ThePatauga jungle boot orFrench Army bush boot (French:chaussure de brousse orchaussure de brousse de l'armée française), commonly known as the "splasher" (Patauga), is a lightweight cotton canvas and rubber boot worn by the members of theFrench Armed Forces when deployed overseas. First introduced in the late 1940s, the Patauga boot, along with theFrench M1949 Bush Hat, became an icon associated with France's decolonization wars inIndochina andAlgeria throughout the 1950s and 1960s. The Pataugas boots were popular not only among members of the French military, but also among civilians engaging in outdoor activities. Its design was subsequently copied and adopted by severalmilitaries worldwide.
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In the aftermath ofWorld War II, the French began to reassert their lost influence over their colonies inFrench Indochina, comprisingVietnam,Cambodia andLaos, which had been occupied by theImperial Japanese Army late in the War and were now vying for independence. The troops of theFrench Far East Expeditionary Corps (CEFEO) that was sent by theFrench Army to participate in the reoccupation of the Indochinese territories in September 1945 wore on the field a mixture of French regulation and American surplus footwear, including French M1917, M1941, M1945 brown (or black) leather hobnailed ankle boots (French:Brodequins modéle 1917, modéle 1941, modéle 1945), brown leather US 1941 Type II Service Shoes, 1943 Type III Service Shoes, 1943 Service Shoes Reverse Uppers,dual-buckled M1943 Combat Service Boots, and calf-lengthUS M1942 "Corcoran" paratrooper boots, but they had no specifically-designed footwear for tropical climates.
ThePortuguese Army and thePortuguese Marine Corps adopted in the early 1960s theCanvas boot model 1964 (Portuguese:Bota de lona m/964), whose design appears to have been based on the French Army Mle 1954 Patauga boot used during theAlgerian War. As per in the French model, the Portuguese Model 1964 boot is characterised by his double colour construction, with the upper and the heel counter being made of olive green canvas and the toe in black canvas. The low-top upper has 5 lace eyelets made of stainless steel and is reinforced by metal rivets at the base of the lacing system. The tongue is not sewn to the top of the boot by side stitches and although this provides better ventilation, it also allows the infiltration of humidity and small pebbles into the boot. In contrast to the French original, the Portuguese version features built-in double round eyelets at the inner shank of the boot, intended for both fast drainage and ventilation, allowing the circulation of air on the inside.[57][58]
Introduced in the late 1950s, theItalian Army's version of the Patauga boot consisted of high-top khaki or olive canvas uppers provided with 4 metal lace eyelets and 5 speed-lace eyelets, a toe cap and black rubber outsole, and was produced in two variants: one basic model lacking built-in ventilation eyelets (Italian:Stivaletti) and a second model, designated "landing boots" (Italian:Stivaletti da sbarco,Scalfarotti), in which the outsoles were provided with 5 fast drainage eyelets – 3 on the inner shank and 2 on the outside –, and a slip-resistant "ripple" pattern tread. Also known as the "Amphibians, Lagoon, Italian Army" (Italian:Anfibi Lagunari Esercito Italiano), the landing boots were issued to the soldiers of theLagunari Regiment "Serenissima", an Italian Army amphibious infantry unit formed in 1957 at Venice, who wore them while operating in the marshy ground environment typical of the coastallagoons in the northernAdriatic Sea – theVenetian Lagoon, theMarano Lagoon, and theGrado Lagoon. The Landing boots were also provided to theItalian Navy's1st San Marco Naval Infantry Regiment.[59]
Developed by theU.S. Army Natick Laboratories inNatick, Massachusetts in the early 1960s, the Indigenous Combat Boot was an American-designed jungle boot derived from the French Patauga boot for use inVietnam. It consisted of high-top black canvas uppers provided with 8 metal lace eyelets, a toe cap and outsole made of rubber in the same colour that contained an anti-Punji stick metal plate on the inside. Other features that distinguished the Indigenous Combat Boot from the original French model were the two screened drainage eyelets on the inner shank and the plain round rubberized ankle reinforcements lacking the manufacturer's markings. Like theVibram-soled U.S. ArmyJungle boots, the tread gave poor traction and tended to get clogged with mud. In addition, since they were produced in Japan using Japanesefoot lasts, most South Vietnamese soldiers often found the indigenous boots to be ill-suited to the local conditions and uncomfortable to wear.[60]
