MILITARY

MILITARY

Military clothing today has to meet three requirements; 1. It must distinguish the army nationally. 2. It must show rank. 3. It must protect from the elements and the conditions under which the army is laboring.

Its no fun going into battle at the best of times. The last thing you want is to get killed by your own side, now do you? When men fight in small groups, each group knows its own members, but as armies grew larger I think they must have killed friend as well as foe in the middle of the blood lust. For you must remember that in the very beginning of mans existence there were no nations or countries, only tribes. There could not have been any difference in dress between tribes within a certain distance from each other. Before horses and wheels men walked on two feet. They fought the tribes next door to them who consisted of members of their own tribe if they didn't’t intermarry within the group. I imagine that after a few battles where you found you’d killed some of your own men you would try and find a way to distinguish your own side by some article of clothing or a style or the type of club or killing instrument you used or by color.

As armies grew larger and consisted of many tribes they used banners to sort each other out. Banners on poles were used because they could be seen above the heads of the crowd. And since none could read, a picture or form that all could recognize was part of the banner or pennant. In this way you could find your group easily in a battle. When shields came into use the tribal colors or mark may have been used as a further sign of belonging. This later grew into the coat of arms used by the roving knights as a means of identification since they had no other way to let people know who they belonged to if killed far from home. If we remember always that all things in life start out with a practical use and then grow into meaningless drivel we can see the point of these things. So when we remember that when the European and British coat of arms appeared on the scene it was during the crusades when men roamed the country side and the near east alone or in small groups. There were no passports or visas or wallets with identity cards in those days. Hardly any one could read let alone write. Your only means of Identification became your shield which you carried at all times. It would become your identity giving origin or country by its shape or its basic design. The family crest would be added if you belonged to one of wealth and distinction and a motto or other specific symbol that might be your own personal mark. Since ransom was sought or paid for the man or body, it allowed others to know who to go to for the ransom.

When men began to organize large armies consisting of many tribes or allies, the need for distinguishing banners, clothes, armament became important. However in the case of shape of armament,(swords,shields, etc., ) this may have grown up as a result of the arts of the makers of these instruments and not by design of nationality. It grew as a result of skill and knowledge of the sword maker and shield maker and the tools they had as well as the materials available within their own district. As each side captured or killed they learnt the best from each other.

As the armies stayed at war longer and became professionals of war the uniform developed. We know little of the armies of pre Rome except carvings that show that even before the famous legions of Rome came into being armies existed with a uniform dress and battle gear. But it was Rome that made it a business as well as a fine art ( if you can call war an art).

From recorded time up to Rome the skirt was the common garb of the soldier. Mesopotamian carvings show a leafed form of overskirt or panels from the waist. What it cannot show us is the material used. It may have been cloth, leather or leaves of thin metal for all we can tell.

Those countries that had herds of dear or elk in plenty and little knowledge of metal working learned to develop shields and breast plates of leather as a protection. However, many early carvings of battles and soldiers show that early wars were fought with non protective clothing. The Roman army with its metal wrist guards and breast plates and metal leaves over the skirt and larger shield almost the length of the body changed war for all time until the present day. As did also the Roman helmet and greaves or leg casings. In other words the body could now sustain blows that killed or incapacitated before. By the time the rest of the world learnt about armour it was too late. Not only were the Romans already in control of their country but it was highly organized in units. (The Battle of Troy was the first one recorded of men fighting in armour. When they dug up the grave of Agamemnon in Mycenae they found metal greaves for the shin bones.)

These fighting teams or units lead to the rank insignia of officers and armies and special forces. The need to distinguish each unit and its specialties as well as each officer and his rank, begins as a banner or emblem then into head gear which is also seen easier. Insignia was always carried or worn in as conspicuous a spot as can be for instant recognition by the troops.

Today armies are distinguished by two modes of dress; Battle uniforms and dress or non battle uniforms. Body armour reached its peak during the middle ages when men wore full suits of armour and so did the horses. This came to an end with the armies of kublai Kahn when he proved that speed was more important than protection. Without heavy armour his horsemen could travel faster, endure longer and outmaneuver all others. When cannon and guns came after this it also changed the course of history in battle dress. Warfare at a distance meant being able to distinguish friend or foe at a distance. Again the standard came back into play. This time as the countries flag. As did basic colors. The British armies adopted the red jacket because of the silly idea that this way the blood wouldn't’t show if you were hit and so the enemy wouldn't’t know how badly off you were. It may also have been one of maintenance. Since blood stains are hard to get out of cloth, having a red cloth made it easier to hide old stains etc.. It also made you a very clear, easily seen target for the other side!!

There are many fascinating little anecdotes connected with the uniforms of war. Some samples are listed below.

1. The tails of an evening suit stem from the time when the army coat or jacket was slit at the back to fall on each side of a horse when you sat it. The fronts were buttoned back below the waistline to the back of the skirt to allow access to the fly and to be out of the way on horse back. Some one may have gotten the bright idea of pockets in jackets from the pocket it formed. Who knows? Pockets in jackets came at a later date though and also in pants. It waited until the need for pockets to carry things in. Most people carried things in a drawstring pouch.

2. Buttons were placed on the edges of sleeves by a general to stop his men from wiping their noses on their sleeve edge. Hence today the suit sleeve with a row of buttons on the cuff. (This in a day and age when we have kleenex.)

3. The Scots had a habit of dropping their kilts and fighting only in their shirts in order to scare the enemy. I consider this a wild form of bragging, Although if the Scots were inclined to raping their enemy in the heat of battle, yes, I can see were word would quickly get around about this strange habit and terrify the enemy. Since all men are generally equal in the nether parts I can see no other reason for them terrifying the enemy.

It was not until the western world encountered the North American Indian and his style of warfare that things changed. And then only as a later afterthought. It took a very long time before they came to realize the advantages of this style of warfare. The charge of the Light Brigade was the last battle fought under the old military method. A whole new way of dress came into being after that as well as method of fighting. Since method and weapons dictate the type of battle dress this is necessary to know.

With the 1st World War and trench warfare in mud and the use of tanks and artillery and the extreme numbers of men in the field a utility type of uniform serviceable and cheap to produce was needed. The khaki wool battle dress consisted of jacket with 4 pockets and belted waist. A form of breeches that were held at the ankle by webbed leggings wound around the top of the boot up to the calf. A metal helmet of shallow construction.

With the 2nd war came the camouflage suit and special fabric for polar wear and heat. With the airplanes larger role came flight clothing and boots. At the start of this war though the Canadian soldier was still wearing 1st world war uniforms, as I can remember my father getting dressed in it complete with leggings.

Today's army has divided into special task forces with special clothing needs. However the use of Atomic warfare put the clothing styles of armies back to the level of the knight in full armour trying to fight with a swift mongol horseman. It is archaic, since the soldiers of today have less than no protection against modern warfare. He might as well go in everyday dress. Or better yet he would be more protected to go in full metal armour.