Military uniform

This article is about standardised military dress. For military protective clothing, see Armour.
Military uniform is the standardised dress worn by

Illustrations of military uniforms from 1690 to 1865 by Ren

L'Hpital.
Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Indonesian and Indian military personnel in uniform during a parade in Rome, Italy

hussars became a model for hussar units all over Europe.

The kilts and sporrans of Scottish highland clans were dismembers of the armed forces and paramilitaries of vari- tilled into regimental dress when the British Army started
ous nations. Military dress and military styles have gone to recruit from these tribal groups.
through great changes over the centuries from colourful Mercenary or irregular ghters could also develop their
and elaborate to extremely utilitarian. Military uniforms own fashions, which set them apart from civilians, but
in the form of standardised and distinctive dress, intended were not really uniforms. The clothing of the German
for identication and display, are typically a sign of or- Landsknechte of the 16th century is an example of disganised military forces equipped by a central authority.
tinctive military fashion. Special units such as Zouaves
developed non-standard uniforms to distinguish them
from troops of the line.

History

1.1 Antiquity

A distinction should be made between uniforms and ethnic dress. If a particular people or culture favoured a
distinctive dress style this could easily create the impression of uniformly dressed warriors. The issue is further
complicated by the fact that the distinctive features of
particularly eective warrior classes were often copied
- weapons, armour, ghting style and native dress. Thus
the distinctive and colourful clothing of the Hungarian

There are a few recorded attempts at uniform dress in

antiquity, going beyond the similarity to be expected of
ethnic or tribal dress. One example is the Spanish infantry of Hannibal who wore white tunics with crimson
edgings. Another is the Spartan hoplite in his red garment. The terracotta army discovered in the tomb of the
1

HISTORY

rst Emperor of China (c. 200 BC) have a supercial 1.3 Late Roman and Byzantine
similarity but closer examination shows up to seven different styles of armour, which do not appear to have been The regular thematic (provincial) and Tagmata (central)
troops of the Byzantine Empire (East Roman) are the rst
standardised within separate units.
known soldiers to have had what would now be considered regimental or unit identication. During the 10th
century, each of the cavalry banda making up these
1.2 Rome
forces is recorded as having plumes and other distinctions
in a distinctive colour. While some auxiliary cohorts in
Main article: Roman military uniform
the late Roman period had carried shields with distincThe legions of the Roman Republic and Empire had tive colours or designs, there is no evidence that any one
Roman legion was distinguished from another by features
other than the numbers on the leather covers protecting
their shields.

1.4 Medieval feudal

The feudal system of Western Europe provided instances
of distinguishing features denoting allegiance to one or
another lord. These however seldom went beyond colours
and patterns painted on shields or embroidered on surcoats. Orders of military monks such as the Knights
Templar or Hospitaler wore mantles respectively of white
(with red crosses on the shoulder) or black (with white
crosses) over the usual pattern of armour for their periods.
In the later part of the Medieval period instances of standardised clothing being issued for particular campaigns
began to occur. English examples included the white
coats worn by Norfolk levies recruited in 1296 and the
green and white clothing that identied Cheshire archers
during the 14th century.[4]

1.5 Ottoman Empire

Roman centurion (Historical reenactment).

a fairly standardised dress and armour, particularly

from approximately the early to mid 1st century onward, when Lorica Segmentata (segmented armour) was
introduced.[1] However the lack of unied production for
the Roman army meant that there were still considerable
dierences in detail. Even the armour produced in state
factories varied according to the province of origin.[2]
Shields were painted in unique patterns to indicate which
cohort a soldier was from. Fragments of surviving clothing and wall paintings indicate that the basic tunic of the
Roman soldier was of un-dyed (o-white) or red-dyed
wool.[3] Senior commanders are known to have worn
white cloaks and plumes. Centurions the century commanders who made up the long serving backbone of the
legions were distinguished by transverse crests on their
helmets, various chest ornaments (phaler) corresponding to modern medals, and torques (a symbol borrowed
from the Gauls and also used as a military award), and
the vine stick (Vitis) that they carried as a mark of their
oce.

The highly organised armies of the Ottoman Empire employed distinctive features of dress to distinguish one
corps or class of soldier from another. An example would
be the conical black hats of felt worn by the Deli cavalry
of the early 19th century. However the basic costume
was usually that of the tribal group or social class from
which a particular class of warrior was drawn. As such
it was suciently varied not to rank as uniform in the
later sense. An elaborate system of colourful standards
largely provided unit identication. Even the appearance
of the Janissaries was likely to reect individual means
and taste, although red was a favoured colour and the
white felt zarcola headdresses were similar. It was not
until the reorganisation of the Ottoman Army by Sultan
Mahmud II during the 1820s that completely standardised dress was issued.

1.6 Navies
In an early instance of camouage awareness, the sailors
of Imperial Rome are reported to have worn blue/green
tunics. However uniform dress was not a feature of navies

1.7

Regimental dress

3
would designate certain afternoons to "make and mend"
(clothing). A sailor with little clothing to make or mend
used this time as time o.
In January 1857 the decision was taken to issue complete
uniforms to petty ocers and seamen. This included features which can still be recognised in the Class I uniform
of ratings in the modern Royal Navy - notably the wide
blue collar with white tapes, a black neckerchief, white
lanyard and blue or white jumper. The ared bell bottom trousers disappeared after the Second World War.
Because of the global dominance of the Royal Navy from
Trafalgar to the Second World War RN uniforms became
the model for virtually all other navies. While certain distinctive features emerged - such as the red pompom worn
on the crown of the French sailors cap, the open fronted
jacket of the German Navy or the white round cap of the
U.S. Navy - the overall pattern remained standard until
the development of specialist working or protective rigs
during the Second World War.