In response to the complaints regarding the indigenous combat boot, the Canadian-basedBata Shoes Company began developing in 1968 a new, improved jungle boot that used anthropometric Vietnamese foot lasts produced by Natick Laboratories, bringing it closer to the French Patauga design favoured by the South Vietnamese. Like its predecessor, the new jungle boot consisted of cotton canvas uppers, sometimes reinforced by metal rivets at the base of the lacing system, and a toe cap and outsole made of black rubber with a horizontal triple-ribbed midsole; it also retained the screened drainage eyelets on the inner shank and the (Bata-marked) round rubberized ankle reinforcements, though the latter was often absent in the high-top version. Made under contract inCanada, the improved Bata Jungle Boots were produced in three sizes (6-eyelets, 7-eyelets, and 11-eyelets), being also available in khaki and olive green versions.[61][62]
First adopted in 1950 by the General Logistics Department of the ChinesePeople's Liberation Army (PLA), theType 50 combat sneaker, best known as the "liberation shoe", is a Chinese-designed canvas-and-rubber low-riseplimsoll-type shoe that was used by both the PLA during theKorean War and the Vietnamese communistViet Minh regular guerrilla forces fighting in the northernTonkin region ofFrench Indochina during theFirst Indochina War, which were trained, armed and supplied since 1949 by thePeople's Republic of China.[63] It consists ofreed green canvas uppers provided with four aluminium eyelets and a tan or black rubber vertically-ribbed outsole and toe cap; the thick outsole has a simple "ripple" or zigzag pattern tread and lacks a raised heel cap.[64] Simple and cheap to produce, the "liberation shoes" were provided in large quantities to the Viet Minh and its successor, thePeople's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) of theDemocratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) throughout the 1950s, 1960s and the early 1970s, eventually becoming their standard footwear throughout the Indochina andVietnam Wars.[65]
These plimsoll shoes were not hardwearing, however, and tended to disintegrate through operational use, especially during the long journey from North Vietnam down theHo Chi Minh trail into South Vietnam. As they marched through the rugged hot and wet jungle terrain ofLaos, North Vietnamese soldiers quickly realized that their Chinese-made shoes were not designed for a tropical environment, since they retained humidity and perspiration due to a lack of proper ventilation, took a long time to dry, and if not removed regularly, they were prone to causing malodorous fungal and bacterial infections such asTrench foot andAthlete's foot that ruined the wearer's feet. Moreover, the shoes offered limited ankle support, though most North Vietnamese had grown up barefoot or wearing sandals, so this presented few problems. Eventually, the "liberation shoes" lasted no more than two months in the field, so replacements were constantly sought. One quick solution for PAVN soldiers was to remove the Bata boots, Indigenous Combat Boots and US-style jungle boots from any dead South VietnameseCIDG militiamen orARVN regular soldier they encountered and use these to replace their worn-out footwear, although the preferred option taken by most North Vietnamese infantrymen was to exchange at first opportunity their rotten and smelly Chinese shoes for the famous, locally producedHo Chi Minh sandals (Vietnamese:dép lốp or "tire sandal") made of black rubber soles cut from discarded truck tires and held on by inner-tube straps.[66][67]
Despite their shortcomings, the Type 50 "liberation shoes" remained standard issue with Chinese PLA troops andPeople's Armed Police (PAP) personnel until 2015, when they began to be replaced by a new, better-designed model of anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and odour resistant black combat trainers.[68][69]
