The other day I saw a post on facebook. I think it was trying to make a point that the chances of being killed by a moslem fundamentalist were really small. As is often the case with such things there was some very selective cherry picking of the data. Number of people who had been killed by buses was given, but not the number killed by road traffic accidents in general. The author had chosen to make the highest number that they posted as deaths from firearms.
Something of interest struck me. The figure given for “deaths by firearms” was 11,000. Or should I say, “only 11,000”. For a country with a population of around 350 million 11,000 is actually a very low percentage. Looking at other sources I am not sure how they got that figure. It may be meant to be murders with firearms.
Deaths from firearms in the US average about 10.5 per 100,000 population. Or 0.0105 per cent! Homicides by firearm are 3.43-5.0 per 100,000, suggesting that most firearm fatalities are accidents, suicide or legitimate self-defence. Deaths from road traffic accidents vary from 10 to 20 per 100,000 population per year. So you are three to four times more likely to be killed by an automobile than murdered with a gun. Chances of a non-fatal injury from an automobile are much higher. As a contrast, an estimated 12,000 people in the US die from falling down steps each year.
Looking at the cause of death figures for 2014 is interesting. The total number of deaths for that year was 2,626,418 which is 823.7 per 100,000. Heart disease and cancer were the main killers. What is interesting is that diabetes killed 76,488, which is 23.98 per 100,000. 55,227 or 17.32 per 100,000 died from “Influenza and Pneumonia”. To place this in perspective, the number of Americans killed in the entire Vietnam war was around 58,315.
Think about that for a second! In a first world country that claims to be a superpower tens of thousands of people are dying from diabetes and chest infections!
Next time you see a politician or someone else claiming that guns are an important issue and something needs to be done about them remember the above and think about what they are really trying to distract you from.
Many modern bayonet designs are not particularly useful. I have an SA-80 bayonet that is inferior to my kukri in every respect. It even weighs and costs more. For soldiers who are attempting to lighten their load the bayonet is often one of the first things to be discarded.
Bayonet fighting, however, is still an important skill to become familiar with. Even if you do not have a bayonet or do not have time to fit it bayonet fighting skills can be utilized. Butt strikes and thrusts work the same with an unbayonetted rifle. With the bayonet a thrust from the muzzle can still have a telling effect. The basic principles also apply to long batons or some improvised weapons. For this reason both Crash Combat and Attack, Avoid, Survive have sections on bayonet fighting without a bayonet.
Training in the bayonet was also considered to be a good way to reduce a recruit’s tendency to hesitate and to increase their commitment to an advance.
The second paragraph of a British WW2 manual makes the wise observation:
“2. It is impossible to drill men into becoming good bayonet fighters as it is undesirable for those of different physique to adopt exactly the same style. Words of command will, therefore, be reduced to a minimum, and men will be encouraged to develop a style suitable to their size and build, provided that the methods laid down are followed.
3. By his own example the instructor must instil a spirit of energy and determination in his squad.”
That is good advice, not just for bayonet instruction.
The illustration below is taken from the manual above and shows a useful training aid for bayonet skills. The ring is used as a target to develop accuracy and coordination. The padded end is used for the practice of counters against attacks.
Many armies used similar devices for training. Below is a rather nice Soviet-era illustration of a course to teach soldiers. Rather reminds me of a crazy golf course! In other illustrations parts of the course seem to be used with knives, entrenching tools or unarmed techniques. Elsewhere strikes can be seen being made with the muzzle, drum and stock of the PPSh-41.
Recent posts have mainly been about “the soldier’s load”. This blog is mainly about self-defence and preparedness so generally I try to keep things from getting too military. This has been a useful topic, however, since not only does it reveal solutions for civilian application but it also illustrates the differences between civilian and military applications. Today I will look at lightweight solutions to the need for shelter.