1.7 Regimental dress

Seamans jumper: hand knitted wool

(ocers and marines excepted) until comparatively recent times. This may reect the considerable dierence
in roles and conditions of service between sailors and soldiers.
Until the middle of the 19th century only ocers and
warrant ocers in the Royal Navy wore regulated uniforms. Through the 18th century to the Napoleonic Wars
navy ocers had a form of dress broadly resembling that
of army ocers, though in dark blue with white facings.
In the early 19th century Royal Navy ocers developed
a more distinctive form of uniform comprising (in full
dress) a cocked hat, dark blue coatee with white collar and cus, dark blue or white trousers, or breeches.
Epaulettes and braiding were gold and varied according to
rank. In a simplied form this dress (without the cocked
hat) survives as the modern ceremonial dress for ag ofcers.
Throughout this period sailors supplied or made their own
clothing. Sailors developed traditional clothing suitable
for their work: loose-tting trousers with belts made of
rope; tunics that slipped over the head, with arms to above
the wrist so that the cloth would not foul in ropes passing
through a cleat or pulley. For cold weather, a jumper was
knitted from yarn or wool. For wet weather, old sail cloth
was made into a coat (with hat or attached hood) that was
waterproofed with tallow or fat. In these days, the ocers

Facing colours were introduced to distinguish the various regiments. Here, the Rgiment du Lyonnais with red and green facings on the standard grey uniform (1720-1734)

The styles and decoration of military uniforms varied

immensely with the status, image and resources of the

HISTORY

military throughout the ages. Uniform dress became them.[8]

the norm with the adoption of regimental systems, initially by the French army in the mid-17th century. Before 1600 a few German and Dutch regiments had worn
red or yellow coats. From about 1626 onwards some
Swedish infantry had been issued with standard coloured
dress under Gustavus Adolphus (hence his yellow or
blue regiments).[5] However, in the main the levies of
the 15th and 16th centuries wore civilian dress and regiments were dressed at the expense of their colonels in
whatever style and colours the colonel preferred. Even
Royal guards would sometimes only be issued with distinctive coloured or embroidered surcoats to wear over
ordinary clothing. To help armies distinguish friend from
foe scarves, pieces of foliage or other makeshift identication known as eld signs would be worn,[6] (A practice still recognised under international humanitarian law
and the laws of war as a distinctive sign.[7] Field signs
were easily removed or donned,[6] as in the example of
John Smith a squire on the Royalist side who at the Battle
of Edgehill put on the orange scarf of the Parliamentarians and with no more elaborate disguise succeeded in
recapturing the lost royal standard from the hands of Earl
of Essexs own secretary.[8]
By this time, in France at least, the general character of
the clothes and accoutrements to be worn on various occasions was strictly regulated by orders. But uniformity
of clothing was not to be expected so long as the enlistment system prevailed and soldiers were taken in and
dismissed at the beginning and end of every campaign.
The beginnings of uniform are therefore to be found in
truly national armies, in the Indelta of Gustavus Adolphus, and the English armies of the English Civil War. In
the earlier years of the latter, though the richer colonels
uniformed their men (as, for instance, the Marquess of
Newcastles Whitecoats and King Charless own redcoated Lifeguard of foot), the rustics and the citizens
turned out for war in their ordinary rough clothes, donning armour and sword-belt. But in 1645 the Long Parliament raised an army all its own for permanent service, and the colonels became ocials rather than proprietors. The New Model Army was clothed in the civilian
costume of the dateample coat, waistcoat, breeches,
stockings and shoes (in the case of cavalry, boots)but
with the distinctive colour throughout the army of red and
with regimental facings of various colours and breeches
of grey. Soon afterwards the helmet disappeared, and
its place was taken by a grey broad-brimmed hat. From
the coat was eventually evolved the tunic of the mid-19th
century, and the hat became the cocked hat of a later generation, which generally disappeared during the decade of
1800-1810 to reappear in the late 19th and early 20th century, by which time it had its original form of a slouchhat. For service in Ireland the New Model Armys red
coat was exchanged for one of russet colour, just as scarlet gave way to khaki for Indian service in the 19th century. The cavalry (Iron Sides), however, wore bu leather
coats and armour long after the infantry had abandoned

Franz Rudolf Frisching in the uniform of an ocer of the

Bernese Huntsmen Corps with his Berner Laufhund, painted by
Jean Preudhomme in 1785

Thus the principle ever since followeduniform coat and

variegated facingswas established. Little or nothing of
sentiment led to this. By choice or convenience the majority of the corps out of which the New Model Army
was formed had come to be dressed in red, with facings according to the colonels taste, and it is a curious
fact that in Austria sixty years afterwards events took the
same course. The colonels there uniformed their men
as they saw t had, by tacit consent, probably to obtain wholesale " prices, agreed upon a serviceable colour
(pearl grey), and when in 1707 Prince Eugene procured
the issue of uniform regulations, few line regiments had
to be re-clothed. In France, as in England and Austria,
the cavalry, as yet rather led by the wealthy classes than
ocered by the professional, was not uniformed upon an
army system until after the infantry. But in 1688 sixsevenths of the French cavalry was uniformed in light
grey with red facings; and about half the dragoon regiments had red uniforms and blue facings. The Marquis
of Louvois, in creating a standing army, had introduced
an infantry uniform as a necessary consequence. The native French regiments had light grey coats, the Swiss red,
the German black and the Italian blue, with various facings. The French grey was probably decided upon, like
the Austrian grey, as being a good service colour, which
could be cheaply manufactured.[8]
During the 18th century the normal military uniform in
Europe comprised a standardised form of civilian dress
(tricorn hat, long-skirted coat, waistcoat and breeches).

1.8

19th century

5
considered a form of livery - the mark of a servant and
demeaning to members of the social class from which ofcers came. One early practice in the French and other
armies was for ocers to wear coats of the facing colour
of their regiments. Rank insignia as such was unknown
until well into the 18th century. The gorget hanging from
a chain around the neck (and a last survival of medieval
armour) was the only universally recognised mark of an
ocer until epaulettes developed from clusters of ribbons
formerly worn on the shoulder. In the British army ocers were ordered to adopt epaulettes by a clothing warrant dated 1768. Even when ocers uniforms became
the subject of detailed regulation they remained easily
distinguishable from those of other ranks, by the better
quality and richness of the materials and trimmings used.
New uniforms were issued with surprising frequency in
some 18th-century armies (once a year in the British service). It should, however, be remembered that a soldier
had to march, parade, ght and sometimes sleep in the
same garment and that such extras as greatcoats or working clothes were seldom issued until the end of the century.

