# What was the purpose of puttees? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 31, 2024, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-puttees/1006502 "2024-08-31T04:00:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-puttees/1006502/1 "2024-08-31T04:00:43Z")
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: > **[Andrew Gillison](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Gillison)** > > Captain Andrew Gillison (7 June 1868 – 22 August 1915) was a Presbyterian chaplain in the Australian Army. He was born and educated in Scotland and practised there as a minister. Gillison also served in the Volunteer Force's Queen's Edinburgh Rifles. He emigrated to Australia in 1903 to take up a post at St Paul's Presbyterian Church, Spring Hill, and, from 1909, at St George's Church in St Kilda East, Victoria. > Gillison was appointed a chaplain to the Australian military in 1906. After th... ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-puttees/1006502/2 "2024-08-31T04:10:20Z")
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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowyangs) for the same reason. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-puttees/1006502/3 "2024-08-31T04:14:15Z")
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) ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-puttees/1006502/4 "2024-08-31T04:39:24Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-puttees/1006502/5 "2024-08-31T08:50:42Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-puttees/1006502/6 "2024-08-31T11:09:00Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > gaiters I where [gaiters](https://www.outdoorresearch.com/products/mens-rocky-mountain-high-gaiters-243108/) 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. > [@Mk\_VII](#): > > They are rather tiresome to put on and take off again. I bet thet are. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-puttees/1006502/7 "2024-08-31T12:42:13Z")
> [@Mk\_VII](#): > > They are rather tiresome to put on and take off again. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-puttees/1006502/8 "2024-08-31T15:03:18Z")
> **[Puttee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puttee)** > > A puttee (also spelled puttie, adapted from the Hindi paṭṭī, meaning "bandage") is a covering for the lower part of the leg from the ankle to the knee, also known as: legwraps, leg bindings, winingas and Wickelbänder etc. They consist of a long narrow piece of cloth wound tightly, and spirally round the leg, and 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 gait... > serving to provide both support (as a [compression garment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compression_garment)) and protection. They were worn by both mounted and dismounted soldiers, generally taking the place of the [leather](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leather) or [cloth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloth) [gaiter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaiter). And since I didn’t know what they were, I looked for some pictures. Turns out they’re rather common in Star Wars. > **[Star Wars: Puttees](https://diythegalaxyofstarwars.wordpress.com/2018/10/06/puttees-in-star-wars/)** > > Throughout both Lucas trilogies and the New EU movies, Puttee’s have been used in Star Wars costuming. (Puttee’s are leg wrappings that cover from the ankle up to the knee.) Luke Skywalker is… ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-puttees/1006502/9 "2024-08-31T16:19:33Z")
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 ? ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-puttees/1006502/10 "2024-08-31T16:38:14Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-puttees/1006502/11 "2024-08-31T16:40:57Z")
Partake of catnip, provide vital Purr Therapy, and take out all the vermin in your life? ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-puttees/1006502/12 "2024-08-31T22:01:53Z")
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](https://talesfromthesupplydepot.blog/2015/04/20/australian-jungle-puttees/), which covered the ankle / trouser leg gap, and [gaiters that were also aimed at jungle use](https://talesfromthesupplydepot.blog/2024/02/16/australian-post-war-gaiters/). 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. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2024, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-puttees/1006502/13 "2024-09-02T09:42:31Z")
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](https://burgschneider.us/winingas-wool-aki-orange.html), as well as a handwoven pair. [![](https://burgschneider.us/media/catalog/product/cache/5/image/960x/040ec09b1e35df139433887a97daa66f/l/e/legwraps-wool.jpg) ](https://burgschneider.us/media/catalog/product/cache/5/image/960x/040ec09b1e35df139433887a97daa66f/l/e/legwraps-wool.jpg) 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. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-puttees/1006502/14 "2024-09-03T18:31:03Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > And since I didn’t know what they were, I looked for some pictures. Turns out they’re rather common in Star Wars. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-puttees/1006502/15 "2024-09-04T19:23:47Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > protect your boots from mud ingress, not on the photo you posted … ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-puttees/1006502/16 "2024-09-04T19:29:12Z")
Yeah, that’s not how I wear mine. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-puttees/1006502/17 "2024-09-04T21:05:54Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2024, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-puttees/1006502/18 "2024-09-13T07:19:48Z")
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.