Which country's army had the best food in World War II? There is no doubt that the US military must be well-deserved. The recipes of the US military during World War II are really varied, not only rich in dishes, but also nutritionally balanced. Many people were very curious about how good the food of the American army was at that time, and how much could the Allies be able to pick up the leftovers they threw on the ground to eat? Today we will talk about this topic.
U.S. troops eat during World War II
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="2" > extravagant U.S. military</h1>
The U.S. military is a world-famous luxury in terms of diet, such as chocolate, chewing gum, Coca-Cola and other snacks, the front-line soldiers are never lacking. Coca-Cola, in particular, consumed more than a billion bottles in a single year during World War II.
At the dinner, the U.S. army is even more envious of the Allies, beef, turkey, lunch meat, bread, milk, coffee, all kinds of vegetables are available, and there are special chefs in the army who change their tricks every day to cook for them. Every soldier had butter on his body, and breakfast could be eaten on bread. Because the food of the US military is really good, this is also the reason why many people call the US military "young master soldier".
U.S. troops drink Coca-Cola on the battlefield
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="21" > adequate logistics</h1>
At the same time, we have to admire the logistics units of the US military at that time. In a time-consuming and labor-intensive war like World War II, the logistics of the army is particularly important. The defeat of the German army in attacking the Soviet Union is a good negative teaching material, when the German army already had a great advantage in the Soviet battlefield, but in the defense of Moscow, the logistics of the German army were problematic.
Tens of thousands of people in the German army froze to death because they did not have cotton clothes, and when hitler's 2 million cotton clothes were made, the German front was too long for the logistics department to deliver in time. The Soviet army seized this flaw of the German army and completely turned defeat into victory, and the superiority established on the soviet-German battlefield in the early stage was instantly gone!
The U.S. military government obviously learned from the lessons of the Defeat of the German Army, and in World War II, the U.S. Military used hundreds of transport aircraft to airdrop daily necessities for soldiers on the front line. The continuous supply of logistics ensures that the US military can exert its strongest combat effectiveness in the war, which is why the US military rarely fails in the war.
The Germans froze to death during the battle for Moscow
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="22" > the birth of canned lunch meat</h1>
Although the logistics of the US military are sufficient, it is a battlefield after all, and the war situation is changing rapidly. As the positions changed and the war situation tightened, the U.S. military would also eat some simple food. In order to ensure that food does not easily spoil and can replenish the meat supply of soldiers, the canned luncheon meat was born.
In 1937, the American Hormel Food Company first tried to produce meat in cans, which was undoubtedly a luxury in those days. When canned lunch meat was first listed, not many people noticed it, because it was expensive, the average civilian could not afford to consume it, and the rich were reluctant to eat this machine-processed meat, so for two years, canned lunch meat was in a corner that no one cared about.
Canned luncheon meat for U.S. troops during World War II
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="23" > highlight moment for canned lunch meat</h1>
This was the case until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. In order to solve the problem of nutrition supply for soldiers on the front line, the US government can be said to be racking its brains. Despite their logistical support, there were too many uncertainties in the war, and they had to find a high-calorie portable food to facilitate the soldiers' physical fitness, and canned lunch meat appeared in the eyes of the U.S. government.
This canned food is both meat, has a long shelf life, and is easy to eat and does not require any processing. The most important point is that canned lunch meat can be carried with you, so under various advantages, canned lunch meat is continuously transported to the front line of the US army.
The U.S. military eats canned meat for lunch
At first, the canned luncheon meat was so well received by American soldiers that the can was eaten as a snack as soon as it was delivered to the soldiers. Originally, the U.S. government wanted the soldiers to keep the war supplies for use, but they did not expect that they could not resist the temptation of food, so the U.S. government ordered Humel to adjust the recipe of the canned food to improve the shelf life while reducing the taste.
As a result, this adjustment directly sent the canned lunch meat to the "guillotine", and the company reduced the proportion of pork in the canned luncheon meat, added twice the salt, and increased the starch content, so that the canned meat became very unpalatable and there was no meat taste at all.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="24" > surprised U.S. troops</h1>
Because the taste of canned lunch meat has changed dramatically, the U.S. military, which has become accustomed to eating, naturally scoffs at the canned food after changing the recipe. Once, when an American soldier complained with his teammates that the canned lunch meat was too bad, two British soldiers silently walked up to them, picked up the canned lunch meat they had thrown away, and wiped off the dirt and dust on it, which surprised the American army.
The improved canned luncheon meat is difficult to swallow
What the U.S. military did not know was that at a time when they could enjoy adequate logistical support, many Allied troops could not even eat. Nest head and pickles are high-grade, not to mention meat. Therefore, the cheap meat products such as canned lunch meat helped the Allies solve the great problem of food and clothing in the later period. It played a great role on the anti-fascist front.
Today, after more than 60 years of improvement, the lunch meat cans in the supermarket have been varied, and the taste of the World War II period is not known how many times higher, do you want to try it tonight?