The uniform of the French army in the second world war. French soldier of World War I

ATTENTION: Clothing measurements are shown, but not body measurements. Armpit width has NOTHING to do with chest circumference. These are different sizes.

Sleeve length from the middle of the neck at the back (where the collar is sewn to the back) to the edge of the cuff.

Sleeve length from the sewing line of the sleeve to the edge of the cuff. Not measured on raglan shoulders.

Armpit width. Measurement between the points where the sleeve is attached to the side seam.

The height of the back is from the bottom to the seam where the collar is sewn to the back.

Width between shoulder seams. Not measured on raglan shoulders.

Waist width. Not in the belt, but in the waist, in the narrowest place.

Inseam length.

Pants width at the waist. Pants only. It is the width, not the girth, in the belt, where the belt passes.

French army sizes are pretty basic. The tags indicate the circumference of the bust and next to it is the growth index. For example, the size 108L is indicated on the tag, which means chest circumference up to 108cm for height 180-190.

There are three heights in total: C, M and L (respectively 160-170, 170-180 and 180-190).

Jackets M-64

Taking measurements on M64 jackets was more difficult than we thought.

Each new measured instance brought us new surprises.

Therefore, there are no exact figures, only "ranges" and "errors".

Jackets CCE camo (membrane)

When choosing these jackets, it should be taken into account that the sleeves are made according to the "raglan" type, that is, they do not have a shoulder seam.

Over many years of trading in these jackets, we have noticed the following: it cannot be clearly stated that the sizes of jackets clearly correspond to the size of a person. For example, size 120L (60 size height 175-185) is very often taken by people not only in size 60, but also smaller (56, 58 ...). It cannot be said that they are small, no, they just have such a specificity - to be worn over outerwear and have loose fit. And of course, all people are different, someone likes to be more free.

The uniforms of the infantry regiments of the Great Army were remarkably diverse. Even among purely French units, one could sometimes find the most bizarre combination of the type of shako and the color of the cuffs, not to mention the peculiarities of the uniform of the armies of the French allies. However, it is possible to single out the most common specific traits and features of infantry uniforms French army. It is them that we will consider in this article.

Soldier and officer of the line infantry 1808-1810 On the Fusilier's shako we see a red etiquette. In 1812, this element of the uniform was officially abolished, but in practice it continued to be found in many companies and battalions of the line infantry.

Line infantry uniform
Uniform- This is the main element of the uniform of any army. In the French army, the uniform was predominantly blue. The cut and shape of the French infantry uniform was very different both in terms of the types of troops, as well as in the time of tailoring. Until the beginning of 1812, the uniforms of the French infantry of the line had long tails and a slit on the chest. A uniform of this type was very common in Europe and was called "French". But since 1812, a shortened uniform without a cut on the chest was introduced. The tails have become very short - only 32 cm, and the decorations on them are strictly regulated. On the coat tails of the Fusiliers' uniform was embroidered the blue letter "N" surmounted by a crown. The tails of the grenadiers were decorated with red grenades, and the voltigeurs with yellow hunting horns. Folded lapels in the infantry of the line were white color. The lapels of the uniform of the line infantry were without a cut, also white. The uniforms of corporals and non-commissioned officers differed from the uniforms of privates only in yellow stripes on the sleeves.

Since 1806, line infantry soldiers were required to wear shako as a headdress. But since the headgear could only be changed when the old one was completely worn out, many soldiers continued to wear old-style hats. By the start of the 1812 campaign, all line infantry regiments were wearing shakos. The exceptions were some grenadier regiments, which continued to wear bearskin hats.

Light infantry 1808-1810 (Officer, huntsman and vaulter). The Voltigeurs wore a red and yellow plume on a shako and epaulettes of the same color.

The insignia was placed on the shakos of the line infantry - badge. It could be diamond-shaped or eagle-shaped. The badge was one of the elements of regimental distinction. As decorative element on the shako there was an etishket - a knot with a pigtail. By the beginning of the war of 1812, the etiquettes were formally abolished in the line infantry, but many regiments retained them. The serial number of the company of any line infantry battalion was determined by the color of the pompom on the shako. The first company of the battalion had a green pompom, the second had a blue one, the third had an orange-yellow one, and the fourth had a purple one. On the pompom was placed a number indicating the number of the battalion in the regiment.