1.8 19th century

Military uniforms of the American Revolution

One distinctively military feature were the long canvas

gaiters which came up to mid-thigh and had multiple
buttons. Dress was surprisingly standardised between European armies in cut and general outline. The distinction normally lay in colours (red coats for the British and
Danes, light grey then white for the French, Spanish, and
Austrian infantry, dark blue for the Prussians and Portuguese, green for the Russians etc.). Within each army
dierent regiments were usually distinguished by facings - linings, turnbacks and braiding on coats in colours
that were distinctive to one or several regiments. The
Royal Comtois Infantry Regiment of the French Army,
for example, had large dark blue cus on its o-white
coats. To a certain extent the functions required of a given
group of soldiers were reected in their dress. Thus artillery uniforms in most armies were usually of dark blue for the practical reason that handling black powder would
have soiled lighter coloured clothing.[9] Infantry drummers and cavalry trumpeters often had reverse colours
with coats the colour of the regimental facings and facings
the colour of the regimental coats.
Ocers (who paid for their own clothing) were relatively
slow to accept uniforms. During the late 17th century
they were often dressed in individual styles and colours
according to their own taste and means. In part this was
because the uniform dress issued to the rank and le was

Horse artillery uniform of the French Imperial guard.

The rst fteen years of this century inuenced the appearance of military uniforms until the 1850s. In particular, some French uniforms - notably those of the cav-

alry regiments of the Imperial Guard - are considered

as being amongst the most striking and distinctive of the
time.[10] The cost of the French uniforms varied widely,
going from 200-250 francs for a line infantrymans outt
to 2000 francs for a cuirassiers uniform.[10] Cavalrymen
of the Guard had no less than 10 dierent uniforms.[10]
One justication for the expensive parade dresses of the
Guard was that they would lead the people of the conquered nations to regard the French uniforms with unreserved astonishment.[10] As a general trend France and
other European states replaced their bicornes by feathered shakos or crested helmets
The ornamental peak of the military uniform was reached
in the early 19th century in Western Europe. Sometimes
the Napoleonic Wars are identied as being the acme
of colourful and ornate uniforms, but actually the several decades of relative peace that followed were a time
of even more decorative styles and embellishments. The
Napoleonic soldier on campaign was likely to present a
shabby and nondescript appearance as unsuitable peacetime dress quickly deteriorated or was replaced with
whatever local substitutes were available. Until later on
in the century dyes were primitive and dierent batches
of uniforms worn by the same unit might present diering shades, especially after exposure to rain and sun. The
white uniforms popular amongst many armies through the
18th and early 19th centuries soiled easily and had to be
pipeclayed to retain any semblance of cleanliness. Green
as worn by Jger and Rie regiments proved particularly
prone to fading until suitable chemical dyes were devised
in the 1890s. British soldiers were known for their striking red clothing (hence the name "Redcoats"). This was
actually a fairly dull shade of madder red until the general
adoption of scarlet for tunics in the 1870s. The American industrial revolution began in the Blackstone Valley,
of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, with early textiles,
from 1791. Among the earliest manufacturers of US military uniforms was the Capron Mills at Uxbridge, Massachusetts from 1820.
1.8.1

HISTORY

Colour plate from the War of the Rebellion Atlas depicting Union
and Confederate uniforms

tion Federal blue but this often faded until it appeared

grey. Originally the Confederate government relied on
the commutation system which required the states to
provide their own uniforms. While the commutation system was in place, many states were not able to provide
an ample supply of uniforms and captured federal uniforms were common. Later in the war the Confederate national government provided uniforms from a central depot system, including the famous Richmond and
Columbus depots. Many photographs of Confederate
soldiers from later in the war (usually casualties) are wearing standardised uniforms. As Shermans men marched
across Georgia and up the Carolinas, they were cut o
from supply by the Union and began wearing clothing of
Confederate origin. Confederate soldiers used a variety
of vegetable and imported dyes which would fade to a
butternut colour.

1.9 The end of bright colours

The American Civil War

Main articles: Uniform of the Union Army and Uniforms

of the Confederate States military forces
It is generally supposed that Union soldiers wore blue
uniforms and Confederate soldiers wore grey ones. However, this was only a generalisation. Both the Union
and the Confederacy drew up uniform regulations, but
as a matter of practical reality neither side was able to
fully equip its men at the outbreak of the war. Existing state units and quickly raised volunteer regiments on
both sides wore a wide variety of styles and colours in
the early stages of the war. Some regimentssuch as
the Norths Brandenberg Sharpshooters and the Souths
Alexandria Rieshad green uniforms, while the French
zouave style was widely imitated.

Coldstream Guards on parade in ceremonial uniform. Painting

by William Barnes Wollen (1857-1936)

Until 1914 the majority of armies still provided colourful dress uniforms for all ranks, at least for parade and o
duty wear. These often retained distinctive features from
the past. Most Russian troops for example wore the very
dark green introduced by Peter The Great in 1700. German infantry generally wore the dark "Prussian blue" of
The Union eventually got most of its men into regula- the previous two centuries. This and other features of the

1.10

Between the wars

historic Prussian Army uniform were generally adopted

by the other German States as they fell under Prussian
inuence before and after the Franco-Prussian War of
1870. Bavarians however continued to wear light blue
and Saxon regiments retained a number of distinctions
after the establishment of the German Empire (1871).
Two regiments of the Prussian Guard and one of the
Russian were still issued with the brass mitre caps of
the 18th-century grenadier. The British infantry retained
their scarlet tunics for parade and walking out wear
while the bulk of French regiments wore red trousers with
dark or light blue tunics. The infantry of the AustroHungarian Empire discarded their historic white tunics
in 1868 in favour of dark blue. Retained however were
the extremely large number of colours appearing on collars, cus and shoulder straps to distinguish the various
regiments. There were for example ten shades of red,
ranging from cherry red to pink. The Swedish Army had
favoured dark blue with yellow facings since the beginning of the 18th century. There was innite variety, even
within smaller armies, between regiments, branches or
ranks and the subject is a very complex one.

Test uniforms created in 1912 by Edouard Detaille for the French

infantry in order to lessen the visibility of the troops on the battleeld as can be seen on the campaign dresses (right).

