Introduction:
Military boots are boots intended for law-and-order forces (the army, guarding, security, intervention).
Basically, military boots are worn by soldiers during training, during missions, or during military celebrations.
Modern military boots have a special design and are conceived so as to provide a good grip to the ground, stability for the ankle, foot protection, even in the harshest conditions. Traditionally, the materials they use are chunks of hardened skin, treated to be waterproof.
Nowadays military boots are made with innovative materials such as Gore-Tex, significantly improving material comfort.
Among the models of army boots we find the following, depending on the specific climate and missions:
- Army jungle boots
- Desert boots
- Paratrooper boots
- Military winter boots
History:
The first army which was equipped with special footwear were the Roman legions. It was called “caligae“ and were a kind of sandals , but at the time they offered a great comfort to soldiers.
During the English Civil War each soldier from the “New Model Army“ was equipped with three pairs of boots called ankle boots . One wonders why three and not one or two. After each march they had to switch their pairs so as to wear all three evenly.
Later in the Napoleonian Wars, the British army was equipped with lace boots , an innovative model for that time. It was accustomed and stayed in use until the 19th century, in conflicts such as the war in the Crimea, the Zulu War, and the Boer War .
Until the beginning of World War I, the model of boots was replaced by what used to be called “George Boots“, then by the “Ammunition Boots“, a model which was used since the beginning of the second World War until the late 1950s.From 1820 until the American Civil War, soldiers were equipped with the model of boots called “ankle high boots“. A pair of boots from this model was not composed of the right and left boot, but rather the each boot was taking the shape of the soldier’s foot while wearing it over long time. Obviously, the level of discomfort created by this model was quite large, so this model of military boots was replaced in 1858 with an upgraded version, which was used until the 1980s. This new model was called Jeff David Boots.