piiliiiK 
 
 Army Uniforms 
 Of The World 
 
 Fred Gilblrt Blakeslki: 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 ANNEX 
 
 2 
 
3tt)ata, S3ett> ^arb 
 
 BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE 
 
 SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND 
 
 THE GIFT OF 
 
 HENRY W. SAGE 
 
 1891 
 
CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
 3 1924 064 013 463 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tliis book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924064013463 
 
ARMY UNIFORMS OF THE WORLD 
 
ARMY UNIFORMS 
 OF THE WORLD 
 
 BY 
 FRED GILBERT BLAKESLEE 
 
 AT7TH0R OF SWORD PLAT FOR ACTORS 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR 
 1919 
 
TO 
 
 MAJOR BASHFOED DEAN 
 
 OF THE METBOPOLITAN MUSEUM OF AKT THIS 
 LITTLE BOOK IS DEDICATED BY ITS AUTHOR 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 THE STUDY of the changes which have 
 occurred in the garb of the fighting man, 
 and of the devices used to designate his leaders, 
 from the days of the bow and arrow to those 
 of the magazine rifle, should appeal to all per- 
 sons interested in the history of mankind; and 
 it is the purpose of this little work to treat this 
 subject in such a manner that it may, it is 
 hoped, prove helpful to those who might wish to 
 learn something of the dress of the soldier in 
 the diflferent periods of history. 
 
 The author has spent a number of years 
 collecting the data used in this book, much of 
 it being obtained only after extensive search in 
 such vast literary storehouses as the reading 
 room of the British Museum in London, and 
 the public libraries of Washington, New York, 
 
 and Boston. 
 
 7 
 
8 AKMY UNirOEMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 Through its specialized attention to mili- 
 tary badges of rank, it is believed that the 
 book covers in detail a field not usually treated 
 in works of a similar nature. 
 
 In order to assist the student in further re- 
 search, a bibliography of works relating to 
 military costume is given, but while urging 
 consultation of other publications, the author 
 has endeavored to make his text so clear that 
 the reader may obtain from it alone an accu- 
 rate knowledge of the uniforms and insignia 
 of rank in use in all of the principal armies of 
 the world. 
 
 Uniforms differ so greatly in the various 
 countries that it is impossible to describe each 
 separately within the limits of a book of this 
 size, but a description of each class of uniform, 
 in each country is given, and, as far as pos- 
 sible, the facings which go with it are also in- 
 dicated. In the same manner the form of in- 
 signia of rank used in each army is described, 
 together with its arrangement for any desired 
 rank. This method obviates the necessity of 
 illustrations, which if used at all, would from 
 
INTKODUCTION 9 
 
 their very number greatly increase the cost 
 of a work of this nature. In these days of 
 universal photography, illustrations are not 
 really necessary, since it is always possible to 
 secure a picture of any desired uniform and 
 by consulting the text, ascertain its color and 
 facings, and the arrangement of the insignia 
 for any rank. 
 
 Besides a description of the uniforms of the 
 different countries, information is also given 
 regarding the methods in vogue in each, in 
 wearing such articles of equipment as side- 
 arms, dispatch pouches, sabre-taches, sashes 
 and aiguillettes. 
 
 As this work is written for American 
 readers, the author has given special attention 
 to tracing the development of the uniforms 
 of our own army from Colonial times to the 
 present day, not forgetting to include the garb 
 worn by the gallant Confederates, who fought 
 so gallantly for a lost cause, half a cen- 
 tury ago. 
 
 The author served in the Spanish war, and 
 for fifteen years was military instructor of 
 
10 AKMY UNIFOEMS OF THE WOULD 
 
 the West Middle School District in Hartford, 
 Connecticut. He wrote the signed articles 
 upon "Military Insignia of Rank," "Fencing" 
 and "The Sword" in the Encyclopedia Ameri- 
 cana. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAOB 
 
 Intboduction 7 
 
 CHAPTEB 
 
 I. Ancient Costtjmes 18 
 
 n. Eaklt Uniforms 26 
 
 m. United States (1492-1861) 38 
 
 rV. United States (1861-1919) 60 
 
 World War 67 
 
 V. Great Britain 77 
 
 Decorations 90 
 
 VI. Prance and Spain 97 
 
 France 97 
 
 Spain 108 
 
 Vn. Germany and Austria 113 
 
 Germany 113 
 
 Austria-Hungary 122 
 
 Vm. Russia and Italy 128 
 
 Russia 128 
 
 Italy 133 
 
 IX. Sweden — Holland — Belgium — Denmark . 140 
 
 Sweden 140 
 
 Holland 143 
 
 Belgium 146 
 
 Denmark 151 
 
 X. The Balkan States — Turkey — Roumania 
 — Bulgaria — Sebvia — Greece — Mon- 
 tenegro 166 
 
 Turkey 156 
 
 Roumania 158 
 
 Bulgaria 161 
 
 Servia 162 
 
 Montenegro 164 
 
 XI. Japan — China 166 
 
 Japan 166 
 
 China 171 
 
 Bibliography 181 
 
ARMY UNIFORMS OF 
 THE WORLD 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 ANCIENT COSTUMES 
 
 MILITARY costume has undergone great 
 changes during the centuries in which 
 men have fought against each other, and it is a 
 far cry from the days of prehistoric man, un- 
 couthly garbed in skins, and armed with the 
 primitive stone axe, to the time of the khaki- 
 clad soldier with his high-powered magazine 
 rifle. 
 
 The earliest known type of human beings, 
 either went without clothing, or were dressed 
 in crudely tanned skins of animals. Their 
 weapons were the axe, the knife, the javelin, 
 and possibly the bow and arrow. As the art of 
 working metals had not then been discovered, 
 stone and wood were used exclusively in the 
 construction of these earliest of weapons. 
 Roughly speaking, the stone age began with 
 13 
 
14 AEMY UNIFORMS OF THE WOELD 
 
 the creation of the human race and lasted un- 
 til the dawn of the Egyptian and the Assy- 
 rian civilizations. As mankind became more 
 intelligent, they learned to make use of min- 
 erals, and bronze took the place of stone in 
 weapons of offence. During this period also, 
 cloth replaced skin as an article of wearing 
 apparel, although leather continued to be used 
 for defensive purposes. 
 
 The Assyrians, according to bas-reliefs of 
 ancient Ninevah, appear to have worn a tight- 
 fitting jersey of twisted ropes over a tunic of 
 cloth, and to have been armed with weapons of 
 bronze. The sword, resembling a dagger in 
 form, makes its appearance at this time, and 
 men armed with javelins carried circular 
 shields. Metal helms for protection of the 
 head also came into use during this period. 
 
 The Egyptians were not much given to wear- 
 ing armor, relying chiefly upon the shield for 
 defence. Egyptian shields were oblong, or 
 oval, in form and many of them were provided 
 with sight holes, through which a warrior could 
 watch his adversary without uncovering him- 
 self. Like Assyrians, the soldiers of Egypt 
 
ANCIENT COSTUMES 15 
 
 possessed the short, straight, double-edged 
 sword, but many of them carried in its stead a 
 broad-bladed, single-edged cutting weapon, 
 shaped something like the cleaver of our mod- 
 ern butcher. 
 
 The Trojan war was fought with weapons 
 of brass, and Homer in his Iliad, gives us an 
 excellent description of the military equipment 
 of that period. The Greek warrior wore a 
 cuirass of plate; a helmet which protected 
 both the top of the head and the back of the 
 neck and was surmounted by a fan-shaped 
 crest; and metal greaves, which covered the 
 leg from the knee to the ankle. A large cir- 
 cular shield, a long javelin, and a straight, 
 two-edged sword completed his equipment. 
 
 With the passing of the Heroic Age we 
 enter the iron period, and as we gaze at the 
 Greeks and the Persians engaged in deadly 
 warfare, we find the weapons and armor of 
 both of the contending forces composed largely 
 of that metal. The Greeks at this time had a 
 highly efficient military organization and had 
 perfected a formation known as the phalanx, 
 which when brought into action under favor- 
 
16 ARMY UNIFORMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 able conditions was well nigh unconquerable. 
 It was composed of heavily equipped men 
 armed with long spears, placed close together 
 in five or more ranks, and so arranged that 
 the spears of the last rank projected three 
 feet in front of the line of the front rank. One 
 can well imagine the extreme difficulty of break- 
 ing through such a solid array. The great 
 weakness of the phalanx lay in the fact that it 
 was difficult to maneuver except upon level 
 ground, and if it was compelled to fight over 
 rough country, it became almost impossible for 
 it to hold the compact formation, which was 
 so essential to its success. 
 
 The hoplite, who was a member of the 
 phalanx, wore an iron helm which completely 
 covered his head, except for the eyes, mouth 
 and chin; a leather tunic extending nearly to 
 the knees, and greaves molded to fit the legs. 
 He carried besides his spear, a heavy iron 
 shield, round or oval in form, which afforded 
 him complete protection from the neck to the 
 knees. Besides the hoplite the Greeks had 
 lightly armed troops, which they used for 
 scouting, skirmishing and similar duties, but 
 
ANCIENT COSTUMES 17 
 
 it was upon the heavUy equipped and thor- 
 oughly trained soldier that they placed their 
 chief reliance and it was these "men of iron" 
 which enabled them to successfully withstand 
 the terrific onslaughts of the vast hordes of 
 Xerxes and Darius. 
 
 -The Persians, having in their armies drafts 
 drawn from the nations and tribes whom they 
 had conquered, had a widely diversified mili- 
 tary equipment which it would be useless to 
 attempt to describe here, but in a general way 
 it may be said that the dress of the nobles con- 
 sisted of a garment of cloth upon which bands 
 or rings of iron were sewn, while the common 
 people had tunics of linen, or wool, padded 
 with hair or some other substance. Helms of 
 metal or padded cloth were worn; swords, 
 spears, axes, javelins, bows and arrows, and 
 slings constituted the armory of weapons and 
 shields of various forms and sizes were largely 
 relied upon for defence. On account of the 
 great diversity of people who composed their 
 army, it was impossible for the Persians to 
 have as highly a trained organization as that 
 of the Greeks. It was the Grecian phalanx, and 
 
18 AEMY UNIFOHMS OP THE WORLD 
 
 afterwards the Roman legion which taught the 
 world the value of discipline and organized 
 formations. 
 
 With the advent of the Roman soldier we 
 reach the age when steel replaced iron. The 
 legionary wore a cuirass, composed of circular 
 bands of steel sewn upon an undergarment of 
 linen or leather, each band being hinged at 
 the back and secured in front by means of a 
 clasp. Four smaller plates passed over the 
 shoulders like straps. On his head was a shal- 
 low but serviceable helm, having cheek pieces 
 which were fastened with a thong under the 
 chin. A short, straight, double-edged sword, 
 having its point cut at an obtuse angle, hung 
 at his right side ; in his right hand he carried a 
 spear of peculiar design, known as the pilum; 
 and on his left arm he bore an oblong and very 
 convex shield, emblazoned with the design of 
 his legion. Roman officers wore a cuirass of 
 plate, molded to fit the figure and often highly 
 ornamented, from the bottom of which hung 
 ropes of twisted leather, reaching nearly to 
 the knee. Scale armor was sometimes also 
 worn by officers of high rank. Over the cuirass 
 
ANCIENT COSTUMES 19 
 
 was worn the paludementum or military 
 mantle, which fastened on the right side and 
 hung in graceful folds from the left shoulder, 
 reaching to the middle of the leg. Superior 
 officers disdained to wear the helmet and went 
 into action bareheaded. 
 
 The Roman legion differed from the Greek 
 phalanx in that it did not have as great a 
 depth and that the soldiers who composed it, 
 instead of being placed shoulder to shoulder, 
 were allowed an interval between them for the 
 free use of their weapons. The great advan- 
 tage of the legion over the phalanx lay in its 
 superior ability to maneuver effectively over 
 varied ground. 
 
 The barbarian Franks, who burst from their 
 Northern fastnesses and overthrew the once 
 powerful, but then degenerate, Roman Empire, 
 were totally devoid of defensive body armor. 
 They fought bareheaded and with their bodies 
 covered with linen tunics. Without cuirass or 
 helm these wild warriors engaged the once in- 
 vincible legions, and with only shields for their 
 protection completely routed the soldiers whose 
 forbears had once conquered the world. The 
 
20 AEMY UNIFORMS OF THE WOKLD 
 
 Prankish shield was made of wood, circular or 
 oval in form, strengthened with bands of iron 
 tlnd having in its center a large projecting 
 metal boss. For oifensive arms these savage 
 fighters had axes, swords and javelins. 
 
 In the days of Charlemagne we again find 
 armor coming into use, consisting of a tunic of 
 cloth to which metal disks were more or less 
 closely sewn. Most of the soldiers still fought 
 bareheaded, or wearing only a simple leather 
 cap, but the knights adopted a triangular 
 shaped helmet of steel. One great change 
 occurred in the method of fighting at this time 
 and that was the general introduction of 
 mounted men into battles. Heretofore chief 
 reliance had always been placed upon the foot 
 soldier, but at this point we enter the age of 
 chivalry, where the knight and the mounted 
 man-at-arms were looked upon to bear the 
 brunt of the fighting. 
 
 When William of Normandy set out to in- 
 vade England, his queen Matilda and the ladies 
 of her court made a record of that great event 
 by embroidering with their own fair hands a 
 tapestry, showing in great detail the military 
 
ANCIENT COSTUMES 21 
 
 equipment of both the Normans and the Sax- 
 ons. This priceless tapestry is still preserved 
 at Bayeux, France and from it we learn that 
 both of the contending forces had armor con- 
 sisting of a shirt of cloth, upon which rings of 
 mail or small plates of iron were closely sewn, 
 and a helmet of steel. The Normans carried a 
 kite-shaped shield, while the Saxons had a cir- 
 cular bucMer. Each was armed with long 
 cross-hnted swords, axes, spears, javelins and 
 bows and arrows. The Norman helm had a 
 projecting nasal and back piece, while the 
 Saxon covering for the head appears to have 
 lacked these additional defences. 
 
 Chain mail is supposed to have come from 
 the East and to have been introduced into 
 Europe after the first crusade. In the time 
 of Richard I the armor of a knight consisted 
 of a shirt of mail reaching nearly to the knees 
 and having long sleeves, terminating in mit- 
 tens ; long close-fitting trunks of mail which 
 completely encased the legs and feet; and a 
 shallow steel cap. When about to engage in 
 battle, the great helm replaced the steel cap. 
 This extremely heavy and unwieldy piece of 
 
22 AEMY UNIFORMS OF 'THE WORLD 
 
 armor covered the entire head and was pro- 
 vided with sight and air holes. A concave 
 shield, rather triangular in form, suspended 
 from the neck by a belt, and a straight cross- 
 hilted sword, worn on the left side, hanging from 
 a loosely fitting belt completed the dress of a 
 knight of this period. In the reign of King 
 John, a loose sleeveless surcoat, reaching to 
 the knees and worn over the mail shirt, was 
 added to the costume. About the middle of 
 the fourteenth century, this surcoat was re- 
 placed by a much shorter and tightly fitting 
 garment, termed the jupon. It was in this cen- 
 tury also that plate, in the form of additional 
 defences for the arms and legs, began to be 
 worn, and the great helm was superseded by 
 the lighter and more serviceable basinet, with 
 its movable vizor. The shield by this time had 
 also become much smaller and now bore the 
 heraldic device of its bearer, while gauntlets 
 were used for the protection of the hand. The 
 famous battles of Crecy and Poitiers were 
 fought in armor of this type. 
 
 In these battles one should always remember 
 the part played in them by the British archers, 
 
ANCIENT COSTUMES 23 
 
 for it was their cloth-yard shafts which broke 
 the force of the charge by the French chivalry. 
 The long bow was pre-eminently the weapon 
 of the English foot soldier, and no other peo- 
 ple ever attained such skill in its use as did he. 
 The best of them were made of yew and they 
 projected an arrow nearly a yard in length. 
 The range of this weapon in the hands of a 
 good archer was about four hundred paces 
 and with it, it was possible to keep several 
 shafts in the air at a time. On the march the 
 bow was often carried in a waterproof case, 
 and at the battle of Crecy it was the fact that 
 the English archers had, by this means, been 
 able to keep their strings dry during a heavy 
 shower, which enabled them to completely out- 
 shoot the Genoese cross-bowmen, who lacked 
 such protection for their weapons. 
 
 The dress of both the archer and the cross- 
 bowman were practically the same, although 
 fashions naturally varied somewhat, according 
 to the country to which the wearer belonged. 
 Both wore a steel cap and a mail shirt or 
 padded tunic. Besides his bow, each man had 
 a sword, or axe and usually a small buckler. 
 
24 ARMY UNirOKMS OF THE WOELD 
 
 The quiver for arrows was worn suspended 
 from the right hip and not hung from the shoul- 
 der, as it is sometimes erroneously depicted by 
 modern artists. The cross-bow, which was the 
 favorite missile weapon of continental Europe, 
 made its appearance in the latter part of the 
 twelfth century and remained in use until dis- 
 placed by firearms. It was a powerful weapon 
 of greater range than the long bow, but- it was 
 impossible to maintain a rapid fire with it, 
 since its cord had to be drawn back by me- 
 chanical means after each discharge. 
 
 During the fifteenth century, plate entirely 
 superseded mail and at the close of that cen- 
 tury, we find the knight completely "locked in 
 steel." Shields were discarded and no outer 
 garments were worn with the armor. A dagger 
 called the misericorde, used for slipping be- 
 tween the vizor bars of a fallen foe, was added 
 to the military equipment of this time. Com- 
 plete armor continued to be worn throughout 
 the sixteenth century, but in the seventeenth, 
 the increasing use of firearms caused portions 
 of it to be gradually discarded and by the end 
 of that century only the helmet, now become a 
 
ANCIENT COSTUMES 26 
 
 steel hat, and the cuirass, were commonly 
 worn. A hundred years later the wearing of 
 armor of any kind, except by the heavy cav- 
 alry, was completely given up and the uniform 
 became the distinctive dress of the soldier. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 EAKLY UNIFOEMS 
 
 HAVING marked the changes which 
 occurred in the dress and equipment of 
 the soldier from the days of prehistoric man to 
 the time of the army uniform, let us see if we 
 can learn something of the manner in which 
 the opposing forces of the various countries 
 were distinguished from each other, and how 
 the leaders were differentiated in their apparel 
 from men of lesser rank. As soon as man 
 passed beyond the stage of barbarism each tribe 
 or nation felt the need of having some special 
 symbol of its own and it was these early sym- 
 bols, reaching back to the dawn of history, 
 which afterwards, through many changes, be- 
 came our national flags. The standards of 
 the nations of antiquity differed from the flags 
 that, in modern days, have taken their place, in 
 that they were of metal instead of cloth. The 
 26 
 
EARLY UNIFORMS 27 
 
 standards of the Assyrians, Egyptians and 
 Greeks were circular disks, bearing distinctive 
 devices, while the Romans carried the eagle at 
 the head of their legions. All of these early 
 standards had a religious significance. 
 
 In the Middle Ages, flags and banners re- 
 placed the metal symbols of the earlier periods 
 and their use has continued until the present 
 time. The first banners were crude affairs and 
 the devices displayed upon them were without 
 any special form of arrangement, but when the 
 science of heraldry came into being, definite 
 rules were adopted for the construction of flags 
 and officers were appointed to see that these 
 rules were enforced. 
 
 The history of the Royal Standard of Great 
 Britain shows the changes which a flag of this 
 class passed through in the different centuries 
 and affords us an excellent insight into her- 
 aldic art. The earliest British standard of 
 which we have any authentic record is that of 
 Richard I, which bore three golden lions (sup- 
 posedly in compliment to his cognomen — 
 Coeur de Lion) upon a field of scarlet. The 
 Scotch adopted about 1230 a rampant lion of 
 
28 ARMY UNIFORMS Or THE WORLD 
 
 red within a tressure of the same color, upon 
 a field of gold, and upon the accession of James 
 I to the throne (1603) this became incorpor- 
 ated in the standard, signifying, as it did, the 
 unification of the two countries. The harp of 
 Ireland was added by Henry VIII and has re- 
 mained in the standard ever since. Edward 
 III, claiming to be king of France, as well as 
 of England, quartered the golden fleurs-de-lys 
 of that kingdom with the lions of his own coun- 
 try and these symbols of an imaginative sov- 
 ereignty were not removed from the royal flag 
 of Great Britain until 1801. 
 
 As early as the reign of Richard II it was 
 the custom for English soldiers to wear the 
 cross of Saint George upon the breast and back 
 of their white surcoats and the red cross upon 
 a white field soon became the national flag of 
 England. Later the crosses of Saint Andrew 
 of Scotland, and Saint Patrick of Ireland were 
 added and thus was evolved the union jack of 
 the present day. 
 
 During the Middle Ages, the knight bore 
 attached to his lance a swaUow-tailed pennon 
 upon which his arms were displayed. For a 
 
EARLY UNIFOEMS 29 
 
 deed of exceptional valor, the king would some- 
 times create a knight a banneret, by cutting 
 off the tails of his pennon with a sword. 
 
 Armorial devices to indicate rank came into 
 use during the latter part of the twelfth 
 century. At that time it was the custom of 
 knights when about to engage in combat, to 
 place the great helm over the head, thus en- 
 tirely screening the features, and it is possible 
 that the necessity for having some means of 
 identification under such circumstances, led to 
 the devising of badges of rank, to be emblaz- 
 oned upon the shields of such persons who had 
 attained sufficient distinction to entitle them to 
 such an honor. Early heraldic devices were 
 simple in form and for some time more or less 
 confusion existed, owing to the duplication of 
 arms, especially amongst knights of different 
 countries ; but gradually all armory was 
 brought under certain international rules and 
 the arms of a knight or noble became univer- 
 sally recognized as being his distinctive insig- 
 nia. When, during the fourteenth century, 
 the long surcoat was replaced by the short, 
 tight-fitting jupon, the arms of the wearer 
 
30 AEMY UNIFORMS OF THE WOEI.D 
 
 were embroidered upon the breast of that gar- 
 ment, and from that fact became known as his 
 coat of arms. 
 
 After the jupon had been discarded and 
 the knightly soldier was clad entirely in plate 
 without outer covering, arms continued to be 
 borne upon the lance pennons, the devices in 
 many cases being so arranged that they would 
 show in their true position, not when the lance 
 was held aloft, but when it was couched for a 
 charge. Common soldiers often wore the 
 badges of their leaders, but were careful not 
 to place them in knightly fashion: a metal 
 plate attached to the left arm being one of 
 the methods used for displaying such devices. 
 Distinguishing scarfs were also worn to some 
 extent. 
 
 It is well to remember that the coat of arms 
 was the personal badge of the knight and while 
 it indicated to some extent his military rank, 
 it did not by any means limit the size of his 
 command. Sir John Chandos and the Cheva- 
 lier Bayard were simple knights and yet they 
 often commanded armies in the field, having 
 under them officers of far higher social rank 
 
EASILY UNIFORMS 31 
 
 than their own. Regulations regarding the 
 relative rank of officers did not exist in those 
 days. 
 
