The Zouaves were a class of light infantry regiments of the French Army serving between 1830 and 1962 and linked to French North Africa; as well as some units of other countries modelled upon them. The zouaves were among the most decorated units of the French Army.
The Chasseurs d'Afrique were a light cavalry corps of chasseurs in the French Armée d'Afrique. First raised in 1831 from regular French cavalry posted to Algeria, they numbered five regiments by World War II. For most of their history they were recruited from either French volunteers or French settlers in North Africa doing their military service. As such they were the mounted equivalent of the French Zouave infantry. The other major cavalry element in the Armee d'Afrique were the Spahis—recruited from the indigenous peoples of Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco with mostly French officers.
The kepi is a cap with a flat circular top and a peak, or visor. In English, the term is a loanword of French: képi, itself a re-spelled version of the Alemannic German: Käppi, a diminutive form of Kappe, meaning "cap". In Europe, this headgear is most commonly associated with French military and police uniforms, though versions of it were widely worn by other armies during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In North America, it is usually associated with the American Civil War, as it was worn by soldiers on both sides of the conflict.
Spahis were light-cavalry regiments of the French army recruited primarily from the Arab and Berber populations of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. The modern French Army retains one regiment of Spahis as an armoured unit, with personnel now recruited in mainland France. Senegal also maintains a mounted unit with spahi origins as a presidential escort: the Red Guard.
A military uniform is a standardised dress worn by members of the armed forces and paramilitaries of various nations.
The Adrian helmet was an influential design of combat helmet originally produced for the French Army during World War I. Its original version, the M15, was the first standard helmet of the French Army and was designed when millions of French troops were engaged in trench warfare, and head wounds from the falling shrapnel generated by indirect fire became a frequent cause of battlefield casualties. Introduced in 1915, it was the first modern steel helmet and it served as the basic helmet of many armies well into the 1930s. Initially issued to infantry soldiers, in modified form they were also issued to cavalry and tank crews. A subsequent version, the M26, was used during World War II.
A combat uniform, also called field uniform, battledress or military fatigues, is a casual type of uniform used by military, police, fire and other public uniformed services for everyday fieldwork and combat duty purposes, as opposed to dress uniforms worn in functions and parades. It generally consists of a jacket, trousers and shirt or T-shirt, all cut to be looser and more comfortable than more formal uniforms. Design may depend on regiment or service branch, e.g. army, navy, air force, marines, etc. In the army branches, fabrics tend to come in camouflage, disruptive pattern or else green, brown or khaki monochrome, in order to approximate the background and make the soldier less visible in nature. In Western dress codes, field uniform is considered equivalent to civilian casual wear. As such, field uniform is considered less formal than service dress uniform, generally aimed at office or staff use, as well as mess dress uniform, and full dress uniform.
The Troupes coloniales or Armée coloniale, commonly called La Coloniale, were the colonial troops of the French colonial empire from 1900 until 1961. From 1822 to 1900 these troops were designated Troupes de marine, and in 1961 they readopted this name. They were recruited from mainland France or from the French settler and indigenous populations of the empire. This force played a substantial role in the conquest of the empire, in World War I, World War II, the First Indochina War and the Algerian War.
Imperial Japanese Army uniforms tended to reflect the uniforms of those countries who were the principal advisors to the Imperial Japanese Army at the time.
Forage cap is the designation given to various types of military undress, fatigue or working headwear. These vary widely in form, according to country or period. The coloured peaked cap worn by the modern British Army for parade and other dress occasions is still officially designated as a forage cap.
Full dress uniform, also known as a ceremonial dress uniform or parade dress uniform, is the most formal type of uniforms used by military, police, fire and other public uniformed services for official parades, ceremonies, and receptions, including private ones such as marriages and funerals. Full dress uniforms typically include full-size orders and medals insignia. Styles tend to trace back to uniforms used during the 19th century, although the 20th century saw the adoption of mess dress-styled full-dress uniforms. Designs may depend on regiment or service branch. In Western dress codes, full dress uniform is a permitted supplementary alternative equivalent to the civilian white tie for evening wear or morning dress for day wear – sometimes collectively called full dress – although military uniforms are the same for day and evening wear. As such, full dress uniform is the most formal uniform, followed by the mess dress uniform.
A tirailleur, in the Napoleonic era, was a type of light infantry trained to skirmish ahead of the main columns. Later, the term "tirailleur" was used by the French Army as a designation for indigenous infantry recruited in the French colonial territories during the 19th and 20th centuries, or for metropolitan units serving in a light infantry role.
The United States Army in World War II used a variety of standard and non-standard dress and battle uniforms, which often changed depending upon the theater of war, climatic environment, and supply exigencies.
Red coat, also referred to as redcoat or scarlet tunic, is a military garment formerly much used by British infantry servicemen, so customarily that the term became a common synecdoche for the servicemen themselves.
The Army of Africa was an unofficial but commonly used term for those portions of the French Army stationed in French North Africa from 1830 until the end of the Algerian War in 1962, including the French units made up of indigenous recruits.
The Royal Air Force uniform is the standardised military dress worn by members of the Royal Air Force. The predominant colours of Royal Air Force uniforms are blue-grey and Wedgwood blue. Many Commonwealth air forces' uniforms are also based on the RAF pattern, but with nationality shoulder flashes. The Royal Air Force Air Cadets wear similar uniforms.
The modern Greek Army has a history of almost 200 years, during which it has undergone dramatic changes and been involved in some of the major conflicts on the European continent. The modern Greek military throughout its history was closely following international developments in equipment and uniforms. With the notable exception of the elite Evzones units, which based their uniforms on the indigenous traditional garments of the 18th century, the rest of the Army, as most militaries worldwide, was always quick to adopt the military fashion current among the armies of the influential Great Powers. This influence can be roughly divided in three periods: French-style uniforms, which dominated throughout the 19th century, the British styles introduced around World War I and used during World War II and until the late 1960s, and the "NATO" or US-style predominating from ca. 1968 onward. Various individual items or details can of course be traced to other influences, and there were also transitional uniforms combining previous designs.
During World War I, France was one of the Triple Entente powers allied against the Central Powers. Although fighting occurred worldwide, the bulk of the French Army's operations occurred in Belgium, Luxembourg, France and Alsace-Lorraine along what came to be known as the Western Front, which consisted mainly of trench warfare. Specific operational, tactical, and strategic decisions by the high command on both sides of the conflict led to shifts in organizational capacity, as the French Army tried to respond to day-to-day fighting and long-term strategic and operational agendas. In particular, many problems caused the French high command to re-evaluate standard procedures, revise its command structures, re-equip the army, and to develop different tactical approaches.
The Battalions of Light Infantry of Africa, better known under the acronym Bat' d'Af', were French infantry and construction units, serving in Northern Africa, made up of men with prison records who still had to do their military service, or soldiers with serious disciplinary records.
The pantalon rouge were an integral part of the uniform of the French army from 1829 to 1914. Some parts of the Kingdom of France's army already wore red trousers or breeches but the French Revolution saw the introduction of white trousers for infantrymen. Following the 1814 Bourbon Restoration white breeches or blue trousers were worn but red trousers for infantry were adopted in 1829 to encourage the French rose madder dye-growing industry. Madder red is a shade darker than the scarlet of British uniforms.
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