Why Soldiers Brought These Weird Items To War

Soldier superstitions placed in life or death situations every day soldiers at war in the 20th century had the hardest jobs imaginable whether it be a new piece of equipment a gun upgrade or an alcohol stash left behind by the enemy they were open to anything and would open anything if it made their arduous existence a tad more bearable it comes as no surprise then that troops often turn to Superstition as a coping mechanism to get them through if certain actions were avoided and specific things were carried and done they were adamant that luck would shine in their favor avoid new boots for those on deployment trudging through sloshy mud freezing snow and human detrius a sturdy pair of boots protecting their feet from outside elements is an absolute essential in the water log trenches of World War I soldiers whose toes were wet and Expos osed for long periods of time learned this the hard way trench foot was an ailment often caused by damaged and worn Footwear if left untreated it could lead to infection and gangrenous growths that only amputation could fix on the other hand if offered a brand new pair of boots some soldiers were more likely to decline the offer than accept them this was because they believed it was good luck to wear old sets of clothes headgear and Footwear that they had already survived multiple operations in this was taken to the extreme by Airmen serving in the second world war such as Navigator Harry lus who refused to replace his trusty but musky flying boots on the grounds that quote I would be a fool to risk ending the good luck I had so far experienced end quote similarly bombarder Eddie kleene wore the same set of unwashed clothes and Boots throughout his entire Tour of Duty until they were tattered smelly Rags so foul they had to be burned from the underwear up avoid lighting three cigarettes with one match during World War I smoking cigarettes was the favorite pastime of almost every Fighting Man allowing him to momentarily escape from his traumatic surroundings while ideological differences may have divided combatants into separate Waring factions tobacco puffing United them as did the notion that lighting three cigarettes with one match was a Death Wish by the first world war this strange Axiom was was widely held by troops on all sides who believed that one of the three or the third person would be killed as a result according to Legend This unlucky act originated in the Crimean War when Russian captives warned the British of the danger of using a lit match for any three-fold purpose this stemmed from a sacred rule of the Orthodox Church which forbade anyone who wasn't a priest from lighting three altar candles with a single source for fear that it would defile the sanctity of the the Holy Trinity and incur God's Wrath another thread links its emergence to the 1899 second bow war in British held South Africa and the more practical drawbacks of lighting oneself for too long simply put by using one match between three bore snipers had more time to line up their shot and fire when they were ready to pull the trigger it was usually the third man whose face was invitingly illuminated after the first world war in the late 19 20s Swedish match Titan Ivar Krueger famously hijacked this wartime precaution turning it into a marketing Ploy that helped him transform a small family-run business into a giant $600 million multinational corporation carry protective talismans on The Killing Fields of the 20th century there was little in the way of protection aside from a helmet that merely deflected the occasional bit of shrapnel when push came to shove soldiers knew that they mainly had to rely on blind luck to get out alive and so to enhance their chances many turned to protective talismans lumps of coal perforated Pebbles small Earth andwar cups buttons and even six packs of beer were just some of the personal Keepsake thought to ward off bad fortune while pictures of loved ones stashed inside helmets and Ruck sacks were believed to safeguard the wearer from harm even top brass were known to Revere random bits of tat like American General George Keeny who carried a pair of dice with him that had been blessed by a priest one of the luckiest inanimate objects to have were those that had been temporarily stuck inside people it was a widespread practice to Fashion bullets and shrapnel removed from injuries into potent pendants that Drew their power from the close brush with death they symbolized other charms came from folkloric tradition horseshoes long said to Stave off witches were prized by the British French and Germans in both world world wars as were a proliferation of plants noted for their protective properties such as white Heather Lily of the Valley and fourleaf clovers most shockingly before it was hijacked by Hitler the swastika originally a traditional symbol of luck in Hindu culture was one of the more popular emblems adopted by World War I Arab Britain and its servicemen who in one of the bigger ironies of History Don swasa amulets to repel Germans bring an animal friend the world wars were generally a bad period to be an animal let alone a living creature tens of millions of Critters are estimated to have perished killed either in the line of duty or just simply caught up in the blender of mechanized Warfare some species were even made extinct such as the Wake Island Rail a flightless bird that was hunted down and exterminated by Japanese troops stranded in the Pacific among the casualties also would have been a couple of animals adopted by the military units as luck bringing mascots in the first world war a pair of shaggy-haired Terriers named wolf and floss accompanied the second Battalion of the London Scottish on operations and a Persian cat named Togo prowled the decks of the HMS dreadn curling up inside the ship's gun barrels to relax sometimes animals were found in the most unusual of circumstances such as piggy a stray Pig found swimming in the sea after the sinking of the light Cruiser Dresden in March 195 15 some of the more exotic mascots included Jacko the monkey of HMS loyal who sadly drowned in December 194 while on active duty an Egyptian donkey Called Moses that served as the figurehead of the New Zealand Army Service Company and even a kangaroo that hopped with the Australian forces in Egypt as Warriors from down the ages would attest before charging Into The Fray it's very wise to get the Gods on your side first by performing some sort of pre-battle ceremony securing the knowledge that a being infinitely more powerful than you has got your back you can rest just that little bit easier as you Lop off enemy heads participants of modern conflicts were no different in their appeals to God or Lady Luck before running or flying into Oblivion Christians made the sign of the cross touched rosary beads or uttered a couple of Hail Marys at times non-catholics did these rituals too after particularly intense heart in one's mouth close calls for US Air crews in World War II making your bed before a mission pretty much guaranteed your plane was going to be shot down but shaving was seen as a good sign elsewhere in the first world war Italian soldiers from the abuto region got battle ready by throwing a pinch of Earth from their birthplace over their shoulder equally avoiding certain rituals was advisable in the Vietnam War soldiers were discouraged from eating cans of apricots before an engagement because it was seen as a bad Omen personal observances were even more cryptic and elaborate and often verged on the ridiculous for instance before he flew off on a raid Naval aviator John Robbins always made sure that he had put a silver dollar in his leg pocket a red handkerchief around his neck and a baseball cap in the Record Rack of his ready room so from overly complex to the plain simple soldiers had and continue to have more superstitions than you can shake a stick at just make sure you throw it away afterwards though or you'll have bad luck for like 11 and 1/2 years

Channel: Simple History

Views: 353,742

Keywords: simple history, animated history, educational, education, animation, lucky, charms, superstitions, soldier, rituals, myth, belief, legend, old wives tale, WW1, WW2, Vietnam war, World War, superstitious, clover, military, good luck, bad luck, evil, magic, miracle, unbelievable

Id: KxbTDruQOCU

Length: 8min 45sec (525 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 07 2024