 As half armor began to replace complete 
 plate, the infantry, which for several centuries 
 had occupied a very secondary place, came 
 into prominence again and the fashion of fight- 
 ing on foot became once more common. The 
 mounted men-at-arms became the pikemen and 
 the archer relinquished his bow for the match- 
 lock. Regular organizations resembling our 
 regiments began to be effected and soldiers were 
 bound to the direct service of the king, rather 
 than to that of their overlord, as had pre- 
 viously been the case. In Elizabeth's time a 
 company consisted of a captain, a lieutenant, 
 an ensign, a surgeon, two sergeants and about 
 ninety privates, of whom half were pikemen 
 and half musketeers. Officers were armed with 
 rapier and dagger and wore sashes, but as yet 
 no distinction appears to have been made be- 
 tween the grades. 
 
 About the middle of the seventeenth century 
 the wide-brimmed beaver replaced the steel 
 morion and with this the men wore a ribbon and 
 
32 ARMY UNIFOEMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 a bow and the officers a ribbon and rosette, 
 both of which probably matched the color of 
 the regimental facing. Twenty years later we 
 find plumes added and the brim cocked up on 
 one side, and early in the next century we find 
 this head dress turned into the three-cornered 
 hat. 
 
 A badge for officers was in vogue in England 
 from 1660 to the end of the reign of Charles 
 II, which consisted of a sort of epaulet, formed 
 of bows of ribbon. This was worn on the right 
 shoulder only. When the ribbon epaulet went 
 out of fashion it was replaced by wings of 
 cloth edged with lace, similar in form to those 
 worn by English and German bandsmen of the 
 present day. British officers continued to wear 
 the waist sash (color probably red) the ends 
 of which were ornamented with gold or silver 
 fringe. The gorget, a curved metal plate about 
 five inches long and two inches wide, worn just 
 below the collar, came into vogue at this time 
 as a mark of rank and continued to be a part 
 of the dress of an officer in nearly all armies 
 until the latter part of the eighteenth century. 
 The Old Guard of New York still wear this 
 
EABLY UNIFORMS 33 
 
 curious ornament with their full-dress uniform. 
 In England the gorget of a captain was gilt 
 and of a lieutenant and ensign of steel studded 
 with gold. A Captain of infantry carried a 
 pike, a lieutenant a partisan and an ensign a 
 half pike. Officers of cavalry carried white 
 truncheons and general officers the baton. 
 
 Although the pikeman was a very effective 
 soldier in the assault, he was practically use- 
 less for any other purpose and towards the end 
 of the seventeenth century we find him dis- 
 appearing from the armies of the world and his 
 place taken by the musketeer, who owing to the 
 introduction of the bayonet was now able to 
 fight effectively both at a distance and at close 
 quarters. Pistols also came into general use 
 about this time and the old match-lock gun 
 was superseded by the flint-lock musket. 
 
 Of the earliest types of military uniforms 
 two examples remain today: that of the Papal 
 guard, said to have been designed by Michel- 
 angelo ; and that of the "Beef Eaters," a corps 
 organized by Henry VIII. Both of these are 
 extremely picturesque, but illy adapted for 
 actual service. The household troops of Louis 
 
34 AEMY IINIFOEMS OF THE WOELD 
 
 XIV of France are said to have been the first 
 soldiers to have worn a truly military uniform. 
 With the single exception of the leather coat, 
 which was very popular about the time of the 
 Thirty Years War, the early dress of the 
 soldier did not differ in its cut from that of 
 the civilian and it was only his arms and equip- 
 ment which gave it a military character. It 
 was not until the eighteenth century that close- 
 ness of fit became a distinguishing feature of 
 the garb of the fighting man. 
 
 From about 1650 to 1710 the single breasted 
 frock coat, with the turned up cuffs appears to 
 have been the favorite body garment of most 
 soldiers both in England and on the continent, 
 it being customary to leave the upper part of 
 the coat unbuttoned, so as to show the lace tie. 
 Cavalry wore top boots and infantry knee 
 breeches and leggins. The wide-brimmed beaver 
 was the almost universal hat of this period. Offi- 
 cers wore long flowing wigs and men powdered 
 their hair and braided it behind into the pig- 
 tail. 
 
 Early in the eighteenth century, we find the 
 cutaway superseding the frock coat and this 
 
EAELY UNIFOKMS 35 
 
 article of apparel retained its popularity until 
 after the Napoleonic wars. A variety of head 
 dresses came into existence at this time, notable 
 among them being the bearskin, the grenadier 
 hat and the hussar busby, although the cocked 
 hat was by no means driven from the field. The 
 heavy wigs of Marlborough's time went out of 
 fashion and both officers and men powdered 
 their hair. It is during this period that we 
 begin to find gold epaulets appearing on the 
 shoulders of officers, although they do not as 
 yet seem to have borne any devices, save pos- 
 sibly in the cases of generals and other high 
 military officials. 
 
 A general order issued to the British Army 
 on May 4, 1796 prescribes that all officers of 
 infantry of the line shall have a crimson and 
 gold cord around the hat, with a rosette of the 
 same colors brought to the edge of the brim; 
 the sword knot shall be crimson and gold in 
 stripes ; the gorget to be gold gilt, with the 
 king's cypher and crown in the middle ; the same 
 to be worn with a ribbon and rosette at each 
 end, of the color of the regimental facing. In 
 the reign of George II, British officers wore the 
 
36 AEMY UNIFOUMS OF THE WOELD 
 
 sash over the shoulder but in the time of George 
 III, they were ordered to pass it around the 
 waist ; officers of cavalry tying it on the right 
 side and those of infantry on the left. 
 
 Early in the nineteenth century, military 
 fashions changed again and the cutaway gave 
 place to the swallow tail, a coat which but- 
 toned tightly across the breast and had a very 
 high standing collar. Long trousers came into 
 vogue at this time and the bell-crowned shako 
 became the favorite head dress. This uniform, 
 of which a sample has been preserved in the 
 dress of the cadets at West Point, lasted in 
 most armies until about 1840, when the short 
 jacket for the men and the frock coat for offi- 
 cers became the generally accepted rtile. With 
 this uniform, a low-crowned cap attained pop- 
 ularity in some armies. Towards the close of 
 the century the Germans introduced the spiked 
 helmet and it is still worn by a majority of the 
 soldiers of both Germany and Great Britain. 
 
 Each country now has its own distinctive 
 uniforms, with which the insignia which denote 
 the rank of its officers are clearly prescribed 
 by official regulations ; and having noted the 
 
EAELY UNEFOaMS 37 
 
 changes which have occurred in the dress of 
 the soldier in the different periods of history, 
 and marked the manner in which rank was 
 shown in olden times, we are now ready to con- 
 sider the uniforms of each country separately 
 and note the methods by which rank is now in- 
 dicated in the various armies of the world. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 UNITED STATES 
 
 1492-1861 
 
 IN 1492, when America was discovered by 
 Columbus, complete armor was the fashion, 
 but by the time settlements began to be effected 
 on our shores, only the steel hat and cuirass 
 were in common use. Miles Standish marched 
 against the Pequots in armor of this type, but 
 even defences of this sort did not long remain 
 popular, the sturdy settler soon learning to 
 place more reliance upon skill with the rifle, 
 than upon heavy plate which so greatly im- 
 peded active movements. 
 
 When the French and Indian War broke 
 out, the colonies sent their quota of men to 
 assist the king's forces and it was in this war 
 that many of our officers received training 
 which was of such great value to us later in 
 our struggle for independence. As a rule 
 Colonial troops wore the simple dress of the 
 88 
 
UNITED STATES 39 
 
 woodsman, but some of them were clad in uni- 
 forms modeled after those of famous British 
 regiments. The Governor's Foot Guard of 
 Connecticut, organized in 1771, of which the 
 writer was formerly a member, still preserves 
 its ancient uniform, copied from that worn by 
 the Coldstream Guards, and affords an ex- 
 cellent example of the dress of the soldier of 
 that period. It consists of a bearskin hat, a 
 scarlet cutaway coat, with black velvet breast, 
 ornamented with rows of silver braid, buif 
 waistcoat and breeches and black velvet leg- 
 gins. White cross belts support the cartridge 
 box and bayonet-scabbard, and oiRcers and 
 staff sergeants wear a dark red sash around 
 the waist. 
 
 At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, 
 when Washington assumed command of the 
 American forces at Cambridge, he found an 
 army practically without uniforms of any 
 kind. Here and there, it is true, might be seen 
 a detachment garbed in the dress of the soldier, 
 but the great majority of his men were dressed 
 in ordinary civilian clothes or else wore the 
 coonskin hat and buckskin shirt of the hunter. 
 
40 ARMY tTNIFOKMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 Fond as the great leader was of the "pomp and 
 circmnstance of war," he realized that the 
 struggling colonies could not, at this time, 
 provide elaborate uniforms for their troops 
 and so he recommended that the hunting shirt 
 be adopted as the distinctive dress of the 
 American soldier. In making this recommen- 
 dation to Congress he points out that "no 
 dress can be cheaper or more convenient in 
 warm weather and warm in cool weather." By 
 wearing light or heavy underclothing this garb 
 could be made suitable for either summer or 
 winter and besides, as he says, "it is a dress 
 justly supposed to carry no small terror to 
 the enemy, who think every such person a com- 
 plete marksman." 
 
 Although uniforms were practically non-ex- 
 istent when Washington took command of the 
 forces in front of Boston, one of the first things 
 which he did was to issue an order for fixing 
 the insignia of rank to be worn by officers and 
 non-commissioned officers. The order stated 
 that, "As the Continental army has unfortu- 
 nately no uniforms and consequently many in- 
 conveniences must arise from not being able to 
 
UNITED STATES 41 
 
 distingmsh commissioned officers from pri- 
 vates, it is desired that some badges of distinc- 
 tion may be provided; for instance that the 
 field officers have a red or pink cockade in their 
 hats, the captains, yellow or buff, and the sub- 
 alterns, green." The sergeants were directed 
 to wear a stripe of red cloth, or epaulet of that 
 color, on the right shoulder, and the corporals 
 a similar badge of green. Washington further 
 directed that for the purpose of preventing 
 mistakes, that general officers and aids-de-camp 
 be distinguished in the following manner : "The 
 Commander in Chief, by a light blue ribbon 
 worn across his heart, between his coat and his 
 waistcoat; the major and brigadier general 
 by a pink ribbon worn in the same manner; 
 aids-de-camp, by a green ribbon." 
 
 For nearly a year after the beginning of the 
 war the American troops were all militia and 
 they wore such uniforms as their states pro- 
 vided, or else fought in homespun or buck- 
 skin, but in 1776 Congress authorized Wash- 
 ington to raise an army by direct enlistment 
 and to prescribe its uniform and appoint its 
 officers. The commander-in-chief experienced 
 
42 AKMY UNIFORMS OF THE WOELD 
 
 great difficulty in organizing and equipping 
 this first regular army of ours and owing to 
 the impossibility of securing sufficient quanti- 
 ties of proper cloth, it was not thoroughly uni- 
 formed according to prescribed regulations 
 until after our klliance with the French. Dur- 
 ing the greater part of the Revolutionary 
 War, the American soldier was supposed to 
 wear a three cornered felt hat, a light blue 
 coat, and buff vest, breeches, and leggins, but 
 he actually wore whatever he could procure and 
 in the dark days of Valley Forge, clothing of 
 any sort was extremely scarce. 
 
 A corps of light infantry was organized for 
 Lafayette in 1779 and partially equipped by 
 him. Its uniform consisted of a light blue coat, 
 faced with white, white waistcoat and breeches, 
 black leggins, and a leather hat surmounted 
 by a horsehair crest. At this time the uni- 
 forms of the remainder of the army were 
 grouped by states, those from New England 
 being faced with white, those from New York 
 and New Jersey with buff, those from Pennsyl- 
 vania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia with 
 red, and those from North Carolina, South 
 
UNITED STATES 43 
 
 Carolina and Georgia with blue. Officers wore 
 one or two epaulets, according to rank, gen- 
 erals and field officers wearing two and cap- 
 tains and subalterns one. 
 
 On June 18, 1780 an order was issued regu- 
 lating the insignia of rank as follows : For ma- 
 jor generals, two gold epaulets with two gold 
 stars upon each and a black and white feather 
 in the hat; for brigadier generals, two gold 
 epaulets, having one gold star each, and a 
 white feather ; for colonels, lieutenant colonels, 
 and majors, two epaulets (without device) ; for 
 captains, an epaulet on the right shoulder; for 
 subalterns, an epaulet on the left shoulder ; for 
 sergeants, two worsted epaulets (color not 
 stated) ; for corporals, one worsted epaulet on 
 the right shoulder. In 1782 a non-commissioned 
 officer or a private who had served four years 
 in the Continental army was allowed to wear a 
 service stripe of white tape on his left sleeve, 
 three inches below the shoulder. 
 
 After the Revolutionary War the regular 
 army was practically disbanded, only a very 
 smaU force being retained for the purpose of 
 guarding government stores. The highest officer 
 
44! ARMY UNIFOKMS OF THE WOULD 
 
 in it only held the rank of major of artillery. 
 In 1796 the size of the army was some- 
 what increased ; red became the infantry facing 
 and yellow that of the artillery. Fear of war 
 with France caused the army to be recruited to 
 10,000 men in 1799, and the uniforms under- 
 went some slight changes, although still fol- 
 lowing the fashions of the Revolution. In 1802 
 it was prescribed that the epaulets of all in- 
 fantry officers should be silver and those of 
 the artillery gold. 
 
 When in 1812 we became involved in another 
 war with England, the single breasted swallow- 
 tailed coat with a very high standing collar had 
 replaced the cutaway and the color of our army 
 uniform had been changed from light to dark 
 blue. Long trousers were then the fashion, 
 although mounted officers still wore buff riding 
 breeches and knee boots. For a short time en- 
 listed men wore high hats, shaped like our 
 modern silk hat, but this head dress was soon 
 replaced by the bell-crowned shako, for the 
 infantry and artillery, the helmet with horse- 
 hair plume for the cavalry, and the chapeau 
 for generals and staff officers. Facings to indi- 
 
UNITED STATES 45 
 
 cate the different arms of the service appear 
 to have gone out of fashion at this time. Grey 
 uniforms were worn by riflemen and they have 
 been retained in our modern army in the dress 
 of the cadets at West Point. 
 
 In 1813, general officers, and officers of the 
 various staff corps, and of artillery and rifles, 
 wore gold epaulets, and officers of infantry and 
 cavalry, silver. The practice of wearing one 
 or two epaulets according to rank remained un- 
 changed, and upon none of the epaulets except 
 those of general officers were displayed any dis- 
 tinctive devices. 
 
 In 1821, wings displaced epaulets for line 
 officers of infantry, artillery and rifles. These 
 wings were of silver for infantry, and gold for 
 the two other branches of the service. As wings 
 were worn upon both shoulders without regard 
 to rank, it was prescribed that captains should 
 wear one chevron upon each arm above the el- 
 bow, and subalterns, one upon each arm below 
 the elbow. These chevrons extended from seam 
 to seam and were placed upon the sleeve point 
 upward. Sergeant-majors and quartermaster- 
 sergeants wore one worsted chevron upon each 
 
46 AEMY UNIPOEMS OF THE WOKLD 
 
 arm above the elbow, sergeants, one below the 
 elbow and corporals, one upon the right arm 
 only, below the elbow. Chevrons for both 
 officers and enlisted men consisted of a single 
 stripe and their color matched that of the 
 officers' wings. 
 
 In 1825, an arc of gold or silver braid was 
 added to the chevrons of an adjutant and a 
 similar arc of worsted to that of a sergeant- 
 major. During this year also facings were 
 re-adopted to distinguish the various branches 
 of the service; yellow and red for light artil- 
 lery, yellow for heavy artillery, red for grena- 
 diers, white and red for light infantry, white 
 for infantry, green for rifles, and orange for 
 dragoons. 
 
 By a general order issued June 11, 1832, 
 insignia of rank was changed so that all officers 
 wore two epaulets. The epaulets of general 
 officers remained as before, but the eagle now 
 appears for the first time as a device indicat- 
 ing the rank of colonel. A lieutenant colonel 
 wore the same epaulet as a colonel, omitting the 
 eagle, while the epaulets of a major were of 
 mixed gold and silver bullion, and without 
 
UNITED STATES 47 
 
 devices. Captains wore epaulets of a diflFerent 
 design, of gold or silver according to arm of 
 service, and lieutenants smaller epaulets than 
 those of a captain. All epaulets except those 
 of general officers bore the regimental number. 
 Shoulder straps in the form which we now 
 have them, were prescribed for the undress 
 uniform in 1836. These first shoulder straps 
 had a border of gold in some branches of the 
 service, and of silver in others. The devices 
 displayed upon them were as follows: 
 
 Commander in Chief Three Stars 
 
 Major General Two Stars 
 
 Brigadier Cieneral One Star 
 
 Colonel Spread Eagle 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Leaf at end of strap of the 
 
 same metal as that of the 
 border 
 
 Major Leaf at each end of strap of 
 
 the opposite metal from 
 that of the border 
 
 Captain Two bars at each end of 
 
 the strap of the same 
 metal as the border 
 
 First Lieutenant One bar like that of a cap- 
 tain 
 
 Second Lieutenant No bar 
 
 Chevrons of more than one stripe to mark 
 the rank of non-commissioned officers were 
 adopted in 1847. Three stripes were ordered 
 
48 ARMY UNIFOEMS OF THE WOELD 
 
 for a sergeant and two for a corporal, and this 
 regulation remains in force to the present day. 
 Until within the last few years, chevrons ex- 
 tended from seam to seam. At first they were 
 worn point upward, but in 1861 an order was 
 issued turning the points downward and they 
 remained in that position until the present small 
 sized chevron was adopted, when the points 
 were again turned upward. The facings at 
 the time when the chevron first became the dis- 
 tinguishing mark of the non-commissioned offi- 
 cer were : artillery, scarlet ; infantry, light blue ; 
 rifies, green ; cavalry, orange ; and the color of 
 the chevron, of course, matched the facing of 
 the arm of the service to which the wearer be- 
 longed. At this time also we find the bars of 
 a captain and first lieutenant changed to silver 
 and all epaulets and shoulder straps were 
 ordered to be gold instead of some being gold 
 and some silver, as had formerly been the case. 
 The gold leaf now appears on the shoulder 
 strap of a major although his epaulet is still 
 blank. 
 
 It was during the Mexican War that we find 
 first a campaign dress as distinct from the full 
 
UNITED STATES 49 
 
 uniform. The enlisted men wore a short jacket, 
 long trousers, and a soft-topped cap, similar 
 in shape to our modern yachting cap, while the 
 officers had the frock coat, single breasted for 
 all officers, except generals, and the same type 
 of head dress as the men. Generals wore a yellow 
 sash under their sword belts, surgeons, a green 
 sash, and other officers a sash of crimson net. 
 Shoulder straps instead of epatilets were worn 
 with this serAdce dress. 
 
 In 1855, the ugly French shako became the 
 head dress for all ranks and the coats of the 
 enlisted men were lengthened until they became 
 like the coat of the officers, a single breasted 
 frock. Just before the outbreak of the Civil 
 War, the black felt hat was adopted for the 
 cavalry and it quickly became so popular that 
 before long it was worn throughout the army. 
 It was turned up on the right side and fastened 
 with an eagle, the hats of officers being deco- 
 rated with gold cords and ostrich feathers. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 UNITED STATES 
 
 1861-1919 
 
 WHEN Fort Sumter was fired upon and 
 the greatest civil conflict of modern 
 times began, both the North and South found 
 themselves illy prepared for the mighty strug- 
 gle. Both rushed to arms, but neither was 
 able to at once place an army in the field. The 
 regular troops of the United States were 
 widely scattered and could not be rapidly con- 
 centrated and their numbers were so small that 
 even if they could have been brought together, 
 it would have been impossible to have made an 
 effective campaign with them alone. Besides, 
 many officers of Southern birth were resigning 
 daily and offering their services to their states 
 and the government did not feel that it could 
 rely altogether upon the fidelity of the only 
 trained troops which it possessed. The South, 
 of course, did not even have a small regular 
 50 
 
UNITED STATES 51 
 
 army to fall back upon and both sides were 
 obliged to rely largely at first upon untrained 
 volunteers. Although military knowledge was 
 not widely diffused among the population in 
 any part of the country, many of the states 
 on both sides of Mason's and Dixon's line 
 possessed militia organizations, and it was these 
 regiments of citizen soldiers which formed the 
 first line of defence and became the nucleus 
 aroiuid which the armies of the North and the 
 South were formed. 
 
 It was a tremendous task to uniform, arm 
 and equip the vast bodies of newly raised 
 troops, and it is little wonder that six months 
 elapsed before either side was ready to take the 
 field. The northern forces then moved against 
 the Confederate capital at Richmond, but were 
 badly defeated at BuU Run and fell back upon 
 Washington to reorganize. The Confederates 
 were not able to follow up their victory and 
 both sides realizing at last the magnitude of 
 the struggle in which they were involved, bent 
 every effort to perfecting the organization and 
 equipment of their troops before engaging in 
 further hostilities. 
 
52 ARMY UNIFORMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 The uniform of the United States Army re- 
 mained practically unchanged from 1861 to 
 1865. For enlisted men it consisted of a dark 
 blue four-button sack coat with a turn-down 
 collar, light blue trousers and a dark blue fa- 
 tigue cap. Full dress in the form of single- 
 breasted frock coat for infantry, artillery, and 
 engineers and a short jacket for cavalry and 
 light artillery was prescribed but rarely issued. 
 At one time during the war the color of all 
 trousers was ordered changed to dark blue, 
 and stripes 1^ inch for sergeants and J inch 
 for corporals were added, but these regulations 
 do not appear to have been complied with to 
 any great extent and the light blue trousers 
 without welt or stripe continued in use through- 
 out the war. 
 
