Download Rations of the Australians at Gallipoli

Rations of the Australians
at Gallipoli
Wing Commander Derek Moore (RAAFSR)
Health Reserves – Air Force
Victoria Barracks, Southbank. Victoria 3006
Australians at Anzac Cove
unloading supplies and
setting up camp
AIF infantrymen warming
food in mess tins supported
on used shell cases
Soldiers at Anzac Cove with
boxes of bully beef and cans
for carrying kerosene or water
Mules on the beach at Gaba
Tepe being loaded with
cans of drinking water
Ph. 0419 346 682
Email: [email protected]
The field rations at Gallipoli were poorly planned, partly because of the expectation
of an early breakout and advance to Constantinople by August. Thus, the soldiers were not
provided with the equipment or supplies needed for prolonged trench warfare.
The daily rations were supposed to include 450 grams of canned Corned (Bully)
Beef, a similar amount of Army (‘’Hard Tack”) biscuits, 113 grams of bacon, cheese and a
serving of peas, beans or dried potatoes. Tea was provided, plus jam and sugar. It was
impossible to distribute hot meals to men based in trenches on the other side of steep
cliffs. Instead, they did their own cooking e.g. digging shallow pits to light small fires.
Difficulties with access meant a day’s rations for soldiers near the frontline would
often have to last for 2 to 3 days. Bully Beef and/or Army biscuits were the staple of most
meals, especially in the early months. The rock hard biscuits and lack of water (the initial
ration of 4.5 litres was cut by 75%) meant that oral health suffered. Men were suffering
bleeding gums, then developed mouth ulcers which often became infected. The soldiers
then had to be evacuated for dental care. The biscuits could also break your teeth unless
softened in tea or ground up to make porridge or to thicken stews made with Bully Beef.
Many men gave up eating during the day due to the swarms of flies. Breakfast may
have been a biscuit porridge with sweetened condensed milk (if available) or biscuits and
jam. Stews of Bully Beef and crushed biscuits with onion or thyme were frequent main
meals.
The unappetising and monotonous diet affected the soldiers’ morale, plus their
physical and psychological well-being.
As the months went by, supply and thus food variety improved, with the provision
of cheese, sweetened condensed milk, bacon, some rice and fresh bread. However, the
importance of fruit and vegetables was not fully realised. Canned fruit and vegetables
would have significantly improved the nutritional quality of the rations.
Soldiers could sometimes buy chocolate and /or dates from the YMCA hut. On rare
occasions nuts and raisins were sold. The Australians and New Zealanders were delighted
to receive food parcels from home e.g. a boiled fruit cake, a box of chocolates or a few
cans of sardines.
Seven weeks before the evacuation from Gallipoli, an editorial in the Medical
Journal of Australia responded to a returned colonel’s descriptions of the conflict by calling
for a “change to the monotonous and “nauseating” rations blamed for an average weight
loss of 28 pounds (12.7 kgm) in the troops”.
Lack of water and a high sodium diet exacerbated the thirst of frontline troops. The
rations were low in fibre, Vitamins A and C. Lack of Vitamin C caused scurvy which
impaired wound healing. Given the role of Vitamin A in immune function and protecting
against infectious disease, the low intakes could well have contributed to the high
mortality rates from dysentery and typhoid. The combination of poor nutrition, unsanitary
living conditions and lack of rest took their toll. Dysentery, septic wounds, tetanus and
typhoid affected many Australians and caused the evacuation of thousands of men.
The Turkish forces had a more varied diet, similar to that of the Roman legions:
wheat bread, olive oil, nuts and dried fruits. Their meals were centrally prepared and
included fresh local foods, although often lacking in meat. French and Indian divisions had
better rations than the ANZACs, with more vegetables and bread.
The quality and variety of rations for the Australians improved considerably on the
Western Front, where the soldier’s diets were also supplemented by regular food parcels
from home and by purchasing food from the local population.
Collecting fish killed
by Turkish shelling
An Army 'Hard Tack' biscuit
used as a postcard
References
Two soldiers pounding Army
biscuits into meal for making
porridge
Damaged Light Horse
blue enamel
water bottle
1. Rice, G.W. “ Nutrition and disease: lessons learned from Gallipoli” NZMJ 19 April 2013, Vol
126 No. 1373: 7-9
2. Wilson, N et al “ A nutritional analysis of New Zealand military food rations at Gallipoli in
1915: likely contribution to scurvy and other nutrient deficiency disorders” NZMJ 19 April
2013, Vol 126 No. 1373: 12 – 29
3. Australian War Memorial: Images and reference material
4. www.gallipoli.gov.au
5. www.anzacsofgallipoli.com
The assistance of the Defence Library Service is gratefully acknowledged.
4th Light Horse
Regiment
Headquarters
cookhouse
4th Battalion soldiers at
the top of Shrapnel Gully
having breakfast
A sailor on shore duty
at Anzac Cove in his dugout
near the beach
Men of the 7th Australian
Field Ambulance drawing
their water ration
Cooks at the 5th Light Horse
Brigade's B Squadron cookhouse
A water condenser being
erected at Mudros on Lemnos,
to provide water to Gallipoli