Uniforms In The First World War
Before the First World War, the uniforms were extremely colorful. However, this trend continued in the First World War, and the most grandly attired army of that of French. This was evident when the First World War started. However, during this period, body armor was no longer used as part of the uniform as firearms had made this completely obsolete. |
The uniforms in the First World War were quite colorful and flamboyant. In fact, this was the norm for most armies, other than the soldiers from Germany and Britain. The Germans wore uniforms that had a field-gray color, and it is possible that it was an outcome from the gray-green color that foresters and hunters in Germany wore. In fact, many foresters and hunters were part of the German army. The German uniform was not meant to work as a camouflage. Rather it was meant to be a reflection of the soldiers' previous occupation.
On the other hand, the British uniforms were khaki colored. This again was not meant to be a camouflage color. Rather, the color was adopted as the hot sun in India and Africa did not allow for a more color uniform, and the color was then taken over by the entire British army.
In a way, the soldiers who wore bright and colorful uniforms realized their folly as they became targets very easily to rifle shots and machine guns. In the First World War, the soldiers realized the importance of having drab colored uniforms as it allowed them to get concealed and this, in turn, increased the chances of survivability. Hence, the uniforms in the First World War ensured that the presence of the soldiers could not be detected. Uniforms were no longer shiny, and if they were, soldiers resorted to smearing dirt, dust and mud on them to reduce the reflective surfaces. Also, the field gray and khaki colors did not do much to conceal the soldiers. And, it is this fact that ultimately gave rise to camouflage uniforms that were currently worn by soldiers in wars and battle fronts.
The Belgian and French soldiers wore bright colored uniforms and old-fashioned headgear. Even the German soldiers retained their spiked helmets, colored piping from their old uniforms, shakos and busbies. The Russians, Serbians, Japanese, Greek, French and British soldiers were khaki colored uniforms, while the German, Italian, Bulgarian, Portuguese and Austro-Hungarian soldiers wore uniforms that were different shades of gray. The French and the Romanians had sky blue uniforms. The French army began wearing steel helmets in the year 1915, and seeing how practical they were, the German and British soldiers also started using helmets in the year 1916.
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Although historians have been researching for years, they have no come up with a definitive figure on the war casualties in the First World War. While records were maintained by different nations, the demands of the battle did not allow accurate records to be maintained. It was common during the First World War for soldiers to be completely obliterated and buried and this had an impact on the maintenance of the records. 