 Officers wore a frock coat with shoulder 
 straps, denoting their rank, and their trousers 
 were dark blue and ornamented with a welt of 
 gold or worsted cord of the color of their arm 
 of the service. Their head dress was either the 
 black felt hat, or the fatigue cap. Many offi- 
 cers, when in active service, wore a blouse 
 similar to that worn by the men, and sky blue 
 
UNITED STATES 53 
 
 trousers with the welt described above. The 
 frock coat for officers had its buttons so ar- 
 ranged that even if the insignia of the shoulder 
 straps could not be seen, the rank of the officer 
 could be determined at a glance. All general 
 officers wore a double-breasted coat; a major 
 general having nine buttons in each row, placed 
 by threes; a brigadier general, eight buttons, 
 placed in pairs. Colonels, lieutenant colonels, 
 and majors also wore double-breasted coats, 
 but had only seven buttons in each row, placed 
 at equal distances apart. The coat for cap- 
 tains and lieutenants was single-breasted and 
 had nine buttons, with an equal distance be- 
 tween each button. All officers wore a 
 sash which was passed twice around the waist 
 and tied on the left side. For general officers 
 it was buff, for surgeons, green, and for all 
 other officers, crimson. A black leather sword 
 belt, with two slings and a hook, from which 
 the sword was suspended, when dismounted, 
 was worn over the sash. The overcoat for 
 officers was dark blue fastened with four frogs 
 across the breast. To indicate rank, a knot 
 of black silk braid, not exceeding one-eighth 
 
54 ARMY UNIFORMS OF THE WOELD 
 
 of an inch in width, was placed upon both 
 sleeves, just above the cuff, the different de- 
 grees being indicated in the following manner: 
 
 General Five braids, double knot 
 
 Colonel Five braids, single knot 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Four braids, single knot 
 
 Major Three braids, single knot 
 
 Captain Two bi'aids, single knot 
 
 First Lieutenant One braid, single knot 
 
 Second Lieutenant Plain sleeve 
 
 Enlisted men had a sky blue overcoat with 
 a cape reaching to the cuff. 
 
 Facings to indicate the arm of the service 
 were the same as those now in use; namely, 
 yellow for cavalry, sky blue for infantry, and 
 scarlet for artillery. To further indicate the 
 branch to which the soldier belonged, a bugle 
 was worn upon the front of the cap by the in- 
 fantry, crossed sabres by the cavalry, and 
 crossed cannon by the artillery. Regimental 
 numbers were placed above, or withinj the cap 
 device and a corps badge of colored cloth, 
 which showed the army corps and division to 
 which a soldier belonged, was displayed upon 
 the flat top of the fatigue cap, or upon the 
 side of the felt hat. 
 
UNITED STATES 55 
 
 The uniforms of the Confederate States 
 were grey throughout, the coats being the 
 double-breasted style for both officers and en- 
 listed men. Rank of officers was indicated by 
 a knot of gold braid, which extended from the 
 cuff to the bend of the elbow. General officers 
 wore four braids ; field officers, three ; captains, 
 two ; and lieutenants, one. Further distinction 
 was shown by devices worn upon the collar. 
 Generals had a wreath inclosing three stars, all 
 embroidered in gold; a colonel had three stars 
 of gold arranged horizontally; a lieutenant 
 colonel, two stars ; a major, one star ; a cap- 
 tain, three gold bars arranged horizontally; a 
 first lieutenant, two gold bars; and a second 
 lieutenant, one bar. Sergeants and corporals 
 wore the same type of chevron as those in use 
 in the United States Army. The facings of 
 the Confederacy were buff, for general officers 
 and staff departments, black for the medical 
 corps, red for artillery, yellow for cavalry, and 
 light blue for infantry. 
 
 Between the years of 1874 and 1880 the 
 uniform of the United States Army underwent 
 a number of important changes. The full dress 
 
56 AKMY UNIFORMS OF THE WOELD 
 
 coats of all commissioned officers became double 
 breasted and shoulder knots replaced epaulets 
 for all except generals. The pad of the knot, 
 like the field of the strap, was of the color of 
 the service facing and besides its insignia of 
 rank it contained the regimental number, or 
 the staff device. At first the shako, which, 
 however, was much lower in form than that 
 formerly in use, was the head dress of the in- 
 fantry and heavy artillery, but after the 
 Franco-Prussian war the helmet became the 
 universal head covering for all branches of 
 the service. Mounted officers wore with it a 
 plume which matched the color of their shoul- 
 der knots and had a gold helmet cord which 
 was passed over and under the right shoulder 
 and fastened to the top button on the left side 
 of the coat. Dismounted officers wore a brass 
 spike in place of the plume and did not have the 
 cord. Sashes were no longer worn, except by 
 generals, and the sword belt changed from 
 black leather to gold, with silk facing colors. 
 Trousers, except for general and staff de- 
 partment officers, were light blue and had a 
 IJ-inch facing stripe down their outer seams. 
 
UNITED STATES 57 
 
 Enlisted men wore the single-breasted frock 
 coat, somewhat short in the case of mounted 
 troops, and their helmets were either plumed 
 or spiked, according to the unit to which they 
 belonged. Their trousers were light blue and 
 non-coms had stripes on them of the same 
 width as now worn. The Signal Corps which 
 was organized during the Civil War, now had 
 the same uniform as that of the cavalry, except 
 that their facings were orange instead of 
 yellow. 
 
 In undress, both officers and men wore the 
 dark blue five-buttoned blouse, and the natty 
 forage cap. Generals and staif department 
 officers in full dress wore the chapeau in place 
 of the helmet and had dark blue trousers, with- 
 out welt or stripe. Regimental Adjutants 
 wore the aiguillette suspended from the right 
 shoulder, the arm being passed through the 
 loops and the ends attached to one of the but- 
 tons on the right breast. Dismounted officers 
 had a straight, narrow-bladed, two-edged sword 
 with knuckle bow and two small counter guards, 
 while mounted officers used the sabre. 
 
 This style of uniform remained in vogue 
 
68 ARMY UNIFORMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 until the Spanish American war, except that 
 the undress blouse for officers became braided 
 around the collar and bottom and down the 
 breast and fastened with concealed buttons, 
 and the fashion of the fatigue cap changed, 
 for both officers and men, from the old model to 
 one that was flat topped and of equal height 
 all around. 
 
 During our short war with Spain, khaki 
 uniforms for active servica were prescribed 
 and the drab campaign hat used for many 
 years by our troops on the plains became ex- 
 ceedingly popular. Since this war our uni- 
 forms have undergone another change. The 
 helmet and chapeau have completely disap- 
 peared and the cap, larger at the top than at 
 the bottom, has become the universal head cov- 
 ering for all ranks. The form of the officer's 
 frock coat has been altered, the collar deco- 
 rated all around with gold braid, the insignia 
 of rank transferred from the knot to the sleeves 
 and the knot itself entirely altered in form. 
 The coat of the enlisted men has become really 
 a dress blouse, piped with service colored 
 facings and ornamented with entirely useless 
 
UNITED STATES 59 
 
 worsted helmet cords, which, of course, match 
 the facings. The army now has three uniforms, 
 known as full dress, dress, and service, and 
 besides this the officers have a special social 
 dress cut along the lines of civilian evening 
 dress and a mess jacket which represents the 
 dinner coat of civil life. The various insignia 
 and facings in the United States Army today 
 are as follows: 
 
 General Officers. Full dress coat. Double- 
 breasted frock, collar ornamented with band of 
 gold embroidered oak leaves extending all the 
 way round; gold epaulets with coat of arms in 
 gold in center of crescent, velvet cuff with band 
 of gold oak leaves around top of it, with one or 
 two silver stars above it according to rank. 
 For all other officers, same as for general ex- 
 cept that collar has two bands of gold em- 
 broidery around top and bottom, with a strip 
 of cloth of color of service facing, between 
 and sleeves are without velvet cuff and display 
 the braided insignia of rank. The shoulder 
 knot of braided gold wire cord, terminating at 
 the shoulder and without any cloth pad at the 
 end, is worn by all officers below the rank of 
 
60 ARMY UNIFORMS OF THE WOULD 
 
 general. No devices of any sort are displayed 
 upon this knot. Sleeve insignia of the differ- 
 ent grades is as follows: 
 
 Colonel A single knot of five 
 
 strands of gold wire lace, 
 J inch in width, extend- 
 ing from a gold band at 
 the cuff nearly to the el- 
 bow 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Four strands 
 
 Major Three strands 
 
 Captain Two strands 
 
 First Lieutenant One strand 
 
 Second Lieutenant Only the band at the cuff. 
 
 Sleeve insignia for overcoats is the same as 
 above, except that the ornamentation is of black 
 mohair braid. 
 
 Generals wear two black bands upon cuff of 
 overcoat with star, or stars, between. 
 
 Dress Coat. For general officers a double- 
 breasted sack with gilt buttons. For all 
 other officers a single-breasted sack, closing 
 with a concealed flap, the coat trimmed with 
 flat, black mohair braid, extending all around 
 the bottom, up the front edges and around the 
 collar. Shoulder straps are attached to this 
 coat and the sword belt worn beneath ; the hook 
 from which the sabre is suspended being passed 
 
UNITED STATES 61 
 
 through a slit in the left side. Insignia on 
 shoulder straps is placed upon the field of the 
 strap which matches the facings of the arm of 
 the service. It is as follows: 
 
 Major General Two silver stars 
 
 Brigadier General One silver star 
 
 Colonel One silver spread eagle 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel A silver leaf 
 
 Major A gold leaf 
 
 Captain Two silver bars 
 
 First Lieutenant One sUver bar 
 
 Second Lieutenant A blank field 
 
 The devices of the officers below the rank of 
 colonel are placed at each end of the strap, as 
 are the silver stars of the major general. 
 
 Service Coat. Single-breasted, olive drab 
 with outside pockets and fastened with five 
 bronze buttons. Insignia of rank is the same 
 as that displayed upon the shoulder strap, but 
 the devices are attached to the end of the shoul- 
 der piece which is of the same color as the 
 coat. Officers are allowed, in summer, to wear 
 a white imiform cut like that of the blue dress, 
 insignia with it being the same as that of the 
 service uniforms. The overcoat is olive drab 
 of ulster pattern, for all officers and men. 
 
62 ARMY UNIFORMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 Full Dress and Dress Trousers. For gen- 
 eral officers dark blue, two #| inch gold 
 stripes one quarter of an inch apart for full 
 dress, plain for dress. For officers of Staff 
 Corps, same as general, except that they have 
 only one stripe of gold braid and that is seven 
 eighths of an inch wide. For officers of engi- 
 neers, dark blue with stripes of scarlet, 1^ 
 inches wide, piped with white cord. For all 
 other officers, for both full dress and dress, light 
 blue with 1-J inch stripe of the color of their 
 service facing, except infantry, which is white. 
 
 Service Trousers. Olive drab for all offi- 
 cers, without welt or stripe. 
 
 Full Dress and Dress Hat. For general 
 officers dark blue cloth with turn down vizor, 
 with arms of United States in golden em- 
 broidery in front ; the cap to be encircled with 
 gold oak leaves and the vizor ornament to be 
 of the same design. 
 
 For all other Officers. The same as for 
 general, except that the cap is encircled with 
 two bands of gold braid with service colored 
 silk between. Captains and lieutenants have a 
 plain vizor. 
 
UNITED STATES 63 
 
 Service Cap for all Officers. Olive drab with 
 band of same colored braid around it, If inches 
 wide, and bronze coat of arms in front. A fdt 
 campaign hat is also worn with the service 
 uniform. 
 
 The sword for all officers is the sabre, with 
 German silver guard and steel scabbard; the 
 sword knot is of gold and black silk, interwoven 
 with acorn end for full dress and dress, and 
 leather for service. The sword belt is gold for 
 full dress and russet leather for dress and ser- 
 vice. It is worn over the full dress and service 
 coats and under the dress blouse. In service 
 dress all officers wear the russet leather puttee. 
 The social dress is dark blue throughout. 
 Shoulder knots and gold sleeve insignia are 
 worn with this uniform. The mess jacket 
 reaches to the hips and is open in front. The 
 same insignia is worn with this as for social 
 dress. The facings of the different arms of 
 the service are as follows : 
 
 General Officers Dark blue 
 
 Engineers Scarlet, piped with white 
 
 Signal Corps Orange, piped with white 
 
 Ordnance Black piped with scarlet 
 
 Medical Corps Maroon 
 
64 AEMY UNIFORMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 Quartermaster Department. Buff 
 
 Cavalry Yellow 
 
 Artillery Scarlet 
 
 Infantry Light blue (chevrons and 
 
 trousers stripe white) 
 
 Enlisted Men. 
 
 Dress Coat. Dark blue, single-breasted with 
 six buttons, piped with service facings. Breast 
 cord, color of arm of service, attached to left 
 shoulder, passing around neck, under right 
 arm, across breast and fastened to left shoul- 
 der button. 
 
 Service Coat. -Olive drab, or khaki, single 
 breasted, with patch pockets and bronze but- 
 tons. 
 
 Dress Trousers. Sky blue, plain for pri- 
 vates, one-half-inch stripe, color of facing, for 
 corporals, l:|-inch stripe for sergeants. 
 
 Service Trousers and Breeches. Olive drab 
 or khaki, without welt or stripe. 
 
 Dress Cap. Dark blue cloth, same pattern 
 as that of officers, two service-facing stripes 
 around top and bottom of band. 
 
 Service Cap and Campaign Hat. Of color 
 of service uniform. 
 
 Unit Ornaments. These are brass for full 
 
UNITED STATES 65 
 
 dress and bronze for service and are worn on 
 the front of the cap and on the collar of the 
 coat. 
 
 Cavalry Crossed sabres 
 
 Artillery Crossed cannon 
 
 Infantry Crossed rifles 
 
 Engineers Castle 
 
 Signal Corps Crossed flags and torch 
 
 Ordnance Corps Shell and flame 
 
 Hospital Corps Caduceus 
 
 Quartermaster's Dept Sword and key crossed on 
 
 a wheel, with spread 
 
 eagle above. 
 Subsistence Dept A crescent 
 
 Chevrons. Small sized, of the color of the 
 facing for full dress (white for infantry) and 
 of light brown for service, worn midway be- 
 tween the elbow and shoulder, point upwards. 
 
 Regimental Serge^ant Ma- 
 jor Three bars and an arc of 
 
 three bars. 
 Regimental Quartermas- 
 ter Sergeant Three bars and a tie of 
 
 three bars 
 
 Color Sergeant Three bars and a star 
 
 Battalion Sergeant Ma- 
 jor Three bars and an arc of 
 
 two bars 
 
 Chief Musician Three bars and an arc of 
 
 two bars with a bugle in 
 center 
 
66 AEMY UNIPOKMS OF THE WOKLD 
 
 Chief Trumpeter Three bars and an arc of 
 
 one bar with bugle in 
 
 center 
 Ordnance Sergeant Three bars and an arc of 
 
 one bar, inclosing shell 
 
 'and flame 
 
 Sergeant of Ordnance Same omitting arc 
 
 Hospital Corps Sergeants 
 
 (First class) Three bars and an 'arc of 
 
 one bar, inclosing car- 
 
 duceus. 
 Hospital Corps Sergeants 
 
 (Second class) Same omitting arc 
 
 Master Signal Electricians . Three bars and an arc of 
 
 one bar, inclosing white 
 
 silk forked lightning 
 First Class Sergeant, Sig- Same, but with crossed 
 nal Corps flags and torch in place 
 
 of lightning 
 Sergeant, Signal Corps .... Same omitting arc 
 
 First Sergeant Three bars and a lozenge 
 
 Company Quartermaster 
 
 Sergeant Three bars and a tie of one 
 
 bar 
 Stable Sergeant Three bars and 'a horse's 
 
 head 
 
 Sergeant Three bars 
 
 Corporal Two bars 
 
 Lance Corporal One bar 
 
 Service stripes of the color of the arm of 
 the service in which the soldier served are worn 
 diagonally across the sleeve of the dress coat, 
 below the elbow. To indicate service in war, 
 the stripe is of white cloth piped with the fac- 
 ings of the branch of the army in which the 
 
UNITED STATES 67 
 
 wearer served. Service stripes are worn by 
 both non-commissioned officers and privates. 
 
 WoKLD War 
 
 When the United States declared war upon 
 Grermany in 1917, we had a regular army, and 
 a national guard which was subject to the call 
 of the President. Both of the forces were at 
 once mobilized and recruited to full war 
 strength. We had also a limited number of 
 officers of the United States Reserve and they 
 were also called at once into service. It was 
 evident that a much larger army than this 
 would be required, and the selective draft sys- 
 tem was adopted. Before the men could be 
 drafted, however, quarters had to be prepared 
 for them, and additional officers trained to 
 command them. The latter need was met by 
 organizing officers' training camps in various 
 parts of the country, where several thousand 
 men, selected largely from amongst college 
 graduates and non-commissioned officers of the 
 national guard, were given an intensive training 
 of three months duration and then commis- 
 
68 AEMY UNIFORMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 sioned in the Officers Reserve Corps. Numbers 
 of regular army sergeants whose years of ser- 
 vice had fitted them for higher commands were 
 also commissioned, so that when, in the fall of 
 our first year in the war, the draftees were 
 ordered to their training camps, we had the 
 officers necessary to make them over into sol- 
 diers. Meantime several divisions of regular 
 army and national guard troops had already 
 been sent to France, where later they were to 
 give a glorious account of themselves, and 
 help our gallant allies in smashing the Hun. 
 
 The uniforms of our troops in the World 
 War did not differ greatly from those imme- 
 diately preceding it. Service uniform, either 
 olive drab or khaki, was the only one worn, all 
 other uniforms being forbidden during the 
 continuance of hostilities. During the first 
 year of the war, officers of the regular army 
 wore the letters U. S. on the collar of the coat 
 in front of their arm of the service device, and 
 officers of the reserve, the letters U. S. R. in 
 the same position, but in 1918 this was changed 
 so that all officers wore the letters U. S. En- 
 listed men wore a bronze button on either side 
 
UNITED STATES 69 
 
 of the collar, the one on the right side contain- 
 ing the letters U. S. and the one on the left the 
 device of the arm of the service to which the 
 wearer belonged. Although the olive drab ser- 
 vice cap was worn to some extent by both offi- 
 cers and enlisted men, the wide brimmed, soft 
 crowned campaign hat was at first the almost 
 universal head dress for all ranks. This was 
 worn, cowboy fashion, dented in four places, 
 and except for officers, had a cord of the color 
 of the service facing. A leather strap passed 
 under the chin. For officers of all grades and 
 branches, the hat cord was of gold, and black 
 silk, interwoven. Although this hat was ex- 
 cellent for open warfare, it was not well 
 adapted for trench work, and so a soft vizor- 
 less and brimless cap was prescribed, which 
 fitted closely to the head and had side flaps 
 which in cold weather could be turned down 
 over the ears. This was known as the oversea 
 cap. Officers wore the insignia of their rank 
 on the left side of the cap, which was piped to 
 show the arm of the service to which the wearer 
 belonged; enlisted men wore their arm of ser- 
 vice button instead of insignia, and their caps 
 
70 ARMY UNIFORMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 were not piped. For active duty in France, a 
 steel helmet was issued, having a rounding top 
 and small, slightly sloping brim. A leather 
 strap passed under the chin. Gas masks were 
 carried by all persons at the front. They were 
 contained in khaki bags and were suspended 
 over the chest by a web belt passing around 
 the neck. 
 
 In 1917 a second lieutenant wore no insignia 
 of rank on his coat, except the band of tan col- 
 ored braid which was the mark of an officer, 
 but in 1918 a gold bar was added to his shoul- 
 der piece. His overcoat also received a knot of 
 a single strand of braid, which, however, was 
 tan in color instead of black, as worn by other 
 officers. During the first year of the war, non- 
 commissioned officers wore chevrons upon both 
 arms, but the following year, an order was 
 issued stating that the chevron was to be worn 
 upon the right arm only. Wound and service 
 chevrons were worn, point down, by both offi- 
 cers and enlisted men entitled to them on the 
 lower part of the sleeve about four inches from 
 the end. 
 
 Wotmd Chevron. For a wound received in 
 
UNITED STATES 71 
 
 action, a single stripe chevron of gold lace, 
 slightly larger than a non-commissioned officer's 
 chevron, worn on the right sleeve. For addi- 
 tional wounds received in different actions, 
 additional stripes were worn. 
 
 War Service Chevron. For each six months 
 of foreign service, a gold stripe identical with 
 that of the wound chevron, worn on the left 
 sleeve. 
 
 Home Service Chevron. For each six months 
 of home service, a sUver stripe worn on the left 
 arm. 
 
 A sky blue cloth chevron of a single stripe 
 was worn on the left arm by those who had 
 served less than six months abroad. 
 
 Discharge Chevron. Enlisted men upon 
 being honorably discharged, were authorized to 
 wear, upon the left arm, a scarlet chevron of 
 a single stripe, point upward, midway between 
 the elbow and the shoulder. They had the 
 right to wear their uniform for three months 
 after discharge. 
 
 Shirt. When the olive drab shirt was worn 
 without the coat, officers wore the insignia of 
 their rank upon the collar, and enlisted men 
 
72 AEMY UNIFOKMS OF THE WOELD 
 
 upon the sleeve. With this dress, a plain black 
 four-in-hand tie was worn. 
 
 Overcoat. Although the double-breasted 
 ulster type of overcoat was the one in general 
 use throughout the war, officers, when climatic 
 conditions made it advisable, were sometimes 
 permitted to wear a short double-breasted, 
 olive-drab coat, lined with sheepskin, and hav- 
 ing a six-inch rolling, sheepskin collar, dyed 
 beaver shade. Short olive-drab coats of the 
 mackinaw type were also issued to certain 
 classes of enlisted men, such as motorcyclists 
 and transport drivers. 
 
 Olive-drab sweaters with standing collar 
 were worn, when needed, over the shirt by both 
 officers and enlisted men. No insignia of any 
 sort was displayed upon them. Tan driving 
 gloves, or olive-drab woolen gloves were worn 
 by both officers and enlisted men. The sword 
 belts of officers serving abroad had a leather 
 strap which passed over the right shoulder. 
 Swords were not carried by dismounted offi- 
 cers upon active service and were not as a rule 
 worn by officers or enlisted men either abroad 
 or at home. 
 
UNITED STATES 73 
 
 In order to give adequate rank to the chief 
 officers of our army, which by the end of the 
 war numbered four million men, nearly half of 
 whom were in France, Congress restored the 
 grades of general and lieutenant-general. For 
 the former grade, the insignia was four silver 
 stars ; for the latter grade, a large silver star, 
 placed midway between two smaller stars. 
 
 Decorations. On Jan. 12, 1918, the follow- 
 ing decorations were authorized to be awarded 
 for military service against an armed enemy 
 under circumstances which did not justify the 
 award of the medal of honor. They were 
 awarded to both officers and enlisted men. 
 
 Distinguished-service Cross. A bronze cross 
 with an eagle in the center suspended from a 
 blue ribbon having a narrow edging of red and 
 white upon both sides. 
 
 Distinguished-service Medal. A bronze 
 medal and a ribbon of appropriate design. 
 
 Campaign badges were also issued for the 
 various campaigns in which our troops partici- 
 pated and Congress also authorized the accept- 
 ance by members of our forces of decorations 
 conferred upon them by the governments of 
 
74 AKMY UNIFORMS OF THE WOELD 
 
 our allies. Members of the Red Cross wore a 
 brassard of white cloth with a red cross, on the 
 left upper arm; members of military police 
 wore one of blue denim with the letters M. P. 
 in white, on the upper right arm. 
 
 Army aviators were at first a part of the 
 Signal Corps, but were afterwards organized 
 as a separate corps. They wore a silver- 
 embroidered, double-winged shield upon the left 
 breast. All aviators were commissioned officers. 
 Enlisted men of the air service wore white 
 crossed propellers upon a field of dark blue, on 
 the right sleeve, directly below the shoulder. 
 
