Was it simlar to German and Soviet soldiers, with a heavy reliance on starchy, non-perishable food? (e.g. sausage, black bread, cabbage) Were rations different in winter?
Did Finnish soldiers get an "Iron Ration" as well? If so, what was in it? I assume there was no alcohol ration?
What did Finnish soldiers eat?
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carolwmahs
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Re: What did Finnish soldiers eat?
Finnish soldiers mostly relied to field kitchens. Typically each company-size formation had field kitchen of its own. Field kitchens (due to their equipment) made mostly soups and porridges. The most important source of nourishment besides these was bread, which was "crisp bread" ("näkkileipä" in Finnish) type (because bread of this type remaines edible for months or even years, so much less storage and supplies problems than with common bread). According the website which I found the bread ration per men for each day was 500 grams. Like you mentined otherwise the daily rations included sausages, biscuits and other similar non-perishables. Also "iron rations" (btw: Finnish term is "rautaisannos", which is also literal translation) were issued sometimes (typically for operations in which the field kitchens could not follow the troops), but issuing them was not terribly common. Alcohol was not included to rations, but the troops received it (very?) rarely for celebrations (birthday of Marshal Mannerheim being one well known case). What I remember tobacco was not part of rations during Winter War, but it was included during Continuation War (I'm not 100% sure about this).carolwmahs wrote:Was it simlar to German and Soviet soldiers, with a heavy reliance on starchy, non-perishable food? (e.g. sausage, black bread, cabbage) Were rations different in winter?
Did Finnish soldiers get an "Iron Ration" as well? If so, what was in it? I assume there was no alcohol ration?
BTW: How large were the Russian and German daily rations of bread?
Article about crisp bread:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisp_bread
JTV (Who in early 1990's served in Finnish Defence Forces unit, which was still using M/29 field kitchen).
Last edited by JTV on 28 Oct 2005, 10:41, edited 2 times in total.
Russians
Russians 
I think you are correct JTV on tabacco and the time frame it was issued. I do not think it was until later ration cards for this were issued.
I think you are correct JTV on tabacco and the time frame it was issued. I do not think it was until later ration cards for this were issued.
During the Continuation War the tobacco ration was three cigarettes a day. Those who didn't smoke used cigarettes as a valuable "currency" to buy food stuff and such useful from other soldiers. Additionally soldiers in front service could buy 50 cigarettes a week (and those in home front 25). Germans who were better supplied delivered alcohol, tobacco and tins to Finnish soldiers for example for warm clothes.
There is a Finnish military slang word for nearly every single food stuff or a meal but I think that's the same in every armies. For example "baltic herring casserole" [silakkalaatikko] is called "barbed wire" but I think it was rare in field conditions. The basic Finnish military food is "pea soup" [hernerokka] which is called "shrapnel" due to its consequences...
In a book and movie "Unknown Soldier" which is based on true happenings in Infantry Regiment 8 (JR 8 ) there are a few legendary repertees. A soldier when he looks at his pea soup: "There a lonely pea is searching for a mate but there is no hope..." Also there is a comment of horse meat: "This may be from a gipsy's horse because the mark of [the lash with] the whip is still visible..." and the amount of food: "We should teach speaking from the stomach. Every time an officer would pass away our stomachs would say´food, food'. - Do you really think our "masters" care about that? They have calculated the "colars" or whatever "calors" they are? If you complain they show you a table which proves that you can't be hungry." These excerpts tell clearly that food could have been better and there could have been more of it.
According to Finnish War 1941 - 1945 rations should have been as follows:
Basic daily ration 4.8.41 / 15.12.41 / 15.4.42 / 15.4.43 / 1.1.44
Dry bread 400 g / 350 g / 400 g / 425 g / 430 g
Hulled grain or meal 80 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 100
Meal for sauces 20 / 20 / 20 / 20 /20
Fresh potatoes 800 / 800 / 800 / 800 / 800
Butter 40 / 20 / 25 / 25 / 25
Cheese 40 / 30 / 40 / 40 / 40
Margarine (for food) 20 / 10 / 10 / 10 / 10
Cow meat 125 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 100
Milk 400 / 200 / 200 / 200 / 200
Tea 0.5 / 0.5 / 0.5 / 0.5 / 0.5
Sugar 40 / 40 / 40 / 40 / 40
Salt and spices 15 / 15 / 15 / 15 / 15
Cigarettes 3 pcs like mentined above
What is odd there is no pig meat in this list? All of these "items" could be although replaced with other ones according to a special "exchange table". Since winter 1943 combat troops received once a week an additional ration which included hulled grain sausages, small pancake mix, pudding powder, berry soup, liver tins etc. Troops received also vitamine pills, especially since late 1941. One vitamine C pill was given to each man (two to sick).