On their feet, the soldiers wore long white trousers tucked into short leggings.

The equipment of the line and light infantry did not differ from each other, and consisted of a knapsack, a cartridge bag, a cleaver worn on a harness, and a bayonet with a scabbard.

Private, sergeant and officer of foot grenadiers. 1805-1806 The grenadiers of the line infantry retained their traditional headgear - fur hats.

Light infantry uniform
The uniform of the light infantry regiments differed from the uniform of the line infantry regiments. Main Feature all the uniforms of the French light infantry had peaked lapels.

The uniforms of the light infantry soldiers were all blue, with scarlet collars and cuff flaps. The piping is white, as are the buttons. The vest is blue, as are the pants. Unlike line infantry regiments, shakos appeared in light infantry as early as the era of the Directory. The shako of the Carabinieri mouths was decorated with a red sultan and etiquette. In addition, the Carabinieri wore red epaulettes. And also in red in the Carabinieri companies there were grenade coattails on the lapels, a cleaver or half-saber lanyard and leggings trim. In Jaeger companies, all of the above elements were green. In voltigeurs, these elements were yellow, yellow-red or yellow-green. The equipment and armament of the light infantry was the same as that of the heavy infantry.

The sultan was placed on the shakos of the light infantry soldiers. For the Jaegers it was all green, while for the Voltigeurs it was green on the bottom and yellow on the top. The uniform of the huntsman and voltigeur also differed in the shape of the badge on the shako. The badge of the huntsman was diamond-shaped, and the voltigeur was in the form of an eagle. The trousers and leggings of the light infantry soldiers did not differ from the uniform of the line infantry soldiers.

Line infantry 1808-1813 The Fusilier pictured on the right is uniformed in strict accordance with the regulations. Shako without etiquette, with a blue pompom, a plaque on the shako in the form of an eagle, white lapels and lapels.

Uniforms of officers of the line and light infantry of the French army

The uniforms of the officers were even more varied than the uniforms of the enlisted men. In general, officers wore a uniform similar in cut and color to that of privates, but sewn from better cloth. Epaulettes were the main distinction of the title. The buttons of the officer's uniform were gold or silver, and the decorations on the lapels were embroidered with gold thread. Melee weapons were decorated with a gold lanyard. Instead of leggings, officers wore short boots. Officers of the light and line infantry differed only in epaulettes. In the line infantry they were gold, and in the light infantry they were silver.

In general, fashion had a very important influence on the uniform of the armies of the late 18th - early 19th centuries. That is why individual elements of uniforms could change almost every year. In the period from 1789 to 1814, France waged constant wars, in which it was completely impossible to follow the rules and regulations. Therefore, among the infantry units that took part in the campaign against Russia in 1812, it is impossible to identify a general regulation regarding uniforms.

Chronicle of the day: The battle at Solovyevo continues

First Western Army
On the night of August 21, the French sent cavalry skirmishers to the right bank of the Dnieper, to the village of Pnevo, where part of the troops of the Russian Cossack rearguard was located. A firefight ensued, during which the French tried to force the Cossacks to retreat beyond the Dnieper, but the actions of the Russian artillery stopped the advance of the enemy. The battle lasted about two hours, the rear guard held its positions.

Meanwhile, the fighting continued near the village of Solovyevo, which had begun the day before. On the right bank of the Dnieper was the Mariupol and Sumy hussars, as well as the Polish Lancers. At 2 p.m., the French opened artillery fire and forced the Russians to retreat a little north of the Solovyov ferry. In this position, the rear guard entrenched and held the line until 6 pm, and withdrew after the bridges over the river were destroyed.

Fighting also took place on the opposite, left bank near the village of Solovyevo. General Rosen's rearguard cavalry operating there destroyed the bridges across the river. Very important role in the battles of August 21, the Russian 6th cavalry artillery company, competently located on the left bank of the Dnieper, played. After the bridges were destroyed and the rearguards began to withdraw, she stopped the French attack. With the onset of dusk, the fighting ceased. The First Western Army at 9 pm left the camp near the village of Umolye and headed for Dorogobuzh.

