Battle of the Third Reich

It is not enough to make the soldiers wear warm on their feet. You need to provide enough food to compensate for the soldiers' consumption on the battlefield.

In the just ended European war, the Germans have always been in an offensive position. They have full control of the initiative on the battlefield. They not only have sufficient time to prepare for combat, but also can arrange the rest of the soldiers reasonably.

Once the offensive begins, the Germans will continue to maneuver on the battlefield, and the German soldiers consume a lot of physical energy. In order to achieve the effect of blitzkrieg, the Germans must maintain a high-intensity offensive rhythm and not allow their opponents to have any breathing opportunities. Soldiers have no time to rest.

During this time, German soldiers can only eat dry food that they carry with them, usually preserved canned bacon and rusks, and some cheese and margarine will be distributed on top of it. For German soldiers, this was a hearty battlefield meal.

To say that the canned bacon of the German army, the absolute main force in the "iron ration", looks somewhat similar to the famous British canned corned beef. In fact, it is a mixed meat sauce with enough salt and fat. No one wants to know this. What is the thing made, but finally the taste can be imported.

In addition to the large amount of food in the German Army, I really don't see any bright spots. In fact, all the European countries’ military forces in this year had the same bad food in the field. The French Army distributes small pieces of bacon and bread to the soldiers, as well as canned sardines and meat. If the logistics line is clear, then there will be some beer and wine. But most of the time, the soldiers get only bread and bacon.

The British Army is not much better. The standard field rations are canned hard biscuits that can be used for molars and canned corned beef forever, and usually send a few ounces of tea and cheese, jam, butter, etc. Of rum.

At this time, there was no systematic military food. The military of all countries purchased food locally or subcontracted it to private food vendors. The German troops often eat whatever they get from the logistics, which is not very picky.

Historically, there was no quality problem with the food supply of the German troops on the Eastern Front. The German logistics procurement unit was still quite optimistic about the food distribution of the troops. The problem is that many domestic supplies are stuck in the warehouses of all levels of depots, and Did not reach the hands of the soldiers in time.

This was mainly the responsibility of the German logistics dispatch department. In the middle of the war, in the face of the continued destruction of the Soviet army, the German transport capacity began to become seriously inadequate. The dispatchers were forced to choose between sending ammunition forward or food supply, and the commander The officers of the Ministry often choose the former one.

So when the Soviet army launched a counterattack, the food materials seized in the German logistics warehouse were almost piled up, and there were many high-quality ingredients found in Europe, so these seizures all became the weapons of the Soviet side to initiate psychological warfare. They claimed that the German logistics officer colluded The senior generals deliberately backed up these foods and used them to do business on the black market. As a result, many German soldiers really believed that the resistance to the officer's orders began to spread.

Let's look at it now. Xu Jun has prepared something good for his soldiers. Military canned food is indispensable. The original canned meat sauce of the German army is actually good. You can adjust the material and taste a little, and you don’t need to develop a spam deliberately.

The main problem is how to heat it, all the cans will freeze like stones in the ice and snow. Historically, soldiers used "Esbet", also known as the "pocket furnace", to heat cans. This is a mini folding stove. "Esbert" is the manufacturer's brand. This kind of stove is only common. The size of a person's palm, it needs to be used with the solid alcohol block that is carried with the furnace after expansion, just like the one ordered under the dry pot in a modern restaurant. Because it does not emit smoke when it is burned, it is very suitable for use in battlefields.

It’s just that the head of this kind of fire is still a little small, and it’s not very windproof, so the Germans are also equipped with a small gasification furnace, the size of which is similar to that of the German gas mask, and can use all the fuel dispensed by the Germans. It is a civilian stove imitated in Sweden. It has been converted into a military-grade heater. It can heat one class of hot food at a time. Because of its large weight and volume, it is only distributed to the class. Like the pocket stove above, it can be done by hand.

As mentioned earlier, Xu Jun equipped the troops with chemical heating bags to heat field food. However, in outdoor environments where the temperature is below -20 degrees Celsius, the heat generated by the heating bags is obviously not enough. Must use open flame for heating.

So Xu Jun came up with canned solid alcohol and a matching folding furnace stand. It looks like an ordinary round can. After opening the lid, you can light it with a match, you can use the included shelf, and even only need to set up a few rubble or bricks, even if it is anything In the absence of it, you can build a bracket with mud, and then you can heat anything you want on it. A 200-gram fuel can can continue to burn for about an hour. There are three kinds of cans: 50g, 100g and 200g. Soldiers can choose one according to their needs.

However, between battles, there may be no time for the soldiers to heat up the food. At that time, they could only eat the military food, so the head of state developed a high-calorie food. He called this chocolate-based food the "energy bar." .

This is a bar-shaped food mixed with cocoa butter, butter, caramel, glucose, vitamins, wheat flour and salt. One can provide about a thousand calories. Two sticks are enough to supplement the soldiers in a high intensity It was consumed in combat.

However, this is just a calorie supplement. Emergency food cannot be used as regular food. Only after obtaining the permission of the officer, the soldiers can tear the seal of the outer tin packaging box and take out this "energy bar" for consumption. One box contains four The energy bar is not to be discarded after being eaten. Soldiers can use it as a waterproof container or reuse it after recycling.

The head of state has also developed a batch of instant soups, which compress all kinds of seasonings, wheat flour, egg powder mixed fats and dehydrated vegetables into block solids, and six such soups are grouped together in a paper lined with oil paper In the box, you just need to put it in boiling water and stir it, you can brew a delicious cup of hot soup, replenish the salt and sugar needed by the body, at the same time bring joy to the soldiers, comfort the wounded soul.

The German army purchased a batch of new canned foods, such as the oil-filled anchovies made in Italy, which were very popular with the soldiers. At the same time, they were praised by the special spiced pickled belly in Italy. At a weight of 150 grams, the soldiers of the test unit found that the meat was suitable for eating in slices of bread.

When the European agriculture begins to resume production, it is expected that the level of the German army's food will be raised a bit higher. Under the leadership of a head of foodie, it can be believed that the food of the German army will make American soldiers feel jealous someday.

ps: Thank you for your support.

If you have any suggestions about the German military rations, you can leave a message in the book review area. I will choose some to eat in the following article.

thank you all.