 Army nurses (female) wore the regular 
 nurse's uniform indoors. Their outdoor uni- 
 form consisted of a navy blue skirt, blouse, 
 overcoat and hat. On either side of the collar 
 of the coat were the letters U. S. and the device 
 of the medical corps. A white or navy blue 
 waist with a plain black four-in-hand tie was 
 authorized for wear when climatic conditions 
 made this advisable. The hat was flat-topped 
 and broad-brimmed, and was straw in summer 
 and felt in winter. 
 
UNITED STATES 75 
 
 Telephone operators (female) were a part 
 of the signal corps. Their uniform was com- 
 posed of a dark blue skirt, white or dark blue 
 waist, black four-in-hand tie, dark blue coat 
 and dark blue overseas cap. They wore the 
 crossed flags and torch of their corps upon 
 the left side of the cap and the same device 
 upon both sides of the collar of their coat, 
 having the letters U. S. in front. On the left 
 arm they wore a white brassard with a tele- 
 phone displayed thereon in dark blue. 
 
 Authorized workers of the Y. M. C. A., the 
 Knights of Columbus, the Salvation Army and 
 other organizations recognized by the War De- 
 partment wore practically the same uniform as 
 that of our troops, with the device of their or- 
 ganization displayed upon it, usually upon the 
 upper right arm. 
 
 Ambulance drivers (female) wore an olive- 
 drab skirt, leather puttees, an olive-drab, 
 single-breasted frock coat and an olive-drab 
 cap shaped like the oversea cap, but flat on 
 top. On the front of the cap and on the right 
 arm was a small red cross. A waist belt of tan 
 leather was also worn. 
 
76 ABMY UNIFOKMS OF THE WOULD 
 
 Each division of our army had a separate 
 device which was worn upon the left arm, imme- 
 diately below the shoulder, by both officers and 
 enlisted men. These devices were not, however, 
 in general use until the latter part of the war. 
 
 The marines who formed a part of our fight- 
 ing land forces wore a uniform similar to that 
 of the army, but of a slightly darker and 
 greener shade of drab. The front of their 
 cap, the service hat, and steel helmet, bore 
 the device of their corps, an eagle-surmounted 
 globe and an anchor. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 GKEAT BKITAIN 
 
 THE earliest military costume worn by 
 English troops which was in any way 
 distinctive of the country was the white coat 
 with the red cross upon the back and breast. 
 This early form of uniform, if it may be so 
 called, was common during the Middle Ages, 
 and was usually worn by men-at-arms and 
 archers. The Scots at this period favored a 
 blue tunic upon which was displayed the X- 
 shaped cross of St. Andrew. In 1485, Henry 
 VH organized the yeomen of the guard, which 
 may be considered as the first formation of a 
 regular standing military force in England. 
 What the uniform of this corps was is not 
 stated, but in the reign of Henry VIII it be- 
 came scarlet, ornamented with black velvet and 
 gold and has remained ever since unchanged. It 
 is still the dress of the "Beef Eaters" who guard 
 77 
 
78 ARMY UNIFORMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 the Tower of London and forms a curious con- 
 trast to the serviceable khaki of the present 
 day. These yeomen of the guard are said to 
 have been the first English troops to use the 
 red coat, which has since become the standard 
 color for the British soldier. White coats, 
 however, did not altogether disappear until a 
 much later period. In the latter part of Henry 
 VIII's reign, some of his troops were directed to 
 wear a blue coat, trimmed with scarlet, and 
 parti-colored hose, the right leg being scarlet 
 and the left leg blue with a red stripe down 
 the outer side. 
 
 During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the 
 infantry wore blue or green coats and the 
 artillery red. Officers were distinguished from 
 men by sashes worn around the waist. Half 
 armor was quite generally worn in active ser- 
 vice by knights and nobles at this period, and 
 it remained in use until the early part of the 
 eighteenth century. The steel cap, buff coat, 
 top boots and steel cuirass was usually the 
 dress of the cavalry under Charles I and Oliver 
 Cromwell. 
 
 The present Household Troops, the First 
 
GREAT BRITAIN 79 
 
 and Second Life Guards, the Dragoon Guards, 
 and the Grenadier and Coldstream Guards 
 were organized by Charles II. Personal badges 
 of rank existed before the establishment of the 
 standing army, but after the restoration of 
 Charles II we begin to find regulations regard- 
 ing them. At this time it was ordered that a 
 captain of horse be armed cap-a-pied with 
 plumes on his head and his horse's head (color 
 not stated) and that he was to carry a white 
 truncheon charged on his right thigh. A lieu- 
 tenant of horse was to be armed to the knee and 
 carry a truncheon of different design from that 
 of a captain. In the Foot Guards a captain 
 wore a gilt gorget and carried a pike; a lieu- 
 tenant had a steel gorget studded with gold 
 and bore a partisan ; and an ensign had a gor- 
 get of silver and a half pike. Sergeants car- 
 ried halberds. Field officers do not appear to 
 have had any especially distinctive marks to 
 indicate their grade. General officers wore 
 body armor and carried short batons. A type 
 of epaulet, formed by bows of ribbon (color 
 not stated), worn on the right shoulder only, 
 was in use as an insignia of rank for officers 
 from about 1660 to 1700. 
 
80 AEMY UNIFORMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 In the reign of Queen Anne, when Marl- 
 borough was winning his great victories, armor, 
 except for cavalry, was completely discarded 
 and the infantryman wore a scarlet cutaway 
 coat, buff breeches, long black leggins coming 
 weU above the knee, and a cocked hat. Officers 
 wore a wide brimmed hat ornamented with 
 feathers, or the same type of head dress as that 
 worn by the men. The flowing wig and the 
 pigtail belong to this period. 
 
 Wings of cloth with scalloped ends orna- 
 mented with gold or silver lace came into vogue 
 as a badge for officers, early in the eighteenth 
 century. They were worn on both shoulders 
 and remained in use in certain branches of the 
 service for nearly a hundred years. Sashes, 
 probably red in color, and fringed with gold 
 or silver, were worn around the waist by all 
 officers during both the periods of the ribbon 
 epaulet and the wing. 
 
 Epaulets of gold or silver made their ap- 
 pearance about 1750. They were worn either 
 singly or in pairs, according to rank, and were 
 without any distinctive devices. The author 
 has been unable to discover any regulations 
 
GKEAT BRITAIN 81 
 
 regarding them, but it is probable that general 
 and field oflScers wore two, captains one on the 
 right shoulder and subalterns one on the left 
 shoulder. This fashion of wearing one or two 
 epaulets, according to rabk, continued to be 
 practiced until about 1830. The bearskin hat 
 became the military headdress for the heavy 
 infantry in the reign of George III but about 
 1800 was replaced by the shako. A general 
 order issued May 4, 1796, prescribes that all 
 ofiicers of the infantry of the line shall, in the 
 future, have the different articles of their regi- 
 mental dress here specified made according to 
 the following directions: 
 
 A crimson and gold cord round the hat with 
 crimson and gold rosettes brought to the edge 
 of the brim. The sword to have a brass guard, 
 pommel and shell ; gilt with gold, with the grip 
 of twisted silver wire ; the blade to be straight, 
 to be at least an inch broad at the shoulder 
 and thirty-two inches in length. The sword 
 knot to be crimson and gold in stripes. The 
 gorget to be gilt with gold, with the king's 
 cypher and crown and to be worn with a rib- 
 bon and a rosette at each end, of the color of 
 
82 ARMY UNIFOEMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 the regimental facing. The Dress Regvdations 
 of 1831 prescribe the following insignia of 
 rank for commissioned officers : 
 
 Field Marshal Scarlet double-breasted coat 
 
 with two rows of but- 
 tons of nine Oach; em- 
 broidered collar and cuff. 
 Gold epaulets with em- 
 broidered strap and cres- 
 cent and a device of two 
 batons and a crown upon 
 the strap 
 
 General Same coat as for 'a field 
 
 marshal; epaulets to have 
 crossed sword and baton, 
 surmounted by !a crown. 
 
 Lieutenant General Same coat as that of a gen- 
 eral, except that buttons 
 are placed by threes and 
 there is no embroidery 
 upon the cufF 
 
 Major General Same coat, except that it 
 
 has ten buttons arranged 
 by twos 'and the cuff is 
 blue embroidered with 
 gold. Same device upon 
 the epaulets 
 
 Brigadier General Same coat as that of a ma- 
 jor general omitting the 
 embroidery upon the cufF. 
 Epaulets are without de- 
 vice 
 
 Colonel of Staff Scarlet single-breasted coat, 
 
 nine buttons equal dis- 
 tances apart, blue collar 
 'and cufFs, gold epaulets 
 without device. 
 
GREAT BRITAIN 83 
 
 Aid-de-Camp to King Same as for colonel of staff, 
 
 except that epaulets show 
 garter badge with W. R. 
 in center, surmounted by 
 a crown 
 
 Field Officers of Cavalry have upon the strap 
 of the epaulet the following devices : 
 
 Colonel Crown and Star 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Crown 
 
 Major ■, Star 
 
 The epaulets of captains and lieutenants to 
 be without device, but all officers to wear 
 epaulets upon both shoulders. Infantry, Foot 
 Guards, Field Officers, Captains and Subal- 
 terns are to have distinctions in respect to the 
 size and shape of the bullion for the three 
 ranks, all to wear the badge of their regiment 
 in silver upon the gold of the strap. 
 
 Regimental Devices. 
 
 Grenadier Guards .W. R. with crown above and 
 
 grenade below 
 Coldstream Guards Star of Garter with crown 
 
 'above and rose below 
 Scotch Fusiliers St. Andrew's star with 
 
 crown above and thistle 
 
 below 
 
 Infantry of the Line. The epaulets of field 
 officers consist of a plain gold lace and solid 
 
84 ARMY UNIFORMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 gold crescent, the king's cypher to be em- 
 broidered upon the strap. The bullion of a 
 colonel and lieutenant colonel to be 3J inches 
 deep, that of a major, 3 inches in depth. For 
 captains, gold lace and silk stripes of color of 
 regimental facing with solid crescent and 
 2^ inch bullion. For subalterns : Same as for 
 captains, except that bullion is smaller. Offi- 
 cers of flank companies to wear wings instead 
 of epaulets. 
 
 Light Infantry and Fusiliers. Field officers 
 to wear same epaulets as for Infantry of the 
 Line, all other officers wings. 
 
 Highland Regiments. Same as for Infantry 
 of the Line, with the addition of a thistle to the 
 strap of the epaulet. 
 
 In 1846 a field marshal wore a scarlet, 
 double-breasted coat with blue collars and cuff 
 embroidered aU around. In place of epaulets 
 he had an aiguillette on the right shoulder. 
 The insignia for other general officers remained 
 unchanged. The devices of crown and star, 
 crown, or star, were added to the epaulets of 
 all field officers, without regard to arm of ser- 
 vice. Captains and lieutenants of light infan- 
 try continued to wear wings. 
 
GEEAT BUITAIN 85 
 
 In 1865 epaulets and wings were abolished 
 and badges of rank were displayed upon each 
 side of the gold oak leaf embtoidered collar of 
 the coat, near the front. The various grades 
 were designated in the following manner : 
 
 Field Marshal Two crossed batons of 
 
 crimson velvet on a 
 wreath of silver laurel 
 
 General Silver crown and star 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Silver crown 
 
 Major Cieneral Silver star 
 
 Brigadier General Crown and star in silver 
 
 upon a collar of plain 
 gold 
 
 General officers wore upon the left shoulder 
 a double gold cord under which the sash was 
 passed. 
 
 Field Officers. Lace around the top and 
 bottom of the collar and the following devices : 
 
 Colonel Crown and star 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Crown 
 
 Major Star 
 
 Lme Officers. Lace around top of collar 
 and the following devices : 
 
 Captain .Crown and star 
 
 Lieutenant Crown 
 
 Ensign Star 
 
86 AEMY UNIFOBMS OF THE WOULD 
 
 This insignia was in use during both the 
 Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny. 
 
 In 1864 the same regulations were in force 
 except that the coats of all officers were made 
 single-breasted. No important changes were 
 made in the uniforms of officers until 1883, when 
 badges of rank were again transferred to the 
 shoulder, the shoulder knot, similar in form 
 to that in present use, taking the place of the 
 epaulet. It was at this time that stars became 
 the insignia of captains and lieutenants. The 
 badges of rank prescribed by the regulations 
 of that year were as follows : 
 
 Field Marshal Crossed batons on a wreath 
 
 of silver with a crown 
 labove 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Crossed sword land baton 
 
 with crown above 
 
 Major General Crossed sword and baton 
 
 with star above 
 
 Brigadier General Crossed sword and baton 
 
 Colonel Crown with two stars be- 
 low 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Crown with one star below 
 
 Major Crown 
 
 Captain Two stars 
 
 Lieutenant One star 
 
 Second Lieutenant No device 
 
 In 1902 the insignia of a captain was 
 
GREAT BRITAIN 87 
 
 changed to three stars, that of a lieutenant to 
 two stars and that of second lieutenant to one 
 star, the insignia for the other grades remain- 
 ing unchanged, and these regulations are in 
 force at the present day. With their mess 
 jackets, officers, except those of special regi- 
 ments, do not wear knots but display their 
 badges of rank upon shoulder pieces of cloth. 
 The service dress for all branches of the army 
 is a dark olive drab, the coat for all ranks 
 being single-breasted, with bronze or brass but- 
 tons and patch pockets. Rank badges of 
 worsted embroidery are worn upon the cuff, 
 which, except in Highland regiments, consists 
 of a vertical piece, the rear edge three pointed, 
 and the whole traced all around with ^-inch 
 worsted lace. This cuff is placed forward from 
 the center of the sleeve and over bands of 
 worsted lace which completely encircle the arm, 
 the number of bands for the different grades 
 being as follows : 
 
 Colonel Four rows of lace with five 
 
 tracing braid between 
 them 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Three rows of lace, four of 
 
 tracing braid 
 
88 ARMY UNIFOKMS OF THE WOEIiD 
 
 Major Three rows of lace with 
 
 tracing braid between 
 them 
 
 Captain .Two rows of lace 
 
 Lieutenant One row of lace 
 
 In the Highland Regiments the cuff is of 
 gauntlet form of the same number of braids of 
 lace, however, as that worn in other branches 
 of the service. Badges of rank are placed below 
 this cuff, the device which is first upon the 
 shoulder knot being nearest the back of the 
 sleeve. General officers wear their badges of 
 rank in gilt metal upon the shoulder. 
 
 Non-commissioned officers now wear one 
 chevron on the right arm point downwards, ex- 
 tending from seam to seam and placed midway 
 between the elbow and the shoulder. The 
 author has been unable to ascertain exactly 
 when they were adopted, but they have been in 
 use for at least twenty-five years. A sergeant 
 has three stripes of gold, a lance sergeant three 
 stripes of worsted, a corporal two stripes of 
 worsted and a lance sergeant one stripe of 
 worsted. Sergeants and lance sergeants in full 
 dress also wear a worsted crimson sash across 
 the breast, the sash passing over the right 
 shoulder. A sergeant major does not wear a 
 
GREAT BRITAIN 89 
 
 chevron, but has a crown on the right sleeve, 
 directly above the cuff. Facings in the British 
 Army are according to the individual regiments 
 and not according to the arm of the service. 
 The uniform varies greatly in the different 
 corps but the single-breasted, scarlet tunic, 
 dark blue trousers, and blue cloth helmet of 
 the infantry of the line is the one which is most 
 commonly seen. Guards and Fusileers wear 
 the bearskin in place of the helmet. The High- 
 land Regiments have a short scarlet coat, plaid 
 skirt of regimental pattern, fur sporran, short 
 stockings, white leggins, and a feather bonnet. 
 Rifle regiments are clad in dark green through- 
 out. The artillery have a dark blue uniform, 
 that of the Royal Horse Artillery consisting 
 of a short jacket heavily braided across the 
 breast with yellow, riding breeches, knee boots 
 and a busby; that of the foot branch of the 
 service being similar in cut to that of the in- 
 fantry, faced with red. In the cavalry the 
 Life Guards have a red coat, white breeches, 
 top boots and a steel cuirass and helmet, and 
 the Horse Guards the same uniform, except 
 that the coat is dark blue. Hussars have a 
 
90 AKMY UNIFORMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 braided coat, busby, riding breeches, and knee 
 boots, the color of the uniform differing accord- 
 ing to regiment. Lancers have a double- 
 breasted coat with a different colored breast 
 piece and the head dress is the vihlan helmet. 
 In most lancer regiments the coats are blue. 
 Dragoon Guards and Dragoons have a single- 
 breasted red coat, dark blue trousers and a 
 steel helmet with plume. The Scots Greys 
 wear a bearskin in place of the helmet. Officers 
 in most branches of the service when in full 
 dress wear a crimson sash around the waist, 
 passed over the sword belt and tied on the left 
 side. 
 
 Decorations 
 
 Decorations. Medals are worn in full dress 
 on the left breast, suspended from a single bar, 
 overlapping if necessary, on a line between the 
 first and second buttons of the coat. In ser- 
 vice dress they are not worn but instead a 
 ^-inch ribbon of each decoration or medal is 
 stitched to the coat, side by side, in the same 
 position as described above, arranged in as 
 many rows as may be necessary. 
 
 The two best known military decorations are 
 
GEEAT BRITAIN 91 
 
 the Distinguished Service Order and the Vic- 
 toria Cross. The Distinguished Service Order, 
 instituted in 1886, is for officers only. The 
 cross is white enamel, edged with gold and hav- 
 ing a red center with gold crown surrounded 
 with a wreath of green laurel. The ribbon is 
 red, bordered with light blue. The "Victoria 
 Cross, instituted in 1856, is awarded to both 
 officers and enlisted men for deeds of personal 
 ■ bravery. Its cross is bronze and its ribbon, 
 red for the army, and blue for the navy. Ser- 
 vice medals, usually of silver, circular in form 
 and about the size of our half dollar, are given 
 to all officers and men who participate in cam- 
 paigns. Silver bars, worn on the ribbon, are 
 granted for each battle. Each service medal 
 has a distinctive ribbon. 
 
 THE INDIAN ARMY 
 
 Native troops form a large portion of the 
 army which guards England's possessions in 
 the Far East, and with the exception of the 
 Mutiny, have always proved loyal and efficient. 
 Even in those terrible days, many native sol- 
 
92 ARMY UNIFOKMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 diers remained true to their sworn allegiance 
 and did noble service in helping stamp out 
 that carnival of blood. As now organized, they 
 are represented in every arm of the service and 
 are officered in part by white men and in part 
 by men of their own race. As a matter of pre- 
 caution, however, no native officer is allowed to 
 hold a higher rank than that of major. Non- 
 commissioned officers in Indian regiments are 
 natives. Although native officers and non- 
 commissioned officers wear the same insignia of 
 rank in their respective grades as those worn by 
 their white comrades, their titles are Indian 
 instead of English. These titles and the Eng- 
 lish grades to which they correspond are as 
 follows : 
 
 Rissaldar Major (cavalry) Major 
 
 Subedar Major (infantry 
 and artillery) Major 
 
 Rissaldar (davalry) Captain 
 
 Subedar (infantry and ar- 
 tillery) Captain 
 
 Jemedar (aU branches) .... Lieutenant 
 
 Kot Duffadar (cavalry) .... Sergeant-Major 
 
 Havildar Major (infantry 
 and a,rtillery) Sergeant-Major 
 
 Havildar (infantry and ar- 
 tillery) Sergeant 
 
 Duffadar (cavalry) Sergeant 
 
GKEAT BKITAIN 93 
 
 Naique (infantry) Corporal 
 
 Las Duffadar (cavalry and 
 
 artillery Corporal 
 
 Las Naique (infantry and 
 
 artillery) Lance Corporal 
 
 When the war with Germany broke out, the 
 English had a small but highly trained regular 
 army which was scattered throughout the globe, 
 and a territorial organization similar to our 
 militia. That part of the regular army which 
 was stationed in the British Isles was at once 
 sent to France, where against terrific odds, they 
 upheld the best traditions of their service, and 
 contributed largely in the stopping of Von 
 Kluck's drive. 
 
 The territorials were at once called to the 
 colors and new units were formed, all being 
 recruited up to full war strength as speedily as 
 possible. Britain's colonies also rallied to her 
 support and sent large contingents of troops 
 to aid her in her fight against the Hun. India 
 proved her loyalty also, and native troops 
 fought bravely for the Union Jack. 
 
 The uniforms worn by British troops in the 
 World War did not differ greatly from the 
 service dress previously described. The High- 
 
y4 ABMY UNIFOKMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 land regiments retained their kilts, which, how- 
 ever, were olive-drab in color, rather than that 
 of the regimental tartan. The style of coat 
 for the enlisted man remained unchanged, but 
 that for all officers had a turn-back collar sim- 
 ilar to that of a civilian coat, and had only 
 four buttons instead of five. 
 
 General officers wore a gorget patch of scar- 
 let two and one half inches long and one and 
 one quarter inches wide, pointed at the end, 
 with a narrow gold stripe along the center and 
 a small gold button near the point. A patch 
 was worn upon each lapel. 
 
 Staff Officers wore the same gorget patch ex- 
 cept that the center stripe was of silk instead 
 of gold. 
 
 Officers of the Army Service Corps, Army 
 Medical Service, Ordnance Department and 
 Pay Department had blue gorget patches in- 
 stead of scarlet. 
 
 All officers wore a drab shirt and a four-in- 
 hand tie of the same color. The caps of general 
 and staff officers had a band of color to match 
 the gorget. General officers and certain staff 
 officers wore the insignia of their rank on the 
 shoulder instead of the cuff. 
 
GKEAT BRITAIN 95 
 
 Dismounted officers and men wore an olive 
 drab spiral puttee, while mounted officers and 
 men had either the leather puttee or the riding 
 boot, both being of tan leather. 
 
 All officers wore the Sam Browne tan leather 
 belt with a supporting strap over the shoulder. 
 
 Swords were not carried by officers except 
 upon occasions of ceremony. When worn, they 
 were usually thrust through a throg attached 
 to the belt, although some mounted officers 
 passed tKem through a «lit in the left-hand 
 side of the ssddle cloth, behind the saddle. As 
 a general r^,^ dismounted officers carried a 
 cane, usually of light/colored wood and having 
 a curved handle, while mounted officers usually 
 carried a riding crop. 
 
 The overcoat for both officers and men was 
 olive-drab and of ulster pattern. For mounted 
 troops it was shorter than for foot soldiers. 
 All officers wore their badges of rank in gilt 
 metal upon the shoulder pieces of the overcoat. 
 
 Steel helmets came into use during the sec- 
 ond year of the war, and were worn by both 
 officers and men on active service in France. 
 They were similar in form to those worn by our 
 
96 ARMY UNIFORMS OB" THE WORLD 
 
 troops. Gas masks also formed part of the 
 military equipment at the front. 
 