Although almost completely dependent on Chinese logistical support, with PAVN combat footwear being all imported from PLA sources, the North Vietnamese did developed their own model of jungle combat boot after 1954, based upon captured French Patauga jungle boots.[70] Known as thePAVN jungle boot, its design appears to have been directly inspired by the Palladium "Pampa" and "Pallabrousse" models, consisting of khaki, reed green or (rarely) black cotton canvas uppers provided with a pull loop at the backstay[71] and a black or slightly brownish rubber vertically-ribbed outsole, a (slightly) raised heel cap and toe cap. The PAVN jungle boot is manufactured locally in two high-cut versions, one with just six metal eyelets and another with nine metal eyelets, whilst the upper incorporates a single diagonal reinforcement stripe along the side, as per in the Palladium models. Early production batches of the PAVN jungle boot had khaki uppers andVibram-type rubber soles, though khaki canvas had ceased to be used for the uppers several years before the end of the Vietnam War and a distinctive rubber sole tread pattern incorporating notches, V- and crescent-shaped lugs and small raised "commas" under the studs became standard.[72][73] Unlike the Chinese plimsolls, the PAVN jungle boots were better adapted to the tropical climate and dried quickly when wet.[74] The Chinese soon produced their own version of the PAVN jungle boot, theType 65 combat boot, which featured high-rise reed green canvas uppers – with or without the reinforcement strap at the side and lacking the pull loop at the backstay – provided with six aluminium eyelets and a black or olive-brown rubber outsole (either vertically-ribbed or smooth) and toe cap; sometimes a rubber heel counter was added at the back. Eventually, the Type 65 jungle boot was adopted as standard combat footwear by the Chinese PLA, being also provided as military aid to North Vietnam.[75]
The PAVN jungle boot has proved so popular that eventually Vietnam started exporting its canvas-and-rubber boot to East European armies in the early 1990s.[76][77]
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Algeria: used by theNational Liberation Army (1954–1962).[78]
Angola[79]
Benin
Biafra: used by theBiafran Armed Forces (1968–1970).[80]
Burkina Faso
Cambodia: used by theRoyal Khmer Armed Forces (1950–1970) and theKhmer National Armed Forces (1970–1975).
Cameroon: used by theCameroon Armed Forces.
Central African Republic
Chad: used by theChadian Armed Forces (FAT),Chadian National Armed Forces (FANT) andChadian National Army (ANT).[81]
China: used by thePeople's Liberation Army.[82]
Comoros
Djibouti
Egypt
France: used by theFrench Armed Forces (1947–2000).[83][84][85][86][87]
Gabon
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau: used by theRevolutionary Armed Forces of the People (FARP).
Kingdom of Laos: used by theRoyal Lao Armed Forces andSpecial Guerrilla Units (1950–1975).[88][89][90]
Lebanon: used by several ChristianLebanese Front and MuslimLebanese National Movement militias during theLebanese Civil War (1975–1993).[91]
Iraq: used by theIraqi Army during theIran–Iraq War (1980–88).[92]
Israel: used by theIsrael Defense Forces andIsrael security forces.[93][94]
Italy: used by theItalian Army'sLagunari Regiment "Serenissima" and theItalian Navy's1st San Marco Regiment.[95]
Ivory Coast
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic: used by theSahrawi People's Liberation Army.
Syria: used by theSyrian Arab Armed Forces.
Senegal
Somalia
South Africa: used by theSouth African Defence Force,South African Police,South West Africa Territorial Force and theSouth West African Police.[96][97]
South Vietnam: used by theVietnamese National Army (1950–1955) and theArmy of the Republic of Vietnam (1960–1975).
Tunisia
Togo
Vietnam: used by theViet Minh and thePeople's Army of Vietnam (PAVN).[98][99][100][101][102][103][104]
Palestine: used by thePalestine Liberation Organization (PLO) guerrilla groups andPalestine Liberation Army units in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.[105][106][107]
Portugal[108][109]
Madagascar
Mali
Mauritania
Morocco
Mozambique
Niger
Republic of the Congo
Rhodesia: used by theRhodesian Security Forces.