Daily ration should have had 3.200 - 3.900 kcal of energy but between autumn 1941 and winter 1942 it was below 3.000 kcal due to a very weak food situation in Finland. Troops could in many cases obtain food from local people or hunt wild animals (like birds, hares and moose, even bears) and fish. Units formed special fishing and hunting commands for obtaining that kind of additional food. During late summers and autumns soldiers could also pick berries and mushrooms.
Since spring 1943 a special "spirits stores" were formed for Olonets, Äänislinna and Karhumäki. Units (not individuals) could buy up to 0.5 litres of spririts a month for each man they had in their strength (probably units were in full strength all the time). It is notable that unit Commanders and Chiefs could restrict or forbid that right probably if some problems would have arised.
There is a Finnish military slang word for nearly every single food stuff or a meal but I think that's the same in every armies. For example "baltic herring casserole" [silakkalaatikko] is called "barbed wire" but I think it was rare in field conditions. The basic Finnish military food is "pea soup" [hernerokka] which is called "shrapnel" due to its consequences...
In a book and movie "Unknown Soldier" which is based on true happenings in Infantry Regiment 8 (JR 8 ) there are a few legendary repertees. A soldier when he looks at his pea soup: "There a lonely pea is searching for a mate but there is no hope..." Also there is a comment of horse meat: "This may be from a gipsy's horse because the mark of [the lash with] the whip is still visible..." and the amount of food: "We should teach speaking from the stomach. Every time an officer would pass away our stomachs would say´food, food'. - Do you really think our "masters" care about that? They have calculated the "colars" or whatever "calors" they are? If you complain they show you a table which proves that you can't be hungry." These excerpts tell clearly that food could have been better and there could have been more of it.
According to Finnish War 1941 - 1945 rations should have been as follows:
Basic daily ration 4.8.41 / 15.12.41 / 15.4.42 / 15.4.43 / 1.1.44
Dry bread 400 g / 350 g / 400 g / 425 g / 430 g
Hulled grain or meal 80 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 100
Meal for sauces 20 / 20 / 20 / 20 /20
Fresh potatoes 800 / 800 / 800 / 800 / 800
Butter 40 / 20 / 25 / 25 / 25
Cheese 40 / 30 / 40 / 40 / 40
Margarine (for food) 20 / 10 / 10 / 10 / 10
Cow meat 125 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 100
Milk 400 / 200 / 200 / 200 / 200
Tea 0.5 / 0.5 / 0.5 / 0.5 / 0.5
Sugar 40 / 40 / 40 / 40 / 40
Salt and spices 15 / 15 / 15 / 15 / 15
Cigarettes 3 pcs like mentined above
What is odd there is no pig meat in this list? All of these "items" could be although replaced with other ones according to a special "exchange table". Since winter 1943 combat troops received once a week an additional ration which included hulled grain sausages, small pancake mix, pudding powder, berry soup, liver tins etc. Troops received also vitamine pills, especially since late 1941. One vitamine C pill was given to each man (two to sick).
Daily ration should have had 3.200 - 3.900 kcal of energy but between autumn 1941 and winter 1942 it was below 3.000 kcal due to a very weak food situation in Finland. Troops could in many cases obtain food from local people or hunt wild animals (like birds, hares and moose, even bears) and fish. Units formed special fishing and hunting commands for obtaining that kind of additional food. During late summers and autumns soldiers could also pick berries and mushrooms.
Since spring 1943 a special "spirits stores" were formed for Olonets, Äänislinna and Karhumäki. Units (not individuals) could buy up to 0.5 litres of spririts a month for each man they had in their strength (probably units were in full strength all the time). It is notable that unit Commanders and Chiefs could restrict or forbid that right probably if some problems would have arised.
