12. The “Jerrycan” was invented by the Nazis, before being copied by the Allies and playing a critical part in winning the war
The iconic Wehrmacht-Einheitskanister (or “Jerrycan“) is a staple of modern life, used by both militaries and civilians across the world as a handy container for liquid, typically gasoline. Lesser known, however, is that the jerrycan in its current form was invented by the Müller engineering company on behalf of the Wehrmacht in 1937; it is from this origin the name derives, with “Jerry” being wartime pejorative slang for a German. An improvement on existing designs by removing the requirement for additional tools such as funnels, as well as allowing for the contraction or expansion of the contained liquid depending on hot or cold conditions and optimizing surface area space, by 1939 the German armed forces possessed hundreds of thousands in preparation for the invasion of Poland; without the jerrycan as a means of rapid refueling, the German military tactic of “Blitzkrieg” would have been significantly less effective.
Reverse engineered by the Allies after American engineer Paul Pleiss successfully recovered one from Germany by driving from Berlin to Calcutta in 1939, the jerrycan played an understated role in the victory of the Allies. Whilst it might appear melodramatic, President Roosevelt remarked that “without these cans it would have been impossible for our armies to cut their way across France at a lightning pace which exceeded the German Blitzkrieg of 1940″. The ability to resupply was critical to modern warfare, and 1.3 million jerrycans were required each month just to replace combat losses; when a lack of cans was reported in August 1944, combat units were forced to slow their advances and by May 1945 over 19 million jerrycans were being used by U.S. forces in just the European theatre.