I recently saw an opinion that if a man who was bivouacking was surprised in the night he would take refuge in the dark of the forest. If a man in a tent was surprised, however, he would tend to take refuge behind the false security of his tent walls. Shelter for a soldier must consider tactical factors. Many of the tent designs a civilian might use are not suitable for military use unless required by a particular environment or situation.
A shelter can be thought of as a sort of sandwich. The uppermost layer is responsible for keeping off the rain, wind and sun. The middle layer keeps the sleeper warm. The bottom layer insulates the sleeper from damp ground and ground chill.
As an illustration of this let us consider how infantry in the American Civil War slept. Men would sleep in pairs, buttoning their shelter halves together to form a “dog tent”. Rifle-muskets might be used to support this structure. A gum-blanket was used as a ground cloth and each man slept wrapped in his woollen blanket. If the shelter cloth had been lost or discarded the top layer of the shelter would be created from the other man’s gum-blanket.
The basic soldier shelter has not changed that much since then. The ground sheet may now be plastic or a foam kipmat. The inner layer may be a sleeping bag or poncho liner rather than a blanket. A basha-sheet or poncho may be used instead of a cloth shelter half.
Unlike many civilian outdoorsmen the soldier is seldom alone. The makings of a shelter can be shared between a pair of men. For example, each man needs to carry only one support pole. As an aside, it is amusing how many kit lists I see that list the poncho as a shelter item yet do not include any support poles for the shelter. Perfectly positioned trees or ideal poles are not always to be found!
Suppose each soldier carries:
Poncho.
Support pole sections and pegs. Enough pegs to also secure a groundsheet. A screwdriver.
Lightweight sleeping bag with liner.
A ground cloth or kipmat.
Probably one man will sleep while the other stands watch. One of the ponchos creates the upper layer of the shelter. The other poncho can be worn by the man on watch if it rains. The other soldier sleeps in the lightweight sleeping bag and liner. If it is particularly cold he can use one sleeping bag within the other. Bulky “three or four season” sleeping bags are not necessary when it is warmer to use two lighter ones together. Giving each soldier his own sleeping bag liner makes sharing a sleeping bag a little more pleasant.
Beneath the sleeping soldier is the kipmat and a groundsheet. He may have placed found materials beneath the groundsheet to serve as a mattress. Kipmats can be trimmed to size to reduce weight and bulk.
A poncho has been chosen for the upper layer since it is the lightest and most versatile option. The poncho can be used as foul weather clothing as well as a shelter. On the downside the poncho is less robust than some of the other options. This is one of the reasons I do not suggest the poncho as a groundsheet.
The actual groundsheet could be an all-weather blanket but can be made from any piece of suitable waterproof material. It only needs to be large enough for one or two soldiers to sleep on so can be smaller than a poncho. In the past I have proposed a groundsheet with a brown side and a high visibility side so it can be also used for ground to air signals.
One man carries the kipmat, the other the groundsheet. A bivi-bag for use with the other items may also be carried by the man with the groundsheet. A pair of sandbags are carried for the eventuality that the sleeping man must keep his boots on. A hammock can be carried in environments where such might prove useful. Poncho liners or blankets may be added where the weather requires them.
The above system is designed with a measure of redundancy. The kipmat and groundsheet can be used on their own if one is lost. With only one poncho the bivi-bag still provides some protection, etc. Many of the proposed items can also be used as foul or cold weather clothing. This is why some of the recent posts have been on subjects such as cloaks.
Some armies define a soldier’s combat equipment as being three levels.This paper gives a concise account of the British Army’s perception:
Assault Order, to provide for operations lasting a few hours. Items needed to “close and defeat an enemy then hold off his immediate counter attack. Weapons, ammunition, water and digging tools”. NBC equipment, communication gear, a flashlight and immediate first aid (field dressings) might also be included here.
Combat Order for operations of 24hrs/overnight. Assault order with some food and “just enough clothing to keep warm and dry”. This level might include some provision for sleeping in reasonable comfort.
