Description
Physical description
Ten pocket rifle ammunition bandolier of light-grey lightweight cloth. The bandolier is divided into three components, being a cental section for suspending the weight of the cartridges over the man's neck; a set of five pouches each side to be draped over his chest. The lower two pouches will carry two clips of five rounds each, the upper three, single clips of five, making a total of seventy rounds capacity. There are fabric tying tapes sewn to the reverse of the second pouches up, enabling the man to secure the bandolier closer to his body, being tied over the breadbag strap that was normally worn over the neck and hooked to his conventional leather ammunion pouches that were worn either side of the belt buckle.
Label
Rifle ammunition bandoliers of cloth were used by both British and German soldiers during the First World War, and were a cheap and disposable means of being able to supplement their individual carrying capacity beyond the load carried in normal issue equipment pouches. When ease of movement was a necessity, particularly among assault troops in the latter part of the war, German soldiers would scale down their personal equipment and favour the use of bandoliers instead of weighty leather pouches, in a trade off to increase their capability to carry more hand grenades (carried in open satchels draped over the neck).
History note
Rifle ammunition bandoliers of cloth were used by both British and German soldiers during the First World War, and were a cheap and disposable means of being able to supplement their individual carrying capacity beyond the load carried in normal issue equipment pouches. When ease of movement was a necessity, particularly among assault troops in the latter part of the war, German soldiers would scale down their personal equipment and favour the use of bandoliers instead of weighty leather pouches, in a trade off to increase their capability to carry more hand grenades (carried in open satchels draped over the neck).
Inscription
15
Inscription
W.F
10.
Inscription
19-24/4.
Inscription
17930