Assault Order

Later in the war, infantrymen taking part in an assault were sometimes allowed to leave their knapsacks in the support trenches for what were termed "limited operations." In its stead, they would wear a rouleau d'assaut ("assault roll"), also referred to as tenue d'assaut ("assault order"). The purpose was to give the infantrymen a greater amount of speed and flexibility in an attack.

from the January 1918 Manuel du Chef de Section d'Infanterie ("The Manual of the Infantry Section Leader"), the tenue d'assaut consists of the following:

Clothing: field dress without pack

Equipment:

Tent-canvas, worn in shoulder-roll fashion

Blanket, rolled within the tent-canvas*

1 or more entrenching tools, on the belt (or strapped to shoulder-roll)

Reinforced haversack (grenades and signal flares)

Supplementary 1-liter canteen or flask for spirits (see below for more details)

Gas mask (worn around the neck in the canvas envelope, center of chest)

Second gas mask (if possible)

Sandbags (2-5, attached to the front of the shoulder-roll)

Signalling panels

Bandage packet (in the breast pocket of the greatcoat)

Soldier's booklet (in the breast pocket of the greatcoat)

ID tags (one around the neck, the other worn as a bracelet on the wrist)

Ammunition: 120 rounds in cartridge pouches.

Rations:

1 haversack with "daily rations," cup, spoon

1 haversack with "light rations": 600 gm of hardtack (about 5 biscuits), 300 gm of canned meat (pork or beef), 200 gm of Gruyère cheese, 250 gm of chocolate, 160 gm of sugar or jam, 1 can of sardines or a second can of meat.

1 2-liter canteen (water or wine)

1 1-liter canteen (coffee or brandy/rum)

*Another combination consists of taking the pack for carrying the rations, tent-canvas, and the blanket. If the weather is particularly rainy, it is useless to bring along the blanket.

In terms of the general construction of the assault roll, the tent-canvas was first rolled or folded up with the blanket normally wrapped up inside. This was then folded in two to make a horseshoe. The two ends of the tent-canvas were then either tied together or were bound together using the the short cross-strap supplied with the backpack. The roll was worn slung over one shoulder, across the chest. The e-tool could also be strapped on (noramlly on the back side), along with sandbags (2-5), allowing the soldier to entrench and fortify newly-gained positions. Sometimes the mess-tin would also be carried, either wrapped up inside or strapped onto the outside of the shoulder-roll with the soldiers rations stowed inside.

The assault order was particularly common from late 1916 through 1917, when "limited operations" were frequently conducted and trench raiding tactics refined. However, with the resumption of the fast-paced war of movement in the spring and summer of 1918, infantrymen were again required to wear their knapsacks into most assaults.