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British troops receiving rations at the front, 1914Vintage Video: British Troops Receiving Rations, 1914
 Updated - Saturday, 24 January, 2004

The regular supply of rations to troops serving in the trenches was a key requirement for all military authorities.

As an example of the type of food distributed to troops, the British daily ration for 1914 consisted of the following items:

  • 1 1/4 lb fresh or frozen meat, or 1 lb preserved or salt meat
  • 1 1/4 lb bread, or 1 lb biscuit or flour
  • 4 oz. bacon
  • 3 oz. cheese
  • 5/8 oz. tea
  • 4 oz. jam
  • 3 oz. sugar
  • 1/2 oz salt
  • 1/36 oz. pepper
  • 1/20 oz. mustard
  • 8 oz. fresh or 2 oz. dried vegetables
  • 1/10 gill lime juice (if fresh vegetables not issued);
  • 1/2 gill rum (at discretion of commanding general)
  • up to 2 oz. tobacco per week (at discretion of commanding general)

In contrast the German daily ration for 1914 comprised the following:

  • 750g (26 1/2 oz) bread, or 500g (17 1/2 oz) field biscuit, or 400g (14 oz.) egg biscuit

  • 375g (13 oz.) fresh or frozen meat, or 200g (7 oz) preserved meat

  • 1,500g (53 oz.) potatoes, or 125-250g (4 1/2-9 oz.) vegetables, or 60g (2 oz.) dried vegetables, or 600g (21 oz.) mixed potatoes and dried vegetables

  • 25g (9/10 oz.) coffee, or 3g (1/10 oz.) tea

  • 20g (7/10 oz.) sugar

  • 25g (9/10 oz.) salt

  • two cigars and two cigarettes or 1 oz. pipe tobacco, or 9/10 oz. plug tobacco, or 1/5 oz. snuff

  • at discretion of commanding officer: 0.17 pint spirits, 0.44 pint wine, 0.88 pint beer.

Click here to view brief film footage of British front-line soldiers receiving rations in the autumn of 1914 (Windows Media, 20 seconds, 854KB).

Source of ration details: Philip J. Haythornthwaite, The World War One Sourcebook, Arms and Armour Press, 1992

'Alleyman' was British slang for a German soldier.

Original Material © Michael Duffy 2000-07, SafeSurf Rated