However, by 1914, drab colours were increasingly being

adopted for active service and ordinary duty wear. The
British rst introduced drab/khaki uniform in 1848 in
India[11] and this khaki drill became more generally worn
from the Indian Mutiny of 1857 both in India and Africa.
A darker version, known as service drab, was adopted
for home service eld wear in 1902,[12][13] the same year
that the US Army also adopted khaki for non-dress occasions. The Italians introduced grey-green in 1909, followed by the German and Austrian armies who adopted
dierent shades of grey. The Russians had changed to a
grey shade of khaki in 1908, following their experience
in the Russo Japanese War of 1905. There was however
strong attachment to the colourful uniforms as previously
worn on all occasions and the process was not an inexorable one. The Danish Army adopted grey-green uniforms for all occasions in 1903, reverted to a combination of dark and light blue in 1910, took up light grey in
1915 and nally settled for khaki in 1923.[14] The Imperial Russian armies following their adoption of khaki-grey
eld uniforms in 1908, took the opportunity to upgrade
their parade uniforms to much more elaborate and color-

7
ful styles, and were experimenting with a mix of khaki
and bright colours when war broke out in 1914.[15] The
Japanese Army probably went further than most in adopting khaki for all occasions after 1905, although even here
ocers of all branches and the cavalry of the Imperial
Guard retained traditional coloured uniforms for formal
and ceremonial occasions.[16]
With the exception of Western inuenced units such as
the Ever-Triumphant Army of the Taiping Rebellion
(185166) Chinese armies of the 19th century wore dress
that was broadly variegated. Embroidered chest panels
and coloured buttons on headdresses were used to distinguish rank and sometimes unit. From 1910 the Imperial
Chinese Army adopted dark blue uniforms of Japanese
style with coloured facings of red, white or yellow to
distinguish the dierent branches. The Imperial Guard
Division had a light grey uniform with the same branch
colours as the line. A khaki summer uniform was worn
by the entire army.
The First World War nally put an end to the expensive
practice of furnishing colourful uniforms to all ranks of
the various armies. Amongst the frontline troops of the
combatant powers in August 1914 only the Belgian and
French armies saw active service in bright colours and old
fashioned headgear (although the Austro-Hungarian cavalry retained their blue and red uniforms for eld wear
after the remainder of the army had gone into pike grey
in 1909). The Imperial German eld grey of 1910 retained a number of traditional features such as spiked helmets, shakos, busbies and coloured piping from the older
uniforms. The demands of modern warfare as well as nancial economy soon saw these survivals vanish and by
1916 all involved armies were in either khaki (Russia,
Turkish, Serbia, Montenegro, Japan, Greek, French colonial and Britain), various shades of grey (German, Italian,
Bulgarian, Portuguese, and Austro-Hungarian) or sky
blue (French and Romanian). The coloured uniforms of
peacetime were often relegated to depot wear by recruits
doing their basic training.
Steel helmets rst appeared in the form of the Adrian
helmet adopted by the French Army in 1915. The practical advantages of this innovation led the British and German armies to adopt their own helmets by 1916. Other
armies followed suit - the Belgians and Italians for example copying the French model and the Austro-Hungarians
that of Germany.

1.10 Between the wars

The drab uniforms of 1914-18 remained in general use
until the Second World War. This was partly for political reasons since the Republican, Fascist, Nazi and
Communist regimes that replaced many of the old monarchies and empires had little interest in preserving the
splendours of their predecessors. However even in those
societies where there was social and political continu-

HISTORY

ity the trend was away from the traditional uniforms

worn prior to 1914. The British Army reintroduced full
dress for Guards regiments (in 1919-20) and regimental
bands (by 1928), while permitting ocers to wear their
mess (evening), blue or green patrols (semi-formal) and
full dress on appropriate occasions. The French reintroduced grande tenue in 1927 for North African regiments which were mostly dependent on voluntary recruiting, and after 1930 required all regular ocers to acquire
dress uniforms in the pre-1914 colours of their branch or
regiment. Elsewhere full or coloured dress of traditional
cut was generally restricted to formal uniforms for ocers and long service regulars, ceremonial guards and a
few other limited categories. The Spanish Army (which
had not been involved in the First World War) exceptionally continued to issue coloured uniforms to all its conscript rank and le until 1926 and thereafter to the garrisons of Seville, Barcelona and Madrid for special ceremonials until 1931.[17] These included red trousers for the
line infantry, following the French practice in an example
of cross-border inuence.
The use of steel helmets was by now almost universal and a number of countries adopted their own designs moving away from the German, British and French
models of the First World War. The Italians, Soviets,
Japanese, Swiss, Spanish and Portuguese were amongst
these. Steel helmets, originally simply items of utilitarian
protective clothing, were adopted as parade headdress by
the French, German, Italian and Soviet armies, amongst
others, between the Wars.

1.11 Second World War

Uniforms of varying shades of khaki and grey were universal in the Second World War but the cut and outline
appearance of the dierent armies still made identication in the eld relatively straight forward. A Soviet soldier would, for example be distinguishable from his German opponent by his general outline, even in the fog of
battle. British, American, Japanese and French uniforms
still retained some distinctive features, even as they became more and more utilitarian in the course of the War.
The US Army discarded its First World War style eld
uniforms in 1941 in favour of a very plain and practical
combat dress in a thin light brown wool shirt (sometimes
with an olive green cast) and slightly darker trousers. This
was worn in conjunction with a smart olive drab Class
A dress uniformwhich in many cases varied to a rich
chocolate brown tunic worn with khaki trousers. There
was a khaki version of the Class A dress uniform for summer wear (See United States Army Uniform in World
War II). The war started with American combat troops
wearing combat shoes with spats (a form of gaiters),
replaced later in the war with 2-buckle combat boots.

This publication containing various images and description of

Red Army uniforms and insignia was printed by the British Imperial War Oce during the Second World War and was distributed to British ocers. Note the message that tells the recipient the manual must not fall into enemy hands.

In Germany the Nazi regime retained uniforms with

many traditional features from Imperial Germany for its
army uniforms, such as eld grey cloth, marching boots
(a taller version for ocers), collar litzen (braiding) and
breeches (for ocers and NCOs); German Panzer (tank)
troops had a special combat uniform made of black wool
and German troops serving in tropical climates had uniforms in a shade of khaki. Later in the war, severe leather
shortages led to the replacement of marching boots with
ankle height shoes worn with gaiters (Gemsch).
Imperial Japan used a light brown or khaki colour for
most Imperial army uniformsthough there was also
a green service dress tunic for ocers. Footwear was
reddish brown jack boots (restricted for wear only by
ocers), while soldiers wore shoes with leg wrappings
puttees).

