During World War II, American soldiers sometimes turned to hunting to supplement their military rations. From roe deer and wild boar in the forests of Europe to hunting expeditions in the Pacific, GIs used their military rifles to obtain fresh meat. But hunting in combat zones came with unexpected dangers and military restrictions. Historical photographs, wartime regulations and firsthand accounts give a glimpse into this little known aspect of life on the front lines.
My father was a combat infantryman during World War II, serving with the US Army’s 8th Infantry Division from Normandy through the end of the war in Germany. He told me a lot about his wartime experiences, and some of the most surprising tales of his nine months in combat were of the efforts made by GIs to supplement their rations.
Despite having the best food of all the combatants in the war, American troops were almost always hungry. Canned and packaged rations offered basic subsistence, but the men at the front needed more in their diet—particularly protein. Dad had grown up poor in a small town, so hunting was an important part of his life from an early age. He’d also become a butcher’s apprentice as a teenager, and those skills came in handy once he was in France. There were few game animals available in Normandy, and coupled with an overabundance of angry Germans, there was little wildlife hunting in those early weeks in France. GI bellies began to grumble.
Hunting was often a loosely interpreted term. Even so, U.S. troops were forbidden to help themselves to French farm animals, but Dad mentioned there was always an occasional cow that “stepped on a mine” or was shot by one of those “rotten kraut snipers.” Whatever the cause of the bovine’s demise, Dad would butcher the animal in exchange for the first cut of the meat. Apparently, the French cows made horrible steaks, so he took his payment in offal, usually heart, liver and brains. God bless him, he loved it, and his fellow GIs felt like they got the better end of the deal.
Bill Mauldin, wartime cartoonist for Stars & Stripes wrote in his fabulous book Up Front (1945 Henry Holt & Company): “The soldiers killed a lot of cows. One rifleman at Anzio insisted that a cow had attacked him and that he fired in self-defense. The krauts sometimes used herds of livestock for cover and drove them ahead of their infantry in an attack. Whether the attack was successful or not, both sides usually got fresh meat out of it. A dead cow in No Man’s Land sometimes was a major objective for patrol activity.”
What Animals Did American Soldiers Hunt in WWII?
When U.S. troops moved into northern France and Belgium in the autumn of 1944, the rural environment provided more opportunities for hunting within secured areas. Roe buck, wild boar, rabbits, pheasants and partridges provided a good supplement to the GI diet when time permitted for game shooting.
Thinking back on my father’s stories prompted me to check into U.S. Army regulations related to hunting within combat zones. With thousands of heavily armed Americans in the fields and forests of foreign countries looking for something to shoot—and eat—what could go wrong?
Did the U.S. Army Allow Soldiers to Hunt in WWII?
On January 17, 1944, the HQ of the U.S. Army Mediterranean Base Section issued the following orders about hunting in the Free French territories in the MTO (including Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Syria and Corsica):
“By order of French authorities, the hunting season for sedentary game closes at sunset, Sunday, 16 January 1944. Sedentary game are defined as non-migratory species: partridges or Chukars, quail, curlews, bustards, rabbits, hare, wild boar, porcupine, etc.
“The hunting season for waterfowl closes at Sunset, March 12, 1944. Inland waterfowl hunting is authorized only within 30 yards of banks of rivers, canals, marshes, etc.
“Woodcock shooting is also permitted until March 12, with the following restrictions: (1) Without dogs (2) In flight only (3) From a selected stationary position (shooting box) on flyway or line of flight (4) During the hour preceding sunset (5) Starling and thrush shooting is authorized until 31 March 1944. The use of poison bait is forbidden. The hunting of waterfowl and woodcock is restricted to Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.”—By command of Brigadier General Wilson
Game Hunting In The Pacific
In the wilds of the Southwest Pacific, logistics proved to be a significant challenge, and U.S. troops did their best to supplement rations in the unforgiving jungle environment. Marty Richards, a USAAF crew chief, recalled an ill-fated hunting expedition on New Guinea in his wartime memoir By Air, Land, and Sea (2008 Armor Plate Press). During October 1943, Richards’ 388th Air Service Squadron arrived at Milne Bay, New Guinea, and thousands of men struggled against the primeval conditions to prepare the aircraft for combat.
