Jerry Sanson
Louisiana Maneuvers and Military Museum
March 2026
Whether Napoleon Bonaparte actually said that “an army marches on his stomach” first or if Friederich the Great of Prussia beat him to it (and historians still argue over the origin of the phrase), the sentiment is that both of these master strategists knew that supply trains and depots are important components of a successful military operation.
Supplying soldiers in the field with adequate food, sometimes under attack, became one of the U.S. Army’s most complex problems of supply when it became involved in World War II. Transportation problems added to food rationing at home, even though military needs had top priority, and labor shortages in production facilities all complicated the task of supplying soldiers in the field with the food they needed.
The U.S. military used different rations during the war:
A-rations were comprised of fresh, refrigerated, or frozen foods. They were prepared in kitchens or field kitchens and were usually served in permanent dining halls
B-rations were prepared by trained cooks in a field kitchen while troops were on the move. B-rations included canned or dehydrated food that did not require refrigeration
C-rations, “C-Rats” as they were often known, were issued to individual combat troops and featured pre-cooked food stored in tin cans that had to be opened with a key. Soldiers sometimes kept their key on the same chain as their dog tags because they quickly learned in the field that if you lost your key, you couldn’t eat. They also learned that C-rations tasted better hot than cold and devised numerous unconventional ways to heat them.
D-rations were heat-resistant chocolate bars developed in cooperation with Hershey’s Chocolate Corporation beginning in 1937. They were carried by individual soldiers in the field and supplied 1,800 calories to troops for emergency use. They were deliberately made with an unappealing taste to prevent soldiers from eating them except during emergencies.
K-rations were also issued to soldiers in the field, but in packages that weighed less than C-Rations and contained three meals, breakfast, dinner, and supper, as they were labeled, and became a mainstay for soldiers trapped in difficult situations. Even though they were originally planned for only three to four days consumption, some troops survived only on K-rations for weeks or months at a time.
K-Rations were adopted and standardized by November 1941, and suppliers produced the first 6,000 rations for field trials in 1942. Each soldier received three boxes per day, and uniforms were redesigned so that the pockets would hold all three.
Original K-rations included the following items:
Breakfast
Defense biscuits (crackers)
Graham biscuits
1 can veal luncheon meat
15 Malted Milk Dextrose tablets
2 packets of soluble coffee
3 sugar tablets
Chewing gum
Dinner (Lunch)
Defense biscuits
Graham biscuits
15 Malted Milk Dextrose tablets
1 can pork luncheon meat
1 tube of bouillon paste
Chewing gum
Supper
Defense biscuits
Graham biscuits
1 can Cervelat Sausage
1 D-bar (D-Ration)
Lemon juice powder
3 sugar tablets
Chewing gum
The Dextrose tablets proved unpopular, so they were soon replaced with a fruit bar.
One of the complaints about the original K-ration was that it did not provide enough calories, so later versions added a compressed cereal bar, canned cheese product, a candy bar, and other items, eventually reaching a total of 2,830 calories. Soldiers also reported the monotony of eating the limited menu every day, so the food included in the packets became more varied. K-ration boxes also included cigarettes, matches, wooden eating utensils, and toilet paper.
Packaging included a wooden crate such as the one displayed in the Louisiana Maneuvers and Military Museum with individual boxes of food inside. Food packets containing meat were filled then dipped in wax twice to keep them waterproof. The boxes were originally plain brown cardstock but were changed to a color code (“morale K-rations,” as they were called) during the war to make it easier for soldiers to choose the correct box for the correct meal quickly. Breakfast boxes were brown, dinner boxes were green, and supper boxes were blue.
Soldiers appreciated the fact that K-rations could keep them from starving but did not always appreciate the quality or monotony of the food they provided. K-ration crates such as the one displayed in the Museum often became storage boxes for personal possessions or other items.
Army planners found K-rations useful and ordered them in abundance. Suppliers produced more than 105 million K-rations in 1944 alone.