Marching Order, containing “all of the man’s issued items that he had in the field.” Some armies have had some very odd ideas what should be in this category! The Wehrmacht infantryman took to the field with his best shoes and sports kit in his pack. At least this pack was carried on the company wagon.
To the above list I would add a fourth level, the Emergency Order. These are the things you have in your pockets that will be available if your webbing is lost. See my post on “sundries” for suggestions in this direction.
Theory and practice often diverge!
For most British soldiers in the last quarter of the 20th century there was no real distinction between Assault order and Combat order. (For clarity, I am using photos of the 58 pattern webbing. More recent systems use the same design.)
Many of the “Combat Order” items were carried in the kidney pouches and poncho roll. These also carried not so vital items such as boot polish!
The weight of the webbing with the kidney pouches and contents necessitates that the yoke be more thickly padded and this can interfere with the wearing of some rucksacs.
The kidney pouches could not be easily removed from the webbing, so the infantryman went into the assault carrying a significant weight of equipment he did not immediately need. During one assault in the Falklands, paratroopers discarded all of their webbing and carried ammunition in their pockets!
The kidney pouches also caused considerable problems with the design of military rucksacs.
A good rucksac puts most of the weight on the top of your pelvis. It may have a hip belt to facilitate this. The main function of the shoulder straps is to keep the load in position. Kidney pouches or similar items hinder this.
While British army designed rucksacs may resemble civilian models, they behave quite differently.
In a recent post we looked at the Vietnam chest rig. This, combined with the grenade carrier and waterbottle on the belt is obviously an Assault order.
Marching order was created by adding a rucksac and it will be noted that there is nothing at the back of the belt to hinder a comfortable fit. Note also that the shoulder straps of the chest rig are relatively unpadded too.
The NVA soldier does not appear to have a formal means of “Combat Order” but obviously such an intermediate level of load is desirable. See my article on Soldier's sundries. Likely contents might include:
Compact wash kit and repair kit
Toilet paper
Spare socks
Canteen cup and brew kit
One or two days rations
Poncho/basha
Sleeping bag/blanket/poncho liner
Poles and pegs
Ground cloth/kip mat/airbed/hammock.
Hat(s), gloves.
Rope
Some of the popular designs of civilian rucksac that have been used by British soldiers have detachable side pockets which can be joined together to create a small pack.
The British Army committees in this paper regarded this as an acceptable way to carry loads of less than full Marching Order.
Sadly they did not follow on to the logical step of eliminating the kidney pouches.
A pack formed from a pair of side pockets has a capacity of about 20-30 litres. It can easily accommodate the contents of a pair of kidney pouches.
The side pockets are long enough to hold shelter pole sections.
Some lightweight sleeping bags pack down to a rugby ball-sized mass so it is quite possible room for such a sleeping bag can be found inside such a pouch.
If a number of accessory patches are fitted to the outside of the pouches, items such as ground-cloths, blankets, ponchos and kipmats can be tied under, around and between the two pouches. A mesh pocket would allow a towel or poncho to dry.
Such an approach eliminates the need for kidney pouches. It allows the use of more efficient rucksacs for marching order and gives the soldier a true, lighter assault order.
Continuing my researches on how to carry equipment.
Last night I read a lengthy paper about the adoption of British PLCE. One of the points that struck me was the mixed reviews of the chest rigs trailed. It is probably safe to say that for most readers mentioning chest rigs will bring to mind the Vietnam war.
During this period Soviets and most countries under their influence used belt pouches for AK magazines. The examples below hold four 30 round magazines, although versions holding just three are also known. The side pouch on one of these examples is for an oil bottle. (The East German example with the splinter pattern shows a nice example of “staple and tag” closure, btw.) The North Vietnamese Army (NVA) did make some use of these pouches but a chest rig seems to be a more common option. Understandably such rigs are often termed as “Vietnam”, “Chicom” or “Viet Cong” chest rig.