 Canadian troops usually combined the maple 
 leaf with their regimental badge and had the 
 word "Canada" in brass letters on the end of 
 their shoulder straps. Australian, New Zea- 
 land and South African troops when not wear- 
 ing the steel helmet, wore a campaign hat with 
 an indentation down the middle, sometimes 
 having the brim turned up and fastened to the 
 crown upon the right side. Native East Indian 
 troops, although clad in olive drab like the 
 rest of the army, wore the turban for a head 
 dress. Insignia of rank for all Colonial troops 
 was the same as that for the British army. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 FRANCE AND SPAIN 
 
 FRANCE 
 
 THE early uniforms of the French army 
 appear to have been white and we know 
 that some at least of the regiments which ac- 
 companied Lafayette to this country to aid 
 Washington in our struggle against Great 
 Britain were dressed in that color. The in- 
 signia of rank for officers was probably 
 epaulets, worn in much the same manner as in 
 our own army but the author is unable to 
 state authoritativdy that such was the fact. 
 The Swiss Guard of Louis XVI, who fell in the 
 defence of that kind hearted but weak monarch, 
 wore red cutaway coats, faced with black vel- 
 vet and ornamented with white or silver braid, 
 white vests, breeches, and leggins. The head 
 covering for the men was a bearskin hat 
 with a white plume on the left side, and for the 
 97 
 
98 AEMY UNIFORMS OF THE WOELD 
 
 officers, a three cornered hat with a silver 
 cockade. Privates and sergeants wore white 
 worsted epaulets, and officers epaulets of gold, 
 and a gilt gorget. 
 
 The National Guard who stormed the Bas- 
 tile on July 14, 1789, had for their uniform a 
 bearskin hat, a blue coat faced with silver, 
 with white epaulets upon the shoulders, a red 
 vest, and white breeches and leggins. In the 
 early days of the Republic, the cocked hat with 
 the red, white and blue cockade, for the men, 
 and plume for officers, was the favorite head 
 dress for nearly all soldiers, but when Na- 
 poleon became emperor, we find the tall bear- 
 skin worn upon the heads of the best of his in- 
 fantry. Uniform coats under the Republic 
 were usually dark blue faced with white and 
 having red cuffs and this style of dress retained 
 its popularity under the Empire. Breeches, 
 leggins and vests were usually white; mounted 
 officers wearing boots when on active service. 
 Gold epaulets were worn upon both shoulders 
 by all officers but in the case of captains and 
 subalterns only the left epaulet was fringed. 
 Field officer's epaulets were without distinctive 
 
FRANCE 99 
 
 devices but those of generals were marked in 
 the following manner : 
 
 Marshal of France ..Four gold stars 
 
 General of Division Three stars 
 
 General of Brigade Two stars 
 
 The gilt gorget was worn by officers of in- 
 fantry and artillery. The sword belt was 
 usually of white leather and was worn below 
 the rather short vest, passing beneath the tails 
 of the coat. In the case of dismounted officers, 
 it had a frog on the left side through which 
 the sword was passed. 
 
 Between the fall of Napoleon and the pres- 
 ent day the uniform of the French Army 
 underwent many changes until it attained its 
 present form. Blue and red are the colors of the 
 modern Army of France and nearly all its uni- 
 forms are composed of these colors. Infantry 
 of the line have a dark blue coat with red 
 worsted epaulets, red trousers without welt or 
 stripe, and a red-topped, blue-banded, visored 
 cap, ornamented with a blue pompon. The 
 spahis, officers and men, wear scarlet coats and 
 light blue trousers, these being the only red 
 coats seen in the French Army. Cuirassiers 
 
100 ARMY UNirOEMS OF THE WOKLD 
 
 and dragoons wear dark blue coats, steel hel- 
 mets with black horse-hair plume hanging down 
 behind and a red upright plume on the left 
 side, and red breeches with a narrow blue stripe. 
 The epaulets of the cuirassiers are red, of the 
 dragoons white. Hussars have a light blue coat 
 and shako, and red trousers with light blue 
 stripe. The coats of the dragoons have rows 
 of black braid across the breast, those of the 
 cuirassiers are plain. Artillery have a dark 
 blue uniform throughout, with red facings, the 
 coats of both officers and men being braided 
 across the breast. The Republican Guard wear 
 a dark blue coat and light blue trousers with 
 a dark blue stripe. The head dress for mounted 
 men is the dragoon helmet, for foot soldiers 
 the light blue shako with a red pompon. Both 
 officers and men wear the number of their regi- 
 ment, or the device of their staff department, 
 upon the standing coUar of the coat. 
 
 Insignia of rank is displayed upon the sleeves 
 of the coat, and upon the cap. It is also shown 
 in the form of epaulet. General officers in full 
 dress have a double-breasted blue coat, a cha- 
 peau, white trousers and knee boots. Epaulets 
 
FRANCE 101 
 
 having three silver stars for a division general 
 and two silver stars for a brigadier general 
 are worn with this uniform, and a red sash 
 passes over the right shoulder (under the 
 epaxilet) and is secured on the left side. The 
 collar and cuffs are embroidered with gold oak 
 leaves all the way around. In service dress 
 these oflScers have a dark blue blouse with five 
 frogs of black mohair braid across the breast, 
 red cap, red trousers with broad black stripe, 
 and knee boots. 
 
 Infantry officers have a plain, single- 
 breasted, dark blue tunic with red collar, a red- 
 topped, blue-banded cap, and red trousers, 
 ornamented with a black stripe; artillery offi- 
 cers have their coats braided across the breast 
 like those of the men, but the coats of the 
 officers of cavalry are like those of the infantry 
 in form, but differ in color and facings, accord- 
 ing to classification of service, those of the 
 heavy cavalry being dark blue and those of the 
 light cavalry light blue. 
 
 A sword belt of black leather with but a 
 single sling and no hook is worn under the coat, 
 by both officers and men. 
 
102 AEMY UNIFORMS OF THE WOELD 
 
 Cap Insignia. General Officers. Gold oak 
 leaves around band, three vertical stripes of 
 gold on front, back and each side, forming a 
 knot on top. 
 
 Colonel Five horizontal and three 
 
 vertical stripes 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Three gold and two silver 
 
 horizontal stripes and two 
 gold and one silver ver- 
 tical stripes 
 
 Major Four gold horizontal and 
 
 three vertical stripes. 
 
 Captain Three gold horizontal and 
 
 two vertical stripes 
 
 Lieutenant Two gold horizontal stripes 
 
 and one vertical stripe 
 
 Sous Lieutenant One gold horizontal and one 
 
 gold vertical stripe 
 
 The horizontal stripes on all caps pass com- 
 pletely around the band, the vertical stripes 
 are on the front, rear and sides and unite in 
 the form of a knot on the top of the cap. 
 
 Sleeve Insignia. General Officers. Full 
 Dress. Gold oak leaf embroidery encircling the 
 cuff. Service Dress. A knot of five strands of 
 black braid with two or three silver stars dis- 
 placed thereon, according to rank. 
 
 Officers of infantry, engineers, spahis and 
 of the Republican Guard, straight gold stripes. 
 
FRAITCE 103 
 
 encircling the cuff; oiBcers of cuirassiers, dra- 
 goons, chasseurs a cheval, ,hussars, chasseurs 
 d'Afrique, zephirs, and of the gendarmerie, 
 straight silver stripes; officers of zouaves, tur- 
 cos and artillery, gold stripes arranged in the 
 form of a knot. 
 
 Colonel Five stripes 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Three gold and two silver, 
 
 or the reverse. 
 
 Major Four stripes 
 
 Captain Three stripes 
 
 Lieutenant Two stripes 
 
 Sous Lieutenant One stripe 
 
 Shottldek Insignia. General Officers. Two 
 gold epaulets with the stars of their rank 
 within the crescents. 
 
 Colonel Two gold or silver epaulets, 
 
 according to arm of ser- 
 vice 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Two epaulets, the top of sil- 
 ver and the fringe of 
 gold 
 
 Major An epaulet on the right 
 
 shoulder and 'a contre 
 epaulet on the left 
 
 Captain Two epaulets 
 
 Lieutenant An epaulet upon the left 
 
 shoulder and a contre 
 epaulet upon the right 
 
 Sous Lieutenant An epaulet upon the right 
 
 shoulder and a contre 
 epaulet upon the left 
 
104 ARMY UNIFORMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 A centre epaulet is an epaulet without fringe. 
 Epaulets differ in form according to rank, 
 those of captains and subalterns having a 
 longer, but less thick fringe than those of offi- 
 cers of higher rank. No epaulets, save those of 
 general officers, bear any devices. 
 
 Non-commissioned Officers. Insignia of rank 
 is worn by non-commissioned officers in the form 
 of a diagonal stripe, placed above the cuff and 
 extending across about four fifths of the width 
 of the sleeve. 
 
 Sergeant Major Two gold or silver stripes, 
 
 according to arm of ser- 
 vice 
 
 Sergeant One gold or silver stripe 
 
 Corporal Two red or yellow stripes 
 
 Corporals of turcos, chasseurs a pied, chas- 
 seurs d'Afrique, and spahis have yellow stripes, 
 all others have red stripes. First-class pri- 
 vates wear a single red or yellow stripe. 
 
 The world owes much to gallant France, 
 who, with the assistance of a comparatively 
 few British regulars, stopped the first mad 
 rush of the tiermans, hurled them back almost 
 from the gates of Paris and held them at bay 
 
FEANCE 105 
 
 until her allies could come to her assistance. 
 Had it not been for the superb fighting quali- 
 ties of her soldiers, and the matchless leadership 
 of her generals, the Kaiser's dream of world 
 conquest might have come true. 
 
 When the war burst with startling sudden- 
 ness upon amazed Europe, the French troops 
 mobilized at once, and threw themselves across 
 the path of the invader. The defence of heroic 
 Belgium gave them time to effect their mobiliza- 
 tion and enabled them to rush men, guns and 
 supplies to the threatened points, although the 
 leeway was fearfully short. 
 
 The uniforms of the French army during the 
 first year of the war were soon found to be 
 illy adapted to modern conditions, the red 
 trousers of the infantry especially being visible 
 from enemy observation balloons and aeroplanes 
 at a considerable distance, but France was 
 fighting for her very life, and was unable to 
 effect any changes in the clothing of her troops 
 until the British had raised, trained, and trans- 
 ported an army large enough to take over a 
 part of her line and thus afford her a much 
 needed relief. 
 
106 AEMY UNIFOKMS OP THE WORLD 
 
 For the first two years of the war, therefore, 
 the uniform of the greater part of the French 
 army consisted of a red-topped blue-banded 
 cap, a light blue overcoat and red trousers, 
 and this uniform did not entirely disappear 
 back of the lines throughout the war. Event- 
 ually, however, the French were able to effect 
 some much needed changes in the garb of her 
 fighting men, and her new service uniform with 
 which by 1918 all of her first line troops were 
 supplied was both handsome and suited to the 
 needs of modern warfare. The color was hori- 
 zon blue for all branches of the service, except 
 that khaki was adopted for colonial troops. 
 The coat, of a universal pattern, was a single- 
 breasted sack for both officers and men. The 
 trousers were long for unmounted and short 
 for mounted troops. They were secured with 
 worsted spiral or tan leather puttees, after the 
 English fashion. The cap was straight-sided 
 and flat-topped, and in case of officers was 
 braided with gold or silver, according to arm 
 of service and rank. In battle areas a steel 
 helmet was worn, which was rather shallow, 
 had a small ridge along the top, and was turned 
 down like a visor in front and rear. 
 
FKANCE 107 
 
 The overcoat was double-breasted for in- 
 fantry and single-breasted for cavalry. In 
 the case of the infantry, it was made to button 
 back away from the knees, so as to allow 
 greater freedom in marching. 
 
 Insignia of rank in the case of officers was 
 changed, except in the case of generals, to 
 short horizontal stripes of gold or silver worn 
 upon the cuiF of each sleeve. The number of 
 stripes remained unchanged, but in the case of 
 officers above the rank of captain, there was 
 a small space between the third and fourth 
 stripes. General officers wore silver stars upon 
 the cuff, according to rank. 
 
 Non-commissioned officers wore an oblique 
 stripe about twice as long as that of officers 
 upon the cuff, the color and arrangement re- 
 maining unchanged. 
 
 Officers wore the Sam Browne tan leather 
 belt with the single supporting strap. The 
 Croix de Guerre was awarded to both officers 
 and enlisted men for bravery in action or other 
 service of exceptional merit. It was a bronze 
 medal in the form of a Maltese cross with two 
 crossed swords. The ribbon was green with 
 five red stripes. 
 
108 ARMY UNIFORMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 SPAIN 
 
 During the Middle Ages, Spain was one of 
 the great powers of Europe and her soldiers 
 proved their courage and skill upon many a 
 hard-fought battlefield. Her pikemen had the 
 reputation of being well nigh invincible and 
 her fleets were seen upon every sea. She held 
 vast colonial possessions and was an extremely 
 rich and powerful nation. Since then she has 
 sunk to the level of a third rate power, but her 
 soldiers and sailors are still brave fighters, al- 
 though often illy fed and insufficiently equipped. 
 
 The Spanish Army as it exists today consists 
 of seven army corps totalling about seventy 
 regiments of infantry, thirty of cavalry and 
 twenty-five of artillery, besides the usual staff 
 troops. The uniform, with some exceptions, is 
 dark blue for infantry and artillery and light 
 blue for cavalry. Infantry have red trousers 
 with a black stripe; artillery, blue trousers 
 with a red stripe; cavalry, except dragoons, 
 light blue trousers with white or yellow stripes. 
 Most trouser stripes are double for both offi- 
 cers and men. The head dress of the lancers, 
 
SPAIN 109 
 
 dragoons, and king's escort is the steel helmet 
 with spike and falling plume; for the hussars 
 and mounted jagers, the shako; and for all 
 other branches of the service a rather high- 
 crowned flat-topped cap, ornamented with a 
 short erect plume, or a pompon. General offi- 
 cers in full dress have a blue helmet with white 
 plume, a single-breasted dark blue tunic, with 
 gold collar and epaulets, dark blue trousers 
 with gold stripe, and a red sash, worn over the 
 right shoulder and around the waist and tied 
 on the left side. In service uniform the white 
 hat replaces the helmet, the trousers are red 
 without stripes, gold shoulder cords take the 
 place of epaulets and the sash passes only 
 around the waist. The general staff have a 
 white cap with short blue plume, dark blue 
 single-breasted tunic, dark blue trousers with 
 light blue stripe, and a light blue sash, worn 
 around the waist and tied on the right side. 
 The coats of infantry officers are dark blue 
 with seven rows of black braid across the breast 
 and three rows of buttons and their cap is grey- 
 brown with a red plume. The men wear the 
 same type of uniform except that their coats 
 
110 ARMY UNIFORMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 are not braided across the breast and have red 
 or green shoulder pieces and collars. 
 
 The lancer uniform is light blue throughout 
 faced with white, the coats of both officers and 
 men being double-breasted. The dragoons and 
 mounted jagers have the same uniform as that 
 of the lancers except that the trousers of the 
 former are red with light blue stripes, and the 
 head dress of the latter is the shako, instead of 
 the helmet. All hussar jackets are braided 
 across the breast with gold or yellow braid. 
 The color of the Prince's Regiment is light blue 
 throughout, that of the Regiment de Pavia is 
 red for the coat and light blue for the trousers. 
 The artillery uniform consists of a white cap 
 with red plume, blue single-breasted coat and 
 blue trousers with red stripe. Overcoats are 
 light blue for cavalry and dark blue for all 
 other branches of the service. Sword belts are 
 worn underneath the coat, the swords of the 
 infantry and artillery officers being attached 
 to a short sling, passed through a slit in the 
 left side; swords of other officers, and of en- 
 listed men armed with that weapon being al- 
 lowed to hang below the coat. 
 
SPAIN 111 
 
 Insignia of rank is worn on the cuffs of the 
 coat by both officers and non-commissioned offi- 
 cers in the form of gold, silver or worsted em- 
 broidery extending across the top and down the 
 back of the cuff. Except in the case of gen- 
 erals, stars are worn above or below the em- 
 broidery to further distinguish the different 
 grades. Officers of the general staff, infantry, 
 artillery, medical corps, pay corps and carabin- 
 eers have gold-embroidered cuffs, officers of 
 lancers, dragoons, mounted jagers, and trans- 
 port corps have silver instead of gold. The 
 hussars have a special form of sleeve decoration 
 consisting of a double knot of gold braid. In- 
 signia for the various grades is as follows : 
 
 Captain General '. Three stripes of twisted 
 
 gold braid 
 Lieutenant General Two stripes of twisted gold 
 
 br'aid 
 Major General One stripe of twisted gold 
 
 braid 
 Brigadier General One stripe of twisted silver 
 
 braid 
 Colonel Three stripes of plain gold . 
 
 or silver braid with three 
 
 eight-pointed stars below 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Two stripes and two stars 
 
 Major One stripe of gold and one 
 
 of silver and one gold 
 
 star and one silver star 
 
112 ARMY UNIFORMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 Captain Three stripes of gold or sil- 
 ver braid with three eight- 
 pointed stars above 
 
 Lieutenant Two stripes 'and two stars 
 
 Bnsign One stripe and one star 
 
 Staff Sergeant One stripe 
 
 First Sergeant Three stripes of gold or sil-" 
 
 ver braid of a narrower 
 pattern than that worn by 
 officers 
 
 Sergeant Two stripes 
 
 Corporal Three stripes of scarlet 
 
 cloth like those of a first 
 sergeant 
 
 Lance Corporal Two stripes 
 
 In cavalry regiments the embroidery on the 
 cuff points upward in the form of a chevron but 
 in all other branches of the service it is placed 
 upon the cuff in the manner before described. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 6EBMAKT AND AUSTSLA 
 
 GERMANY 
 
 THE recent German empire, a confedera- 
 tion of separate kingdoms, of which the 
 King of Prussia was emperor, did not come into 
 existence until 1871, the first emperor being 
 crowned at Versailles, while the troops were be- 
 sieging Paris. Before the creation of the 
 German empire, the soldiers of the various 
 kingdoms wore the uniforms of their separate 
 states and these differed so greatly that any 
 attempt at a description of them is impossible 
 in a work of this sort. 
 
 Prussia as the largest Germanic State, natu- 
 rally set the fashion in military dress for her 
 smaller neighbors, but each little kingdom and 
 duchy varied the dress of their troops to suit 
 their own individual tastes. 
 
 Badges of rank were not worn in the Prus- 
 113 
 
114< AEMY ITNIFOKMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 sian army until 1808, although some attempt 
 had been made to distinguish officers from men 
 before that time. In 1762 all the cavalry had 
 white plumes on their hats, and as a mark of 
 rank it was ordered that officers' plumes should 
 have roots of black feathers, while those of non- 
 commissioned officers should have black tips. 
 Bavaria seems to have been ahead of Prussia 
 in the matter of insignia of rank, for in 1774 
 her officers wore the epaulet and gorget and 
 about 1793 her War Minister devised a system 
 of insignia in which rank was indicated by the 
 buttons of the breast facings. 
 
 About 1808 the shako became the head dress 
 of all Prussian troops, except cuirassiers and 
 ulhans, and rank badges were placed upon the 
 officers' shoulder pieces which five years later 
 became converted into epaulets. The spiked 
 helmet, so common in the German Army today, 
 was introduced by the Prussians in 1843 but 
 as late as 1860 the infantry of many of the 
 smaller kingdoms continued to wear the shako. 
 In the German Army of the present day dark 
 blue is the general color of the uniform of the 
 infantry and artillery and light blue of the 
 
GEBMANY 115 
 
 cavalry, although there are many exceptions 
 to this rule. Except for some branches of the 
 cavalry, and the jager, or rifle regiments, the 
 spiked helmet is the universal head dress for all 
 arms of the service. The Guard Corps, dra- 
 goons, and some regiments of field artillery 
 have plumes. Jagers wear the shako, hussars 
 the busby and uhlans the lancer helmet, the top 
 of which is shaped like a mortar board. The 
 coats of both officers and men, other than those 
 of uhlans and hussars, are single-breasted and 
 not ornamented with braid. The collar and 
 cuffs are usually red for the infantry, and 
 black for the artillery, although many regi- 
 ments have different colored facings. Infantry 
 and artillery trousers are dark blue, the latter 
 being plain and the former having a narrow 
 red stripe. Uhlans have a double-breasted 
 coat, the breast of which is of different color 
 from that of the coat; and trousers to match 
 the coat, usually without a stripe. Most of 
 the coats are dark blue, the facings being of 
 red, yellow, white or light blue, according to 
 regiment. The hussars have a single-breasted 
 coat, braided across the breast with five rows 
 
116 AEMY UNIFOEMS OP THE WOELD 
 
 of gold or silver braid and their trousers dis- 
 play a wider stripe than do those of the infan- 
 try. The coats of the different regiments vary 
 greatly in color but most of the trousers are 
 light blue with yellow or white stripes, to match 
 the breast facings. Insignia of rank for officers 
 is in the form of shoulder knots or epaulets. 
 Officers below the grade of major wear shoulder 
 knots, all other officers epaulets. Shoulder 
 knots are formed of half-moon shaped pieces 
 of gold or silver embroidery (according to 
 regiment) inclosing a cloth field of the color of 
 the army corps to which the regiment belongs. 
 On the field is displayed the regimental number 
 and the insignia of rank. Epaulets for officers, 
 other than generals, are of the same design as 
 that of the shoulder knot, with the addition of 
 gold or silver fringe. The epaulets of general 
 officers are of silver bullion. Rank badges of 
 the different grades are as follows : 
 
 General Field Marshal Two gold crossed batons 
 
 Colonel General Three gold stars 
 
 General of Infantry or 
 
 Cavalry Two gold stars 
 
 Lieutenant General One gold star 
 
 Major Gener'al Blank epaulet 
 
 Colonel Two gold stars 
 
6EBMANY 117 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel One gold stair 
 
 Major Blank field 
 
 Captain Two gold stars 
 
 First Lieutenant One gold star 
 
 Second Lieutenant Blank field 
 
 The sword belt is worn under the coat, and 
 officers, when in full dress, wear a silver sash 
 around the waist, tied on the left side. 
 
 Non-commissioned officers display the insig- 
 nia of their rank upon the collar of the coat, 
 the grades being distinguished in the following 
 manner : 
 
 Sergeant A stripe of gold or silver 
 
 lace extending around the 
 top of the collar and two 
 large buttons, worn one on 
 either side of the collar, 
 directly above the shoul- 
 der 
 
 Corporal A stripe of gold or silver 
 
 lace, no buttons 
 
 Lance Corpoi^I Two small buttons worn in 
 
 the same manner as those 
 of a sergeant, plain col- 
 lar 
 
 Musicians Overhanging wings on the 
 
 top of their sleeves, those 
 of sergeants being fringed 
 with silver or gold 
 
 When Germany proclaimed "Der Tag" and, 
 disregarding solemn treaties, international law, 
 
118 ARMY UNIFORMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 the rules of civilized warfare, and the rights of 
 humanity, started out to conquer the world, 
 her armies were better equipped than those of 
 any other power. Her general staff deemed 
 success assured and failure impossible, and yet 
 she failed, and government of the people, by the 
 people and for the people did not perish from 
 off the face of the earth. 
 
