Can anyone tell me what size the German and British sandbag was?? and what materials they were made out of?? was there any difference in size between the two?, I know it is a bit of a specialised question, but I thought someone might know. thanks
Good question - I don't know but suspect they haven't changed much over the years. Ones I have used (briefly, long ago) were wide enough to be filled with a square-mouth shovel (necessary to do the job quickly and safely) and about twice as long as wide. That would be about 14 inches by 28, usually slack-filled so they would pack to about 8-10 inches high. They were made of hessian (jute), I think the Americans call it burlap. When filled, even with damp soil or sand, they are light enough for a man to stack all day if necessary but obviously heavy enough to stay in place. Those would be more or less universal design considerations, I would think. Don't know about German ones but, like I say, the same design criteria. I don't know about the material they would use - jute fibre was widely used for sack cloth (gunny sack is another name) most places but supply to Germany would have been interrupted during the war I think.
So, mostly guess-work, maybe someone knows better.
The "MANUAL OF FIELD WORKS (ALL ARMS) 1921" (London) says:
"CHAPTER II. TOOLS AND MATERIALS 7. Materials. 10. Sandbags.- The service pattern of sandbag measures 33 inches by 14 inches empty. It is made of canvas and issued in bales of 250, weighing 96lbs. Sandbags are used for revetments, loopholes, spoil bags for mining or dug-out work. 11. Sacks.- Grain sacks or bags which may be available on service can be substituted for sandbags. They usually contain about 2 bushels ( 2 1/2 cubic feet) of grain - if used for field defences they should not be more than half filled, otherwise they are too heavy to handle easily. It is not necessary to close or tie up a sack if the mouth is carefully folded under it when it is being placed in position; the weight of the sack will prevent loss of earth."
I recommend this manual and hope that this answer helps.
The measurement in the last post seems correct. The sand bag, when filled as mentioned above and properly stacked allows for the bags to be interlocked in two rows. The length ending up twice the width because the tie end was usually folded in under allowing the fill to be shaped for a well structured two row wall. Staggered interlocking three row works out as well as four etc, depending on what is needed.
Present day sand bags are made of a recycled plastic I beleive. As well as grain bags. Similar to a jute thread design. I live just above the flood plains in Mb. Canada. They are already preparing and filling some 3 million bags in preparation for what is going to hit us this year. Some waterways are full and flooding and the spring thaw has yet to hit. Feel free to come on over and help. --or not.
The German sandbags were made of brown paper - my grandfather told me that and had a section cut out of one.
Later I managed to get a complete one from an auction site. The vendor said he had got it from an elderly WWI returned soldier. When I asked the vendor what it was made of I gave him a list of materials - cotton, canvas, jute etc and he wrote back 'I have examined it closely and it is made of brown PAPER!'
I knew then that he had the real deal.
The photo shows it in one of my display cases - it is exactly 23 inches long and 12 inches  wide.
-- Edited by NZEF1945 on Tuesday 20th of May 2014 11:13:22 AM
-- Edited by NZEF1945 on Tuesday 20th of May 2014 11:22:19 AM
