Footwraps are rectangular pieces of cloth that are worn wrapped around the feet

Foot

The foot is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made up of one or more segments or bones, generally including claws...

 to avoid chafing, absorb sweat and improve the foothold. Footwraps were worn with boot

Boot

A boot is a type of footwear but they are not shoes. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle and extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearly distinguishable from the rest of the sole, even if the two are made of one piece....

s before sock

Sock

A sock is an item of clothing worn on the feet. The foot is among the heaviest producers of sweat in the body, as it is able to produce over of perspiration per day. Socks help to absorb this sweat and draw it to areas where air can evaporate the perspiration. In cold environments, socks decrease...

s became widely available, and remained in use by armies in Eastern Europe up until the beginning of the 21st century.

Description

Footwraps are typically square, rectangular or less often triangular. They measure about 40 centimetres (15.7 in) on each side if square or about 75 centimetres (29.5 in) on each side if triangular. Thinner cloth may be folded to produce a square, rectangular or triangular shape after folding. Russian army footwraps were made of flannel

Flannel

Flannel is a soft woven fabric, of various fineness. Flannel was originally made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but is now often made from either wool, cotton, or synthetic fibre. Flannel may be brushed to create extra softness or remain unbrushed. The brushing process is a mechanical process...

 for use in winter and of cotton

Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

 for use in summer.

Apart from being cheaper and simpler to make or improvise, footwraps are also quicker to dry than socks and are more resistant to wear and tear: any holes can be compensated for by re-wrapping the cloth in a different position. Their principal drawback is that any folds in the wraps, which easily occur during marching unless the wraps are very carefully put on, can quickly cause blisters or wounds. Consequently, armies issued detailed instructions on how to put on footwraps correctly.

Footwraps are notorious for the foul smell that they develop when worn under military conditions, where soldiers are often unable to change or dry the cloths for days. Russian veterans used to jokingly pride themselves about the stench of their footwear, referring to their footwraps as "chemical weapons" that would defeat any enemy unaccustomed to the smell.

Military use

Footwraps were issued by armies and worn by soldiers throughout history, often long after civilians had replaced them with socks. Prior to the 20th century, socks or stockings were often luxury items affordable only for officers, while the rank and file had to use wraps.

Germany

Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

n soldiers wore Fusslappen, footwraps. A 1869 "Manual of Military Hygiene" advised: "Footwraps are appropriate in summer, but they must have no seams and be very carefully put on; clean and soft socks are better." A 1867 German dictionary of proverbs records the following saying: "One's own footwrap is better than someone else's boot."

The German Wehrmacht

Wehrmacht

The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...

 used footwraps until the end of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. They continued to be worn in the East German National People's Army

National People's Army

The National People’s Army were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic .The NVA was established in 1956 and disestablished in 1990. There were frequent reports of East German advisors with Communist African countries during the Cold War...

 until 1968.

Eastern Europe

The Russian and later Soviet armed forces issued footwraps since Peter the Great imported the custom from the Dutch Army in the 1690s. Footwraps remained standard issue in many Warsaw Pact

Warsaw Pact

The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...

 armies. The Russian, Ukrainian and Georgian armies eventually abandoned them in favor of socks in the 2000s. In each case, nostalgia

Nostalgia

The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealized form.The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of , meaning "returning home", a Homeric word, and , meaning "pain, ache"...

 about the traditional footwear ran high among soldiers. The Ukrainian army held a special farewell ceremony for its footwraps, with soldiers reciting poems and fables about them. In the army of Belarus, footwraps are scheduled to be phased out in 2010.

Because of their association with the Russian army, footwraps are called chaussettes russes (Russian stockings) in French.