 For many years previous to the war, Ger- 
 many had been experimenting in field uniforms, 
 endeavoring to secure one which would be best 
 adapted to her purpose. In 1906 grey-green 
 was accepted as the color and uniforms were 
 manufactured in sufiicient quantities to outfit 
 the entire army, but were not issued until 1914. 
 These first uniforms, although of one standard 
 color, followed the cut of the dress uniform, 
 and were single- or double-breasted, according 
 to the arm of the service. 
 
 The original head dress was also retained, 
 but was covered with grey-green cloth. When 
 the helmet, busby or shako was not worn, 
 officers wore a vizored cap and men one without 
 a vizor, both being of service color. 
 
 Epaulets were discarded by officers and dis- 
 
GERMANY 119 
 
 tinguishing badges transferred to a shoulder 
 knot which was without stiffening. Shoulder 
 knots of captains and lieutenants were not so 
 wide as those of other officers, and were com- 
 posed of three straight stripes of silver braid, 
 interwoven with silk of the color of their king- 
 dom, so as to appear like a number of small, 
 single-striped pointed chevrons. A gold button 
 was worn at the end nearest the collar and the 
 badges of rank and number of the regiment 
 were displayed in gilt. 
 
 The kingdom color of Prussia was black, 
 Bavaria, light blue, Saxony, pale green, Wur- 
 tenburg and Hesse, red, and Mecklenburg, gold, 
 blue and red. 
 
 The shoulder knot of colonels, lieutenant- 
 colonels and majors was shaped like those of 
 our officers and was of silver braid interwoven 
 with small bands of the kingdom color. Badges 
 of rank and regimental number were displayed 
 upon it in gUt. 
 
 The shoulder knot of general officers was of 
 the same size and design as that of a colonel, 
 except that each band of silver and silk braid 
 was edged on either side with gold, and in the 
 
120 AEMY UNIFOEMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 case of a field marshal, the crossed batons were 
 of silver. Badges of rank were in gold. 
 
 Devices indicating degrees of rank formerly 
 worn upon the epaulet remained unchanged. 
 Collar insignia of non-commissioned officers 
 remained as before. 
 
 Some slight changes were made in the form 
 of the shoulder knots of officers during the 
 latter part of the war, but the general arrange- 
 ment of rank was not altered. 
 
 During the latter part of the war, also, all 
 coats became single-breasted and of a universal 
 pattern, without regard to the arm of the ser- 
 vice. With these coats the shoulder pieces 
 which had formerly been grey-green and some- 
 times edged with the regimental facing, became, 
 with a few exceptions, of an arm of the service 
 color. 
 
 Infantry, blue. Pioneers, black. Field Ar- 
 tillery, scarlet. Foot Artillery, yellow. 
 
 The cavalry, the guard troops, and the 
 jagers, had special shoulder pieces which dif- 
 fered in the various regiments. With most 
 uniforms a patch of colored cloth was worn 
 upon either side of the turn-down collar of the 
 
GEKMANY 121 
 
 coat. They were usually scarlet for infantry 
 and black for artillery with white or yellow 
 stripes. 
 
 Army corps numbers were worn on the patch. 
 
 The overcoat for all branches of the service 
 was a grey-green, double-breasted ulster. Offi- 
 cers wore the knots of their rank upon the 
 shoulders and enlisted men the facing of the 
 arm of service to which they belonged. 
 
 During the second year of the war, the Ger- 
 mans adopted the steel helmet for all their 
 troops in place of the former head covering. 
 This helmet differed in form from any of those 
 worn by the allied troops in that it was higher 
 in the crown and came down further in back 
 than in front; a peaked service cap was pre- 
 scribed for enlisted men when the helmet was 
 not worn, but does not appear to have come 
 into general use. 
 
 Leather equipment and boots were usually 
 black. German officers did not wear the sup- 
 porting sword belt strap on the right shoulder 
 which was worn by allied officers. 
 
 The chief decoration of the German army was 
 the Iron Cross, a black cross-shaped medal 
 
122 ARMY UNIFOEMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 with a silver border, suspended from a black 
 ribbon edged with white. This was conferred 
 upon both officers and men. With thfe field 
 uniform, the medal was not worn but the rib- 
 bon was passed through a buttonhole of the 
 coat over the chest. 
 
 AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 
 
 Few, if any countries, have a greater 
 diversity in uniforms than does this dual 
 kingdom. Formed as it is of people sprung 
 from a widely dissimilar stock, the dress of its 
 troops varies almost as much as does the char- 
 acter of its popidation, and no colors can be 
 said to be standard. Dark and light blue, red, 
 white, green, grey and brown are all seen in 
 uniforms, known as Austrian and Hungarian, 
 while head dress varies from the shako to 
 the fez. 
 
 Generals have two distinct dress and undress 
 uniforms, known as Austrian and Hungarian. 
 In the former uniform the coat is white for 
 full dress and grey for undress; both being 
 double^breast«d ; in the latter uniform the coat 
 
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 123 
 
 is scarlet for full dress and grey for undress. 
 Both Hungarian coats are braided across the 
 breast Hussar fashion and with the full dress 
 an extra Hussar jacket of white trimmed with 
 brown fur is worn over the left shoulder. Trou- 
 sers are red with two gold stripes for Austrian 
 full dress, dark grey with red broad stripe for 
 undress; red with gold stripe and gold em- 
 broidered front for Hungarian full dress and 
 dark grey with red stripe for imdress. The 
 head dress with the Austrian uniform is the 
 chapeau surmounted with a falling plume of 
 green feathers. A red busby with a white erect 
 plume goes with the Hungarian full dress and 
 a shako with the undress. Hussar boots with 
 ornamented tops are worn with the Hungarian 
 uniform, which is in every way an extremely 
 rich dress. Perhaps the most striking uniform 
 in the army is that of the Hungarian Life 
 Guard. It is scarlet, of Hussar cut, heavily 
 braided across the breast, on the cuffs, and on 
 the front and sides of the breeches with silver. 
 On the head is a black busby with blue bag and 
 white plume, while over the left shoulder is 
 worn a magnificent leopard skin. Truly it 
 
124 AUMY UNIFOEMS OF THE WOELD 
 
 would be difficult to surpass this uniform for 
 gorgeousness. Most of the higher officers con- 
 nected with staff departments have a double- 
 breasted coat reaching to the crotch, long tight- 
 fitting trousers and a chapeau with a green 
 feather plume. 
 
 Chief of General Staff Dark green coat, blue grey 
 
 trousers 
 
 Adjutant General Dark green coat and trou- 
 sers 
 
 Assistant Adjutant Gen- 
 eral Dark green coat, blue grey 
 
 trousers 
 
 Artillery Inspector Gen- 
 eral Dark reddish brown coat, 
 
 light blue trousers 
 
 Quartermaster General Light blue coat, blue grey 
 
 trousers 
 
 Auditor Genei'al White coat, light blue trou- 
 sers 
 
 AU of the above are Austrian full dress uni- 
 forms. The trousers except in the case of 
 Assistant Adjutant General have a broad gold 
 stripe with a narrow red one extehding down 
 its center. Undress trowsers have a broad red 
 stripe, with two narrow black ones down the 
 center. The cap is worn in place of the 
 chapeau, when not in full dress. Austrian and 
 Hungarian infantry both wear the shako. 
 
AUSXaiA-HUNGAKY 125 
 
 with full dress and the soft light blue cap when 
 in serAdce rig. Their coats are dark blue and 
 their trousers light blue. Hungarian troops 
 of this branch of the service have an ornamental 
 knot of yellow braid upon the front of their 
 trousers, extending from the waistband half- 
 way to the knee. Jagers wear a light green 
 uniform faced with dark green, their head 
 dress being a hat with a bunch of cock's 
 feathers upon the left side. Dragoons have a 
 light blue single-breasted coat, red trousers 
 and a steel helmet surmounted by a cock's comb 
 of the same metal. Hussars have both light 
 and dark blue coats, braided with yellow, and 
 red trousers ornamented with the knot. Their 
 head dress is the shako. 
 
 Uhlans wear a light blue, single-breasted coat 
 with red collar and cuffs, red trousers and 
 lancer helmets. The undress cap for all cav- 
 alry is red in color and without a vizor. Artil- 
 lery have reddish brown coats, light blue 
 trousers and the shako. The head dress of 
 all Bosnian troops is the red fez. Infantry 
 have light blue uniforms faced with red and 
 artillery brown coats faced with light blue, 
 and red trousers. 
 
126 ARMY UNIPOBMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 Insignia of rank is the same for both Aus^ 
 trian and Hungarian troops and consists of 
 an arrangement of stars worn upon the collar 
 of the coat. 
 
 General Officers Red collar, embroidered all 
 
 around in gold 
 
 Field Marshal A special form of embroid- 
 ery, no device 
 
 Genei'al Three silver stars, two be- 
 low and one above 
 
 Lieutenant-General Two silver stars arranged 
 
 diagonally 
 
 Major-General One silver star 
 
 The collars of field officers, and of staff offi- 
 cers of the same relative rank, are of gold or 
 silver according to branch of service and have 
 stars of the opposite metal. 
 
 Colonel Three stars 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Two stars 
 
 Major One star 
 
 The collars of captains and subalterns are 
 without gold or silver braid. Captains wear 
 three gold or silver stars, first lieutenants two 
 and second lieutenants one. In service uni- 
 forms, stars are displayed upon a field which 
 extends from the front of the collar to the line 
 
AUSTEIA-HTTNGAEY 127 
 
 of the shoulder, the remainder of the collar 
 being of the color of the coat. Staff sergeants 
 have a band of gold or silver around the bot- 
 tom of the collar and three celluloid stars. 
 Sergeants omit the band but wear the same 
 number of stars. Corporals have the same col- 
 lar as that of a sergeant and two stars. 
 
 Sword belts are worn under the coat by all 
 ofBcers, the sword being allowed to hang from 
 two supporting slings. Gold sashes passed 
 around the waist and tied on the left side are 
 worn by infantry officers when in fvill dress. 
 Generals also have the gold sash, although in 
 some cases it is worn over the shoulder. Offi- 
 cers of uhlans, dragoons and artillery have 
 the dispatdi-pouch and belt in place of the 
 sash. 
 
 Austria, who began the World War, dressed 
 her troops as before described during the early 
 part of it, but later her soldiers appear to have 
 been clad mostly in the German grey-green, re- 
 taining however their own distinctive insignia 
 of rank. No accurate information regarding 
 the service uniforms of the Austrian army is as 
 yet available. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 EUSSIA AND ITALY 
 
 RUSSIA 
 
 DARK green may be said to be the standard 
 color of the uniform of the Russian 
 soldier, although scarlet, white and blue coats 
 are worn to some extent. The uniforms are 
 both handsome and serviceable and with a few 
 exceptions are singularly free from gaudy and 
 useless ornamentation. 
 
 General officers have a dark green, double- 
 breasted coat, without buttons, reaching to the 
 crotch ; the trousers are blue gray with two 
 red stripes ; the head dress a black fur hat with 
 double-headed eagle in front, A white belt 
 encircles the waist, but does not support the 
 sword. 
 
 A general of infantry has scarlet collar and 
 cuff, embroidered with gold, and gold epaulets 
 and breast cords ; a general of cavalry has sil- 
 128 
 
KUSSIA 129 
 
 ver embroidery in place of gold, and silver 
 epaulets, breast cord, and cap ornament; a 
 general of artillery has the same uniform as 
 that of a general of infantry, except that the 
 coUar and cuffs are black instead of red. The 
 general staff wear the same coat as do generals, 
 except that the collar is black, embroidered 
 in silver to the shoulder; epaulets of silver, 
 without fringe, breast cord of silver, cuff of 
 black faced with red with an overlaid vertical 
 piece having four silver braids arranged cross- 
 wise. Their trousers have a single red welt in 
 place of the stripe and their cap ornament is 
 the silver eagle. Infantry of the guard have a 
 black fur hat with eight-pointed star cockade 
 in front ; double-breasted buttonless coat, piped 
 down the right breast with red, yellow or white, 
 according to regiment, standing collar of red, 
 light blue, dark green, or yellow, ornamented 
 with two gold or silver stripes on either side, ex- 
 tending from the front nearly to the shoulder ; 
 overlaid vertical cuff with three bands of gold 
 or silver braid, arranged crosswise, red or yel- 
 low shoulder pieces, and dark green trousers 
 with red or yellow welt. Grenadier regiments 
 
130 AKMY UNIFOEMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 and Infantry of the Line wear practically the 
 same uniform as Infantry of the Guard, except 
 that their cap ornament ia the eagle ; their coats 
 are not piped down the front and lack the 
 stripes on the collar and do not have the verti- 
 cal cuiF, and their trousers are plain. Cuiras- 
 siers have a steel helmet and cuirass, white 
 coats faced with red, yellow, or light blue, and 
 blue trousers with welt to match facings. 
 Uhlans wear the lancer helmet, blue coats with 
 red breast, and blue trousers with red welt. 
 There are two hussar regiments in the army. 
 The first have red coats with yellow braid and 
 dark blue trousers with yellow stripe; the sec- 
 ond have green coats, braided with white, and 
 red trousers with white stripe. The head dress 
 of both regiments is the busby with red bag and 
 white plume. The dragoons are dressed in 
 dark green, faced with red, white, or light blue. 
 TTieir head covering consists of a tall cap of 
 the color of their facings with fur sides. 
 
 Cossacks wear the tall fur hat with star 
 cockade in front, and their coat is the long 
 single-breasted frock. Trousers usually match 
 the coat in color and have a red, yellow or light 
 
KUSSIA 131 
 
 blue stripe. The coats of the Guard regiments 
 are scarlet of the Ural and Keiser regiments, 
 of the Don and Ataman regiments a bright 
 blue, of the Kuban and Terek regiments red- 
 dish brown, and of the other regiments gener- 
 ally dark green. Artillery other than that of 
 the Cossacks wear practically the same uni- 
 form as that of the infantry. Coats in all 
 branches of the service except dragoons and 
 uhlans are without buttons. The overcoat for 
 all troops is a grey ulster. The Russian sword 
 is single edged, slightly curved and having a 
 simple knuckle bow guard. It is worn by both 
 officers and men, suspended from a narrow 
 leather belt, which passes over the right shoul- 
 der. Usually the knuckle guard is to the rear 
 and the tip of the scabbard is on a line with 
 the ankle. Although some officers wear epaulets 
 when in full dress, insignia of rank is almost 
 universally displayed upon shoulder straps of 
 gold, extending from the top of the sleeve to the 
 collar, the grades being distinguished in the 
 following manner : 
 
 For general officers a strap of solid gold 
 embroidery, of zigzag pattern. 
 
132 AEMY UNIFORMS OF THE WOELD 
 
 Field Marshal Two gold crossed batons 
 
 General of Infantry or 
 
 Cavalry No device 
 
 Lieutenant General Three silver stars 
 
 Major General Two silver stars 
 
 For colonels, lieutenant-colonels and majors 
 the strap contains three broad stripes of gold 
 with two narrow stripes and a border of the 
 color of the regimental facing. The strap of 
 a colonel is without device ; that of a lieutenant- 
 colonel has three silver stars, and that of a 
 major two silver stars. The strap of captains 
 and subalterns has a narrow stripe of regi- 
 mental color down the center and a border of 
 the same color. 
 
 Captain No device 
 
 Second Captain Four sUver stars 
 
 First Lieutenant Three silver stars 
 
 Second Lieutenant Two silver stars 
 
 Stars on all straps are placed side by side, 
 if two, and in the form of a triangle if three. 
 An extra star is placed above the third. Straps 
 of all regimental officers contain the number of 
 the regiment as well as the insignia of rank. 
 Staff Sergeants have a stripe of gold across 
 the colored shoulder-piece of their coat, ser- 
 
ITALY 133 
 
 geants three stripes of yellow cloth, corporals 
 two, and lance corporals one. 
 
 ITALY 
 
 Italy's military force consists of twelve 
 army corps of two divisions each, besides 
 certain special units. These troops are dis- 
 tributed over five military zones, so as to pro- 
 tect the country at all points. Dark blue coats 
 and grey or dark blue trousers are worn 
 throughout the army. A peculiarity of the Ital- 
 ian uniform is the collar of the coat which is 
 of the turn down instead of the erect type. A 
 white five-pointed star is worn by both officers 
 and men on each side of this collar. The coat, 
 which is rather short, is double-breasted for 
 officers and usually single-breasted for men. 
 
 General officers have a dark blue coat with 
 silver embroidered collar, silver shoulder knots 
 and breast cord, grey trousers with double 
 white stripe and a blue helmet surmounted with 
 an eagle and having both erect and falling 
 plumes. In field rig a cap replaces the helmet 
 and a shoulder strap of dark blue with silver 
 field, takes the place of knot and breast cords. 
 
134 ARMY UNIFOKMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 The general staff uniform is dark blue through- 
 out, faced with light blue, with gold epaulets 
 and breast cord and yellow double stripes on 
 the trousers. Their head dress is a low shako 
 of equal height all around, ornamented with 
 bands of gold, according to rank. Infantry 
 have blue coats and grey trousers with single 
 red stripes. Officers wear silver epaulets and 
 insignia of rank and their trousers' stripe is 
 twice as wide as that of the men. The hat is 
 the same as that of the general staff with red 
 trimmings for men and silver for officers. The 
 bersaglieri, Italy's favorite troops, have the 
 same type of uniform as that of the infantry of 
 the line, but it is dark blue throughout (red 
 facings) and their head dress is a patent 
 leather hat ornamented with a mass of cock's 
 feathers upon the right side. Officers wear gold 
 epaulets and sleeve insignia. 
 
 Alpine Jager troops have dark blue coats 
 faced with light green, grey trousers with red 
 stripe and a hat of derby form having a single 
 feather upon the left side. Officers' epaulets 
 and sleeve knots are of silver. 
 
 The cavalry uniform consists of a dark blue 
 
ITALY 135 
 
 coat and grey trousers with a double stripe. 
 The trouser stripes of all enlisted men of this 
 branch of the service are black, but for officers 
 they vary according to the color of the regi- 
 mental facing. The head dress for the heavy 
 cavalry is a steel helmet surmounted by a high 
 cock's comb of brass ; for the light cavalry it 
 is a brown fur hat with small erect plume of 
 same color. The epaulets and sleeve insignia 
 of all cavalry officers are of silver. 
 
 The carabinieri, both foot and horse, have 
 a dark blue, swallow-tailed coat, and dark blue 
 trousers with red stripes. Their head dress is 
 the cocked hat which the men wear sidewise and 
 the officers with ends pointing fore and aft. 
 The coats of both officers and men are double- 
 breasted and all ranks wear epaulets and breast 
 cords^ 
 
 Artillery troops have a dark blue uniform 
 throughout with facings of yellow, officers 
 wearing gold epaulets and sleeve knots. The 
 hat is the shako, which in the mounted bat- 
 teries has a long brownish black plume fastened 
 on the right side. Most of the staff troops 
 wear the dark blue uniform throughout, al- 
 
136 ARMY UNIFOKMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 though some have the grey trousers. Epaulets 
 and sleeve insignia of officers of the medical 
 corps are silver, but for other staff corps offi- 
 cers, they are of gold. None of the epaulets 
 worn by any of the officers of the Italian army 
 have any devices upon them. 
 
 Insignia of rank is displayed upon the 
 sleeves of the coat and upon the head dress. 
 
 All uniform coats have a pointed cuff of the 
 color of the regimental or staff corps facing, 
 and above this cuff is worn a knot of gold or 
 silver braid. Between the knot and the cuff 
 are placed pointed stripes of wide or narrow 
 braid, which mark the various grades. Gen- 
 eral officers do not have the knot but wear 
 their stripes upon the cuff- itself. 
 Sleeve Insignia. 
 
 General Three broad pointed stripes 
 
 of silver braid upon a cuff 
 of black, piped around 
 the top with red. 
 
 Lieutenant-General Two stripes 
 
 Major-General One stripe 
 
 Colonel. One broad and two narrow 
 
 stripes below the knot, 
 the broad stripe being 
 placed nearest the cuff 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel One broad and one narrow 
 
 stripe 
 
ITALY 137 
 
 Major One broad stripe 
 
 Captain Two narrow stripes 
 
 First Lieutenant One narrow stripe 
 
 Second Lieutenlant The knot alone 
 
 Non-commissioned officers wear the same 
 knot as that of the officers, except that it is of 
 red worsted instead of gold or silver. 
 
 Sergeants and corporals are each divided 
 into three classes and wear the following in- 
 signia: 
 
 Sergeant: 
 First Class One broad and two nar- 
 row silver stripes below 
 the knot 
 
 Second Class One broad and one narrow 
 
 silver stripe 
 
 Third Class One broad silver stripe 
 
 Corporal : 
 
 First Class One broad and two narrow 
 
 red stripes 
 
 Second Class One broad and one narrow 
 
 -red stripe 
 Third Class One broad red stripe 
 
 Insignia of rank is also displayed in the form 
 of bands of gold or silver around the top of the 
 head dress of all officers wearing the shako, and 
 in the form of similar bands around the bot- 
 tom of the undress cap which is worn by offi- 
 cers of all branches of the service. The num- 
 ber of stripes upon the shako or cap correspond 
 
138 AEMY UNIFORMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 to those of the sleeve insignia for the various 
 grades. The shako of non-commissioned officers 
 is ornamented in the same manner as those of 
 officers, except that red and silver braid only 
 is used. The top stripe for both sergeants and 
 corporals is red. 
 
 The sword belt has two depending slings and 
 no hook and is worn by both officers and men 
 beneath the coat. The sword knot is gold for 
 officers and white leather for enlisted men. It 
 is attached to the first branch of the knuckle 
 bow of the sword which is of the sabre type in 
 all arms of the service. Despatch pouches and 
 belts are worn over the left shoulder by the 
 cavalry and mounted artillery. The belts are 
 gold for officers of artillery, silver for officers 
 of cavalry and of white leather for the men of 
 both branches of the service. 
 
 Light blue sashes are worn over the right 
 shoulder by officers of every arm of the ser- 
 vice. In field uniform, epavilets are replaced 
 by a narrow shoulder cord which is double for 
 field officers and single for captains and sub- 
 alterns. 
 
 The service uniform of the Italian army. 
 
