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Notes on the 1916 Heavy Marching Shoe


world war I nerd
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world war I nerd

Photo No. 03: Is the 1918 Field Shoe, which was also called the "Pershing Shoe". One is fully hobnailed and the other appears to be hobnailed in the British style for mounted troops. I have yet to locate all of the specification changes for the 1918 Field Shoe, and judging by this shoe, I believe it was manufactured that way. If true, then the AEF issued a separate hobnailed field shoe to its mounted troops in 1918.

 

By the way, the metal fittings that look like nail heads in the center of the shoe are lengths of threaded metallic wire. If you've read about the Pershing Shoe's soles being sewn, nailed and screwed together, the threaded wires are the screws that secure the shoes three soles to one another and keep them from separating. During the manufacturing process the wires are screwed in and then trimmed flush with the inner and outer soles, with the middle sole in between.

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world war I nerd

Photo No. 04: Shows the soles of the French Modele 1916 Brodequin (left & center) and the Modele 1917 Brodequin (right). The French Army issued a number of earlier styles of hobnailed field shoes during the war. In my opinion, the 1916 and 1917 patterns were the most likely to be issued to the Doughboys during the course of America's involvement in WW I.

 

Despite the rounded shape of the drawing, the toes on the French made shoes were noticeably square in shape. The 1916 and 1917 pattern French field shoes were essentially the same, except the model 1917 shoe's height was lengthened by a 15 millimeters to provide better support for the example.

 

The only first hand Doughboy account in respect to wearing French made field shoes took place shortly before the Meuse-Argonne offensive by a soldier with size 13 feet from the 35th. This is what he penned,

 

Sergeant Martin announced that he had new shoes available for issue. I was deeply interested. With between seven warts sprouting on my right foot and hobnail tacks working through the soles of my well worn shoes, marches had become a misery like walking on buckshot.

 

Fifteen men fell out to attend the shoe issue with me but on second thought Palmer and Cooper considered that they could put their time to better use by locating cognac. Their shoes were obviously good for another month or so and cognac was hard to come by on the front, so Cooper and his buddy took off for the French part of the camp where it is rumored that cognac could be obtained not much over twice the normal price. The rest of us marched over to the supply hut to apply for shoes.

 

We found that Martin’s offerings were a limited and very mixed bag. The American Services of Supply still were not working well. There were a few of the rough-leather-outside American shoes, heavy black-polished British boots, and several pairs of square toed French monstrosities available.

 

I looked hopefully over the lot in that order. But the American shoes were built only for the midgets in the fourth platoon, the British boots fitted my more normal sized men, and I was able to get my suffering feet only in an outsized pair of what the French called brodequins.

 

My disrespectful companions made unkind comments about my choice. “Hey sarge, if I was you I’d always take cover with my feet to the front. Them steel plates are a good four times as thick as your helmet.” “And the spread is about twice as wide as your helmet.” “Any time we hafta wade a creek, better take ‘em off. Step in a hole and you’ll sink like an anvil.” “Case we’re ordered to fall back, you can cover us, you gonna be anchored down and couldn’t keep up anyway.”

 

They were really unique-heavy black polished leather, with triple soles three-fourths of an inch thick and totally unbendable. They were strengthened by steel plates on heel; toe and both sides of the sole, with the remaining surface protected by hobnails the size of navy beans. The weight was four pounds per boot that would sure build up the leg muscle, just trying to move them. Besides the weight they had other disadvantages. In trying them out I constantly missed clearing steps by half an inch, hit the ground half an inch too soon, found them as flexible as a seasoned oak plank, and the iron plates sounded like a Renault tank on a gravel road.

 

But the really intriguing feature of the brodequins was the shape, exactly like a pair of identical coffins. The toes were square and the light taper front and rear was the same on both sides. Found they could be worn on either foot, a great advantage when faced with emergencies on dark nights. And they were much more comfortable than the spikes stabbing through the worn soles of my old ones so I took them.