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Juha Tompuri
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During my consription service in the early 80's, we hed several types of crisp bread. The very, very, very hard, round one was called as "kytkinlevy" (= clutch disc/plate)JTV wrote:There were also other (usually less favourable kind) nicknames for it, one of the most common was "pomminkestävä" ("bomb-proof").Hanski wrote:A common military nickname for crispbread / hardtack was "vaneri", or its derivative "vanikka" - meaning plywood.
Something like this:
http://kuvapankki.vaasan.com/ib/en/01_p ... /index.jspRegards, Juha
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carolwmahs
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German rations
Thanks - this is all very interesting. For comparison, here's the German Rations section in the US Army's "TM-E 30-451 Handbook on German Military Forces" from 1945. I just displayed "Ration 1", which I think applies to many of the German troops in Finland (North of the Arctic Circle). It looks like German troops did eat better than the Finns, at least on paper.
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a. HUMAN RATIONS SCALES. The daily ration quantity (Portionsatz) is the amount of food consumed by one man for one day. It consists of three meals, the noon meal amounting to one-half of the total, the evening meal to one-third, and the next morning's breakfast to one-sixth. The Armed Forces High Command has laid down an over-all plan specifying the maximum amount of any ration item that may be served. The amount depends upon two factors: the duty class of the man receiving the ration, and the component class of the particular item being served.
There are four main types of rations served to troops. Ration I (Verpflegungssatz I) is for troops committed to combat, for those that are recuperating from combat, and for troops stationed in Norway north of 66° N. Lat. Ration II is for occupation and line-of-communication troops. Ration III is for garrison troops within Germany. Ration IV goes to office workers and nurses within Germany. Hospital cases may fall within any of these classes depending on the seriousness of the cases.
REPRESENTATIVE BREAKDOWN OF MAXIMUM RATION ALLOWANCES IN GRAMS PER DAY
Item Component Duty Class
Class Ration I
Rye bread (a) 700
Fresh meat with bones (b) 136
Soy bean flour (b) 7
Headless fish (h) 30
Fresh vegetables and fruits (c) 250
Potatoes (c) 320
Legumes (c) 80
Pudding powder (d) 20
Sweetened condensed skim milk (d) 25
Salt (e) 15
Other seasonings (e) 3
Spices (f) 1
Fats and bread spreads (g) 60
Coffee (h) 9
Sugar (i) 40
Supplementary allowances (l) 2
__________________________________
Total Maximum Ration in grams 1,698
Total Maximum Ration in lbs 3.74
__________________________________
Wine (in summer) (quarts) (j) .026
Cigarettes (pieces) (k) 7
The most important items of the component classes are as follows: (a) bread; (b) meats, soy bean flour, cheese, fish, and eggs; (c) vegetables; (d) puddings and milk; (e) salt, mustard, vinegar, and other seasonings; (f) spices such as pepper, cinnamon, and cloves; (g) butter, lard, marmalades, fats, and bread spreads; (h) coffee and tea; (i) sugar; (j) spirits and wines; (k) tobacco.
Substitute issues may be made within a component class but not among different component classes. Thus the daily maximum allowance of vegetables for a soldier is 60 grams [In dealing with captured German documents, the American soldier will invariably find the rations allowances computed in grams or kilograms. A gram equals .0353 ounce or .0022 pound. A kilogram (1000 grams) equals 35.3 ounces or 2.2 pounds.] of dried vegetables, or 1200 grams of kidney beans, or 400 grams of salted vegetables, or equivalent quantities of any of about 30 other substitutes. It is not possible to predict which items will be served on any given day. The following chart, however, sets forth a likely breakdown of these maximum ration allowances.
b. SPECIAL TYPES OF HUMAN RATIONS. (1) March ration (Marschverpflegung). The march ration is a cold food ration issued for not more than three or four consecutive days to units in transit either on carrier or by foot. It consists of approximately 700 grams of bread, 200 grams of cold meat or cheese, 60 grams of bread spreads, 9 grams of coffee (or 4 grams of tea), 10 grams of sugar, and six cigarettes. Thus it has a total weight of about 980 grams.
(2) Iron ration (Eiserne Portion). An iron ration consists of 250 grams of biscuits, 200 grams of cold meat, 150 of preserved vegetables, 25 of coffee, and 25 of salt. Total weight is 650 grams without packing and 825 grams with packing. An iron half-ration is composed of 250 grams of biscuits and 200 grams of preserved meat; thus its total weight is 450 grams without packing and 535 grams with packing.