From 1935 to 1943, Soviet Army uniforms for all troops

(except than tank troops) were an intermediate shade of
brown; uniforms included a eld uniform ("gymnasterka"
shirt with collar tabs and a 2-button breast opening, belt,
breeches, garrison cap, and boots), a service dress kittel
tunic worn with breeches or trousers, and a dress uniform
mundir tunic (worn with deep blue breeches). Soviet
By contrast, British soldiers, other than ocers, had their tank troops wore the gymnastyrka shirt, kittel (dress tu1938 battledress for all occasions.
nic) in a bluish grey (rather than brown) colour. In 1943,

2.2

Parade

the Soviet Army began to re-adopt many Tsarist Army

features, notably braided shoulder boards, which had previously been forbidden (since the founding of the Soviet
Army) as a sign of an undesirable social class mentality.
The reintroduction in 1943 was, presumably, a relatively
inexpensive means of boosting low Soviet troop morale
(it worked). Once reintroduced to the Soviet Army, the
use of shoulder boards was never rescinded and they remained part of the uniform until the dissolution of the
Soviet Union. The distinct bluish grey colour for tankers
was eliminated in 1943, from which point on all units of
the Soviet Army wore brown.

Modern uniforms

A Slovak Army soldier in a camouage uniform stands guard in

front of the Multinational Division-Central South headquarters
at Camp Echo, Iraq.

Australian Major General John Cantwell wearing formal uniform

The utilitarian necessities of war and economic frugality

are now the dominant factors in uniform design. Most
military forces, however, have developed several dierent uniform types, including combat dress, working dress,
service or ordinary duty uniforms and (to a very limited extent) ceremonial full dress. The practice of wearing a form of full dress o duty (walking out dress)
has largely died out as the modern soldier prefers the casual clothing of his civilian peers. Soldiers of the French
Armed Forces do however still wear their kepis and a
modied form of parade dress o duty, which can be seen
every 14 July, during the Bastille Day Military Parade, in
Paris.

ally resemble each other and armies in the eld are no

longer dierentiated by the distinctive cut or colour of
their clothing. Camouage clothing, being cheap, comfortable and practical, has increasingly become the usual
dress for daily wear in most armies, superseding the various service uniforms which were often the eld dress
of previous wars. In poorer parts of the third world, especially Africa, the camouage clothing worn comes from
a variety of sources and is of many dierent patterns, so
that an armys dress is denitely military, but to a large
extent not uniform.

2.2 Parade

As noted above, traditional coloured uniforms have long

since given way to clothing more suited for actual combat in modern conditions. While by no means extinct,
bright colours are now usually reserved for wear by units
having ceremonial functions, some bands and ocers attending formal occasions. Elite units normally contrive
to having some distinctive features. The United States
Marine Corps are well known for their traditional mid2.1 Camouage
night blue tunics and sky blue trousers (trimmed in red
All of the above armies wear some form of camouage for NCO and above). These dress blues are worn for
uniforms for training and active service. These gener- formal occasions such as the Marine Corps Birthday Ball

10

3 MODERN UNIFORMS BY COUNTRY

in November. The British Household Cavalry and Foot 3.2 Canada

Guards wear uniforms largely unchanged from 1914 for
public duties i.e. ceremonial.
See Uniforms of the Canadian Forces
The military of many countries have adopted the economical expedient of smartening up combat uniforms for parade by adding medals, neck scarves and coloured berets
to the terrain coloured camouage uniforms intended for
combat. As an interesting example of the combining
of old and new features of uniform the French Spahis
and the Spanish Regulares still wear the owing cloaks,
fezzes, turbans and sashes of the North African colonial
regiments from which they are descended with modern
khaki or camouage clothing, on appropriate occasions.

3
3.1

The Operational dress of the Canadian Forces is basic

uniform worn by members during operations and all other
occasions beyond ceremonial duties.

3.3 France
Main article: French Army Uniform
The battle dress of the French Armed Forces is

Modern uniforms by country

Britain

Main article: Uniforms of the British Armed Forces

The British Army generally retains its traditional full
dress uniforms only for bands and units performing ceremonial functions (notably the Household Brigade). See French soldiers wearing SPECTRA helmets with electronic equipment and the FLIN combat system
British Army Uniform for more detail.
An attempt dating from the early 1950s to provide other
British soldiers with a plainer (and cheaper) dark blue
or green No.1 dress did not meet with much enthusiasm; indeed, most soldiers are not issued with their
own No.1 dress, and the most common occasion when
it is now worn is for a wedding. Parade dress for most
British regiments is khaki No. 2 dress with No 1 Dress
coloured peaked caps, berets or Glengarry bonnets. Following the introduction of the Combat Soldier 95 (CS95)
clothing system of Disruptive Pattern Material (DPM)
this is worn for most day-to-day business replacing the
old 'working' uniform of green Lightweight Trousers and
Shirt/Jersey, albeit that these are still used as 'Barrack
Dress by some oce based personnel. However, the proposed Future Army Dress (FAD), which is currently being developed by the British Army, includes a return to
Barrack Dress for all arms, including 'non-iron' shirts and
trousers in a similar pattern to that of the current No.2
Dress uniform.[18][19] Tradition is however still strong in
British military culture and there are many regimental
distinctions added to some uniforms. One example is
the Kings Royal Hussars who wear their historic crimson trousers with all orders other than fatigue or combat
dress. The trews or tartan trousers of Lowland regiments have been retained for certain orders of dress in the
amalgamated Royal Regiment of Scotland, although the
kilt of the Highland regiments is the parade dress. Mess
dress in traditional scarlet, blue or green is worn by ocers and senior NCOs of all regiments for formal evening
dress.

the FLIN system combined with SPECTRA helmets.

France has adopted a light beige dress uniform which
is worn with coloured kepis, sashes, fringed epaulettes,
fourragres and other traditional items on appropriate occasions. As an alternative parade dress, camouage uniforms can be worn with the dress items noted above. The
legionnaires of the French Foreign Legion wear white
kepis, blue sashes and green and red epaulettes as dress
uniform, while the French Marines wear blue and red
kepis and yellow epaulettes. The sappers of the French
Foreign Legion wear the basic legionnaire uniform but
with leather aprons and gloves. The Chasseurs alpins
wear a large beret, known as the tarte (the pie), and
mountain outts. Sailors of the French Navy and Fusiliers
Marins wear a dress uniform dating from the 19th century
with a distinctive red pom-pom on the round cap.
The infantry and cavalry of the Republican Guard retain
their late 19th-century dress uniforms, as do the military cadets of Saint-Cyr and the cole Polytechnique. A
medium blue evening dress for ocers is now seldom
seen but individual branches or regiments may parade
bands or fanfares in historic dress dating as far back
as the Napoleonic period.

3.4 Germany
The German Army has retained a form of eld grey for
dress wear though of modern cut and worn with berets,

3.6

Russia

11
the Granatieri di Sardegna occasionally parade honour
guards or other detachments in their pre-1915 dark blue
uniforms.

