Military rations

Military rations,operational rations, ormilitary provisionsare goods issued to sustain the needs ofmilitarypersonnel. As their name suggests, military rations have historically been, and often still are, subject torationing, with each individual receiving specific amounts from available supplies. Military-issued goods and the rationing of such goods have existed since the beginnings of organizedwarfare.
Though commonly referring tofoodanddrinkrations, "military ration" may also refer to other types of items that are rationed for military personnel, such asfuel,alcohol, expensive items, or consumer goods.Ration acquisition may be managed usingallowancesor aration card, or they may be issued without charge.
Military rations are a key component ofmilitary nutrition, the field and study ofnutritionin the military. Significant research goes into creating military rations, including the nutrition and energy of rations, food spoilage prevention, what meals should be offered, the amount of food each ration should contain, and the exact specifications of each meal and ingredient.
Afield ration(known under a variety of other names) is a military ration intended to provide nutrition and sustenance in thefield, incombat, at thefront line, or where eating facilities are otherwise unavailable.
Field rations can be categorized into two main types:
Agarrison rationis a type of military ration that, depending on its use and context, could refer to rations issued to personnel at acamp,installation, or othergarrison; allowance allotted to personnel to purchase goods or rations sold in a garrison (or the rations purchased with allowance); a type of ration; or a combined system with distinctions and differences depending on situational factors (such as whether the country is at peace or at war).
Inancient warfare, militaries generally lived off the land, relying on whatever food they could forage, steal, purchase, or requisition.
InMesopotamia, most workers, including soldiers, were given rations ofbarley,oil, andwool.Inancient Egypt, soldiers brought whatever they could carry in battle, but ate well while in their camps.Inancient Rome, soldiers relied onwheat, which was replaced with barley aspunishment. Each soldier had an allotted amount of food they could have, such as one pound of meat daily; the size of aRoman legionmeant dozens, if not hundreds of animals could be killed daily to sustain their needs.Chinese soldiers of theHan dynastyaterice, wheat,sorghum, and othergrains, smashed and fried in a manner similar to modernfried riceandfried noodles.Soldiers of theByzantine Empirewere trained in sustaining their food supplies for as long as 20 days, with many also carrying small hand mills to grind grain to makepaximathia.
Inmedieval warfare, military feeding remained essentially the same as it had been in prior centuries.
Tang dynastysoldiers ate primarilymilletporridge, but before a deployment, they would have a large and elaborate banquet, with another large meal before a battle.During theCrusades, crusaders brought grain with them, but otherwise relied on their own food storages, purchased food from locals and, by the late Crusades, supplies brought in byVenetianvessels and merchants. However, their food supplies were consistently low, to the point that in several battles crusaders would "stop fighting and start eating" upon discovering food in the camps of Muslim armies.The armies of theMongol Empireonly had whatever food orlivestockthey brought from home, and relied on whatever food they could pillage.Ottoman EmpireJanissarieswere some of the most well-fed soldiers of the era, with access to a variety of foods. The Ottoman military greatly relied onbreadandbiscuits, with around 105 ovens inIstanbuldedicated solely to baking for military purposes.
Infeudal Japanand theSengoku period, military nutrition habits depended on thedaimyocommanding them:
In general, Japanese soldiers would bringuchigaibukuro, pouches used to store rice and medicine, into battle with them. They would also eatmiso,dried taro stalk, andokayuas part of a soup prepared in a soldier'sjingasa. Soldiers andninjaalso used "pills", small ball-shaped medicinal rations consumed in emergencies or long missions, of which there were three types:hyorogan("ration pills"), made with various flours, sugary substances, and spices to provide quick energy;kikatsugan("hunger pills"), made with starchy ingredients to provide endurance; andsuikitsugan("thirst pills"), made fromumeboshi,bakumondoto, and sugar to encourage saliva production.
Song dynastysoldiers were issued money to buy food,pickles, salt, and other goods, though grain supply issues meant they relied less on grain rations than in prior generations. By theMing dynasty,sesame seed cakes, which could last long periods of time, became standard military food; additionally, the imperial government spent significant amounts of money on the military, ensuring they had plenty of food.
By the era ofearly modern warfare, military food had improved to a relatively significant degree.
TheBritish Empire'sRoyal Navyrelied onhardtack,salted meat, and alcoholic drinks (originallybeerbut laterrum).TheContinental Armyof theRevolutionary War-eraUnited Stateshad, on paper, plentiful rations including salted meat,legumes, grains, bread, milk, and alcohol, withjerkyand hardtack if those foods were not available.However, in reality, the Continental Army had difficulties supplying their units, and soldiers reportedly had to beg civilians for food. The situation deteriorated to the point that theU.S. CongresspressuredGeorge Washingtonto permit the seizure of food, but he declined, fearing it would alienate the colonials.
During theNapoleonic Wars, theGrande Arméestrongly relied on bread—24 ounces standard if well-supplied, compared to a mere half-pound of meat and 2 ounces of legumes—but "spent most of their time desperately hungry", relying ondoughboysand "out of the ground" crops such aspotatoesandcorn, which required minimal cooking and had recently become common across European farms.