Third Observation Army
In the town of Divina, a detachment of General Khovansky joined Tormasov's army, who replaced Chaplits and made up a new rearguard of the army. The army was still pursued along the Kobrin road by the Schwarzenberg corps, and along the Brest-Litovsk road by the Rainier corps. The newly formed rearguard of Khovansky entered the battle with the vanguard of the enemy near the town of Knyazha Gura. In this battle, the 1st Combined Grenadier Battalion of the 9th Infantry Division distinguished itself.

First separate building
Wittgenstein's corps, which was defeated near Polotsk, retreated along the Polotsk-Sebezh road beyond the river. Drissa to the village of Sivoshino. At the town of Arteykovichi, the army organized a bivouac and was attacked by the troops of General Wrede. The offensive of the Bavarians was repulsed.

Person: Efim Ignatievich Chaplits

Efim Ignatievich Chaplits (1768-1825)
Efim Ignatievich has a very revealing biography, inconvenient for those who like to inflate Polish-Russian contradictions. After all, his faithful service to Russia and the unconditional authority of an honest and brave officer once again show that not all Poles hated the Empire.

Chaplitz came from an ancient Polish noble family and began serving in the Polish army. However, in the early 1780s. Efim Ignatievich transferred to the Russian service, participated in the siege of Ochakov, the capture of Bendery and Izmail, was noted by Suvorov as an extremely brave officer.

During the Polish "revolution" T. Kosciuszko Lieutenant Colonel E.I. Chaplits was sent to the rebels for negotiations, but the Poles attacked him and captured him, while he received a severe shell shock.

In 1796, Chaplits participated in the Zubov brothers' project to conquer the entire Western Asia and personally delivered the keys to the captured city of Baku to Catherine II, for which he was granted the rank of colonel. Naturally, these favors under Paul I led to the fact that Chaplits was dismissed from the army until the accession to the throne of Alexander.

In 1801, during the restoration in the service, Efim Ignatievich received the rank of major general, from 1803 he was in the retinue of the sovereign. Participated in the Austrian and Prussian campaigns, where he distinguished himself in a number of battles and received the Order of St. George, 3rd degree.

Since 1806, Chaplits was listed as the chief of the Pavlograd hussar regiment, at the head of which in July 1812, being with the 3rd Reserve Observational Army, he defeated a detachment of Saxons at Kobrin, capturing many prisoners. It was Chaplits who commanded the rearguard of Tormasov's army, which delayed the ever-increasing attacks of Schwarzenberg and Rainier.

During the counteroffensive Russian troops Efim Ignatievich was at the forefront of Chichagov's army, commanding an infantry corps. At the same time, he dispersed all the newly formed Lithuanian regiments, took Vilna, participated in the operation to encircle Napoleon near the Berezina and, despite a concussion in the head, continued to fight. After the end of the campaign, he wrote a note justifying Chichagov's actions near the Berezina.

During the foreign campaign, Chaplits commanded the allied Polish troops, distinguished himself in a number of battles. After the war he commanded a hussar division. In 1823, due to old age, he was appointed to be with the cavalry.

1) "The French army went to war in red pants for the profits of domestic paint manufacturers."
- The last French manufacturer of red paint "garance" went bankrupt at the end of the 19th century and the army was forced to buy chemical dye in Germany.
In 1909-1911, the French army carried out extensive work on the development of khaki uniforms ("Boer" uniform, "Reseda" uniform, "Detail" uniform).
Its first and most violent opponents were ... journalists and experts of the then media, who quickly turned the public against "degrading and french spirit"protective uniform.

Then populist parliamentarians, eternally economical financiers and army conservatives joined in - and the initiative was buried until 1914, when Detai's gray-blue overcoats had to be urgently removed from warehouses, which, fortunately, had not yet been decommissioned, unlike their khaki predecessors and resedas.

2) "The theory of "offensive to the limit" developed by the General Staff intellectuals has put France on the brink of disaster."
- Absolutely all sides of the initial period of WWI adhered to an exclusively offensive image of the war. Theoretical calculations of the French General Staff - by the way, less mechanistic than the Germans and paid great attention the psychological aspect of the conduct of hostilities, did not stand out with anything special against this background.
The real reason for the August hecatombs was the failure in the officers of the corps and division level, which was distinguished by a high average age and low quality.
In the regular military, in view of low level life, there were people who were incapable of anything else, and the reservists en masses had no idea about modern methods waging war.

