Why were the camouflage uniforms (green, brown, yellow) adopted so late? When it seems that it would be pretty obvious that a soldier would die less often in the field if he’s harder to spot? Even in WW1 French were still wearing bright blue and red uniforms?
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Prior to modern semiautomatic magazine fed rifles and machine guns maneuvering as a cohesive unit was an effective way to focus fire/manpower on an open battlefield, distinct uniforms helped the commander sitting on a hill in the back tell what was going on so they could more quickly issue effective orders. As weapons generally became faster firing and had significantly longer effective ranges these tactics became tantamount to mass suicide, and battlefield survival shifted to focus more heavily on cover and concealment, and camouflage uniforms can help substantially with the latter.
In modern war, killing soldiers quickly and accurately from a distance is easy but that’s a relatively modern thing. Real time voice communication between different units in a battle is also a modern thing.
In an earlier battlefield, say during the napoleonic wars, engagements were generally between large blocks of soldiers, not individual units.
Accurate range for the muskets of the time was generally pretty short (lethal range 175 yards, but volley range was generally 25-50 yards to allow soldiers to actually hit something). Once they did start shooting, the gunpowder of the time was very smoky
The commanders would generally try to position themselves where they could see most of the battlefield as this was the only way to know what was going on in real time. They could send messengers who take time to get there or use flag signals or sound signals etc (relatively simple messages only) to communicate.
In order to know what was going on, they used distinctive uniforms so they could tell which soldiers were which from a distance especially through the smoke. This also helped soldiers avoid friendly fire.
By WW1, weapons had gotten a lot more accurate and machine guns were starting to be a common weapon but tactics were still catching up and there wasn’t much experience with the modern weapons so there were a lot of fuck-ups early on as they got the hang of how to fight in with and against the new weapons
Prior to modern semiautomatic magazine fed rifles and machine guns maneuvering as a cohesive unit was an effective way to focus fire/manpower on an open battlefield, distinct uniforms helped the commander sitting on a hill in the back tell what was going on so they could more quickly issue effective orders. As weapons generally became faster firing and had significantly longer effective ranges these tactics became tantamount to mass suicide, and battlefield survival shifted to focus more heavily on cover and concealment, and camouflage uniforms can help substantially with the latter.
In modern war, killing soldiers quickly and accurately from a distance is easy but that’s a relatively modern thing. Real time voice communication between different units in a battle is also a modern thing.
In an earlier battlefield, say during the napoleonic wars, engagements were generally between large blocks of soldiers, not individual units.
Accurate range for the muskets of the time was generally pretty short (lethal range 175 yards, but volley range was generally 25-50 yards to allow soldiers to actually hit something). Once they did start shooting, the gunpowder of the time was very smoky
The commanders would generally try to position themselves where they could see most of the battlefield as this was the only way to know what was going on in real time. They could send messengers who take time to get there or use flag signals or sound signals etc (relatively simple messages only) to communicate.
In order to know what was going on, they used distinctive uniforms so they could tell which soldiers were which from a distance especially through the smoke. This also helped soldiers avoid friendly fire.
By WW1, weapons had gotten a lot more accurate and machine guns were starting to be a common weapon but tactics were still catching up and there wasn’t much experience with the modern weapons so there were a lot of fuck-ups early on as they got the hang of how to fight in with and against the new weapons
World War 1 was a wild time. You had God-Kings facing off against democracies. You had cavalry charges straight into machine gun fire. The old world meeting a new world.
World War 1 was a wild time. You had God-Kings facing off against democracies. You had cavalry charges straight into machine gun fire. The old world meeting a new world.
Before the 1900s, the gunpowder everyone used burned very inefficiently and produced a lot of smoke. To avoid friendly fire accidents, European armies issued bright, distinctively colored uniforms to their regular troops. Since their main fighting tactics consisted of lining up in an open field and shooting each other with short-ranged, inaccurate muskets, it didn’t matter that the enemy could see you in actual combat. If the army needed stealth, they’d hide in the smoke or pick a foggy day to move. The exception to the rule was rifle-equipped skirmisher units, who wore uniforms with more muted colors to make their job of sneaking around easier.
Then in the years leading up to WWI, the field of chemistry became sophisticated enough that scientists were able to create a formula for clean burning smokeless gunpowder. However, the tactics hadn’t caught up yet, so neither did uniform design. After sending millions of soldiers to die in droves, armies slowly learned that machine guns and standard-issue rifles made mass infantry assaults in open terrain suicidal, forcing all soldiers to adopt skirmisher tactics. That meant adopting uniforms with more muted colors, and eventually, camo patterns.
Before the 1900s, the gunpowder everyone used burned very inefficiently and produced a lot of smoke. To avoid friendly fire accidents, European armies issued bright, distinctively colored uniforms to their regular troops. Since their main fighting tactics consisted of lining up in an open field and shooting each other with short-ranged, inaccurate muskets, it didn’t matter that the enemy could see you in actual combat. If the army needed stealth, they’d hide in the smoke or pick a foggy day to move. The exception to the rule was rifle-equipped skirmisher units, who wore uniforms with more muted colors to make their job of sneaking around easier.
Then in the years leading up to WWI, the field of chemistry became sophisticated enough that scientists were able to create a formula for clean burning smokeless gunpowder. However, the tactics hadn’t caught up yet, so neither did uniform design. After sending millions of soldiers to die in droves, armies slowly learned that machine guns and standard-issue rifles made mass infantry assaults in open terrain suicidal, forcing all soldiers to adopt skirmisher tactics. That meant adopting uniforms with more muted colors, and eventually, camo patterns.
Everyone is talking about early gunpowder but I would like to go further back.
The battles were not the sword one-on-one duels you see on TV. With melee weapons, mostly spears since they were commonly used, your survival in battle depended on your unit keeping formation. It was a spiky mass of spears pushing against another mass of spears – whoever broke first usually lost.
Spotting the enemy is not a problem if it’s hundreds or thousands of people lined up in neat squares. The individual squares had to be large enough to protect the combatants flank and rear but also small enough to allow communication.
Early gunpowder weapons were basically spears. They allowed engagement at a slightly longer range but their primary role was still the same – mass them and try to punch enough holes in the enemy for them to break formation. Adding firearms to your spear formations allowed you to take a stab or two at the enemy when they were 10 metres away rather than 1.5 metres away and then switch to a spear/bayonet once they closed the gap.
Everyone is talking about early gunpowder but I would like to go further back.
The battles were not the sword one-on-one duels you see on TV. With melee weapons, mostly spears since they were commonly used, your survival in battle depended on your unit keeping formation. It was a spiky mass of spears pushing against another mass of spears – whoever broke first usually lost.
Spotting the enemy is not a problem if it’s hundreds or thousands of people lined up in neat squares. The individual squares had to be large enough to protect the combatants flank and rear but also small enough to allow communication.
Early gunpowder weapons were basically spears. They allowed engagement at a slightly longer range but their primary role was still the same – mass them and try to punch enough holes in the enemy for them to break formation. Adding firearms to your spear formations allowed you to take a stab or two at the enemy when they were 10 metres away rather than 1.5 metres away and then switch to a spear/bayonet once they closed the gap.
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