this can become inadvertently hilarious.  My favourite is an assault where he mixes in every gruesome account of any bayonet duel heard in an estaminet somewhere on the Western Front.  The book should not be relied on for the kind of confirmation Zidane seeks but it is well respected.

Cheers, Bill

[FROGSMILE]

2 hours ago, WhiteStarLine said:

Somme Mud is a great book, very well written by a school teacher based on his Great War experiences as a private soldier in an infantry battalion.  It is a work of fiction, but the writing style conveys the contradictory mixture of fatalism, resilience and hope as the years dragged on.

Much of the descriptions of the fighting are in accordance with other accounts.  Occasionally the author throws into the narrative some tall tales and true tales and this can become inadvertently hilarious.  My favourite is an assault where he mixes in every gruesome account of any bayonet duel heard in an estaminet somewhere on the Western Front.  The book should not be relied on for the kind of confirmation Zidane seeks but it is well respected.

Cheers, Bill

Thanks Bill, you have explained that perfectly and I get the context now.  I suspect that a little of the detail is imperfect, but that was often the case depending upon how soon written after the war, and the usual frailties of human memory.

[Bob Davies]

10 hours ago, FROGSMILE said:

That doesn’t sound very authentic to me Bob.  What does Somme Mud purport to be, is it an autobiography?  Weight of mud on strips of sand bag (which would fray to pieces if cut into strips) would be just as heavy as mud on puttees and so a pointless proposition, that whole scenario sounds a load of nonsense.

I agree with you there FROGSMILE.

@WhiteStarLine Explains it well, thank you, much better than I could have.

I myself thought it was a good read and enjoyed it one holiday, a time ago now.

[FROGSMILE]

50 minutes ago, Bob Davies said:

I agree with you there FROGSMILE.

@WhiteStarLine Explains it well, thank you, much better than I could have.

I myself thought it was a good read and enjoyed it one holiday, a time ago now.

It sounds like a good book and there’s often a bit of artistic licence when writing such accounts.  Never let veracity get in the way of a good yarn…

[TullochArd]

I'd offer that the British Army proved remarkably responsive to supply situations that adversely affected the combat effectiveness of it's men and units. I find it rather implausible that if Puttees Long were found to be so operationally lacking there were not more widely, and publicly criticised and reported as such, resulting in a more suitable alternative being issued.

There is no denying the occasional use of sandbags in extremis is supported by the evidence here - but as for a practical alternative to puttees - I doubt it.

[FROGSMILE]

20 minutes ago, TullochArd said:

I'd offer that the British Army proved remarkably responsive to supply situations that adversely affected the combat effectiveness of it's men and units. I find it rather implausible that if Puttees Long were found to be so operationally lacking there were not more widely, and publicly criticised and reported as such, resulting in a more suitable alternative being issued.

There is no denying the occasional use of sandbags in extremis is supported by the evidence here - but as for a practical alternative to puttees - I doubt it.

Yes I agree and think that the practice of some units carrying a pair of sandbags each when going forward by the expedient method of wrapping them over the top of puttees has been conflated with wearing them instead of puttees.  An understandable and perhaps inevitable misinterpretation.

Edited 8 November , 2023 by FROGSMILE

[Bob Davies]

7 hours ago, FROGSMILE said:

It sounds like a good book and there’s often a bit of artistic licence when writing such accounts.  Never let veracity get in the way of a good yarn…

'Never let the truth get in the was of a good story'

I always try to read a book for what it is, rather than what others think.

Keep an open mind, it was over 100 years ago and terrible.

Yes, I have often read of troops carrying a couple of sandbags each when they advance and other stores/equipment needed to consolidate a position. As you mention in your next comment, in your reply to TullochArd.

 

[bierast]

We have written and photographic evidence for German use of sandbag 'puttees' worn over jackboots during the first winter of the war. One such photo appears on the cover of our second book - the unit is Saxon Jäger-Bataillon 13, pictured in the trenches at L'Epinette / Pont Ballot (south of Armentieres) ca. November 1914.

[manxsapper1915]

I did GW living history in the early oo's and was at a weekend trench event in November, weather was typical for that time of year and my first night was pretty cold, especially with numb feet; someone suggested wrapping some sand bags around my boots and puttees, it did indeed help and made a difference.