“Our rations were meager, and our Mess Sergeant thought it would be a good idea to organize a hunting party to go into the jungle and bring back some fresh meat,” the writer recalled. “The Squadron First Sergeant agreed, and the hunting party was chosen. The First Sergeant picked the hunters: Sergeant Coe, a professional hunter in civilian life in Montana, Corporal Firstenburg, who had been a butcher’s apprentice, and myself, a city boy who learned animal tracking in the Boy Scouts.
“Sergeant Coe led this little pack of hunters. Our first chore was to check with the Army infantry unit that patrolled this portion of Milne Bay, which was about 20 square miles in area. The Lieutenant in charge of the Intelligence Platoon assured us that the area was clear of Japanese, but we may encounter headhunters.
“Sergeant Coe borrowed a Jeep from the motor pool and maps from the local Intel unit. Each man in the party was equipped with a backpack that carried K-rations, a jungle knife, an ammo pouch and a canteen…This was to equip us for 48 hours in the jungle.
“The next morning, we broke camp and walked into the jungle to begin the hunt. We were looking for small deer that don’t grow much larger than a big dog—rarely more than 50 pounds… We also saw a few wild boars, which are certainly large enough, but they are also quite aggressive and dangerous. As we were armed with the small M1 Carbine, we decided not to tangle with the boar.”
Things soon fell apart for the hunting party, as they strayed into enemy territory. Ambushed by a Japanese patrol, Sgt. Richards was wounded and captured. Tied to a post outside the Japanese camp, Richards was beaten and interrogated for about 10 days. He managed to escape in the night during a monsoon rainstorm and made it back to Allied lines and served until the end of the war.
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U.S. Army Hunting Regulations During WWII
In some areas, GI hunting parties were getting out of control. On March 16, 1944, Lieutenant General Stilwell sent out a memorandum on the “Regulation of Game Shooting and Hunting in India”:
“Complaints have been received by this Headquarters that service weapons are being used by U.S. Army personnel for indiscriminate shooting at birds, turtles and chance targets in Okla, near Delhi, and other parks and places in the Theater, which are frequented by the public,” he wrote.
General Stilwell went on to order: “No enlisted man, member of the U.S. Armed Forces, shall carry firearms for hunting purposes or take part in a game shooting (hunting) party in India without being in possession of a shooting (hunting) permit issued by the commanding officer of the station headquarters.”
“Shooting (hunting) for any game in areas beyond the limits designated on the permit or within localities entered on the permit as ‘prohibited localities’ … is forbidden unless specifically permitted by the shooting permit and entered thereon.”
Lieutenant Colonel John B. George included some notes about hunting in the combat zone in his outstanding book Shots Fired in Anger (1981 NRA Publications). While serving in the Solomon Islands, George described using M1 Garand rifles on game animals.
“The 150-grain bullet of the M1 rifle, travelling at close to 3,000 feet per second would impact bone, flesh and intestinal fluids with a powerful secondary effect, the exit holes (as I learned while deer shooting on New Caledonia) of those bullets would be at least the size of a quarter, and often fist-sized,” George wrote.
*All photos in gallery courtesy of US National Archives (NARA) with Photos/Research by Tom Laemlein
In 1944, when posted to an Allied camp near Deogarh, India, George had a personal rifle more appropriate for hunting—a Winchester Model 70, chambered in .30-06, with a 24-inch barrel and 8x Unertl telescopic sight. George found himself with a week’s leave in a “big game hunter’s paradise,” but he accidentally packed just four rounds of match ammunition. George was an excellent marksman, and recalled: “The four cartridges took four selected animals: a Chinkara, a Blackbuck, a Blue-bull or Nilgai, and one very succulent Peacock—head shot surreptitiously behind the Dak bungalow because the bird was locally sacred.”
