Gulaschkanone: The German Field Kitchen in World War II and Modern Reenactment Hardcover – March 10, 2011

At first glance you might wonder why you would spend the money on a large format book with such an obscure topic.However, it is well worth the money, as it is a great insight into how armies get fed in the field, specifically the German Army in WWII.It's been written that amateurs study military tactics, but professionals study logistics.This reviewer became interested in German field cooking after reading the relevant sections on German Rations and the field kitchen in the "US Army Manual on the German Army." Even though what little WWII re-enacting I do is Soviet. Another item that whetted my interest was coming up to Fort Indiantown Gap for the annual Bulge re-enactment on cold days in January, and smelling the chow cooking in Scott's kitchen. Usually can't identify what it is, but it makes you want to grab a mess tin and get into the chow line.The book has an excellent photo spread showing how a meal was cooked from start to finish, ending up with the delivery of hot food to the various units in the line.The author goes into fairly good detail of the potential recipies, including pointing out that most of the time, if the German supply line was functioning, they were cooking using relatively fresh food, including fresh vegetables, and meat from the division "butcher platoon" which was responsible for converting meat on the hoof into cuts that could be used by the field kitchens at company level. Fresh bread was also provided by a division level bakery.Some of the trivia about the food itself is fascinating, including the direction to the cooks to ensure the meat was in big enough chunks to be seen by the soldier. Most of the recipes had a fairly large fat content. In addition to providing calories and fuel for the soldiers, a large fat content had the advantage that once the food cooled in the mess kit, it would congeal and stay put.This is in direct contrast to U.S. Army practice, during WWII, which relied very heavily on what was called a "B" ration, which was largely canned or dried to avoid the need for refrigeration.Of course, if Allied bombers were tearing up the supply lines, the chow got pretty slim.A couple of minor quibbles. First, I would have liked to seen more emphasis on the recipes.Secondly, while Scott does describe the stowage in the "limber cart" portion of the field kitchen, perhaps a better description of the intent of the "iron rations" carried on board would be in order for those not familiar with it from other sources. The iron rations consisted of 200 cans of meat and 200 packages of a long term storage biscuit or cracker. The intent of these "iron rations" was that they were only to be used in an emergency, when food was not coming up through the normal supply channels, and were only to be used on authorization of an officer.This book does have the effect of somewhat humanizing the WWII German soldier, showing that regardless of your nationality, there is something to be said for dry socks and hot chow when you are in combat.All in all a wonderful book, I would give it six stars out of five. Another reviewer stated that Scott's book is a "labor of love" and they were right.Now, if you'll pardon me, I've got to figure out how to crash 2nd Panzer's chow line at Reading, dressed as a Soviet rifleman.

High price book that had little history on WWII field kitchens. Had just small amount of information on many items. Mainly information on rebuilding his field kitchen and other reenactment events.

GULASCHKANONE: The German Field Kitchen in World War II and Modern Reenactment, by Scott L. ThompsonFirst, this is an excellent book. I've never seen a more complete popular resource on a specific aspect of military feeding. The positive aspects of Gulashkanone are well covered by other reviews in this section. The book also has problems which should be addressed. Gulaschkanone's historic flaws are in the nature of the reenacting hobby itself: Willful ignorance of the ugly aspects of any war, and an emphasis on comfort in the field. Mr. Thompson's naive and sympathetic view of the Wehrmacht seems sincere, but I found it disturbing and a little offensive. His camp cooking also veers a little from reality, featuring rich, meaty dishes rather than the leaner fare really available to German troops, especially late in the war.Mr Thompson goes out of his way on several occasions to suggest the Wehrmacht typically had excellent relations with local populations, cooked spare rations for local civilians, and were prohibited from confiscating civilian foodstocks. I'm pretty sure I could produce any number of mainstream historians willing to refute this view. Perhaps, just perhaps, some ordinary troops and officers weren't so bad, but German occupation policy was harsh at best. The Wehrmacht was an instrument of state power, a state power which actively pursued policies of theft, enslavement, and murder on an industrial scale. "Living Historians" have a moral obligation to reflect on these facts.Many of Mr. Thompson's recipes and demonstration meals feature sausages, ham, roast pork and other hard to get foodstuffs washed down with fresh ground coffee and beer. To be fair, he also refers several times to the thinner rations available to field cooks after the Allies began to interdict German supply trains, but doesn't describe them in detail. I looked on the website of a different Wehrmacht reenactor unit than Mr. Thompsons', and they had lots of recipes for dishes based on winter vegetables, dried beans, and pasta. They still sounded tasty, and a lot more authentic.Despite these problems, anyone who wants or needs a comprehensive, readable introduction to Wehrmacht field kitchens should head right for this book.

I just finished reading my copy and am very pleased to add it to my library. As a non reenactor type I found the authors personal story of locating and restoring a Field Kitchen to its former glory to be quite entertaining. The decision to approach the topic in the first person elevated the book from a simple sterile reference to a quite entertaining and educational experience. The current day pictures bring the whole story to life. It is a must have book for anyone wanting to understand the day to day life of the German soldier in WWII. I certainly recommend it.Regards Jim Pool

This book is a little off the normal subject but was a fun read, very informative, and a great companion to the Book Rations of the German Wehrmacht. Includes a lot of detailed pictures and illistrations.I had really never paid much attention to, or thought much about, the rations and the cooking of such in the Wehrmacht usually chosing to concentration on battles, tatics, equipment, and uniforms. Highly recommended.

It was what I need to compleat my scratch- build -working model.

What an amazing resource! A welcome addition to our historical reference library.

Excellent Stuff

great book

Having bought the Schiffer title on German Rations of the Wehrmacht in World War II recently, I've been delving deeply in the products available for creating meals for the German soldier in WW2. And just then this title comes along, with a focus on the Field Kitchen in action. I just had to have it.Decades ago one of my most favorite model kits was the 1:35th scale field kitchen made by Tamiya. Ever since this piece of equipment has fascinated me, even so much so that a couple of years ago I've bought a model in 1:6th scale. This book now only reinforces that fascination. It gives a good explanation of how the kitchen is built up (e.i. what all the different compartments are for), but it also explains how it was used. This even goes so far as to include recipies!To bring the information accross a lot of colour photo's are shown, where re-enactors pose around the kitchen. This is a very good thing, as a picture can explain a lot more than words.I feel that the approach that's taken here is really of interest to afficionado's like myself. It's given me a good insight into how the kitchen was used, and has inspired me to have a closer look at my models.And I think that with all the colour photographs included, this book nicely complements the book about German Rations.By now you get the picture, I guess, and that's that I really like this book. I hope you do too.

Great book for anyone interested in Wehrmacht food

Brilliant book, informative interesting and all modern pics in colour. Great reference book for modellers

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