WW1 German Bread Bag Strap 1916 Dated

A scarce WW1 marked German Bread Bag Strap in excellent condition and bearing an acceptance stamp showing it was taken in by the 3rd German Army Corps in 1916, rare to find as most WW1 Bread Bag straps are devoid of these stamps. The 3rd Army Corps fought the entire war on the Western Front.

True WW1 Bread Bag Straps in good condition such as this are very difficult to find, they are however an important piece of kit since they were used by all Infantry in the assault to support the weight of the cartridge Pouches since German Infantry did not have "Y straps" in WW1. The cartridge Pouches were usually supported by the Pack, but the Pack was not used in the assault so the Bread Bag Strap was used instead. As such a Bread Bag Strap is the classic item for a German Infantry "in the assault" display as numerous period photos testify.

If one is lucky enough to find a WW1 Bread Bag Strap it is usually in such poor condition as to be useless for  supporting Pouches. More often than not damp has rotted the vulnerable leather ends which secure the  snap hooks, this naturally rendering them incapable of any load bearing.Fortunately this is not the case here. The Strap is complete and wholly undamaged, with only a very small amount of wear evident. The original field grey colour is near perfect, not washed out as is commonly the case, whilst the canvas itself is very strong, with the often missing extra canvas loop still stitched in position. The crucial brown leather ends are visibly solid with no rot whatsoever, and the sprung clips themselves are strong and fully functioning. 

An essential but hard to find piece of WW1 German Equipment, it would be difficult to upgrade this example.

When found the Strap was attached to the perfectly matching Bread Bag it was originally issued with. The Bag carries identical markings and is in similar condition and although not included as part of this sale, it is available as the previous listing.