3.6 Russia
The Russian Army has retained a number of features,
such as ocers epaulettes, high boots and long greatcoats
with collar patches for all ranks, which can be traced
back to Tsarist days. The dress uniform for ocers is
of the same distinctive blue/green colour as the Tsars
green worn until 1914. The Kremlin Guard has in recent years been issued with a special ceremonial uniform
which closely resembles that of the infantry regiments of
the Imperial Guard immediately prior to the First World
War.

3.7 Serbia
German Fallschirmjger in Paris 2007

3.8 Spain
The Spanish Army has reintroduced a number of dress
uniforms dating back to the pre-1931 Monarchy. These
include a variety of parade uniforms worn by various
units of the recreated Royal Guard as well as the traditional dark blue and white uniforms of the Guardia Civil
and the blue tunics and red trousers of the 1st Infantry
Regiment. While only worn by limited numbers of personnel on special occasions, these uniforms include such
distinctively Spanish features as the Ros shako of the infantry and the Royal Guard, and the Tricorn of the Civil
Guard. Ocers of all branches wear dark blue or white
gala uniforms for social and ceremonial occasions.

although some senior ocers still prefer peaked caps.

The collar braid stripes (Litzen), that distinguished regiments of the Prussian Guard prior to 1918, have become a general feature of modern German uniforms.
The Mountain infantry troops retain a more traditional
dress uniform. The Nationale Volksarmee of the former German Democratic Republic also maintained a
stone grey uniform, following the Imperial German tradition. Whereas the western backed Federal Republic
of Germany clothed its armies in US pattern uniforms
immediately after the Second World War, East German
units retained high collared tunics, Stiefelhosen (riding
3.9
breeches), and Marschstiefel (jackboots).
Until 1945 Waenrock (English: service coat or tunic) was
the generic term to military uniform. This included dress
uniforms, parade uniforms, and also epaulettes or shoulder boards with rank insignia, as well as uniform cus,
badges and other insignia.

3.5

Italy

The traditional headdresses of the Bersaglieri, Horse Artillery and Alpini are still worn by the Italian Army,
the Bersaglieri even wearing their owing feathers on
steel helmets as part of their combat dress. Ocers of
all branches have a dark blue dress uniform of modern
cut while the Corazzieri (Cuirassiers of the Presidential
Guard), Mounted Carabinieri and cadets of the Military
Academy of Modena wear ceremonial uniforms which
date back to the 19th century. Individual regiments with
a long history, such as the Lancieri di Montebello and

United States

Main article: Uniforms of the United States Armed

Forces
In recent decades, many militaries around the world have
gradually simplied the range of uniforms issued. For example, most U.S. servicemen now wear camouage utilities for daily duty and all but the most formal occasionswhereas in the past the service uniform would be worn
unless a soldier was engaged in a dirty or physical task.
As an example of modern practice, the US Marine Corps
has a distinct blue dress uniform, but other uniforms include khaki button-up shirts, forest-green coats, and combat camouage. In other services where camouage is
normally a non-issue, such as navies, coloured uniforms
are still issued, e.g. the US Navy's white ocer uniform for warm weather. The United States Armed Forces
allows every branch to develop and use their own uniforms. In recent years, many Battle Dress Uniforms with
famous US Woodland pattern were replaced. USMC developed new digital MARPAT pattern, while the Army

12

PURPOSE

recommendations made during a comprehensive brieng

by Task Force Uniform on Feb. 24 2006, CNO Michael
G. Mullen agreed to production of both a BDU-style
working uniform for all Sailors E-1 to O-10 and a more
practical, year-round service uniform to withstand dayto-day classroom and oce-like environments where the
service uniform is typically worn. The new Navy Working Uniform (NWU) is now worn by naval sailors and
ocers. On 6 June 2006 the US Army announced that
its green and white uniforms would be superseded by the
Army Blue Uniform as a universal service uniform in the
historic colours of dark blue (for tunics) and light blue
(for trousers). The new service dress would be introduced
in 2007 and become obligatory for all ranks by 2011.
Modern uniforms, such as the ones worn by these United States
Army soldiers, are designed to blend in with the environment.

New Army Combat Uniform (ACU) with universal digital pattern,

worn United States Army soldier in Afghanistan.

The Air Force makes use of its Airman Battle Uniform

(ABU) as a common daily uniform. The breakdown is
of sage green, foliage green, sand tan, and a green blue
arranged in elongated digital stripes. The footwear worn
with ABUs are sage green suede boots and head covering
is the ABU pattern Patrol Cap, or the beret of the relevant
career eld (Security Forces, Special Operations Weather
Team, SERE Instructor, Para-Rescue, and Combat Controller). The purpose of the colors and patterns in this
uniform serve to help one blend into the concrete-like
color of the ight line on which the uniform is most often
worn outside. Aside from ABUs, the most common uniform to be worn would be dress blues which incorporate a
light navy blue for bottoms, and the same shade to match
the top jacket. Underneath the top jacket either a long
sleeve or short sleeve sky blue shirt may be worn with
a tie or neck tab whenever wearing the top jacket. The
jacket is reserved for more formal events. Placed on the
outermost tunic, the Airman may pin their ribbons and
career badge as optional with their name plate as the only
mandatory item. For head gear a ight cap of matching
shade to the pants and similar in appearance to the former
Army green garrison cap and the shoes are a black high
polished dress shoe. Other, but not standard, head gear
includes the at top mess dress cap and the appropriate
beret career eld beret. Blues, though the second most
used uniform, receive far less service than ABUs. Those
performing duties not suited for the formal dress uniform
may wear ABUs instead. The Mess Uniform uses the
same pants and jacket as dress blues, but with a white under shirt, bow tie and cumber band and the same black
dress shoes <AFI 36-2903>

US Marines wearing digital MARPAT camouage uniforms.

developed Universal Pattern (ACU) for its standard combat uniforms, though a special camouage pattern (multicam) more appropriate for use in Afghanistan was elded
in 2010. Popular disdain among US troops for the beret
headgear as part of the default headgear for wear with
the ACU uniform led to a regulation revision in 2011,
with the standard default headgear for wear with ACUs
now being the ACU patrol cap, which provides a much
better degree of sun protection for the eyes). Based on

4 Purpose
4.1 Distinctive clothing
Further information: Facing colour
One purpose of military uniforms is to clearly distinguish
combatants who are protected by the laws of war from
other persons carrying weapons, who do not always enjoy

