Bandolier
Bandolier or bandoleer (ger. Bandelier or Bandalier, fr. baudrier or bandoulière), a wide leather belt worn over the left shoulder by mounted troops, from which a catridge box is suspended. The bandolier eventually became a fashionable item of military dress, that of officers being decorated with gold and silver trim. Foot troops used the bandolier to carry ammunition, the cartridge box being carried on a bandolier over the left shoulder, and the sabre on a similar one over the right shoulder.
The Hessian Jägers pictured above carry the cartouche box b on a brown bandolier a, which is held in place by a red shoulder strap c. The carbine has a sling bar and sliding ring fitted over the sideplate, where the carabiner is hooked. This arrangement secured the cavalry carbine, and allowed the rider to fire his weapon from the saddle.
Patterns of Bandoliers
- LoC 4401 – Bandolier, Mounted Infantry (Mark I), Pattern 1882
(Bandolier, leather, 50 rounds, Mounted Infantry, 1884) - LoC 4607 – Bandolier, Web Belt, 17 Nov 1884
- LoC 5873 – Bandolier, Leather (.303-inch), Ammunition, 6 June 1889
- LoC 8391 – Bandolier, Leather, Mounted Infantry, Ammunition (Mark II), 21 Aug 1896
- Bandolier, naval (Mark I), Pattern 1901
- Bandolier, naval (Mark II), Pattern 1903
- Bandolier, 50 rounds (Mark I), Pattern 1903
- Bandolier, 50 rounds (Mark II), Pattern 1905
- Bandolier, 90 rounds (Mark I), Pattern 1903
- Bandolier, 90 rounds (Mark II), Pattern 1905
- Bandolier for Luftwaffe Paratroopers, 100 cartridges
Source: Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon, 6. Auflage 1905–1909