Original Items: Only One Available. This is a wonderful pair of Belgian kit items from the early half of WWI. These items are rarely encountered in today’s market, especially due to the fact that Belgium was occupied early on by the Germans. The history of Belgium in World War I traces Belgium's role between the German invasion in 1914, through the continued military resistance and occupation of the territory by German forces to the armistice in 1918, as well as the role it played in the international war effort through its African colony and small force on the Eastern Front.

At the outbreak of the First World War Belgium was in the process of reforming her military aiming to create a wartime establishment of some 340,000 men however, this was not due to be completed until the mid 1920s. The reforms saw the introduction of conscription in 1909 with conscripts serving for fifteen months, new small arms including the excellent Mauser Model 1889 adopted and new uniforms were under consideration. But by August 1914, no new field uniform had been adopted and the Belgian infantryman still wore more or less what his predecessors had worn since 1850.

The canteen is a wonderful example of a Belgian Army canteen. The canteen has a mostly intact blue wool cover but there is material loss as well as scattered moth nips. The leather harness is still present and in rather solid condition. The cork stopper is present and still secured in place with the leather strap.

A lovely canteen that comes more than ready for further research and display.