10. A History of Military Chow

Food is sustenance, it keeps us alive, it keeps us energized and it keeps us happy. In the context of military history, it can also determine the outcome of a battle. Tune in and learn about our episode's namesake, Hardtack, and a brief history of military rations from America, Australia, and Japan.

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Make your Own Hardtack!

Hardtack Recipe (Survival Bread) - Bread Dad

Civil War Recipe: Hardtack (1861) – The American Table

Sources:

American Rationing

18th Century Soldier’s Rations - Cooking Series at Jas Townsend and Son S1E1, 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUt1ZHs3wQ8.

Boatner, Mark Mayo. The Civil War Dictionary. New York : McKay, 1959. http://archive.org/details/civilwardictiona0000unse_x8g4.

“Founders Online: From George Washington to John Hancock, 4–5 August 1775.” University of Virginia Press. Accessed September 29, 2022. http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-01-02-0150.

“Founders Online: General Orders, 8 August 1775.” University of Virginia Press. Accessed September 29, 2022. http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-01-02-0173.

Rezneck, Samuel. “Horsford’s ‘Marching Ration’ for the Civil War Army.” Military Affairs 33, no. 1 (1969): 249–55. https://doi.org/10.2307/1984484.

Australian Rationing

https://www.oldtreasurybuilding.org.au/work-for-victory/housewives-to-action/food-rationing/

https://www.army.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-11/operational_ration_o2_0.pdf

https://australianfoodtimeline.com.au/1915-army-rations-in-world-war-i/

https://www.mreinfo.com/international-rations/australian-rations/australian-cr5m/

https://www.alimentarium.org/en/fact-sheet/military-rations

https://www.alimentarium.org/en/fact-sheet/appertisation

https://www.thc.texas.gov/blog/hardtack-original-mre#:~:text=Hardtack%20was%20a%20favored%20food,both%20sides%20were%20given%20hardtack.

https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/anzac/biscuit

Japanese Rationing

Barker, A. J. Japanese Army Handbook, 1939-1945. New York, NY: Hippocrene Books, 1979.

Cook, Haruko Taya, and Theodore Failor Cook. Japan at War: An Oral History. London: Phoenix, 2000.