Why was the German army called "the Bosh" (or Bosch) during World War I?

zbeckabee

After Carl Bosch. "The process was first patented by Fritz Haber in 1908. In 1910 Carl Bosch, while working for chemical company BASF, successfully commercialized the process and secured further patents. It was first used on an industrial scale by the Germans during World War I: Germany had previously imported 'Chilean saltpeter' from Chile, but the demand for munitions and the uncertainty of this supply in the war prompted the adoption of the process. The ammonia produced was oxidized for the production of nitric acid in the Ostwald process, and the nitric acid for the production of various explosive nitro compounds used in munitions." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haber-Bosch_process Jul 03 06, 8:11 AM

lanfranco

I've generally seen it spelled "Boche." This was a French slang term apparently originally derived from an old word for "head" that came to mean obstinate, stubborn, or pig-headed. The etymology is explained here: http://www.billcasselman.com/wording_room/boche.htm Jul 03 06, 8:15 AM

Waggette

Thank you both. I had thought about the Bosch connection being the company (now making electrical appliances) who bought out the Junkers aeroplane factory, but thought it would be more simple than that because it was used by the men in the trenches as a form of abuse (as in kraut) and hun. Been watching the Somme anniversary documentaries which made me want to find the reason why - guess Boche probably is a more logical spelling. Jul 03 06, 9:05 AM

zbeckabee

I had once heard about the Carl Bosch connection and went with that because of the spelling in the question, however, lanfranco's makes more sense. Incidentally, I encountered quite a few "memoirs" by WWI vets who referred to the Germans as "The Bosh" so, who knows? Jul 03 06, 9:47 AM

Baloo55th

I've never heard the reference to Carl Bosch before. The customary spelling is Boche, and it was a French usage (we called them Huns). My dictionary derives it from 'alboche' meaning German - from 'allemand' (German) and 'caboche' (head or pate - not with an accent as in foie gras!). This is a much simpler derivation than to think that French soldiers would name their enemy after a chemist - how many poilus would have heard of Bosch, even? Always suspect complicated etymologies, or ones that need knowledge of obscure early words reappearing after centuries, or in this case, knowledge of people who would be well known in their not exactly popular knowledge field. Jul 03 06, 5:35 PM

zbeckabee

I think it is important to point out that American soldiers also referred to the Germans as "The Bosh" and "The Bosch." I do believe lanfranco's "Boche" still seems the more probable explanation, however, I have no trouble believing that U.S. soldiers may have had their own reasons behind using that terminology while putting the "KIBOSH" (BOSH) on Germany. Jul 03 06, 10:16 PM

Baloo55th

As the Americans arrived in the European war quite late on, it would seem likely that they picked up the term Boche from the French - and still unlikely that they were referring to a chemist! Jul 05 06, 5:45 AM

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