Scenes from the Daily Service of the Old Army - Menage or Provisions

In the age of universal conscription and modern mass armies, the question of troop provisioning had to be reconsidered.

Until then, the provisioning of mercenary armies or the armies of the Ancien Régime in peacetime had regularly been a private matter of the soldier or the quartermaster (against compensation), since in peacetime the soldiers were primarily housed in civilian quarters.

The accommodation of soldiers in barracks appeared (in Prussia) only in the late 18th century.

On the march or in the field, however, general bread rations were already customary.

Payment was already made in money and, if applicable, in kind.

For the provisions supplied to the soldier by his employer, the term "Kommißbrot" was already common early on (e.g. in the 16th century). The term "Menage" was also used for soldier provisioning.

During the 19th century, science also examined the provisioning of the lower classes and soldiers more intensively, and a greater sensitivity to nutritional issues emerged.

The goal was the "well-nourished" soldier, for good nutrition was the basic prerequisite for the military to be able to fulfill its task in an emergency.

State provisioning of the soldier was and remained mass feeding.

Problematic, however, remained one-sided diets and the lack of cooking competence of the troops detailed to kitchen duty.

While officers and civil officials in the garrison had to cover their own provisions, non-commissioned officers and enlisted men were entitled to provisioning in kind or in money.

In the garrisons there were, however, officers' dining establishments for officers who had no private household.

On site there were also officers' messes, later also behind the fronts in the First World War.

For non-commissioned officers and enlisted men there was morning, midday and evening fare.

The daily bread ration amounted to 750 g or alternatively 500 g field zwieback.

The small provisioning portion comprised 10 g coffee, 180 g raw meat or 120 g bacon or 100 g canned meat as well as 40 g fat, 250 g legumes or 125 g rice, pearl barley, etc. or

150 g canned vegetables of legumes or 1500 g potatoes and 25 g.

These guidelines served as the basis for the provisioning allowances.

However, these varied in the garrisons according to the respective food prices.

The rates for non-commissioned officers were 50% higher.

Source: Hein, Das kleine Buch vom Deutschen Heere, Kiel und Leiüzig 1901, p. 225 ff.). Also for the following explanations.

The preparation of meals took place in troop kitchens; the potatoes were peeled by hired female staff, and where necessary a cook was also employed.

Meals were taken together in dining halls in the barracks, though not together in the sense that non-commissioned officers dined separately.

In the morning there was soup and coffee, at midday there was a hot meal, in the evening there were cold dishes.

Any savings had to be returned to the men or benefited them.

The necessary foodstuffs were tendered or centrally procured.

In the popular work: Das Alte Heer. Erinnerungen an die Dienstzeit bei allen Waffen (Berlin 1931) the provisioning situation is vividly reported as follows:

"In our old army food was also treated as a duty. It was, however—according to confirmed rumors—the most pleasant of duties. Thus the 10th Company cheerfully marched to the kitchen. Leading the way marched the non-commissioned officer on duty. He posted himself at the kitchen door. In his hand he held the board with the meal tokens numbered from 1 to 150. Each man took a token from him, which he then immediately gave to a 'kitchen bull'—this was a perfectly official, very important and usually much-envied person, who came from the older year group and, together with three to four comrades under the supervision of the 'kitchen sergeant', prepared the food. The activity of the 'kitchen bulls' was by no means easy. ...." (to be continued).

Ensuring the feeding of the troops in the field of course followed different rules.

According to Lehnert's Handbook for the Troop Leader (Berlin 1912), troop provisioning should, as far as possible, make use of the resources of the theatre of war, by employing all available means.

The iron stock the troop carried with it—the contents of the food and forage wagons—should always be replenished as soon as possible. When housing soldiers marching to the front, provisioning should be provided by the respective quartermaster.

Nevertheless, in these cases it was usually also necessary to draw provisions from the food and forage wagons. These then had to be replenished locally by purchase or requisition. The prices were set by the troop commanders.

An emergency provision reserve = iron stock had to be kept constantly on hand.

The so-called iron portion consisted (per soldier) of 200 g egg- or field zwieback, 200 g canned meat, 150 g canned vegetables, 25 g salt and 25 g coffee.

For horses the iron portion was 6 kg of oats; for heavier horses it was even 12 kg.

As so-called personal rations the cavalry carried 2 and the other troops 3 iron portions with them.

For the infantry these were kept in the knapsack, for the cavalry in the saddle bags.

The iron portions to be carried for the horses differed depending on the branch of service, e.g. for the cavalry three rations or for daily consumption a 1/3 oat ration.

In addition, the sutler wagons at battalion or regiment level supplied the soldiers with additional necessities such as other foodstuffs, beverages, cigars, cleaning agents and other consumables.

The provisioning columns, i.e. the proviant, transport and army supply-train columns, were responsible for transporting provisions.

Regularly, part of the provisioning columns with a day's supply should be brought as close to the troops as possible, if necessary directly into their accommodation area.

They should be so close that the troops' own food and forage wagons could be replenished relatively quickly. For this a maximum ideal value of 15 km one way (to the provisioning column and back to the troops) is given.

With rear field magazines or distribution points serving as substitutes for magazines, the provisioning columns could then reprovision themselves.

Since 1908 (A.K.O.) the troops had been equipped with field kitchens, eliminating the tedious boiling and allowing marching performance to increase.

The field kitchen had been invented by the manufacturer Otto Magirus/ Ulm.

It was a self-cooker in a glycerin bath.

One calculated one field kitchen per company, which carried 3 iron portions and could also supply the troop daily with one hot meal and coffee.

In addition to the field kitchen, the Imperial Army had:

food wagons for infantry, cavalry, field artillery, foot artillery

forage wagons

heavy proviant wagons

light proviant wagons

transport wagons drawn by heavy draft horses

army supply-trains, both motor wagons and trailer wagons

as well as field railways or full railways

Responsible for ensuring the provisioning of the troops were mounted provisioning officers.

They were stationed at the general command, at the individual battalions and regiments and detachments.

The provisioning officers were responsible for supervising the entire provisioning service of the troops, for overseeing the activities of the quartermasters and other provisioning personnel, for the purchase or requisition of foodstuffs and bivouac necessities, for regulating the traffic of provisioning vehicles between the troops and the receiving points, for the distribution of food to the troops, for the operation of field kitchens, for supervising the loading of provisioning vehicles, for supervising the iron portions and rations, for directing reception in the magazines, for directing the baking and slaughtering operations, etc.