Commonwealth forces did use some systems that could be termed chest-rigs. One of the photos below shows additional ammo pouches that could be worn above the belt pouches. Certain variants of the battle jerkin used only a pair of pouches on the chest.
It is more likely that the inspiration for the Vietnam chest rig was from closer to home. There are numerous photos of Chinese soldiers in the 1920s and 30s wearing a sort of “apron” for SMG magazines.
Several types of chest rig were in use by the Viet Cong (VC) and NVA.
The “simplest” was that intended for use with the SKS. This had ten identical pockets. Each pocket could hold two 10 round chargers for the SKS, giving a capacity of up to 200 rounds. In practice, one pocket often held a weapon combination tool and an oiler. The pockets could also accommodate a 20 round M16 magazine so this rig was also used by some GIs or Vietnamese with American weapons. It is probable that some of these pouches were used for other items. They appear to be of a size that can accommodate some designs of grenade.
A variety of SMGs were in use in this conflict so there were also chest rigs designed to accommodate SMG magazines. An example is shown below:
The third type of chest rig was intended for use with the AK-47/AKM/Type 56 and related weapons. Typically it had three central pouches each capable of holding a pair of 30 round magazines. One or two smaller pouches were to either side. These could be used for grenades but might have held other items such as loose ammunition, field dressings, cleaning kits etc. It is worth remembering that these items were often produced at a local level or homemade so show considerable variation in both colour and details. Some items had straps that crossed at the back while others are described as having a loop that passed over the head like an apron.
One of the things to note about these items is that “chest rig” is something of a misnomer. Often you see the pouches worn quite low on the torso. A sort of “combat cumberbund” or “belly rig”! Perhaps this transferred some of the weight to the pelvis? Rigs such as these can be worn either high or low, depending on physique, preference, type of rucksac worn etc. NVA/ VC seem to have kept their actual waist belts relatively uncluttered, often with just a grenade pouch and a canteen. Items not needed in the assault seem to have been carried in the rucksac rather than crammed into belt-mounted butt-packs or kidney pouch equivalents.
The Chicom chest rig has inspired a number of other designs. The Rhodesians often encountered enemies using this equipment and developed their own version with four or five pockets for 20 round FAL magazines.
The South Africans also adopted the chest rig. The 83 pattern shown below has a smoke-grenade pouch on the wearer’s right and two smaller pouches on the left, possible for a frag-grenade and shell-dressing.
There are small fittings that can carry a pen-flare/pen/pencil, knife or small flashlight.
A rather clever feature is that there is a map/document pocket behind the magazine pouches. On the other hand, the sides seem to have some excess material.
Not surprisingly, the Russians also copied the Vietnam chest rigs. The first-pattern Lifchik is very similar to the Vietnam Type 56, but designed for the AK-74 magazines. It also adds provision for carrying a pair of RSP-30 flares. The second-pattern moves the small pouches so they are vertically aligned. The second-pattern also has the option of attaching a belt holding ten 40mm (VOG-25) grenades.
1st Pattern Lifchik Chest Rig
Some commercial imitations have possibly tried to incorporate too many “bells and whistles”. Some have ignored that a chest rig can also be a “belly rig”. Another problem is the chest rig is often seen as additional rather than alternate carrying capacity.
The Chicom chest rig is very much a compact assault order carrying ammo and grenades and little else. When you start adding pouches for waterbottles, mess tins and rain-proofs it become something else. The main improvements I would make over the original designs is provision to carry a couple of field dressings. I’d also add provision to carry a small fixed blade knife on either the left pouch or left suspender, a snaplink/ carbineer for empty magazines and a small pouch for a flashlight.
The chest region is often shadowed so a chest rig should have a light base colour to compensate for this .
As mentioned above, VN examples often resembled a sort of combat- cummerbund or “belly rig”. A moment’s thought will confirm that you do not want the openings of your ammo pouches up at nipple level or higher, if you are carrying them vertically. You don’t have much choice with the long AK magazines, admittedly.
