battle rattle
"Battle Rattle" is the term used to describe full combat gear worn by a soldier.
The basic issue wasn't anything like what troops receive today, but they made it work. Here's what they carried to victory:
Combat Pack
This waterproof bag carried everything the troop needed to sustain themselves while in the field, including toiletries, socks, a few rations, and whatever personal belongings they wanted to haul.
Cartridge Belt
This belt contains pouches that hold 8-round clips of ammunition. At the bottom of each pouch is a small metal hole used for attaching other small pouches, including basic first-aid supplies.
First Aid Pouch
Today, troops have a full supply of hemorrhage-control dressings. Back in WW2, all they had was this pouch, which contains one to two battle dressings for self-aid.
Bayonet
This was also typically attached to the cartridge belt for quick access. Troops never knew when the call to "fix bayonets" was coming, so they had to be ready, sharp, and easily reached.
Canteen Cover
This pouch includes a canteen, canteen cup, and mess kit — all made of aluminum. It wasn't uncommon for a forward-deployed troop to eat and drink all of his rations from this container, as many meals served on the front lines came from a large, communal pot.
E-Tool
Also known as an entrenching tool or shovel, the E-tool was used for digging fighting holes and for driving stabler stakes into the ground. This tool was famously worn on troops' backs and doubled as a fighting stick when sh*t hit the fan.
Related: This is how the shovel became a deadlier weapon than a bayonet
Helmet
The average WW2-era helmet was comprised of a plastic liner and a steel shell. The liner helped the helmet fit on a troop's head properly and, of course, the steel shell offered the troop some protection from incoming shrapnel.
Cargo Pack
This pack contained a half of a tent, tent pins, and a blanket. Many troops decided not to haul this practical pack around and simply brought a raincoat instead.
The most recognizable part of the uniform is the standardized field jacket. It was longer than the M-1941 jacket, coming down to the upper thighs. It was made in a light olive-drab OD7, later a darker OD9 cotton sateen. It also had a detachable hood, drawstring waist, two large breast pockets and two skirt pockets.[1]
The trousers were made out of the same cotton sateen material and regular cotton twill. They were made similarly to the khaki trousers, with better design features. They also had buttoned tabs at the waist in order to cinch the waist in.
The lightweight M1943 HBT shirt had two large chest pockets with the matching trousers having two large cargo pockets worn on the side. The latter was done as eliminating the previous side and back pockets saved costs and time in manufacture. This unit was designed to be layered either under the M1943 Winter uniform or alone as a warm-weather garment.
The uniform was designed to be warm in winter by use of a separate jacket liner and pant liner (this is why the trousers had buttoned waist tabs), both made of "pile" faux fur. The trouser pile liners were dropped in favor of ordinary wool trousers. The jacket liner was a separate cotton-shell jacket with two slash pockets and button and loop fastening, generally in a lighter shade of olive drab (OD3) than the main jacket but in practice rarely issued during World War II. In the ETO this was intended to be replaced by the M-1944 'Ike' jacket, or one of the generic 'ETO' jackets which could come in versions that were either near-identical to the M-1941 jacket, but in rough khaki wool outer, or versions almost identical to British Battledress, both versions being produced locally in the UK in several variations.
In all, a number of new items were designed or standardized in 1943 in order to improve the Army uniforms and individual equipment as much as possible:
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M1943 field jacket and hood[1]
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Pile field jacket
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Field trousers
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Field trouser liner (dropped)
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Pile cap
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High-neck sweater
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M1943 goggles
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Field Pack (a redesigned Jungle Pack)
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M1943 entrenching tool & carrier
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Pocket, cartridge, cal. .30, M1, carbine or rifle
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Rain poncho
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Wool sleeping bag & Case
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M3 gas mask (along with its M6 carrier)
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M1 "economy" helmet