World War 1 and the advent of rations
The United States Army introduced the individual rations intended to be carried by troops in the field, with no access to a mess kitchen, in 1907. It was called the Iron Ration because it was issued in a metal box which was actually made of tin. The box contained three boullion cakes which were mixed with cooked wheat, each weighing three ounces. Three one ounce chocolate bars provided sugar, and thus energy, and to flavor the boullion salt and pepper was included. The army continued to issue the Iron ration until 1922. It was never popular with the troops, other than the chocolate.
In 1914 the Army issued the Trench Ration. Not yet at war, the United States Army was concerned that troops at the front would be separated from mess kitchens for extended periods of time, and that food from the kitchens could not be delivered to the troops. Accordingly the Trench Ration was developed and used through 1918. The Trench Ration was commercially available canned meats or fish such as kippers or sardines, along with crackers. Each ration contained several cans of meat or fish and thus the rations were heavy and the troops never cared for them anyway. During training and later deployment, the complaints of the troops made the Trench Ration short-lived.
In 1917 the Army introduced the Reserve Ration. The reserve ration contained either bacon or canned meat, a pound of bread or hardtack, coffee, sugar, salt, and loose tobacco accompanied by rolling papers. The tobacco was eventually replaced with cigarettes. Following World War 1, in response to the comments received from the troops, the Reserve Ration was modified in several installments, and eventually became two rations, one with meat as its protein source, the other with pork and beans. Chocolate was added, usually hard, intended to be melted and consumed as a beverage, although powdered milk, which would have been useful in such a case, was not.
In 1938 the Army introduced what became famous as its C-rations. C-rations came in meat and beans, meat and potatoes, or meat and vegetables. Each C-ration was complete nutrition for one day. A daily ration comprised six twelve ounce cans, two for each meal. Since the labels were prone to fall off, sometimes the same meal might be had three times a day for several days in a row. C-rations were provided to the British and Russians under Lend-Lease, where they were an improvement over the soldier’s daily fare and were welcomed enthusiastically. With American troops they were far less popular.
The production of C-rations continued after World War 2, despite the Army finding them not suitable to their purpose any longer in 1945. C-rations were used during the Korean War and after that remaining stocks sat in Army supply depots. During the Vietnam War the remaining supplies of C-rations, which had not been manufactured since 1958, were destroyed by serving them to the troops in Southeast Asia. Evidently that had not aged as well as some wines and fine cheeses. They were even less popular than they had been twenty years earlier. As late as 1968 C-rations prepared a decade earlier were being distributed to combat troops.