DuringFrench and Indian War, a theatre of theSeven Years' War, the British hada detailed ration system. TheCrimean Warsaw issues with supplying soldiers in battle. In theBritish Army, rations were regularly halved, and many soldiers developedscurvy, to the point that the hospital inScutarireceived more soldiers for scurvy than battle wounds.During theAmerican Civil War, thefood and rationsof theUnion Armyand theConfederate States Armywere meant to be mostly the same—meat, cornmeal, vegetables, vinegar, molasses, and hardtack—but supply issues plagued the Confederates as the war continued, forcing them to live off the land.
Shortly before the Napoleonic Wars, the French government offered a 12,000francreward to invent a reliable food preservation method for the military.Nicolas Appert, a Frenchconfectioneroperating a food bottling factory inMassy, Essonne, offered his bottling method and published a book detailing the process in 1810. Appert's bottling method was later developed intocanning, improved whenPeter Durandinvented thetin canthe same year, which became the standard for storing food using Appert's method. The development ofpasteurizationbyLouis Pasteuralso improved military rations.
The era ofmodern warfaresaw significant improvements in the shelf life, variety, and quality of military rations and nutrition.
InWorld War I, bothAlliedandCentral Powerssoldiers had relatively sufficient food supplies due to the static nature oftrench warfare. British,French,Canadian, andANZACsoldiers were regularly issued "dull" foods such asbully beef, biscuits,pudding, andMaconochie(tinned meat, potato, and vegetablestew), the latter of which was vilified for its poor quality, especially if not sufficiently heated.British Indian Armysoldiers reportedly ate very well compared to their European comrades, with regular access to fresh food such asgoat meatandrotis; British logistics also accommodated for vegetarian Indians by providing them withdal,gur, and milk instead of meat. This treatment was supposedly to prevent amutinysimilar to theIndian Rebellion of 1857, which was partially caused by indifference to Indian religious needs.TheAmerican Expeditionary Forceshad a variety of different rations issued to them, organized based on freshness and purpose, and were generally considered well-fed compared to their British and European contemporaries.Imperial German Armysoldiers had mostly the same foodstuffs with more reliance on potatoes over grains, but as the war progressed and food supplies lowered due to restrictions, the German military was forced to gradually reduce their meat rations, instituting meat-free days once per week and making meat a rarity among German soldiers.
ByWorld War II, rations had taken modern organized forms for both theAlliesand theAxis. TheU.S. militaryrevised their World War I-era ration organization system into an alphabetized system:A-rationsof fresh food,B-rationsof packaged unprepared food,C-rationsof prepared canned food,D-rationsof chocolate, andK-rationsof three-course meals.British soldiers were issued 24-hour rations intended to sustain troops until composite rations and fresh food could be supplied by field kitchens.On the home front in Britain,mobile canteenswere operated to provideHome Guardand civil defence authorities with hot food and fresh tea.Red Armysoldiers receivedrye bread, potatoes, vegetables, pasta, meat, and fish (in order of quantity).The ChineseSecond United Fronthad ample food supplies, but food was strained after 1940, when food panics and requirements for peasants to feed Chinese soldiers led to agricultural failures and severe inflation.The GermanWehrmachtreceived basic rations of hard bread and canned meat (usually pork, roast beef, turkey, or chicken, though cans labeledFleischkonserve—literally translated as "can of meat"—wentunidentified), though cannedtomato soup,condensed milk, andErbswurst(a compactpeasemealsausagethat can be dissolved to makepea soup) were also common. Elite units such as theFallschirmjägerreceived more unique high-energy food, including tins of cheese and sausage. TheSchutzstaffelreceived four-day rations consisting ofGraubrot, canned meat, vegetables, spreads, coffee, andcigarettes(despite the SS's strong anti-smoking stance). Regions invaded and occupied by Nazi forces were stripped of their food to feed Germans and starve local populations.TheImperial Japanese ArmyandNavyreceivedrather basic rationsthat were intended to be eaten alongside other foraged food.TheRoyal Italian Armyate mainly pasta, bread, oatmeal, meat, fish, broth, and salad from their field kitchens, with alcohol also regularly issued. However, on deployment, Italian soldiers mostly received low-quality canned food and biscuits, with regular supplies of food strained by logistical issues during theNorth African campaign.
Most modern and currently-issued rations were developed during and after theCold War. TheSoviet Armed Forcesissued their personnel a very basic ration oftushonka, bread or crackers, and condensed milk, with little variety.Both theWest GermanBundeswehrand theEast GermanNational People's Armyissued 24-hour rations containing four meals each, though their contents and types varied.The U.S. military, initially issuing the cannedMeal, Combat, Individual(similar to the C-ration) from the late 1950s through theVietnam War, developed theMeal, Ready-to-Eat(MRE) in 1983, designed to provide easy-to-prepare individual meals inretort pouchesthat could last for very long periods of time.The British 24-hour ration gradually advanced from tinned rations to freeze-dried and vacuum-sealed rations.
TheRussian invasion of Ukrainechallenged the ability of Russia to provision its soldiers. In the early days of the conflict in spring 2022, theRussian Ground Forceshad to contend with low supplies of rations, which led them to forage for provisions in a manner reminiscent of the practices of ancient armies.