The chest area is a major site of heat loss, so a lower slung chest rig may help avoid overheating.
Many (western) chest rigs simply try to carry too much, hence problems with crawling, which is your primary means of not being seen or shot!.
Don’t use frontal pouches that hold more than a pair of magazines each.
There are a great variety of options out there commercially. Some can be mounted horizontally or slanted on the chest. The under-arm or hip positions proposed in a later blog is another option.
No more than six magazines/180 rounds and up to six (standard sized) grenades, for example, four frags and two smoke. There is probably not enough room on many designs to carry all of these grenades on the chest/belly rig. One smoke and one or two frags seems more likely, with additional grenades carried elsewhere.
You can mount your “pec’ knife;” on a rig (see Survival Weapons or Crash Combat), a shell-dressing or four, a flashlight and a snap link for spent mags.
Some of the shell-dressings may be carried at the back over the kidneys. They are more likely to be accessed by someone treating the wearer, rather than the wearer so the rear position is not a major problem.
If you have a compact weapon-cleaning kit, such as in a discarded flare container, the belly-rig is a logical place to carry that too.
You will not need the latter in a hurry so it can be stowed on the rig somewhere out of the way.
Provision to add other items temporarily can be included.
I had heard the same question a number of times that day. Finally I had worked out the reason. It was a day so hot the locals were bothered by the heat. I was using my three-litre Platypus bottle. The drinking tube projected from the top of my daysac and was clipped with the bite valve near my collar. Many of the locals had come to the conclusion that I was wearing a stethoscope, and must be a doctor!
Platypus are a company that makes flexible waterbottles similar to the better known Camelbacks. I’ll use “camelback” as a generic term for water bladders of this type.
Since their introduction camelbacks and similar designs have widespread use by both civilians and military. Watch footage of troops in Iraq or Afghanistan and you are likely to spot a drinking tube.
Most camelbacks are backpacks. They are either incorporated into packs, carried in packs or worn as packs. There are a number of situations where a military user may have to operate without a pack, even one as small as a three litre camelback. There may not be time to unpack a camelback from a larger pack. It is standard practice for soldiers to carry water in their belt order for such instances. Commonly this is in the form of one or two one-litre waterbottles. Such bottles are not without their disadvantages. Typically they are rigid and if the soldier falls upon one or rolls onto it he can injure himself. If the bottle is only partially filled the sloshing of the water may be audible and reveal the soldier’s position. Drinking from a bottle usually involves removing it from its pouch. Some designs have a mug that fits over the top of the bottle and this must be removed before the bottle can be removed from the pouch.
Suppose there was something like a camelback that could fit on a soldier’s belt order instead of waterbottles? Being a bladder there would be less airspace inside and sloshing noises would be reduced. Such a system would be compatible with a drinking tube and bite value. The wearer could drink whenever he needed to with minimum hassle. The bladder would have some give should the soldier fall on it or roll on it. Perhaps there would be a pressure release valve that would prevent the bladder bursting if it was severely compressed?
I did a little bit of searching and discovered there are bumbags that include water bladders. Cyclists and runners use them but military users seem oblivious to their potential. The designs I came across tended to be 1.5 litre capacity and were only available in non-tactical colours.
Today I tried another track. Two-litre capacity bladders are available. Some are sold on their own as a replacement part. If I acquire one I could then locate a bumbag or similar that could contain it. A bumbag seems like a likely carrier since they come with their own belt and quick release buckle. If necessary they can be worn suspended from a shoulder or hung from the neck, which may be more comfortable if sitting in a vehicle for a length of time.
Keep reading the blog for further progress with this project.
This weekend I was enjoying the company of a friend who teaches guitar. At one point he mentioned the necessity of “self-discipline” and that if a student lacks this all of his teaching was worthless.
