A History of Military Uniform

Military Uniform

Historians trace the rise of the uniform to 210BC with the first emperor of China – Emperor Qin Shi Huang who was laid to rest with an army of some 7,000 terracotta warriors to protect him. The armor and clothing of these soldiers vary according to rank but show real evidence of uniformity as well as their hairstyle. At the same time there was the Carthaginian general Hannibal boasting an impressive battalion of uniformed troops.

The rise of military uniforms stems from a number of requirements that remains as necessary today as they did thousands of years ago. The heat of the battle was a confusing and alarming place, and uniform ultimately provided a means by which combatants could be identified.

The ranking system has been they way armies have worked for thousands of years. Rank and uniform goes hand in hand, as uniform signifies status. Uniforms were traditionally seen as a form of livery; so many officers did not appreciate the idea of wearing what was considered to be servants clothing and many would then pay to wear their own grand clothes. They dresses to show that they were clearly not fighting for money but for glory and their uniforms helped to identify the colours of their regiments. However, officers were later ordered to wear uniform in the late 18^th century with epaulettes – the shoulder stipe that signifies a senior rank – being introduced to the British army in 1768.

Uniforms helped to create a sense of pride to one’s country and cause. As well as this, the opposing ranks would also use their uniforms as a means of intimidating the enemy by making soldiers appear taller, broader and generally more daunting than usual. An example of this would be tall mitre hats used by King Frederick William I of Prussia for his army. The skulls and crossbones is also a classic used to serve a chilling reminder that the wearer means business. Or even the Japanese Samurai warriors…

A uniform also gave the soldier a relative degree of safety, because a uniformed man was differentiated from a civilian bearing arms and therefore offered the protection of the regulations of war. A uniform could also prevented a soldier from being deserted, as a complex and unusual uniform could not easily blend in with civilian clothing.

One of the most important uses of the early uniform was to lure men in to joining the army. Especially for young men who like to ‘dress to impress’ – a great uniform makes it more desirable to sign up to an army even when the chances of survival are slim. It also reflected glory on to the commander of an army who at times was required to kit out his own troops from his own wage.

Historical warfare from the 18^th and 19^th century was a colourful business – the British redcoats, the Swede’s blue and yellow, and the French with their blue, read and white. This was fine when wars were fought with swords and cannons that did not guarantee accuracy. As soon as the deadly precise rifle was introduced in the late 19th century it put an end to most of the elaborate and showy uniforms - it was time to be realistic. 

Nearly all the world’s armies took up variants of the ‘Khaki’ coloured uniform - which was introduced by Britain since the Indian uprising in 1857. However, the French still took pride in their bright blue, red and white uniforms as well as the old-fashioned headgear in battle as late as the early 20^th century. Other nations kept their traditional uniforms only for ceremonial occasions. 

Camouflage was the next advance in from drab colours with its objective being to help soldiers blend in to their surroundings. The Nazi regime introduced variants of this to its units in 1938, as well as the Soviet Union using all-white camouflage for battles. The British fought in drab colours until 1942 when camouflaged Denison smock was introduced for the Parachute regiment and later distributed to other units. Berets were introduced during WWII initially in Khaki, but regiments later chose different colours as a mark of pride and differentiation, such as the famous maroon beret of the Parachute Regiment.

Khaki and camouflage are practical in battle but not necessarily impressive to look at. Therefore to retain some of the grandness from traditional soldiery, many armies have taken to equipping their troops with several outfits for different occasions. 

As modern warfare uses technological advances in science to attack the opposition, a soldier rarely makes physical contact or even sees the enemy unless it is from a distance. Thus military uniforms do not need to look psychologically threatening to the enemy any more, although they still play a major part in troop morale. Modern military uniform is changing in the direction of practicality – it’s time to look tough and fight dirty!