If you start looking at photographs from the First World War, you will notice that many soldiers of the Russian Imperial Army wear some strange “bandages” on their feet. What is it at all and why was it needed? Did only Russian soldiers wear such a piece of clothing on their feet, and where did it come from? Let's try to answer all these questions.
For a long time, the production of boots made of genuine leather was a very expensive pleasure. Mostly wealthy noble people could afford them. During the centuries of modern times, in the army, leather boots were worn mainly by officers and cavalrymen. The latter needed boots for utilitarian reasons to protect the foot, including in case of a fall from a horse and a foot getting stuck in the stirrup. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century and the advent of leather substitutes, boots became much more affordable and flooded into the armies of different countries as extremely cheap and comfortable shoes.
However, World War I changed everything. It became the first total war, in which not tens or even hundreds of thousands of soldiers, but millions of conscripts participated. As a result, boots became scarce again, which is why they had to return to other types of shoes, for example, boots without a high beret. The problem was that such shoes were not very suitable for soldier's service, flowing mostly in dampness and mud. And as you know: wet feet in war are worse than bullets.
Therefore, together with the high beret, they began to use windings. In the Russian army they were called onuchi. Windings were also used in other armies, primarily in the British. The classic image of the English "Tommy" is a helmet-plate on the head and windings on the legs. Russian soldiers also wore windings that were wound under the boot from the heel to the end of the shin and helped protect the foot from dirt, dust and dampness. In fact, onuchi replaced the absence of a high protective beret in cheap shoes.
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Windings (onuchi) for boots were used in the army not only during the First World War. They were also used in World War II. First of all, the British. Moreover, in the British army, the windings were used not only by soldiers, but also by junior officers. In the Soviet Red Army, boots dominated, but there were still units where soldiers wore boots and onuchi. According to many soldiers, windings were better than boots on the march. Although onuchi took much longer to put on, they were much lighter and more comfortable. However, with the advent of cheap high-top boots, they were no longer needed.
If you want to know even more interesting things, then you should read about Why were the Romans forbidden to wear boots? and pants.
Source: https://novate.ru/blogs/040422/62614/