Ideally, each German soldier was entitled to two hot and one cold dish from the field kitchen daily. In cases where the tactical situation did not allow the delivery of hot meals for 24 hours or more, an iron ration was provided. There were two types of rations: the Full iron ration "Eiserne Portion" and the Half iron ration "Halb Eiserne Portion". A full iron ration was stored in the field kitchen, and a half ration was given out to each soldier.
Halb Eiserne Portionen (Half iron rations).
The order to use rations was given by the company commander, platoon commander, or other commander if the unit was surrounded or cut off from supplies. After the half-iron ration had been consumed, it was necessary to report it immediately, so that supplies could be replenished.
The composition of the ration:
1. Canned meat. Daily allowance: 200 grams of meat or meat-containing canned food.
2. Crackers. Daily allowance: 250 grams of crackers, cookies or rye bread.
Crackers were Packed in special bags for crackers (Zwiebackbeutel). All rations, including the cracker bag, were stored in a rucksack, cracker bag, or A-frame bag.
It is worth noting that the half iron ration was one of the components of other rations, such as emergency flight rations of the Luftwaffe, rations for coastal units of the Kriegsmarine, etc.
Eiserne Portionen (Full iron rations).
When normal supplies were stopped, the unit commander had to assess the tactical and logistical situation and determine how the troops would be fed and what food standards should be set. The question came to the fore: "How long will the situation last until normal supply is restored?". In the book "Der Feldkochunteroffizier" (manual on nutrition in the field), the author States that when the regular supply of food stopped, iron rations were issued to the hands. However, they were not issued in accordance with the typical composition of the diet. For example, instead of the standard 200 grams of canned meat, they could give out 60 to 100 grams, 100 grams of concentrates (Wehrmacht Suppenkonserven) instead of the required 150 grams, and 10 grams of coffee instead of 20 grams.
The composition of the ration:
1. Canned meat. Daily allowance: 200 grams of meat or meat-containing canned food. If possible, two portions (400 grams) or one large portion (850 grams) were given out.
2. Crackers. Daily allowance: 250 grams of crackers, cookies, rye bread or canned bread.
3. Vegetables. Daily allowance: 150 grams of canned or dried vegetables (Gemüse) or pea sausage (Erbwurst).
4. Coffee. 25 grams of ersatz coffee.
5. Salt. 25 grams of salt per day.
Source of information: Jim Pool and Thomas Bock. Ration of the German Wehrmacht in World War II.