This sticks in my mind because it echoes some conclusions I had reached about another body of students. Said students are lazy, self-indulgent, self-centred, sloppy, unfocused, negligent, selfish… basically, think of a negative character trait and you will find it well represented in this group. A single individual like this is tiresome, you can imagine what forty plus in a group are like!
Colleagues and myself have wondered why students have been so bad in recent years. An idea occurred to me the other day. The current generation had been born after corporal punishment had become illegal. (At this point I fully expect certain readers to have thrown their hands in the air and wailed that I am advocating flogging babies with a cat-o-nine tails. Respectfully, I say get over yourselves, this is not about your pet cause. Try to understand what I am saying.)
The current generation are used to getting their own way. The only sanctions they have ever known is being made to sit on the “naughty step” or being told they cannot go to Macdonalds. In the latter instance they probably just screamed their heads off until their parents gave in. Spoilt, selfish children become spoilt, selfish adults.
A friend of mine often passes on articles about narcissistic personalities. I don’t know if a childhood environment can create such personalities but certainly it could nurture and encourage such traits where they already exist. The current culture in this institution undoubtedly encourages the selfish and self-centred further.
This blog is about self-defence and survival. A generation with a high proportion of narcissistic individuals is relevant to both. To groups such as these students each one thinks they are the only person that matters. They are the people who cannot be bothered to dispose of dangerous items safely. The motorists that use their phones while driving. They are the cyclists that run the lights and injure pedestrians (My girlfriend's aunt was killed by just such a cyclist). The only rationale they need is “I want to”. These people are the reason you need to learn to protect yourself.
Do you ever think about why the word “pack” is used in terms such as “backpack”? I had not, until I came across a chapter of Horace Kephart’s “Camping and Woodcraft”. As can be seen from the image reproduced below, some packs are literally packages, wrapped in waterproof material and held together by a harness.
The reason I was reminded of this was because I have come across yet another variant of blanket roll. I was reading about China in the first half of the twentieth century. This is a very interesting period of history and I am rather surprised more movies and games are not set in this period and location. The various Chinese factions had to equip millions of fighting men with only limited resources. How they achieved this is relevant to recent topics on this blog.
In the photos below you can see that a pack was created by placing the cargo within a blanket and then rolling each end inwards until they met. In the last photo you can see that a shelter cloth/ rainproof is carried in a horseshoe around the pack so that it is easily accessible.
Many moons ago I described a method of turning an item such as an all-weather blanket into a hooded rain cape. This was adapted from a method of wearing a plaid associated with the Inverness area. An Inverness cape or cloak is something different and today I will describe a way to use a blanket that forms something not unlike an Inverness cape. We touched on this method with the recent post on Japanese shelter cloths.
Take one corner of a blanket in each hand and hold it behind you. Place the middle of the side between your hands over your head.
Release the corners and reach down to waist level and gather the blanket around your lower body. Adjust so the lower edge is about mid-calf level or your preferred length. Tie the blanket in place by encircling it with a belt, piece of string or anything similar you have handy.
Fold the cloth over your head back so it forms a collar. The garment can be improved by using a blanket pin to close the throat area. If you are really improvising you can make a pin by sharpening a small stick.
Your blanket now resembles an improvised cloak. It also resembles the greatcoats worn by US soldiers in westerns. The upper section allows good access to your chest pockets or other gear carried in this area. If necessary it can be drawn up over the head to form a cowl. If your legs need more freedom of movement the lower corners can be brought up and tucked through the belt. Military greatcoats were often designed so the skirts could be buttoned up in similar fashion. This is sometimes called “French fashion” since French troops were noted for fighting in their greatcoats.
