They were a thing with British Empire troops at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th.
As far as I can tell, they were strips of khaki that the soldiers wound around their calves, from ankles to just under the knees.
To what end? Why not just wear trousers?
Inquiry stirred by the picture in this article on the front page of Wikipedia today:
In school cadets we wore gaiters, which I think were for the same purpose - essentially to stop dirt, stones and insects getting into your boots, or up your trouser legs, as you marched etc.
Some tradies and farmers hereabouts wear bowyangs for the same reason.
Marching through brush with destroy trouser legs soon enough, so some protection that can be replaced is necessary. The British had worn calf-length boots through the Zulu War, but switched to puttees from traditional India.
When WWI arrived, mass armies were easier to equip with strips of cloth than full boots or canvas leggings. The Germans held out, mocking their Austro-Hungarian allies as “our little friends in shoelaces.” But even the German stormtroopers found puttees easier to move in.
(I’d gladly swap with Burgess Meredith in that Twilight Zone episode, if all the books were Osprey Publishing. I’d just squint)
Protected their shins from scratches, saves wear and tear on trousers and most importantly, keeps the scree out of your boots.
And like a lot of things British, they look pretty natty.
They are rather tiresome to put on and take off again. And you get folds of trouser material underneath that you have to configure rightly, or you get tramlines in your legs. It’s difficult to start winding in the right position so you finish with the ends in the right position and usually a couple of attempts are necessary
I where gaiters a lot in the winter. But I’m talking deep snow. I’ll wear them even when I’m not walking in the snow much, but say plowing, or on my tractor. It’s amazing how much dryer and warmer they keep you.
I bet thet are.
There’s an old Canadian short story I can’t find now, about some cadet in high school who has trouble with his puttees. The drill sargeant tells him he’ll have to wear them regardless of how long it takes to get them right. The only way he’d get out of it would be if the governor general of Canada says he can.
Then he ends up meeting the GG at some social function and gets that letter… the only cadet in Canada who does not have to wear puttees.
serving to provide both support (as a compression garment) and protection. They were worn by both mounted and dismounted soldiers, generally taking the place of the leather or cloth gaiter.
And since I didn’t know what they were, I looked for some pictures. Turns out they’re rather common in Star Wars.
I understand the need to protect clothing when walking through rough brush. I just don’t get why gaiters wouldn’t be more practical and easier to use than wrapping strips of cloth around your calves ?
1914 and suddenly millions of Europeans need leg protection.
Boots: slaughter millions of cows, have thousands of cobblers make boots that go up to the calf instead of just the ankles
Gaiters: import cotton from India or the US (or southern Russia through their crap supply system), and sew into gaiters.
Puttees: millions of sheep already in Europe. Shear them and make the wool into simple strips. Shoot other Europeans based on the color of their strips
In old hunting or scouting pictures, you’d see civilians wearing them, but there they were just following current military fashion, not practicality
Partake of catnip, provide vital Purr Therapy, and take out all the vermin in your life?
The puttees seem to have undergone an evolution, from the long almost knee-high ones of the First World War to anklets pre WW2, but these were not satisfactory in all conditions, so there was a fix in the form of shorter jungle puttees, which covered the ankle / trouser leg gap, and gaiters that were also aimed at jungle use. Whether in trenches or jungle, you’ve got the same knee-deep mud + hazardous vermin problem, and a small but fairly complex bit of clothing engineering that has to solve it, and accommodate movement, material supply and probably other issues to solve.
I wear puttees (well, more accurately, I wear woolen winingas) for reenanctment and LARPing. They are super-comfortable - warm, act as compression garments enabling longer time on your feet, protect your boots from mud ingress, and - let’s not sell this aspect short - look cool (especially with shiny brass annular pins or tablet-woven garters). I have this set from Burgschneider, as well as a handwoven pair.
Gaiters could do the same job, but require tailoring and different tying arrangements. Leg wraps are seamless and adjustable in a way that’s harder for gaiters doing a similar function.
That’s interesting. I wonder how much of that was a functional choice (Tatooine is desert, keeping sand out) versus a stylistic choice to mirror the look of the British Empire as a visual cue, just like Imperial uniforms were made to resemble NAZI uniforms.
not on the photo you posted …
Yeah, that’s not how I wear mine.
In the late 19th Century, cavalry generally wore short breeches and tall boots. Infantry and artillery generally wore long trousers and shoes or short boots.
With puttees, you could put the entire army in breeches and short boots. You still had to stock cloth puttees for foot soldiers, and leather puttees for horse soldiers, but one style of breeches and one style of footwear would serve the entire army.
In many armies, all officers would wear cavalry-style leather puttees. A leather puttee does a fair job of making an infantry shoe resemble a cavalry boot. This gives the officer a more aristocratic appearance, making it easier to seduce women command men.
If you belong to a branch which involves horseriding, you start at the top and wind down, whereas dismounted people start at the bottom and wind up to fasten below the knee.