 

During the Meuse-Argonne offensive, the First Sergeant was wounded in the shoulder and the scalp, and had a mustard gas blister the size of a dinner plate on his stomach. He was treated at a field hospital, where a hospital orderly (the pock-faced corporal mentioned later) collected his filthy and bloody uniform and shoes to be discarded on the salvage pile that was kept at every AEF hospital. During the process, the sergeant recalled,

 

The corporal came back with a laundry cart and started loading the pile of boots and war torn rags destined for the salvage heap or the incinerator. He seemed puzzled by the weight of my indestructible, armor plated, size thirteen brogans. He paused and admired their unscarred uppers and the pristine perfection of the outsized plates, taps and hobnails. “These yours?” He was scowling at me. Since I was the only man in the ward who was able to fill those monstrosities, I reluctantly admitted that they had been mine. “Well, I’ll bend the orders a little in this case. Them shoes is too good to go to salvage. You wanta hang onto ‘em. You’ll never find a pair of shoes like them anymore.” And he placed them under my bunk, much to my disgust, and wheeled his load out the door at the end of the ward.

 

Upon recovery, the sergeant noted the following when he was issued new clothing and shoes,

 

My pock marked friend took me to the small clothing store in the basement and soft-soaped the supply sergeant into giving me a well fitted new outfit. My greatest joy was the brand-new pair of American shoes --- felt like moccasins compared to those things I’d been dragging all over France. On returning to the ward I filled them with water for an hour, then wore them all day so they dried conforming perfectly to the shape of my foot, including corns and bunions.

First Sergeant, William S. Triplet, HQ Company, 140th Infantry, 35th Division, AEF

 

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world war I nerd

Photo No 05: Shows an assortment of British made "Ammunition Boots". The British issued a plethora of different types and styles of hobnailed field shoes that I have yet to untangle. Regardless, large numbers of British shoes were purchased by the AEF and issued to the Yanks and Doughboys. Apparently, British shoes were all made in the mounted style like the left and center shoes. Hobnails were then added at division, regiment and brigade level for dismounted troops, like the shoe on the right.

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world war I nerd

Photo No. 06: As a result of this practice a number of different hobnail patterns can be found on WW I British field shoes. Here are two examples.

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Bonjour.

 

Very good topic. The theme of boots is not easy. En France, it is very difficult to find this type of footwear.

solcarlus.

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world war I nerd

I just noticed that Photo No. 02 of the 2nd pattern 1917 Field/Trench Shoes vanished or didn't attach. I'll try again.

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WWI Nerd,

I don't know, I'm inclined to think they look like post #25. Six nails in each row, about six rows, no big gap at the toe.

Here's a close-up, turned toe-side up.

Pete

 

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world war I nerd

When I first saw the photo I thought the shoe might be French because the sole was completely covered with hobnails. However, I didn't bother to count them.

 

Looking at the close-up you just posted, the rounded toe suggests that the shoe is American made. Both the British and French made field shoes had a distinctly square shape at the front end. The absence of the steel toe plate tells us it's the 1917 Field Shoe if it is an American made shoe. I can't tell what's going on with the heel so it's impossible to tell if it the 1st or 2nd pattern 1917 Field Shoe.

 

There were nine or more specification changes made to the 1917 Field Shoe between May 1917 and August 1918. Of those, I've only identified about half of them. The fact that the shoe in your photo looks to be entirely covered in hobnails, can be accounted for by one of the following:

 

1. The shoe was resoled by either the company shoe cobbler or the Salvage Service and new hobnails were applied in a non-regulation pattern.

2. Because their were 50 shoe manufacturers in 13 different states making field shoe for Uncle Sam, one or more of them could have applied the hobnails in an alternate pattern.

3. One of the nine specification changes may have called for the entire sole to be hobnailed.

 

Anyway, based on what I can see, it's probably safe to say that he's lugging around a spare pair of U.S. made 1917 Field/Trench Shoes.

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WWOne Nerd- this thread (like your other posts) is excellent. the attention to detail and research is fantastic. I hope the mods. will pin this thread. Thanks so much for taking the time and sharing your extensive knowledge.

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