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The
"Zwiebackbeutel", or Zwieback Bag
By
Eric Tobey, revised by Jonathan Bocek
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The
following was taken from the Die Neue Feldpost newsletter
& was done so with permission of the publisher.
We would like to thank him for his generosity as well
as thank all those who have contributed to this
article. It is with their efforts, we are able
to share this valuable research with the rest of you.
If you
look through enough German Servicemen's Soldbuchs or
Clothing Lists, one item will appear again and again:
"Zwiebackbeutel". Unlike a lot of the
accessories issued to the Landser, this little article
appears to have survived the entire war - you are as
likely to find it being issued in 1945 as it was
before the war. In addition, it didn't change
much; it was the "possum" among the
dinosaurs of Fritz's equipment realm - dull and almost
inconsequential, but never extinct!
The
Zwiebackbeutel was used to store the soldier's supply
of Zwieback which was part of his Eiserne Portion
(Iron Ration). Zwieback was a type of
vitamin-enriched "hardtack", shaped like a
giant Ritz Cracker. The Soldier's supply
amounted to 250 grams, and this was stacked in the
Zwiebackbeutel which is shaped to hold the stack.
We have
examined two originals - one prewar, and one late war.
In all important respects, they are constructed the
same. They are of two-piece construction, with a
long rectangular piece wrapped around to form the
sides of an open-topped cylinder, and a round gusset
to form the bottom. A hem around the top also
serves as a guide for a cotton drawstring. The
resulting bag is about 5 inches tall and 4 inches in
diameter. The early-war specimen (illustrated)
is made from a light grey cotton twill (like the
linings in Swedish tunics), and the late war version
is made from the same material in a light greyish-green.
The early one is marked H.B.A. (Heeres
Bekleidungs-Amt, or Army Clothing Bureau), 1934.
The late one is marked with an illegible RB Nr.
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