ITALY 139 
 
 adopted after they had joined the Allies in the 
 World War, was green-grey. Insignia of rank 
 remained unchanged except that the sleeve 
 knot of gold, silver or red was abolished for 
 both officers and non-commissioned officers, the 
 stripes alone being retained. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 SWEDZN HOLLAND BELGIUM DENMARK 
 
 SWEDEN 
 
 THE Swedes have always been a race of 
 fighters and upon many a bloody battle- 
 field, especially in the Thirty Years' War, 
 proved their courage and military prowess. 
 Gustavus Adolphus may fairly be said to be 
 the father of the Swedish Army for it was he 
 who brought its organization into such a high 
 state of efficiency and inculcated lessons in dis- 
 cipline which lasted long after his death. In 
 his time, 1611-1632, uniform, in the same 
 sense in which we now understand the word, 
 had not come into existence, and half armor 
 was worn. 
 
 The earliest uniforms of the Swedish Army 
 
 were of the cutaway type with knee breeches, 
 
 long leggins, and three-cornered hat. From 
 
 1765-1778 the dress of the infantry consisted 
 
 140 
 
SWEDEN 141 
 
 of a dark blue coat faced with yellow, yellow 
 breeches, black leggins and a cocked hat. Offi- 
 cers wore a gorget anS carried a pike, there 
 being apparently no marks of distinction be- 
 tween the grades. The halberd was the in- 
 signia of a sergeant. 
 
 In 1779 the facing was changed to pink and 
 the hat became a flat-topped derby with erect 
 plume upon the left side. This regulation re- 
 mained in vogue until 1802, when the swallow- 
 tailed coat replaced the cutaway. At this time 
 also the yellow facings were restored and 
 epaulets came into vogue; those of the officers 
 being of silver and of the non-commissioned 
 officers of white worsted. Swedish soldiers to- 
 day possess both a dress and a service uniform 
 the former being blue and the latter grey-green. 
 The dragoons have a light blue uniform faced 
 with white and a steel helmet with white plume, 
 but with that exception uniforms are dark 
 blue throughout, the shako being the almost 
 universal head dress. A yellow welt appears 
 upon the trousers of both officers and enlisted 
 men in nearly every branch of the service. 
 
 The single-breasted tunic is the dress coat 
 
142 ARMY UNIFORMS OF THE WORI.D 
 
 for all arms, except the light cavalry and the 
 artillery, who have the hussar jacket. Officers 
 have a yellow waist sash with a blue stripe in 
 its center. 
 
 The service uniform consists of a grey-green 
 blouse having four outside pockets, and a dark 
 Idue rise and fall collar; trousers of the same 
 color with a broad blue stripe, and a three- 
 cornered grey-green hat with blue turned up 
 edges. The hats and collars of officers have an 
 edging of gold aroimd them, those of the men 
 being plain. The overcoat is of the same color, 
 and of ulster form. When in full dress, officers 
 of artillery and light cavalry wear the badges 
 of their rank upon the collar ; all other officers 
 display them upon epaulets or shoidder knots 
 which vary in form according to the degree of 
 rank. 
 
 General Three stars 
 
 Lieutenant General Two stars 
 
 Major General One star 
 
 Colonel Three stars 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Two stars 
 
 Major One star 
 
 Captain Three stars 
 
 First Lieutenant Two stars 
 
 Second Lieutenant One star 
 
SWEDEN 143 
 
 Service Insignia. With the grey-green uni- 
 form rank is indicated by stripes of gold braid 
 upon a dark blue chevron-shaped field, directly 
 above the cuff. In the case of officers, this field 
 terminates in a knot, instead of a point and 
 the top braid has a loop in it which follows the 
 outline of the knot; non-commissioned officers 
 have a pointed field and braid. 
 
 General A very broad stripe nearly 
 
 the width of the field and 
 three small gold stars 
 
 Lieutenant General Same bi'aid 'and two stars 
 
 Major General Same braid and one star 
 
 Colonel One broad and three narrow 
 
 stripes 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel One broad and two narrow 
 
 stripes 
 
 Major One broad and one riarrow 
 
 stripe 
 
 Captain Three narrow stripes 
 
 First Lieutenant Two narrow stripes 
 
 Second Lieutenant One narrow stripe 
 
 Staff Sergeant Two narrow stripes 
 
 Sergeant One narrow stripe 
 
 Staff Corporal .Three yellow worsted stripes 
 
 Corpoi<al Two yellow stripes 
 
 Lance Corporal One yellow Stripe 
 
 HOLLAND 
 
 The uniforms of the army of the Nether- 
 lands are mostly dark blue in color, although 
 
144 ARMY UNIFORMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 the jager battalions are garbed in green and 
 the infantry have light blue trousers. The 
 head dress is the cocked hat for general 
 officers ; the shako for infantry and heavy artil- 
 lery ; and the busby for cavalry and field artil- 
 lery. The hussars, which constitute the only 
 class of troops of the cavalry arm, have the 
 single-breasted, braided coat, and the field ar- 
 tillery have a somewhat similar jacket only 
 shorter and more heavily braided across the 
 breast. The coat of officers and men, except 
 in these branches of the service, is a double- 
 breasted frock. A single-breasted blouse with 
 outside pockets constituted the service coat for 
 all grades and branches of the army. The 
 jagers have a yellow welt on their trousers, 
 other troops a red one. Generals have a double 
 scarlet stripe. Both officers and men of the 
 cavalry and field artillery have a black leather 
 sabre-tasche. The sword is worn under the 
 coat and officers, when in full dress, have an 
 orange colored sash around the waist. Gen- 
 eral officers wear epaulets of gold, and the 
 collar and cuffs of the coat are embroidered 
 with gold oak leaves. Upon the epaulet a 
 
HOLLAND 145 
 
 lieutenant general has three silver stars and a 
 major general two. In service rig, epaulets 
 are not worn and rank is displayed upon the 
 collar; a lieutenant general having four silver 
 stars, and a major general two gold and two 
 silver stars. For all grades below that of 
 general officers the badge of rank is worn upon 
 a collar field which extends to the shovilder and 
 is gold for field officers and staff officers of that 
 rank, and red for captains and subalterns. 
 
 Colonel Three silver stars 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Two stars 
 
 Major One star 
 
 Captain Three silver stars 
 
 First Lieutenant Two stars 
 
 Second Lieutenant One star 
 
 Rank when in full dress is further shown by 
 a sort of gold helmet cord, called the schulter- 
 quasten, which passes under the right arm, 
 falls to the waist line, crosses the breast and is 
 attached to the left shoulder. At the end of 
 this cord are gold tassels, the type of fringe 
 differing according to rank. 
 
 Colonel Four gold tassels 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Two silver and two gold 
 
 tassels 
 
146 ARMY UNIFORMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 Major Three gold tassels 
 
 Captain Two gold tassels 
 
 First Lieutenant Three gold tassels of longer 
 
 and thinner fringe 
 Second Lieutenant Two tassels 
 
 Warrant officers have a red collar field and 
 one silver button; non-commissioned officers 
 wear chevrons point upwards, directly above 
 the cuff. 
 
 Sergeant Major Two gold stripes 
 
 Sergeant . ., One gold stripe 
 
 Corporal Two yellow stripes 
 
 The uniforms of the army of Holland under- 
 went no important changes during the world 
 war although her troops were used extensively 
 in guarding her frontiers. 
 
 BELGIUM 
 
 Although a small country, Belgium has a 
 wide variety of uniforms in her army and only 
 a very general classification of them can be 
 attempted here. 
 
 The infantry have dark blue double-breasted 
 coats, light blue trousers with red stripe, and 
 shako with pompon ; the carbineers are clothed 
 in dark green and have the alpine hat ; and the 
 artillery have a short single-breasted jacket, 
 
BELGIUM 147 
 
 brown trousers with red stripe, and the busby. 
 The cavalry is divided into guides, dragoons 
 and lancers, all of which wear the hussar coat, 
 the braiding of which diifers according to regi- 
 ment. The guides have green coats faced with 
 yellow, red trousers with green or yellow stripes 
 and the busby; the dragoons wear dark blue 
 coats faced with red, yellow or white, light 
 blue trousers and a plumed shako ; the lancers 
 the same type of uniform as the dragoons, ex- 
 cept that their head dress is the lancer helmet. 
 
 General officers, when in full dress, have a 
 single-breasted, dark blue, swallow-tailed coat 
 with gold collar and cuffs, white riding breeches, 
 knee boots and a chapeau. Gold epaulets and 
 a yellow waist sash are worn with this uniform. 
 In service dress the coat is the double-breasted 
 tunic, the trousers are dark blue with red 
 stripes, the Austrian cap replaces the chapeau, 
 and shoulder knots are worn in place of 
 epaulets. 
 
 Insignia of rank is worn by generals upon 
 their epaulets or shoulder pieces; a lieutenant 
 general having three gold stars thereon and a 
 major-general, two. Officers of cavalry have 
 
148 AEMY UNIFOaMS OF THE WOKLD 
 
 their rank designated by means of a knot of 
 braid on the sleeve which extends from the 
 cuff to a point midway between the elbow and 
 
 the shoulder. 
 
 Colonel Five gold stripes 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Three gold and two silver 
 
 stripes 
 
 Major Four gold stripes 
 
 Captain Three gold stripes 
 
 First Lieutenant Two gold stripes 
 
 Second Lieutenant One gold stripe 
 
 Infantry, artillery and staff corps officers 
 wear the insignia of rank upon the collar in 
 the form of gold stars upon a colored field. 
 Field officers have a band of gold on the front 
 and bottom of their collar field, those of cap- 
 tains and subalterns being without this orna- 
 ment. 
 
 Colonel Three stars 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Two stars 
 
 Major One star 
 
 Captain Three stars 
 
 First Lieutenant Two stars 
 
 Second Lieutenant One star 
 
 Rank of non-commissioned officers is indi- 
 cated by means of chevrons worn point upward, 
 directly above the cuff. 
 
BELGIUM 14!9 
 
 Sergeant-Major Two gold stripes 
 
 Sergeant One gold stripe 
 
 Corporal .Two yellow stripes 
 
 Lance Corporal One yellow stripe 
 
 The troops oi heroic Belgium when they 
 threw themselves across the path of the Hunish 
 invader were ill prepared, as far as uniforms 
 and equipment were concerned, to meet the on- 
 rush of the grey horde, but their hearts were 
 stout, and under the leadership of their gallant 
 king, they put up a defence which sadly disar- 
 ranged the plans of the German general staff 
 and won for themselves and their country an 
 undying fame in the annals of the world. 
 
 Fiercely contesting every foot of the way, 
 the Belgian army was pressed back by over- 
 whelming numbers, until only a corner of their 
 dearly beloved country remained in their pos- 
 session, but from this corner they refused to be 
 dislodged and after four years of awful strug- 
 gle they again entered their capital in triumph. 
 
 After the fall of Antwerp the Belgian army 
 was reorganized and outfitted anew. All of the 
 ornamental dress of peace times was discarded 
 and the new uniform was drab in color and 
 French in cut and was eminently serviceable. 
 
160 ARMY UNIFORMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 Insignia of rank, which was standard for all 
 branches of the service, was worn on the collar 
 by commissioned officers, and upon the cuff by 
 non-commissioned officers. 
 
 General of Division. Three gold stars in 
 the form of a triangle with two vertical stripes 
 in front, and a design representing lightning 
 in the rear. The collar field was edged all 
 around with gold braid. 
 
 General -of Brigade. Same insignia except 
 that there is only one vertical stripe in front 
 of the stars. 
 
 Colonel. A nearly triangular collar field 
 without gold braid, having three gold stars 
 arranged two above and one below (the oppo- 
 site arrangement from that of a general), and 
 a small, horizontal, blunt-pointed crescent be- 
 low, of the same metal. 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel, Two stars and a cres- 
 cent. 
 
 Major. One star and a crescent. 
 
 Captain. Same collar field as that of a 
 colonel without the crescent. Three stars, two 
 of gold and one of sijlver. 
 
 First Lieutenant. Two gold stars. 
 
SENMABK 151 
 
 Second Lieutenant. One gold star. 
 
 Adjutant. One silver star. 
 
 Sergeant Major. Three stripes around the 
 euff. 
 
 First Sergeant. Two stripes. 
 
 Sergeant. One stripe. 
 
 Corporal. One stripe half the width of that 
 of a sergeant. AH of these stripes were of gold. 
 
 The decorations of the Belgian army were 
 the Order of Leopold and the Croix de Guerre. 
 The medal of the Order of Leopold was a white 
 enameled Maltese cross surrounded by a wreath 
 of green and surmounted by a golden crown. 
 In the center of the cross was the Belgian lion 
 in gold upon a blue field, enclosed in a circle of 
 red. The ribbon was red without stripes. 
 
 The Croix de Guerre was of bronze and 
 nearly the same in design as that of the French 
 except that it was surmounted by a crown. The 
 ribbon was red with green stripes. 
 
 DENMARK 
 
 Dark and light blue constitute the general 
 color schemes of the uniforms of Danish 
 
152 AEMY UNIFOEMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 soldiers. In the infantry the coats are of 
 the former color, the trousers of the latter ; in 
 the cavalry the dress is light blue throughout, 
 while in the artillery both the coat and trou- 
 sers are dark blue. With the exception of the 
 hussars, who wear the customary jacket, 
 braided with white, the coats of both officers 
 and men are double-breasted, faced down the 
 left side with red and having a standing collar 
 of the same color. The undress coat is brown. 
 A grey single-breasted service uniform is worn 
 by all branches of the army. In full dress the 
 head covering for generals and officers of the 
 general staff is a cocked hat; for infantry, 
 hussars and artillery it is the shako; for dra- 
 goons the steel helmet. The trouser stripe of 
 general officers is yellow; of infantry and hus- 
 sars white; of dragoons and artillery red. The 
 sword belt is worn over the coat, except by 
 hussars. Cavalry have the dispatch pouch, 
 which is worn attached to a white leather belt, 
 which passes over the left shoulder. Hussars 
 also have the sabre tasche. The undress cap 
 of the Austrian model is light blue for infan- 
 try and dark blue for artillery. Enlisted men 
 
DENMABE 153 
 
 of the cavalry have a light blue cap with white 
 trimmings, which in form resembles that worn 
 by British Highland regiments. Officers of 
 cavalry wear the same cap as do those of in- 
 fantry. The service cap for all officers and 
 men is grey-green. The overcoat is brown, of 
 ulster form. Insignia of rank in full dress is 
 displayed upon shoulder knots; in service rig 
 it is worn on the sleeve. 
 
 Dress Insignia. General Officers. A shoul- 
 der knot of gold cord with large five-pointed, 
 silver stars; general three; lieutenant-general 
 two; major general one. 
 
 Field Officers and Staff Officers of that Rank. 
 A gold or silver knot with small four-pointed 
 stars; colonel three; lieutenant-colonel two. 
 The grade of major does not exist in the Danish 
 army. 
 
 Line Officers and Staff Officers of that Rank. 
 A knot composed of two strands of silver or 
 gold and one of red or black and buttons of the 
 opposite metal. Captains, three buttons ; first 
 lieutenant, two buttons ; second lieutenant, one 
 button. The metal and colors of the knots are : 
 infantry, general staff and hussars, silver and 
 
154 AEMY UNIFOEMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 red; artillery and dragoons, gold and red; 
 pioneer, gold and black. 
 
 Non-commissioned officers wear their insignia 
 in the form of a chevron of silver, point up- 
 ward, directly above the cuff, extending from 
 seam to seam. 
 
 Staff Sergeant Three stripes and a disk 
 
 Sergeant Three stripes 
 
 Corppral Two stripes 
 
 Lance Corporal One stripe 
 
 Service Insignia. — Insignia for officers in 
 service uniform consists of narrow stripes of 
 gold braid, encircling the cuff. The upper band 
 has a small loop in it. 
 
 Colonel Six stripes 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Five stripes 
 
 Captain Three stripes 
 
 First Lieutenlant Two stripes 
 
 Second Lieutenant One stripe 
 
 The stripes of non-commissioned officers are 
 dark green. Service caps are braided around 
 the bottom to match the sleeve insignia and 
 have two stripes up the front, back and sides 
 uniting in a knot on the top. 
 
 Officers of the non-combatant part of the 
 army, such as surgeons, wear a shoulder strap, 
 
DENMARK 155 
 
 similar in form to that used in the United States 
 Army, having a gold border and a black field, 
 upon which gold stars are displayed according 
 to rank. The uniform of this part of the army 
 is dark blue throughout, and its head dress is 
 the chapeau. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 THE BALKAN STATES 
 
 TURKEY ROUMANIA BULGARIA 
 
 SERVIA GREECE MONTENEGRO 
 
 TURKEY 
 
 rir^URKEY uniforms her soldiers in dark 
 I blue, the head dress of the cavalry and 
 artillery being the Cossack fur hat, but in all 
 other arms of the service, the red fez. 
 
 In the artillery both officers and men have a 
 single-breasted coat with nine rows of black 
 braid and three rows of buttons across the 
 breast. In the line cavalry the coats are single- 
 breasted without braid for men and double- 
 breasted for officers, and in the uhlan and life- 
 guard regiments they have a red breast piece 
 and two rows of buttons. Infantry of the line 
 have the single-breasted tunic for the men and 
 the double-breasted frock for the officers; zou- 
 aves have the short open jacket, blue vest and 
 baggy trousers. 
 
 156 
 
TUB.KET 157 
 
 General officers and officers of the staff corps 
 have the double-breasted frock. The line cav- 
 alry and field artillery have grey breeches, but 
 all the other arms of the service wear dark 
 blue trousers. With a few minor exceptions 
 all facings are red, and both officers and men 
 have a collar, cuff, and trouser stripe of that 
 color. Zouaves have a white canvas leggin, 
 but other troops wear a short boot. The sword 
 belt is worn under the coat by most officers, 
 although generals and some branches of the 
 cavalry wear it outside. 
 
 Insignia of rank for officers in the form of 
 gold or silver braid is worn on the sleeves di- 
 rectly above the cuff, except by generals, whose 
 coats are without colored cuff and who have a 
 special criss-cross form of embroidery which ex- 
 tends from the end of the sleeve half way to the 
 elbow. The various grades are designated in 
 the following manner : 
 
 Field Marshal Four gold stripes 
 
 Lieutenant General Three gold stripes 
 
 Brigadier General Two gold stripes 
 
 Colonel Four gold stripes 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Two gold and two silver 
 
 stripes 
 
158 ARMY UNIFOEMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 Major Three gold stripes 
 
 Vice Major Two gold and one silver 
 
 stripe 
 
 Adjutant Two gold stripes 
 
 Captain One gold and one silver 
 
 stripe 
 
 First Lieutenant One gold stripe 
 
 Second Lieutenant One silver stripe 
 
 General officers also have one, two or three 
 gold stars on their epaulets or shoulder pieces 
 according to rank. 
 
 Non-commissioned officers wear a red seam 
 to seam chevron, point upward on their left 
 arm. 
 
 Staff Sergeant One gold and three worsted 
 
 stripes 
 
 Sergeant Three worsted stripes 
 
 Corporal One worsted stripe 
 
 ROUMANIA 
 
 General Officers. Greyish black, single- 
 breasted, seven-buttoned tunic, with red, gold 
 embroidered collar and cuffs. Greyish black 
 trousers, with red stripe. Low crowned grey- 
 ish black cap with gold-embroidered band 
 around bottom, and white plume. Gold epaulets 
 with stars according to rank. Gold and red 
 waist sash. 
 
aOUMANIA 159 
 
 General Staff. Same as above but with black 
 collar and cuffs and a difference in the braiding 
 and plume of the head dress. 
 
 Infantry. Dark blue, single-breasted tunic, 
 with red collar and cuffs. Grey trousers with 
 red welt. Vizorless fur hat with tri-colored 
 cockade and a feather on the left side. Officers 
 have a greyish black tunic and trousers with 
 red collar, cuffs, and trouser welt, and the 
 same hat as the men. 
 
 Jager. Brown tunic faced with green, the 
 coats of both officers and men being double- 
 breasted and cut after the Italian fashion. 
 Officers have dark blue trousers and a brown 
 cap with a green band around the bottom ; en- 
 listed men have light brown trousers and a 
 brown derby. 
 
 Cavalry. Scarlet hussar jackets, braided 
 with black; white riding breeches with blue 
 welt; brown busby with yellow, white or green 
 bags ; knee boots. 
 
 Artillery. Brown double-breasted tunics, 
 with black collars and cuffs; dark blue cap 
 with blue or red pompon. Officers have greyish 
 black trousers with red stripe, enlisted men 
 light grey trousers with red welt. 
 
160 ARMY UNIFOUMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 Both officers and men of cavalry and artillery 
 wear the dispatch box over the left shoulder, 
 the belt being gold for officers and white for 
 enlisted men. 
 
 Insignia of rank for officers is displayed on 
 the sleeve in the form of gold embroidery above 
 the cuff, arranged in an arrow-headed device ex- 
 tending to the elbow. 
 
 Division General Heavy embroidery around 
 
 the top and back of the 
 
 pointed cuff and two 
 
 stripes 
 Brigadier General .The same cuff and one 
 
 stripe 
 Field Officers Narrow embroidery on the 
 
 cuff and the following 
 
 stripes : 
 
 Colonel Three 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Two 
 
 Major One 
 
 Line Officers No embroidery around cuff 
 
 and the following stripes: 
 
 Captain .Three 
 
 First Lieutenant Two 
 
 Second Lieutenant One 
 
 Officers also wear one, two or three stars of 
 silver on their epaulets, the form of epaulet dif- 
 fering according to the various grades. 
 
 Non-commissioned officers wear chevrons di- 
 rectly above the pointed cuff. 
 
BULGAKIA 161 
 
 Sergeant-Major .Two gold stripes 
 
 Sergeant One gold stripe 
 
 Corporal Two yellow stripes 
 
 Lance Corporal One yellow stripe 
 
 BULGARIA 
 
 Bulgarian uniforms resemble those of Rus- 
 sia so closely that they might easily be 
 mistaken for those of that country. The coats 
 are without buttons, the trousers are tucked 
 into knee boots, the head covering is the fur 
 hat and swords are worn in the Russian man- 
 ner. The author has been unable to ascertain 
 the arrangement of the insignia of rank for 
 the different grades, but generals wear epaulets 
 and other officers a shoulder knot of gold or 
 sUver. 
 
 General Officers have a long green frock 
 coat with red collar and cuffs, grey trousers 
 with a double red stripe and a white fur hat. 
 
 Infantry have a green tunic and trousers 
 piped with red, white or light blue, and a black 
 fur hat. 
 
 Artillery have the same uniform as infantry 
 except that the trousers are dark blue, and 
 Cavalry have a dark blue uniform throughout, 
 faced with red and with an erect white plume in 
 the black fur hat. 
 
162 ARMY UNIFOEMS OF THE WOELD 
 
 SERVIA 
 
 With a few exceptions the uniforms of 
 the troops which compose the Servian army 
 consist of a single-breasted, dark blue frock 
 coat , grey-green trousers and a dark blue 
 high, straight-vizored cap of shako form, 
 ornamented with an erect plume. 
 
