French WW 1 infantry field uniforms - LaurelhillСemetery.blog

What uniform did the French wear in ww1?

The horizon blue uniform. The colour of the uniform of the French infantry became known as “horizon blue” in three steps: 1. The first orders at the end of 1914 designated a new uniform cloth as “light blue”.

What did French soldiers wear in ww1?

Wore woolen khaki trousers with suspenders and tunic with a fold-down (or sometimes a stiff) collar. In warmer climates, soldiers sometimes did not wear their tunics. Most wore ankle boots (“ammunition boots”) with hobnailed soles. They also used “puttees” (strips of cloth wound around the ankle and calf).

What kind of uniforms did the French soldiers wear?

The uniform was made of a blue coat, red piped white collar and cuffs, white piped red lapels, blue piped red cuff flaps and shoulder straps, white turnbacks piped red, and brass buttons. Only the brass buttons had the units’ identification numbers stamped on them.

Why did French soldiers wear blue in ww1?

The French Army did belatedly overcome institutional inertia and introduce the bleu horizon grey-blue service uniform in July 1914 to replace the infamous red trousers, but naturally war came so quickly that most regiments were not equipped with it.

Why did the French army wear red pants?

In 1914, the typical French uniform with its red pants and kepi and blue coat was almost a century old. It was in 1829 that king Charles X had ordered the use of the colour red for military uniforms, in order to revive the French culture of the garance des teinturiers or dyer’s madder.

Was the French army good in ww1?

Quote from video: The French government to conscript men up to the age of 45. As the war progressed the structure of the French army changed by 1918 40% of French troops on the Western Front were artilleryman.

What is a French soldier called?

Poilu (/ˈpwɑːluː/; French: [pwaly]) is an informal term for a late 18th century–early 20th century French infantryman, meaning, literally, hairy one. It is still widely used as a term of endearment for the French infantry of World War I.

Why were Napoleonic uniforms so Colourful?

As for the colors chosen themselves, most were picked because they were particularly cheap and/or colorfast. Madder red, a slightly more orange-red, was used for the regular troops in many armies. It comes from the root of the madder plant, is very inexpensive, and keeps its color decently.