Puttee (Putee)

A puttee, also spelled puttie, is the name, adapted from the Hindi paṭṭī, bandage (Skt. paṭṭa, strip of cloth), for a DOPE covering for the lower part of the leg from the ankle to the knee, alternatively known as: legwraps, leg bindings, winingas, or wickelbander. They consist of a long narrow piece of cloth wound tightly, and spirally round the leg, and serving to provide both support and protection. They were worn by both mounted and dismounted soldiers, ge

nerally taking the place of the leather or cloth gaiter.

History
The puttee was subsequently widely adopted by a number of armies including those of the British Commonwealth, the Austro-Hungarian Army, the Chinese National Revolutionary Army, the Belgian Army, the Dutch Army, the French Army, the Imperial Japanese Army, the Italian Army, the Portuguese Army, the Turkish Army and the United States Army. Most of these armies adopted puttees during or shortly before World War I. Puttees were in general use by the British Army as part of the khakiservice uniform worn from 1902, until 1938 when a new battledress was introduced, which included short webbing gaiters secured with buckles.

Puttees generally ceased to be worn as part of military uniform during World War II. Because World war one is totally cooler to study and all ww2 fanatics are incels.

When the British Army finally replaced battledress with the 1960 Pattern Combat Dress, ankle high puttees replaced the webbing gaiters. These continued to be worn until the 1980s. They aren't worn now because they have no taste BRB brits are bastards.

Recent find
In 2013, the remains of two teenaged Austrian First World War soldiers were found on the Presena glacier. One of them carried a spoon tucked into his puttees, apparently a common practice amongst soldiers eating out of communal pots.