4.3

Logistics

such protection. Another purpose in historical times was

to make it dicult for deserters to avoid detection; military uniforms were so distinctive with many metal buttons
and unique colours that they could not be modied into
unrecognisable clothing.
In societies where the military was important, the soldiers
were dressed to impress the population and themselves. If
the commander raised and equipped the troops out of his
own pocket, the appearance of the soldiers was also designed to impress his superiors. Attractive or distinctive
uniforms could make a military career desirable to young
men (the peacock factor). As late as 1914 the British
Army found that regiments with particularly striking o
duty or parade uniforms found it easier to attract recruits.
Thus the four Rie regiments in their sombre dark green
had a higher public prole than the great mass of line infantry in scarlet.
4.1.1

Nationalism

During the Boxer Rebellion, the Muslim Gansu Braves

under General Dong Fuxiang used traditional Chinese
clothing instead of western style uniforms, reecting the
opposition of the movement to foreign inuences.[20][21]

4.2

Visibility or camouage

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the typical

colour scheme included bright and highly contrasting
colour arrangements which made it easier to distinguish
units in battle. Coloured uniforms were useful in enabling
commanders to spot troop locations on battleelds that
were often completely obscured by smoke from the black
gunpowder used in both muskets and cannons. Large
ags were another aid to co-ordination and location for
commanders.
However, with the growing prevalence of accurate ries
and other ranged rearms as standard weapons for
infantry, it was found, from about the 1880s on, that
these colours made soldiers easy targets for enemies to
shoot at a distance. These weapons used a new smokeless
powder that generated far less smoke leaving the battleeld un-obscured by smoke and making brightly coloured
troops into highly visible targets. In reaction, the various
militaries, beginning with the British Army, changed the
colours, predominantly to such ones that blended in more
with the terrain, such as khaki, grey or olive drab for the
purposes of camouage. In addition, this idea was followed with uniforms suitable for particular climates and
seasons such as white for snowy regions and tan for sandy
ones. Now most armies have some form of camouaged
uniform, such as the British DPM.
Many modern military forces now use a system of combat uniforms that not only break up the outline of the
soldier for use on the battleeld during the daytime, but
also employ a distinctive appearance that makes them

13
dicult to detect with light amplication devices, such
as night-vision goggles (NVGs). These modern digital print uniforms present a somewhat splotched appearance, generally of somewhat muted colours, that
provide visual concealment in a variety of surroundings. The US Army now issues, for all theatres of operations, the Army Combat Uniform (ACU), which replaces the Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) and the Desert
Combat Uniform (DCU). The colour scheme on these
ACUs is a faded green/grey/tan pattern of randomappearing rectangular shapes. Pocket outlines on the
front of the jackets are oset from vertical, so as
to present a less distinctive straight line for the eye
to follow while using NVGs. The US Marine Corps
also issues similar uniforms with their MARPAT pattern, (The U.S. Marines considered adopting CADPAT
for their new pattern, however the Canadian government owns the copyright for the pattern. The Canadian government supplied information and manufacturers to help the Marines with the computer-generated
Digital Pattern pixelated uniform the Canadians had
been developing since 1988.http://www.hyperstealth.
com/CADPAT-MARPAT.htm Though their uniforms
are not designed to replace both woodland pattern uniforms and desert pattern, since both woodland digital and
desert digital patterns are available. Similarly the US
Air Force has begun elding digital pattern uniforms to
their service members, with those uniforms featuring a
blue/grey/tan pattern).

4.3 Logistics
Mass-produced uniforms are a good way to equip thousands of soldiers quickly and eciently. Uniforms in
standard sizes and designs are also easier to replace on
campaign. As an example, English levies raised for service in Ireland or the Continent during the 17th century
came to be provided with clothing purchased in bulk and
often of a standard colour or cut. This was however only
a temporary wartime expedient and the development of
uniforms as such had to wait on the formulation of a
system of permanent regiments, notably by the French
Monarchy (see above).

4.4 Psychological warfare

The appearance of the troops was often enhanced in some
way to intimidate the enemy. The tall, mitre-shaped caps
worn by grenadiers in the 18th century made their wearers appear bigger and more impressive. King Frederick
William I of Prussia had a guard unit of especially tall
men with tall mitre hats, the Potsdam Giants. Prussian
hussars wore the skull and crossbones (Totenkopf) on
their hats from 1740 to 1918. This tradition continues
into the present day with nose art and n ash on combat
aircraft. The unique combat uniforms of the US Marines

14

5 SEE ALSO

has also led to nicknames given by the enemy; Black

boots, Yellow Legs and White sleeves to name a few.
The warriors of ancient Sparta, normally known for their
austere lifestyle, wore expensive red cloaks. Reportedly
this was adopted as the only colour on which the spilled
blood of their enemies would not leave stains. There is
a popular myth that the historic red coat of the English
soldier was adopted for the same reason (in fact, blood
does show as a dark stain on red clothing and the British
red coat originated as a historical accident, possibly as a
result of the relative cheapness of madder red dyes at the
time of the English Civil War in the mid-17th century).
Hair styles in military organisations usually follow civilian fashions, but sometimes certain features are associated with soldiers. In the late 19th century, the ornate
beards and moustaches worn by the ocers of the day,
which complemented their rank and age, were also worn
by socially equivalent civilians. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the "high and tight" haircut often distinguished
low-ranking soldiers, particularly infantrymen, or, in the
United States, Marines and Soldiers of all ranks. The
principal purpose, however, of the "high and tight" is to
prevent lice and promote general hygiene. Modern regulations against beards also ensure a good seal is made
around the face when using a gas mask.