3) "Merciless hand-to-hand fights in trenches".
- The statistics of physicians in this regard is merciless. The share of the cold accounted for 1% of fatal wounds in 1915 and 0.2% - in 1918. The main weapon of the trenches was a grenade (69%) and firearms (15%).
This also correlates with the distribution of wounds over the body: 28.3% - the head, 27.6% - upper limbs, 33.5% - legs, 6.6% - chest, 2.6% - stomach, 0.5% - neck.

4) "Deadly Gas"
- 17,000 killed and 480,000 wounded on the Western Front. That is, 3% of the total losses and 0.5% of the dead. This gives us a ratio of killed to wounded of 1:28 against an average of 1:1.7-2.5 along the front.
That is, no matter how cynical it sounds, much more soldiers survived after the gas, who could tell everyone about their suffering - despite the fact that only 2% of the wounded became disabled for life, and 70% of the poisoned returned to service in less than 6 weeks.

5) "France bled to death in the trenches of Verdun."
- Near Verdun, France lost about the same number of soldiers as in the mobile war of 1918 and almost half as many as in the more than mobile border battles and on the Marne.

6) "The officers hid behind the backs of the soldiers."
- The proportion of dead and missing from those drafted into the army, officers / soldiers: infantry - 29% / 22.9%, cavalry - 10.3% / 7.6%, artillery - 9.2% / 6%, sappers - 9, 3%/6.4%, aviation - 21.6%/3.5%. At the same time, so as not to talk again - this is the question of the cavalry destroyed by machine guns.

7) "The generals shot the rebellious soldiers."
- The number of soldiers sentenced to death by courts-martial (including those who committed criminal offenses) is 740. This is 0.05% of all French infantrymen who died.

As you know, by the beginning of the First World War, the armies of Russia, Germany and Great Britain were equipped with machine guns of the same design (Khairem Maxima), which differed only in ammunition and machines - the Sokolov wheeled machine in Russia, the tripod in Britain (these are the machines used all over the world in our time ) and an unusual sled machine in Germany. It was the latter that became the reason for the legend.
The fact is that a machine gun with such a machine was supposed to be carried either as a stretcher, or dragged like a sled, and to facilitate this work, belts with carbines were attached to the machine gun.
At the front, while carrying, machine gunners sometimes died, and their corpses, fastened with belts to a machine gun, just gave rise to a legend, and then rumor and the media replaced the belts with chains, for greater effect.

The French went even further, and talked about suicide bombers locked outside inside "Schumann's armored carriages." The legend became very widespread, and as Hemingway later wrote in one of the post-war stories, "... his acquaintances, who heard detailed stories about German women chained to machine guns in the Ardennes forest, as patriots, were not interested in unchained German machine gunners and were indifferent to his stories."
A little later, these rumors were also mentioned by Richard Aldington in the novel Death of a Hero (1929), where a purely civilian man teaches a soldier who came from the front on vacation:
"- Oh, but our soldiers are so good, so good, you know, not like the Germans. You must have already convinced yourself that the Germans are a cowardly people? You know, they have to be chained to machine guns.
- I didn't notice anything. I must say, they fight with amazing courage and perseverance. Don't you think that to suggest otherwise is not very flattering for our soldiers? After all, we have not yet been able to really push the Germans."

Back to top great war the German command and officers did not hide their disdain for the French army, associating it with the "Gallic rooster" - it was assumed that she was also quick-tempered and noisy, but in fact weak and shy.
But already in the first battles, the French soldiers confirmed their long-standing reputation as staunch and brave fighters, sincerely ready for self-sacrifice in the name of their homeland.
Their high fighting qualities turned out to be all the more valuable because this time they had to fight with practically the worst weapons from everything available in the arsenals of both allies and opponents.

The main weapon of the French soldier - the 8-mm rifle "Lebel-Berthier" - could not be compared with the German "Mauser M.98", in many respects inferior to the Russian "three-line", and the Japanese "Arisaka Type 38" and the American " Springfield M.1903", and the Shosha light machine gun was generally classified by many as weapon curiosities.
Nevertheless, since the French infantrymen were doomed to use it (although they tried to replace it with a captured or allied one at the first opportunity), it was it that eventually became the “weapon of victory” of the Great War, in which the French army, of course, played a decisive role.