 General Officers have gold-embroidered scar- 
 let collar and cuffs and a gold band around the 
 bottom of the hat. Their trousers are dark 
 blue with a wide red stripe and they wear gold 
 epaulets and a silver and black waist sash. The 
 coats of other officers are without embroidery 
 on the collar and cuffs, the cuffs being of the 
 same color and material as the coat. In place 
 of epaulets they wear shoulder knots of gold 
 or silver. All trousers are worn tucked into 
 knee boots. Sword belts, having two slings, 
 are worn beneath the coat, and in full dress 
 officers wear a silver and black waist sash. 
 
 The infantry facing is green; that of the 
 artillery black. The cavalry have a light blue 
 coat with dark blue collar, red trousers and a 
 light blue cap with a red plume. 
 
GREECE 163 
 
 GREECE 
 
 The Grecian Army, with the exception 
 of the riflemen and cavalry are clothed in 
 blue. The infantry have a single-breasted, 
 dark blue frock coat, piped with red, a 
 low-crowned shako with white falling plume, 
 and light blue trousers with a red welt. The 
 artillery are clothed in dark blue throughout, 
 faced with red, and have a red pompon in their 
 shako in place of the plume. Their coats are 
 double-breasted and cut after the Italian fash- 
 ion, only longer and having an erect instead of 
 a- falling collar. The cavalry have the hussar 
 jacket of dark green, ornamented across the 
 breast with five rows of white braid. Their 
 trousers are dark green with a red welt and 
 their shako is the same shade of green trimmed 
 with white and having a white and green falling 
 plume. The jagers or riflemen have the show- 
 iest uniform of any in the service, it being 
 modelled after the national costume of the 
 country. It consists of a heavily embroidered 
 short white coat, open in front and having 
 widely slashed sleeves, a white shirt, a white 
 
164 AEMY UNIFORMS OF THE WOELD 
 
 pleated skirt reaching to the knees, white knee 
 breeches and stockings, low tan shoes with 
 turned up toes ornamented with tufts of brown 
 worsted, and a red vizorless cap with a long 
 black tassel. Officers of cavalry and artillery 
 wear the dispatch pouch suspended from the 
 left shoulder, the belt being white for cavalry 
 and black for artillery. 
 
 MONTENEGRO 
 
 The little kingdom of Montenegro dresses 
 its troops in zouave costume, the shirts 
 and coats being scarlet, the trousers dark blue 
 and the leggins white. The head dress is a 
 small flat-topped vizorless cap with a red top 
 and brown sides. A peculiarity of this quaint 
 rig consists in overhanging sleeves which are 
 fastened at the shoulders and fall down over 
 the regular sleeve of the coat. Red and yellow 
 striped girdles are worn in place of belts. 
 
 Officers have a long frock coat of dark blue, 
 open in front, heavily ornamented with gold. 
 Over this is worn a short scarlet jacket, the 
 sleeves of which are turned back and fastened 
 to the shoulders. 
 
MONTEN£G£0 165 
 
 The author has been unable to obtain any 
 accurate information regarding the service uni- 
 forms worn by the troops of any of the Balkan 
 states during the World War. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 JAPAN CHINA 
 
 JAPAN 
 
 THE Japanese are a race of soldiers and 
 for centuries the profession of arms has 
 ranked above all others in their regard. For 
 hundreds of years they have lived in their island 
 home, resisting successfully all efforts to over- 
 power them, and whether fighting with two- 
 handed swords or with the modern rifles they 
 have proved to the world that the Japanese 
 soldier is second to none. Before Commodore 
 Perry brought Japan into touch with the rest 
 of the world, life in that country was based 
 upon the feudal plan in use in Europe during 
 the Middle Ages, although the inhabitants of 
 the "Land of the Rising Sun" were much 
 further advanced in general culture than were 
 our ancestors of that period. 
 
 At the head of the government was the mi- 
 166 
 
JAPAN 167 
 
 kado, who was, until the twelfth century, both 
 the spiritual ajid temporal ruler of his people. 
 Under him were the great lords, each of whom 
 had in his service a number of armed retainers 
 of gentle birth, known as samurai, whose rank 
 corresponded to that of a knight. Below these 
 samurai were the common soldiers, the mer- 
 chantSj artisans, farmers and the rest of the 
 population, the lowest class of which had no 
 civil rights whatever. 
 
 The samurai wore two swords, a long and a 
 short one, thrust through their girdle, they 
 alone being accorded this mark of distinction. 
 They had a high code of knightly honor, were 
 wonderful swordsmen and would die rather than 
 suffer disgrace. 
 
 Under the feudal law a noble was personally 
 responsible for the conduct of his retainers, but 
 when a samurai wished to execute some deed of 
 personal vengeance he renounced his allegiance 
 and became a ronin, thus relieving his lord of 
 all liability regarding his future actions. The 
 samurai were also accorded the privilege of 
 conunitting hari-kari or self dispatch, instead 
 of undergoing public punishment for a mis- 
 
168 AEMY UNIFORMS OF THE WOEIiD 
 
 deed, such a death being considered highly hon- 
 orable. 
 
 During the twelfth century the temporal 
 power of the mikado became vested in the hands 
 of an official known as the shogun and this con- 
 dition remained unchanged until 1868, when 
 the office was abolished and the mikado again 
 became the active head of the government. 
 About the same time the samurai were dis- 
 banded and Japan began the organization of 
 that modern army which in the past few years 
 has achieved such wonderful results upon the 
 battlefields of Manchuria and placed the Japa- 
 nese soldier in the front rank of the fighters of 
 the world. 
 
 Military service is now obligatory upon all 
 males, and at the age of twenty every able- 
 bodied man enters the army and serves three 
 years with the colors before passing into the 
 reserve. All officers are required to pass through 
 three military schools and to serve a certain 
 amount of time in the ranks before receiving a 
 commission. 
 
 Japanese uniforms are dark blue, faced with 
 the color of the arm of the service to which 
 
JAPAN 169 
 
 the wearer belongs. These colors are scarlet 
 for infantry, green for cavalry, yellow for ar- 
 tillery and dark red for engineers. Stripes 
 are worn upon all trousers, those of the offi- 
 cers being of greater width than those of the 
 men. The head dress for all arms of the ser- 
 Adce is a rather high cap having a five-pointed 
 gilt star in front. The caps of officers are 
 braided with gold according to their rank, 
 while those of the men have a wide band of 
 colored cloth around the base, the color vary- 
 ing according to the different classes of troops. 
 Cavalry have the hussar coat, braided across 
 the breast with red or yellow, according to regi- 
 ment, and red trousers. Enlisted men of all 
 other arms of the service have a rather short, 
 single-breasted, five-buttoned coat and dark 
 blue trousers. In summer white uniforms are 
 worn. The dress coat of all officers is the 
 double-breasted frock, with collar and cuff of 
 the color of the service facing. Shoulder knots 
 of gold or silver to match sleeve insignia are 
 worn, and a sash is passed around the waist 
 and fastened on the left side. In undress, the 
 officers have a coat cut on the hussar model. 
 
170 ARMY UNIFORMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 braided across the breast with five loops of 
 heavy black mohair braid. Insignia of rank 
 with this coat is black instead of gold or silver. 
 Sword belts are black for officers and tan for 
 enlisted men. They are worn over the dress 
 coat and beneath the undress jacket. 
 
 Insignia of rank is worn by officers in the 
 form of a pointed knot of braid extending from 
 the cuff to a place half way between the shoul- 
 der and the elbow. With the dress coat these 
 knots are composed of gold or silver, with 
 the undress coat of black braid. 
 
 Officers of the pay corps have silver stripes, 
 officers of the medical corps alternate stripes 
 of gold and silver, all other officers gold stripes. 
 Distinctions of the different grades are as 
 follows : 
 
 Marshal Seven stripes 
 
 General Same as marshal 
 
 Lieutenant Generlal Six stripes 
 
 Major General Five stripes 
 
 Colonel Six stripes (different knot) 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Five stripes 
 
 Major Four stripes 
 
 Captain Three stripes 
 
 First Lieutenant Two stripes 
 
 Second Lieutenant One stripe 
 
JAPAN 171 
 
 Officers of the pay and medical corps wear a 
 silver sash, all other officers one of alternate 
 red and white stripes, the sash being worn with 
 full dress and placed over the sword belt. War- 
 rant officers have practically the same uniform 
 as officers but without sleeve insignia. Non- 
 commissioned officers and privates wear stripes 
 of the color of their facings placed horizontally 
 around the cuff the grades being marked as 
 follows : 
 
 First Sergeiant One broad and three nar- 
 row stripes 
 
 Sergeant ^. .One broiad and two narrow 
 
 stripes 
 
 Corporal One broad and one narrow 
 
 stripe 
 
 Privates (First Class) Three narrow stripes 
 
 Privates (Second Class) Two stripes 
 
 Privates (Third Class) One stripe 
 
 CHINA 
 
 Unlike the Japanese, the Chinese, until very 
 recently, have always regarded the profession 
 of arms with contempt, and have a proverb 
 which says, "Better no son at all than one who 
 is a soldier." When one remembers that the 
 greatest desire of every man of this ancient 
 
172 AEMY UNIFOKMS OF THE WOKLD 
 
 and mighty country is to have a son to hand 
 down his name to posterity, this proverb shows 
 clearly, the extremely low esteem in which, for 
 centuries, the fighting man was held. It is 
 only within the past few years that China 
 awakened from her long lethargy, began to 
 discard her ancient ideas, and sought to be- 
 come a world power in modern sense. One of 
 the first results of these new methods of thought 
 was the change of viewpoint regarding the 
 status of the soldier. China at last realized 
 that if she was to maintain her integrity and 
 win the respect of other nations, she must have 
 an army organized, equipped and drilled along 
 modern lines and she set about to secure it. The 
 task was truly a stupendous one but she under- 
 took it with the patience and perseverance 
 which are characteristic of her and has kept at 
 it. Her work along this line is as yet by no 
 means complete, but the martial spirit of her 
 people has been aroused and a good start has 
 been made in the right direction. That the 
 Chinese can fight well when properly led is 
 shown by the results which were accomplished 
 in the Tai Ping Rebellion, under General Gor- 
 don and other foreign officers. 
 
CHINA 173 
 
 Under the old system only the lowest class 
 of men served in the ranks of the army and the 
 officers were often entirely without military ex- 
 perience. All Chinese officials were divided into 
 two classes, civil and military, and appointed 
 from amongst those men who had successfully 
 passed a very severe but strictly literary ex- 
 amination at Pekin. As the civil officials out- 
 ranked the military ones of the same grade 
 and were held in much higher honor it, was the 
 dearest wish of every military official to be 
 transferred to the civil branch of the govern- 
 ment and this did not tend to create soldierly 
 efficiency. 
 
 It was her war with Japan which first opened 
 the eyes of China to the need of a modern army. 
 The ease with which the Japanese, men of her 
 own race, defeated her imperfectly equipped 
 troops, trained only in the methods of ancient 
 warfare, amazed her, and she began reorganiz- 
 ing her forces immediately after the close of 
 that war. Not much was accomplished in 
 this direction, however, except by Yuan Si Ki 
 and a few other progressive viceroys, and for 
 a number of years there was but little central 
 
174 AEMY UNIFORMS OF THE WOEI.D 
 
 authority in military matters, each viceroy 
 maintaining such force as he saw fit, uniformed, 
 armed and drilled in any manner that he de- 
 sired. 
 
 If the Japanese War awoke China to the 
 need of a standing army, organized along Euro- 
 pean lines, it was the Boxer outbreak which 
 drove that point home. The shame of seeing 
 foreign troops march through her Forbidden 
 City aroused her to the value of military train- 
 ing as nothing else could have done. The recent 
 revolution which overthrew the Manchu dy- 
 nasty and established a republic was fought 
 almost entirely with soldiers of the modern 
 school, armed with magazine rifles, and proves 
 how thoroughly she has learned her lesson. 
 
 Before considering China's army of today, 
 however, it might be interesting to glance 
 briefly at the dress and equipment of her an- 
 cient forces. As has been said before, all 
 Chinese oflicials were divided into two classes, 
 civil and military, the badges of rank for both 
 consisting of devices worn upon the breast and 
 back of the ofBcial robe which was almost in- 
 variably of black silk. These devices were in 
 
CHINA 176 
 
 the form of birds for civil officers and animals 
 for military ones. As nearly as they can be 
 approximated according to modern titles, the 
 badges of military officers were as follows : 
 
 Commander in Chief Unicorn 
 
 Lieutenant General Lion 
 
 Major Genei'al Ijon 
 
 Colonel Leopard 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Leopard 
 
 Major Tiger 
 
 Captain Bear 
 
 Lieutenant Panther 
 
 Ensign Panther 
 
 There does not appear to have been any 
 standard uniform for the common soldiers, al- 
 though some troops are described as having 
 a tiger's head upon their breast. Their weapons 
 were largely bows and arrows and crude forms 
 of firearms. 
 
 Chinese Army iiniforms are at present under- 
 going some changes on account of the estab- 
 lishment of the new government, and as the 
 new regulations have not yet been issued it is 
 impossible to describe them at present. Pre- 
 vious to the overthrow of the Manchu dynasty 
 and the formation of the republic, the uniforms 
 were dark blue for dress, and olive drab for 
 
176 ABMY UNIFORMS OF THE WOULD 
 
 service and it is probable that these colors 
 will remain, with perhaps a slight alteration 
 in the rank badges caused by the discarding of 
 the dragon as the national emblem. 
 
 The latest regulations issued under the em- 
 pire show China's army completely organized 
 along modern lines, with uniforms of European 
 type, faced with various colors to mark the 
 diiferent branches of the service. The dress 
 uniforms are dark blue throughout, the head 
 dress being a cap and the trousers worn tucked 
 into the boots, extending halfway to the knee. 
 Officers have a single-breasted frock coat and 
 men a somewhat shorter tunic. The coats of 
 all officers have a standing collar, edged with 
 gold and embroidered with a golden dragon 
 and a small sun, the color of which differs ac- 
 cording to rank. General officers have red suns 
 and three, two and one bands on the front and 
 around the top of the collar, field officers have 
 dark blue suns and the same number of bands 
 and captains and subalterns white suns and 
 similar bands. Warrant officers have silver 
 embroidery in place of gold, and dark blue 
 suns ; and non-commissioned officers the same 
 
CHINA 177 
 
 embroidery with white suns. All officers wear 
 shoulder knots, similar in form to the U. S. 
 Army model, which are gold for general officers ; 
 gold and orange for field officers; and orange 
 and gold for captains and subalterns. On these 
 knots are worn dragon buttons of gold. 
 
 Field Marshal, Colonel and Captain, three. 
 Major General, Lieutenant Colonel and First Lieuten- 
 ant, two. 
 Brigadier General, Major, Second Lieutenant, one. 
 
 The sleeves of the coat display insignia of 
 rank in the form of a knot of gold braid, with 
 stripes of gold below. 
 
 Field Marshal A knot of three strands, and 
 
 three stripes 
 
 Major General Same knot, two stripes 
 
 Brigadier General Same knot, one stripe 
 
 Colonel A knot of two strands, and 
 
 three stripes 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Same knot, two stripes 
 
 Major Same knot, one stripe 
 
 Captain A knot of one strand, and 
 
 three stripes 
 
 First Lieutenant Same knot, two stripes 
 
 Second Lieutenant Same knot, one stripe 
 
 General officers have a triple stripe of gold 
 on their trousers, field officers a double stripe 
 of cloth and captains and subalterns a single 
 
178 ARMY UNIFOKMS OF THE WOELD 
 
 stripe of cloth. Rank is indicated by buttons 
 on the front of the cap, which match the col- 
 lar sun, set in an ornament of gold. This cap 
 has also one, two, or three stripes of gold 
 around it, the number matching the collar braid 
 for the different grades. Warrant officers have 
 silver and orange shoulder knots with silver 
 buttons; non-commissioned officers orange and 
 silver knots with the same button. Both wear 
 silver sleeve knots but the grades differ so 
 greatly from those in our army that it is im- 
 possible to fix their relative rank with any 
 great degree of accuracy. Roughly speaking, 
 it may be said, warrant officers have the two- 
 strand knot with one, two or three bands of 
 silver below, and non-commissioned officers the 
 single-strand knot with the same number of 
 bands below. A narrow stripe of the service 
 facing is also worn beneath the insignia. Their 
 caps are also braided with silver and they wear 
 the colored button of their collar sun in an 
 ornament of the same metal. 
 
 The service uniform of the Chinese army is 
 olive drab throughout and consists of a cap, 
 single-breasted blouse, plain trousers and short 
 
CHINA 179 
 
 boots. The cap is ornamented with black braid 
 in place of gold or silver, and has the same 
 button in front as that worn on the dress hat. 
 Insignia of rank for officers is in the form of 
 bands of black braid around the cuff with gold 
 dragon buttons above. 
 
 Field Marshal Three broad stripes and 
 
 three buttons 
 
 Major General Two stripes and three but- 
 tons 
 
 Brigadier General One stripe and three but- 
 tons 
 
 Colonel Three medium stripes and 
 
 two buttons 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Two stripes and two but- 
 tons 
 
 Major One stripe and two buttons 
 
 Captain Three narrow stripes and 
 
 one button 
 
 First Lieutenant Two stripes and one but- 
 ton 
 
 Second Lieutenant One stripe and one button 
 
 Warrant officers have light blue stripes of 
 medium width and two silver buttons and non- 
 commissioned officers narrow stripes of the same 
 color, with one silver button. A narrow stripe 
 of the service facing is worn beneath the in- 
 signia as in full dress. 
 
 Privates have stripes according to their 
 
180 ARMY TJNirOBMS OF THE WORLD 
 
 class, first, second or third, of the color of 
 their arm of the service and an oval brass or- 
 nament on the front of the cap. In full dress 
 they have cloth shoulder pieces which bear the 
 regimental or staff corps designation. Facings 
 of the different arms of the service are as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 Infantry ,. .Scarlet 
 
 Cavalry White 
 
 Artillery YeUow 
 
 Engineers Blue 
 
 Quartermaster and Com- 
 missary Corps Black 
 
 Transport Brown 
 
 Medical Corps Green 
 
 The sword for both officers and men is single 
 edged, slightly curved, and has only a knuckle 
 bow for a guard. The sword belt, which is of 
 black leather, is worn over the dress coat and 
 under the service blouse. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 FOR the purpose of aiding students who 
 desire to make an extensive research into 
 the field of military costume, the author has 
 compiled a list of works relating to the dress 
 of the soldier ; a study of which will enable one 
 to supplement the information contained in 
 this book. 
 
 Many of the works given in this list are now 
 out of print but most of them can be found in 
 the libraries of London, Paris and New York, 
 and some of them in the libraries of smaller 
 cities. As far as possible the date of publica- 
 tion will be given, as this is sometimes an aid 
 in fixing the period of which the book treats 
 and also shows whether it is out of print or not. 
 
 Military Antiqmties. 2 volumes. 1786. Francis Grose. 
 Arms and Armour. 1877. Auguste Demmin. 
 History of British Oostitme. 1834. J. R. FIanch6. 
 A Critical Enquiry into Ancient Arms and Armour. 3 
 
 volumes. 1844. S. R. Meyrick. 
 Dress and Babits of the People of England. 2 volumes. 
 
 179«. Joseph Strutt. 
 
 181 
 
182 ABMY UNIFORMS OF THE WOELD 
 
 Arms and Armour. 1902. Charles Boutell. 
 
 Encyclopedia of Antiquities. 2 volumes. 1826. T. D. 
 Fosbrooke. 
 
 Arms and Armour. Charles H. Ashdown. 
 
 A Complete Guide to Heraldry. A. C. Fox-Davies. 
 
 Companion to English History. 1902. F. P. Barnard. 
 
 Spanish Arms and Armour. 1907. A. F. Calvert. 
 
 Flags of the World. F. Edward Hulme. 
 
 The Book of the Sword. 1884. Richard F. Burton. 
 
 Observations on Swords. Henry Wilkinson. 
 
 Choix des Costumes Cival et Militaires. 1798. Willemin. 
 
 Schools and Masters of Fence. 1893. Egerton Castle. 
 
 Foreign Armour in England. 1898. J. S. Gardner. 
 
 History of the Dress of the British Soldier. 1862. 
 John Luard. 
 
 Medals and Decorations of the British Army and Navy. 
 2 volumes. 1897. John H. Mayo. 
 
 Her Majesty's Army. 2 volumes. Walter Richards. 
 
 The Army of the United States. Published by the War 
 Department. Describes in detail the dress of the 
 army from 1774 to 1888. Forty-four large illustra- 
 tions from water color drawings. 
 
 The Private Soldier under Washington. 1902. Charles 
 K. Bolton. 
 
 United States Army Regulations. 1863. War Depart- 
 ment. 
 
 The British Army. 1868. Sir S. D. Scott. 
 
 Uniforms of the British Army, Navy bind Court. 1894. 
 T. H. Holding. 
 
 The British Army. 1888. J. H. L. Archer. 
 
 The following publications by the British 
 War Office : 
 
 General Regulations and Orders for His Majesty's 
 Forces. 1786. 
 
 Dress of Officers of the lAne. 1796. 
 
 Regulations for Dress of General Staff and other Offi- 
 cers of the Army. 1831. 
 
BIBLIOGKAPHY 183 
 
 Regulations for Dress of Army. 1846, 1856, 1866, 1874, 
 1883, 1891, 1904. 
 
 Army Regulations. India. 1912. 
 
 The Armies of Europe. 1890. Count Gleichen. 
 
 Collection des uniformes armie Francaise. 1822. H. 
 Veinett & E. Lami. 
 
 Costumes Militaires. Fifty colored plates by Charlet, 
 showing French army uniforms from 1789 to 1815. 
 
 L'Arm4e Francaise. War Office. 
 
 Les Uniformes de I'Armie Francaise diipuis 1690 jusqiui 
 noa jours 6 volumes. Dr. Leinhart et R. Humbert. 
 
 Cartilla de Uniformidad. 1884. Sp'anish War Office. 
 
 Army Dress Regulations. Chinese War Office. 
 
 German Military Uniforms at the International Ex- 
 hibition in Paris in 1900. Published by Prussian War 
 Office. 
 
 The following works are published by Moritz 
 Ruhl at Leipzig. They are profusely illus- 
 trated in colors. Their text is in German. 
 
 Die Uniformen de Deutschen Armee. 
 
 Military Album der Deutschen Armee. 
 
 Die Russische Armee. 
 
 Die Englische Arm,ee. 
 
 Die Niederlandische Armee. 
 
 Die Belgische Armee. 
 
 Die Schwedische Armee. 
 
 Die D'anisehe Armee. 
 
 Die Italienische Armee. 
 
 Die Spanishe Armee. 
 
 Die Armee der Balkanstaaten. 
 
 Die Japanesche Armee. 
 
 Die Nordamenkanische Arm,ee. 
 
 Die Rumanische Armee. 
 
 Uniformen and Abzeichen der Osterr — Ungar Wehra- 
 
 macht. 
 Militar Album der Oesterreichisch — mtgarischen Armee. 
 Die Fr'anzosiche Armee. 
 Die Chinisehe Armee. 
 

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