Soldiers food in the trenches






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Food for soldiers in the trenches during World War One was at times considered a luxury. Getting decent hot food from the field kitchens to the front line trenches could be impossible when a battle was either imminent or in full flow. When soldiers were at stand-down, food was easier to acquire and both British and German troops could expect certain food to be available with a degree of frequency.

The theoretical daily rations for a British soldier were:

20 ounces of bread

1/10 gill lime if vegetables not issued

16 ounces of flour instead of above

½ gill of rum

3 ounces of cheese

maximum of 20 ounces of tobacco

5/8 ounces of tea

1/3 chocolate – optional

4 ounces of jam

4 ounces of oatmeal instead of bread

½ ounce of salt

1 pint of porter instead of rum

1/36 ounce of pepper

4 ounces of dried fruit instead of jam

1/20 ounce of mustard

4 ounces of butter/margarine

8 ounces of fresh vegetables or

2 ounces of dried vegetables


The theoretical daily rations for a German soldier were:

26 ½ ounces of bread or

 

17 ½ of field biscuits or

 

14 ounces of egg biscuit

 

53 ounces of potatoes

 

4 ½ ounces vegetables

 

2 ounces dried vegetables

 


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