(3) Combat Package (Grosskampfpäcken) and Close Combat Package (Nahkampfpäcken). The Germans have begun to use these types of rations for troops engaged in combat. They include chocolate bars. fruit bars, candies, cigarettes, and possibly biscuits.
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a. HUMAN RATIONS SCALES. The daily ration quantity (Portionsatz) is the amount of food consumed by one man for one day. It consists of three meals, the noon meal amounting to one-half of the total, the evening meal to one-third, and the next morning's breakfast to one-sixth. The Armed Forces High Command has laid down an over-all plan specifying the maximum amount of any ration item that may be served. The amount depends upon two factors: the duty class of the man receiving the ration, and the component class of the particular item being served.
There are four main types of rations served to troops. Ration I (Verpflegungssatz I) is for troops committed to combat, for those that are recuperating from combat, and for troops stationed in Norway north of 66° N. Lat. Ration II is for occupation and line-of-communication troops. Ration III is for garrison troops within Germany. Ration IV goes to office workers and nurses within Germany. Hospital cases may fall within any of these classes depending on the seriousness of the cases.
REPRESENTATIVE BREAKDOWN OF MAXIMUM RATION ALLOWANCES IN GRAMS PER DAY
Item Component Duty Class
Class Ration I
Rye bread (a) 700
Fresh meat with bones (b) 136
Soy bean flour (b) 7
Headless fish (h) 30
Fresh vegetables and fruits (c) 250
Potatoes (c) 320
Legumes (c) 80
Pudding powder (d) 20
Sweetened condensed skim milk (d) 25
Salt (e) 15
Other seasonings (e) 3
Spices (f) 1
Fats and bread spreads (g) 60
Coffee (h) 9
Sugar (i) 40
Supplementary allowances (l) 2
__________________________________
Total Maximum Ration in grams 1,698
Total Maximum Ration in lbs 3.74
__________________________________
Wine (in summer) (quarts) (j) .026
Cigarettes (pieces) (k) 7
The most important items of the component classes are as follows: (a) bread; (b) meats, soy bean flour, cheese, fish, and eggs; (c) vegetables; (d) puddings and milk; (e) salt, mustard, vinegar, and other seasonings; (f) spices such as pepper, cinnamon, and cloves; (g) butter, lard, marmalades, fats, and bread spreads; (h) coffee and tea; (i) sugar; (j) spirits and wines; (k) tobacco.
Substitute issues may be made within a component class but not among different component classes. Thus the daily maximum allowance of vegetables for a soldier is 60 grams [In dealing with captured German documents, the American soldier will invariably find the rations allowances computed in grams or kilograms. A gram equals .0353 ounce or .0022 pound. A kilogram (1000 grams) equals 35.3 ounces or 2.2 pounds.] of dried vegetables, or 1200 grams of kidney beans, or 400 grams of salted vegetables, or equivalent quantities of any of about 30 other substitutes. It is not possible to predict which items will be served on any given day. The following chart, however, sets forth a likely breakdown of these maximum ration allowances.
b. SPECIAL TYPES OF HUMAN RATIONS. (1) March ration (Marschverpflegung). The march ration is a cold food ration issued for not more than three or four consecutive days to units in transit either on carrier or by foot. It consists of approximately 700 grams of bread, 200 grams of cold meat or cheese, 60 grams of bread spreads, 9 grams of coffee (or 4 grams of tea), 10 grams of sugar, and six cigarettes. Thus it has a total weight of about 980 grams.
(2) Iron ration (Eiserne Portion). An iron ration consists of 250 grams of biscuits, 200 grams of cold meat, 150 of preserved vegetables, 25 of coffee, and 25 of salt. Total weight is 650 grams without packing and 825 grams with packing. An iron half-ration is composed of 250 grams of biscuits and 200 grams of preserved meat; thus its total weight is 450 grams without packing and 535 grams with packing.
(3) Combat Package (Grosskampfpäcken) and Close Combat Package (Nahkampfpäcken). The Germans have begun to use these types of rations for troops engaged in combat. They include chocolate bars. fruit bars, candies, cigarettes, and possibly biscuits.
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Juha Tompuri
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Do you mean this:Tuco wrote:I have Finnish Panzer bread - hard as nails.
http://www.finnishfood.net/store/produc ... 3f5d932d40
Regards, Juha