You can modify a blanket so that it can more easily be worn in this fashion. Sew a cloth tape by its middle to the middle of the blanket at your preferred waist level. If you refer back to the Japanese shelter cloth article you will see the cloth included this feature. To close off the neck the best option is one or more hook and loop fastenings. Loops should be cord and blunt hooks can be made from suitably bent paperclips or other wire. Hook and loop fastenings are less likely to be uncomfortable should you happen to be lying on them when the blanket if used for sleeping in. Even if you use a sleeping bag for sleeping a blanket is a handy thing to have should it turn unexpectedly cold. Using this technique the blanket is a day garment too. You can wear a rucksac while wearing a blanket like this. The front tends to open more which may or may not be a problem. If you do not need the ventilation when carrying a load a couple of extra blanket pins or a blanket scarf can be used. If your pack is small the cloak can be put on over it.
I have described this as being with a blanket but as the Japanese shelter cloth shows us this can also be used with a rain-resistant material. If you carry a rifle and ammunition across your chest the upper “flaps” provide good protection and easy access. Unlike a poncho this rain garment does not need a hole in the centre for a hood, so is less problematic if rigged as a shelter. A separate hood could perhaps be attached near one edge near the neck fastenings if you are modify a cloth for use in this fashion. If the weather is particularly foul a blanket can be worn within a rain cloth.
In the last blog I talked about the American Civil War (ACW) horseshoe roll. A point worth stressing is that a horseshoe roll does not need to be constructed from a blanket.
As we saw with the Soviets and ACW horseshoe rolls can be used to carry long greatcoats. A modern sleeping bag, for example, can also be carried as a horseshoe roll. I have a four or five season sleeping bag I brought many years back. It is a great bag but I have seldom used since it is so bulky. I cannot carry it if I have to also carry any other reasonable amount of gear. If I put it in my pack I have very little room for anything else. If I tie it to the top of my pack I’m over seven feet tall, and this is with the thing in its compression sack! Rolling the thing into a horseshoe roll may very well be a better way to carry it. Worn in this way it will also provide some insulation when walking, which may very well be needed in any climate where I actually need such a high-rated bag.
The over the shoulder horseshoe roll is not the only way to carry such items. In many armies of WW2 shelter halves and the like were rolled into a horseshoe that was placed around the pack. A shorter blanket roll that could be carried above or below the pack was also used.
Like the soldiers of the ACW the WW2 Japanese soldier often used a horseshoe roll instead of a backpack. This could be constructed from the shelter cloth. Alternately a canvas “hold-all” was used as described here:
“Instead of the pack a canvas hold-all is sometimes used. This is simply a piece of light canvas with carrying straps at each end, and two long tapes, with shorter tapes to help secure the load. When rolled it can be carried across the back, slanting diagonally upwards from left to right, the straps and long tapes making an X across the chest where they are knotted. The hold-all serves as a combat pack and usually includes overcoat or blanket, shelter half, and tent poles and pins, besides whatever gear is not carried in the haversack. Canteen, ammunition pouches, and gas mask and carrier complete the combat gear normally carried by the Japanese soldier.”
As I discussed in the last blog, many modern waterproofs lack the robustness to make a good blanket roll cover. Something like Japanese hold-all described and illustrated is worth looking into. Such a thing could be combined with the methods for making your own gum-blanket. If the unrolled blanket roll cover was of sufficient dimensions to serve as a groundcloth that would be no bad thing.
Below is another example of a roll being used to carry equipment:
“Variations on wearing the web equipment began to evolve while the Canadians trained in England, as Battle Drill put men and gear through increasingly more challenging situations. In Sicily, however, contacts with battle experienced soldiers of the British 8th Army led to quick revisions in how best to carry equipment in action, leading to the adoption of "Fighting Order." The small pack, or haversack, was quickly discarded due to its distinctive outline and the mess tins were instead added to a water-bottle carrier, and worn suspended from the brace-ends, in a spare water bottle carrier, on the left side of the waistbelt, opposite the water bottle. The gas cape was used to wrap spare clothing, rations and kit, then tied to the back of the waistbelt with spare blanket straps.”
