Soldiers like Others ... 3 Trivia Quiz

Answer: his pay book

His pay book was his most valuable document in his possession. It identified him by name, service number, date of birth and regiment. Most importantly,it had to be presented upon demand to rear echelon security. Your pay book was valid ID. The soldier also needed it in order to be paid.

Answer: a helmet

The picklehaube was a glossy, hard leather helmet worn by the German soldier, famous for its spike. It was still in use in 1914. It was no more practical than the head gear worn by any of the soldiers that went off to war that summer.

Answer: the widow maker

The 08 machine gun with its high rate of fire,would mow down waves of attacking infantry. Along with gas, it was the most feared weapon the Allied infantryman faced.

Answer: the flamethrower

Initially, it had devastating effects until marksmen concentrated on eliminating the pioneer carrying the flamethrower.

Answer: to identify him by company

The portepee identified the German soldier by company. All ten line companies in the battalion had different colored portepees which enabled officers and NCOs to identify the enlisted ranks quickly. The numbered epaulets denoted which regiment he belonged to.

Answer: barbed wire

With the Western Front rapidly becoming a system of trenches,the S-94 sawtooth bayonet was the German army's answer to the barbed wire. It was an intimidating looking weapon indeed, but the machine gun made the bayonet charge impractical. German 'sturm' pioneers quickly discovered that a pair of wire cutters worked better than a foot long bladed weapon.

Answer: his rations

The 'brotbeutel' ('bread bag') was issued to carry the day's rations while either on the march or in the trenches.

Answer: a short concentrated bombardment,followed by a quick infantry assault

A short concentrated artillery barrage of three to five minutes followed up by a quick assault by the infantry, had spectacular success on the Eastern Front. This tactic also worked well when General Hutier made his appearance in the west after the capitulation of Russia.

Answer: chlorine gas

The first large scale use of gas was superficially a tremendous success because it caused the French soldiers holding the front line to withdraw immediately. However, no breakthrough could be made because the Germans were unsure of what this new weapon would do themselves.

Answer: all of these

As the war went on, there were shortages of everything. Food for front line soldiers was becoming scarce, and clothing and equipment lost its quality.