Glengarry
gymnasterka
Hackle
Kepi
Medal
Peaked cap
Pickelhaube
Pith helmet
Red coat
Ribbon bar
Rogatywka
Sailor cap
Sam Browne belt
Sash
Shako
Stable belt
Tunic
Ushanka

See also
List of camouage patterns
Types of Uniforms
Battledress
Mess dress
Full dress
Dress uniform
Physical training uniform

Military antiquities and collectibles:

Militaria
Police patch collecting
Military styles:
Costumes
Facial hair in the military

Components of military uniform:

Other military clothing:
Aiguillette
Badges
Bearskin
Beret
Busby
Buttons
Coatee
Czapka
Epaulette
Fez
Fourragre
Garrison cap

Armour
For Military uniforms depicted in art see Military art
Related lists:
List of uniforms and clothing of WWII
British Army Uniform
Uniforms of the Canadian Forces
Uniforms of the United States Military
Modern equipment and uniform of the French Army

15

Notes

[1] Michael Simkins, page 17 The Roman Army from

Hadrian to Constantine, Osprey Publishing 1979
[2] Windrow, Martin. Imperial Rome at War. p. 16. ISBN
962-361-608-2.
[3] Sumner, Graham. Roman Military Clothing (2) AD 200400. pp. 1216. ISBN 1-84176-559-7.
[4] page 21 The Oxford History of the British Army, David
Chandler ISBN 0-19-285333-3
[5] Brzezinski, Richard. FrancoThe Army of Gustavus Adolphus 1 Infantry. p. 22. ISBN 0-85045-997-4.
[6] Asquith 1981, p. 32.
[7] Pfanner 2004, pp. 105107.
[8] Atkinson 1911, p. 582.
[9] Kannik 1968, p. 147.
[10] Uniforms : Napoleonic Wars : French : Russian : Austrian : British : Prussian, Napoleonistyka.atspace.com, retrieved January 2013
[11] Khaki Uniform 1848-49: First Introduction by Lumsden
and Hodson, Journal of the Society for Army Historical
Research, JSAHR 82 (Winter 2004) pp 341-347
[12] Kannik, Preben. Military Uniforms of the World. p. 235.
ISBN 9780713704822.
[13] Tynan, Jane (2013). British Army Uniform and the First
World War: Men in Khaki. Palgrave Macmillan.
[14] Walbom-Pramvig, B. (1988), Uniformer, Faner og Vaben
i Den Danske Haer fra 1659 til 1980 (in Danish), Frederikssund: Thorsgaard, ISBN 87-88165-47-7, .
[15] Mollo, John. Uniforms of the Imperial Russian Army. pp.
4748. ISBN 0-7137-0920-0.
[16] Nakanishi, Ritta (1991), Japanese Military Uniforms,
Tokyo: Dai Nihon Jaiga, pp. 6 & 22, ISBN 4-499-205875
[17] Bueno 1983, p. 26.

7 References
Bueno, Jos Mara (1983), El Ejrcito de Alfonso
XIII - La Infantera de Lnea (in Spanish), Madrid:
Barreira, p. 26, ISBN 84-86071-02-X
Elliott, Jane E. (2002), Some did it for civilisation,
some did it for their country: a revised view of the
boxer war, Chinese University Press, p. 126, ISBN
962-996-066-4, retrieved 2010-06-28
Kannik, Preben (1968), Military Uniforms of the
World, London,: Blandford P., p. 147, ISBN
0713704829
Lanxin Xiang (2003), The origins of the Boxer War:
a multinational study, Psychology Press, p. 207,
ISBN 0-7007-1563-0, retrieved 2010-06-28 (scroll
down to next page from 206 to get to 208)
Pfanner, Toni (March 2004), Military uniforms
and the law of war (PDF), International Review of
the Red Cross (IRRC) 86 (853): 93124
Asquith, Stuart (1981), New Model Army 164560 (illustrated ed.), Osprey, p.
32, ISBN
9780850453850
Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication
now in the public domain: Atkinson, Charles Francis (1911). Uniforms. In Chisholm, Hugh.
Encyclopdia Britannica 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge
University Press. pp. 582593.

8 External links
An overview of the development of camouage uniforms
Images of military uniforms in New York Public Librarys Digital Gallery
Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection, Brown University Library
Company of Military Historians Website
{US} Civil War Old Photographs Page
U.S. Civil War Era Uniforms and Accouterments

[18] cs 95 the big issue !, Arrse.co.uk, retrieved 2013-01-20

[19] Future Army Dress (new No2s), Arrse.co.uk, 2008-02-14,
retrieved January 2013
[20] Elliott 2002, p. 126.
[21] Lanxin Xiang 2003, p. 207.

16

9 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

9.1

Text

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C i wood, SoLando, Gobeirne, DocWatson42, Zigger, Guanaco, Iceberg3k, Peter Ellis, Necrothesp, Mtnerd, Reinthal, DanielCD, Noisy,
Glenlarson, JustPhil, Mwanner, Kross, Tom, Cymsdale, Whiskers, Rajah, Alansohn, Joshbaumgartner, CR7, Andrewpmk, Fat pig73,
Melaen, Ceyockey, Matthew238, Pol098, Tabletop, M412k, RicJac, Mandarax, BD2412, Milyle, Ketiltrout, Carl Logan, Lockley, The
wub, Nigosh, Yamamoto Ichiro, FayssalF, Winhunter, Gurch, Finnegar, Manicsleeper, Epolk, Alvinrune, Adaxl, Welsh, THB, DAJF, David
Underdown, Flexiblene, GraemeL, Alias Flood, Easter Monkey, Greeky, Nick-D, SmackBot, Jagged 85, GT, Hmains, Tyciol, Chris the
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Nobunaga24, Werdan7, Kirbytime, Publicus, Avant Guard, DGtal, Burto88, Iridescent, Joseph Solis in Australia, RekishiEJ, Courcelles, Ellis3747, CmdrObot, Neelix, Oden, Brooklynx, Steel, Buistr, Epbr123, Pharring, Zonker1984, Bobblehead, WinBot, Bigtimepeace, AnAj,
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Dstary, Big Techs, Blackshod, Hydeblake, Mr Taz, Flyer22 Reborn, Philip Auguste, Reforger, Hoplon, ImageRemovalBot, Nakta, Ksherin,
Care Alto, Trfasulo, The Thing That Should Not Be, EoGuy, SchreiberBike, Jellysh dave, John Jason Junior, Bradv, Alansplodge, Addbot,
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9.2

Images

File:14_juillet_-_26e_brigade_aroporte_allemande.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/14_juillet_

-_26e_brigade_a%C3%A9roport%C3%A9e_allemande.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: davric
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asp/database/image.asp?id=8316. Original artist: douard Detaille
File:Encyclopaedia-Britannica-1911-27-0611.jpg
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Encyclopaedia-Britannica-1911-27-0611.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Uniforms, Encyclopaedia Britannica. 27
(11th ed.). Cambridge University Press, Volume 27 page 611 Original artist: L'Hpital, Ren le Brun (illustrator); Atkinson, Charles
Francis (author); Chisholm, Hugh (editor)
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License: PD Contributors:
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