M31 Breadbag – Waffen SS – SS RZM label
The breadbag or “m31 Brotbeutel” was one of the most integral parts in the individual Wehrmacht soldiers equipment. It contained mainly ration items and next to that it held the canteen and the messkit. It is a single compartment equipment sack and it closes with leather straps and buttons. The early versions have mostly aluminium hardware and leather reinforcements on the carrying loops. As the war progressed “luxurious” details like this where omitted. A lot of variations exist and one could easily start a specialized collection with breadbags only.
Colour: Gray
Leather: Gray painted leather
Markings: A SS/RZM cloth label and a cloth name label with “Müller 5.” and more that is sadly unreadable.
Year: 1937-1940
Hardware: Aluminium
Notes: This is a heavily used prewar Waffen-SS breadbag. It was made especially for the Waffen-SS between 1937 and 1940 since in that time the Waffen-SS did not have the luxury of being supplied by the army. Breadbags like these are rare and came with slings marked in the same way. Next to this there is a VA and SS-VA marked variant. A interesting detail in the construction is that the loops for the straps of the canteen and messkit are not evenly placed and the right loop is placed about 1 cm higher.
