The Half Iron Ration
By
Jim Pool
(Lt.Col., Ret.)
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Special thanks to Jim
Pool for providing the article below. Mr. Pool is a
well known collector, historian, & author with focus
on the topic of WWII German rations items . He has
contributed several articles to this site & we are
always excited when we receive a new one as they are
always full of great information and images.
If you enjoy reading this article, then we highly
recommend you pick up his new book,
Rations of the German Wehrmacht in World War II.
It is definitely a "must have" for those of us
interested in things like this.
Introduction
From the perspective of the
German WWII collector or reenactor the single most
important ration has to be the Half Iron Ration (Halb
Eiserne Portionen). It was the only ration required by
regulation to be carried by the individual soldier at
all times. It was strictly for emergency use when the
tactical situation prohibited the bringing up of hot
food, for 24 hours or more. The authority to consume
the ration was given to Company Commander, Platoon
Leader or independent Squad Leader when the unit was
cut off or isolated. Once the Half Iron Ration was
consumed it was to be immediately reported so
replacements could be requisitioned and the soldiers
replenished.
The Half Iron Ration consisted
of the following components:
A. |
Hard Crackers - The
daily allowance was for 250 grams of hard
crackers (Zwieback, Hartkeks or Knäckebrot). |
B. |
Preserved Meat
- The
daily allowance called for 200 grams of
preserved meat (Fleischkonserve). |
Zwieback
Zwieback was described in the
U.S. Army ration report as a miniature loaf of bread,
with a very slightly rounded top. Two docker holes
penetrated each bread piece. The average dimensions
were 1 x 0.625 x 0.437 inches. The top was a shiny
brown, indicating that some wash was used on top of
the pieces. The internal color was creamy and slightly
dark. Three or four caraway seeds were evident in each
piece. The texture was quite hard, flinty, and
difficult to bite through. The moisture content was
three to four percent higher than that for the U. S.
Army "C" ration biscuits, but the texture was harder,
because of the low fat content. It had a flat dry
taste and would not appeal to the American soldier.
Commercially baked Zwieback was manufactured in other
shapes.
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Wartime pictures showing the
type of Zwieback baked by Field Bakery units and
the white fabric Zwiebackbeutel they were
packaged in. Also shown above is a
recreation of the same type of Zwieback baked by
Field Bakery units. |
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The majority of the
military's supply of Zwieback was provided by the
Field Bakery Companies. After it was baked it was
placed into 250 gram bags (Zwiebackbeutel). There were
essentially four types of bags used by the Bakery
Companies. The style most often seen in wartime
pictures was of a simple two piece construction, with
two closure ties, all done in a white material.
According to H.Dv. 320/4 the Zwiebackbeutel was also
manufactured from plastic/synthetic materials (aus
kunststoffen) and that Zwieback was also packed into
viscose foil (Zellglass) and paper sacks by the Field
Bakeries. After being filled they were sealed with
viscose foil adhesive strips or adhesive tape.
Zellglass/viscose foil is essentially cellophane.
Cellophane bags marked as “Supplementary Rations for
Frontline Infantry” were used to pack Knäckebrot in.
Its likely the same style of bag was also used for
Zwieback .Recycled Zwiebackbeutels manufactured from
fabric were thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before
they were re utilized. The viscose foil and paper
sacks were destroyed. It's likely that commercial
firms also supplied Zwieback to the military.
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A picture of
an original white fabric Zwiebackbeutel. |
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This style of
clear cellophane bag was probably also
used to pack Zwieback in. |
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The Brandt
Firm was the largest commercial Zwieback
factory in Germany. It’s likely they
supplied Zwieback to the military. The
content information is glued over the
content information on the sack which
states "235g to 250g". |
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This
commercially baked Zwieback was taken from
a German wartime publication on rations. |
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Hartkeks
Hartkeks
or simply Keks is a crunchy, sweet biscuit or cookie.
From the information contained in the U.S. Army ration
report various brands of Keks were supplied to the
military. The most common shapes were square,
rectangular, or round. The Keks were supplied in bulk
containers, paper bags, card stock containers, wrapped
in paper or wrapped in Zellglass. Keks packaged for
military use as well as standard commercial packages
were all distributed to the soldier.
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The picture on the far left shows what may be
Hartkeks packed in a Zwiebackbeutel while the pictures
on the right show what may be Hartkeks packed
for military use. It appears to be over wrapped
in paper. |
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Bahlsens Duve
Keks were mentioned by name in the U.S.
Army ration report. |
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In the U.S.
Army ration report XOX Keks were described
as resembling in texture, the regular
sweet dog biscuit. |
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A carton of Bahlsens Union
Keks which the firm produced till the end of the
war. |
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A carton of
Bahlsens Leibniz Keks which the firm
produced till the end of the war. |
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A carton of
Feurich Keks. |
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A carton of Bahlsens Heimatgruss
Keks which the firm produced till the end of the
war. |
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A carton of Kessen's Keks. |
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A
package of Pecher Keks over wrapped
in paper. |
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Knäckebrot
The final bread product used to make up the Half Iron
Ration was Knäckebrot. The description in the U.S.
Army ration report was:" Four rectangular pieces
approximately 5.375 x 4.5 x 0.25 inches, were packaged
together in a light cardboard carton. Knäckebrot had
the appearance of the typical whole rye Swedish hard
bread, sold in the U.S. It was somewhat darker in
color than the similar American product. It was hard
and brittle, with a strong rye taste". The majority of
the militarys Knäckebrot appears to have been
manufactured by commercial firms. The Knäckebrot was
bulk shipped, already packaged in cardstock cartons or
loosely wrapped in paper. It’s likely that Knäckebrot
was bulk shipped without any wrapping or baked by
Field Bakery Companies and packaged in Zellglass bags.
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Knäckebrot in both cardstock
cartons and wrapped in paper.
The picture
on the right shows a soldier carrying Knäckebrot
cartons on his Y straps. |
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A Feldpost box
containing Knäckebrot from the
Knäcke-Werke firm. |
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A carton of Knäckebrot from
the firm of Hecke and Co. Hamburg. |
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A carton of Knäckebrot from
the Batscheider Knäckebrot Factory. |
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Knäckebrot from the Heinis Knäckebrot Bakery
over wrapped in paper.
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Preserved Meat
The other component making up the Half Iron Ration was
a 200 gram can of meat. Meat products were packaged
for the military in the following four styles of cans:
Weiβblechdosen, Sparverzinntdosen, Schwarzblechdosen
WEHRM, and Schwarzblechdosen Lötrand. There is still a
question about whether fish products could be
substituted for the meat as part of the Iron ration.
Fish and meat were interchangeable on the normal
ration tables, so technically speaking it was okay.
Wartime pictures of soldiers laying out rations show
numerous fish products. As a rule I believe that the
canned meat was preferred and fish would only be
substituted if there was a supply shortage.
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This 200 gram Schwarzblechdosen
Lötrand can of pork measured 3 inches wide and
2.625 inches high. This style of can was
described in the U.S. Army ration report. |
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This 200 gram Sparverzinntdosen
can of pork measured 3 inches wide and 2.3125
inches high. This style of can was described in
the U.S. Army ration report. |
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The Half Iron Ration as
carried by the Landser. |
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