WW1 French Colonial Troops Issue 2L Waterbottle With Ribbed Cover & Rare Inspection Stamp 1912

A WW1 period French waterbottle of the 2 Litre capacity which were only issued to Colonial troops prior to 1914. The date of 1912 can be discerned on the strap.
When war broke out in 1914 it soon became apparent that the smaller 1 Litre bottle was insufficient for French troops on the front line & so the 2 Litre was then made standard issue for all. Although heavily worn & washed out the cover on this piece appears to have originally been of a light khaki colour & so with the date of April 1912 to the strap was most likely used by Colonial troops in North Africa before being redeployed in the European theatre . The large spout is present without its string & may have been used this way , the small spout has its wood plug still in place to seal it. The nametag on the bottom of the piece has a great deal of writing on it & with some time & studying may be researched further . Strap is an early issue with brass buckle , the remains of the ink inspection stamp can be seen to its reverse.

Code: 13957