Military uniforms in 1914 (I): Western Front – Archives of History | Your disclosure page

Overview

Since the 18th century, all European armies have adopted various uniforms for their soldiers. The uniform gave the armies a homogeneous appearance and also helped to identify units, such as infantry, engineers, cavalry, artillery and a long etcetera. These uniforms were made of various materials and were of different colors. The striking colors in military uniforms were never a problem, since the weapons of the time did not allow a soldier to shoot down an enemy from more than 100 meters away, therefore at a shorter distance, a mimetic uniform would not serve as a weapon. much.

In the mid and late 19th century, weapons evolved and projectiles had more and more range, which is why some armies began to change their uniforms and use darker colors to better camouflage the soldiers. This change was progressive and quite slow, it was never a primary project of the general staffs, as they demonstrated at the beginning of the Great War. The country that had learned the most about conspicuous uniforms in modern warfare was Great Britain. Due to the wars in Africa and the Middle East, the famous British red coats were abandoned to make way for a khaki uniform.

Due to the large number of uniforms that exist during the date of 1914, I will focus in this entry on those used on the Western Front, so the uniforms of Germany, Belgium, France, and the United Kingdom will be treated. Those of Italy (although the country did not go to war until 1915) will be included in another entry where I will talk about the Eastern Front.

Belgium

Belgium in 1914 had an army of less than 120,000 men framed in 6 divisions. Due to its location between France and Germany its army was a mix between these two powers, for example there were Uhlans cavalry units (originally German unit) and the style of the infantry uniform was undoubtedly French. The predominant color in the armed forces of this country was black. Most infantry units wore a very similar uniform. The basic garment of the head was the famous “chaco” also in black. The grenadier, artillery, line infantry and carabinieri units differed by the caps, hats and kepi they used. Some units were differentiated by the tonality of the tassel that some headwear had.

After the fighting in August and September 1914, the Belgian Army began to change some clothes and experiment with new colours. The infantry continued to wear a black coat/jacket, but the pants in some units took on shades of blue and brown. In 1915, the first khaki-colored uniforms appear, which will be adopted for the entire war.

France

Without a doubt, France is a very curious and interesting case. From the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the French chose the color blue and red for their uniform and adopted it in most units. In 1913, the Minister of War had exclaimed “Delete the red pants? Never! the red pants are France! Despite these statements, the truth is that the army tried to adopt a new, less flashy uniform. This mission was a resounding failure and the French infantryman was dressed very much like the one who had fought against the Prussians in 1870-71. The red coat/jacket and trousers were the icon of the French infantry.

As previously stated, a small part of the French units did not wear this uniform, there were others such as Chasseur a Pied who used a uniform of the same cut but dark blue (blue colors always help camouflage more). Cavalry and artillery were based on a similar pattern, but for example cuirassiers, dragoons and hussars did not wear long coats. From the first battles, especially after the Marne, the French army again sought to replace the old uniform. At the beginning of 1915, the “Blue Horizon” was finally adopted, which gave better results, although the truth is that until April 1915, red trousers continued to be compulsory for soldiers.

During the Great War the use of colonial troops was common due to the overseas territories that the different countries still had at the beginning of the 20th century. The French mainly used their famous units of Algerian zouaves, legionnaires and skirmishers. The legion wore an identical uniform to the metropolitan soldiers, but Algerian zouaves and marksmen wore gold-embroidered coats and red and white breeches, giving them a flamboyant appearance.

Britain

As we said before, Great Britain was the country that was the most advanced in terms of uniforms when the war took place. His soldiers wore short khaki coats that reached to the waist and not to the knees as in the French or Belgian case. They wore flat caps and boots with leggings. The first British soldiers who fought in the Great War were framed in the BEF (British Expeditionary Corps) and had 4 divisions. Certainly although it was a small force compared to the 70 French divisions, they were better prepared for war in material.

Due to their huge empire, the British had a large number of colonial troops. There were two units that stood out above the rest, the Australian ANZAC with their famous hats (their great performance in Gallipoli) and then the Indian troops with their green turban too. In 1914, the British also brought Scottish infantry units to the continent that were equipped with the famous Kilt, that is, the traditional Scottish skirt adapted to military requirements. The cavalry used a uniform very similar to that of the infantry, although their footwear was high riding boots.

Germany

Germany established itself as a great war power since its unification in 1870. When war was declared in August 1914, its armed forces numbered more than two million men in large divisions. Infantry and cavalry wore uniforms of the same cut as the British, without long coats. They used very characteristic leather boots in this country also in the 2nd World War. The predominant color was greenish grey, it did not provide as much camouflage as the English but it offered more protection than the French. There is one that characterizes each unit, both infantry and cavalry, its headgear. The basic headwear was the famous pickelhaube with its characteristic spike. The cavalry also used it but it ended up in a square surface.

The German colonial troops could not be landed in Europe due to the blockade that Great Britain imposed on the country. In their African colonies, the Germans wore a pea-colored uniform with helmets. pith helmet like most nations. In 1916, the Germans introduced their metal helmet imitating the French, since head injuries were the main cause of death in soldiers who were in the trenches.