German World War I Rations
"Home Front" Gift Coffee
One pack of “Ersatz” coffee in the Prinzessin Auguste Victoria (Kaiser Wilhelm’s Wife) “morale” box. These small packs of coffee (sufficient brew-up coffee to make about ½ a mess-tin full) were provided to soldiers under the morale improvement program of Princess Auguste Victoria, trying to imitate the British “Princess Mary Christmas Gift”. This gift from home of Ersatz coffee (“cut” with Chicory…) was a hit, and similar packages made their way to troops intermittently throughout the war. Of course the package contains exactly what it did 90 years ago, so if you want to experience trench coffee with a German flair, open the outer box, and sprinkle the contents of the inner cello pack over a ½ mess tin of boiling water to brew up some history.
PRICE: $3.95
Fleisch Extract
One pack of Meat extract (30 gram). The packet contains three bouillon type soup base cubes (ham or chicken) packed in a drab outer wrapper and labeled with the wartime "Maggi" Brand label. Dissolve one cube in two cups of boiling water to make a satisfying broth.
PRICE: $2.95
Hartkek Ration
One 125 gram packet of Hartkeks. These are the standard round hard biscuits you see the Kaiser's soldiers eating quite un-enthusiastically in various pictures of the period. Each pack holds 5 each 25 gram biscuits, which require good teeth and patience to eat. However when crumbled up and soaked in some boiling chicken broth, they make a great addition to the soup.
They are sealed inside a cello bag, and have an outer wrap bearing the label for the "Kronprinz Bäckerei" bakery in Wilhelmsthal, Silesia, which produced ration bread for the German Army until 1945 when it was totally destroyed by the red army. The shape of the packet allows two of these and one meat tin to fit snugly inside the drawstring rations bag issued to all German troops. These were Germany's standard long-term storage biscuits from the late 1870's until the end of WW1.
PRICE: $4.95
Rinder Fleischkonserve
One 300 gram tin of Rinder Fleischkonserve (Meat ration, “Beef”). A German Army classic from 1870 until today! This is similar to Roast Beef in Gravy, and actually makes for a decent meal when combined with either some potatoes “pinched” from a French farmer. This can bears a period style label and stacks with the Hartkeks above.
PRICE: $5.95
Ginger Candy
One pack of Chinese ginger candy. The German Army has had a love affair with ginger candy since the Boxer Rebellion, and these rather exotic and spicy sweets were available virtually everywhere. The box is of the colorful "Kern" Brand design, which was one of the more popular brands, as its qualities were rumored by the Kaiser's troops to hide liquor breath! Since the contents are not by the original maker (but of identical nature otherwise), it is impossible to put this bit of Soldaten wisdom to the test today. (Still, if anyone does conduct such a test, we'd love to hear the results!)
PRICE: $3.95