The Shosha machine gun also began to be developed spontaneously, as a reaction to the global trend to create automatic weapons systems.
The basis of the future automatic rifle (and the French created it) was taken nowhere else unclaimed and potentially unsuccessful machine gun system of the Austro-Hungarian designer Rudolf Frommer, based on the recoil energy of the barrel with a long stroke.
For rapid-fire weapons, this scheme is the most undesirable, as it leads to increased vibration. However, the French chose her.
Tactical and technical characteristics new weapons were at the level of "below the lowest". Perhaps the only positive quality of the "Shosh" was its light weight - no more than 9.5 kg with an equipped box magazine for 20 rounds and a bipod.
Although even here he did not become a champion: the Danish Madsen light machine gun, which had excellent combat and reliable automation, weighed no more than 8.95 kg.

Despite all its shortcomings, the Shosha machine gun was a commercial success, albeit a scandalous one. It remained in service with the French army until 1924, and by that time the total production of the machine gun had amounted to a considerable 225 thousand pieces.
The French managed to get the main income from the sales of their outsider machine gun from the US military department, which had a very saturated market for automatic weapons.
In the spring of 1917, shortly after America's entry into the war, General William Crozey, Director of the US Army Ordnance Department, signed a contract for nearly 16,000 Shosha machine guns.
It is noteworthy that a few years earlier, the same official categorically rejected the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bproducing an excellent Lewis machine gun in the United States, but argued the need to purchase an obviously unsuccessful French model "by the obvious lack of firepower of American formations."

The result of its use in the US Army is not difficult to predict: the French machine gun received the same unflattering ratings. Nevertheless, General Crozi continued to buy these weapons in bulk.
On August 17, 1917, the French Arms Commission received an order for another 25 thousand C. S. R. G. machine guns, only under the main American cartridge 30-06 Springfield (7.62 × 63 mm).
The fate of this contract was very remarkable. Machine guns fired under the heading Automatic Rifle Model 1918 (Chauchat) began to shoot even worse than those made under the "native" 8 mm cartridge.
The more powerful 30-06 ammunition not only often jammed, but it also broke the reloading mechanism very quickly. It is not surprising that, having received a little more than 19 thousand machine guns under the new contract, the Americans categorically refused further deliveries.
Several deputies of the French Parliament then tried to initiate an investigation into where the profits from the sale of obviously unusable machine guns to the Americans went, but it was quickly closed - too many high-ranking military and diplomats were involved in the deal on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

France

These are the orange aprons worn by the sappers of the French Foreign Legion. At the Bastille Day parade, they do not carry any load, but in the field they can accommodate various tools. Veterans of the Legion wear beards. There are other options for combat aprons, which compete with unloading vests in terms of consumer qualities.

Vatican

The Vatican does not have its own army. Therefore, even such a shrine as the Pope is guarded by the mercenary corps of the Swiss Guard, founded in the 16th century. Since the Catholic guardsmen have no time to read fashionable army magazines, their uniform, developed by Michelangelo himself, has not changed for 400 years.

Italy

The police officers of Rome, walking around in their uniforms in Piazza Navona (Piazza Navona), are very similar to Count Dracula.

Interest is also caused by the Italian headdresses of the military. “Bye-bye-swaying peeeeeery on hataaaaaah” :)

And also the brave Italian guard:

Greece

It is strange, but often the soldiers of the guard of honor, who guard quite serious and even holy places, dress up in the most ridiculous form. This is what the soldiers of the presidential guard look like - Greek Evzones, marching at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Athens.

The Changing of the Guard of the Presidential Guard is the most lively curiosity of Athens. In such a heavy and warm form, not only walking, but standing, and even that is not easy. In the summer, in the heat of under forty, in double woolen stockings, heavy boots - five kilograms each, in a fez hat that is not at all like a panama hat, and even with a carbine - marching is a real feat!

Evzon in translation means "well-belted". One of the “girded” has a special position: this person is obliged to ensure that the clothes of those on duty are always in in perfect order. And at the same time, and so that tourists, trying to take a photo next to the Evzones, do not cross the line of reason.

At 11 am every Sunday in Athens there is a parade changing of the guard. The ceremony is attended by the entire personnel of the Evzone company - more than 150 people. On the eve of the event, the police block the avenue, along which the procession with the orchestra at the head will go from the barracks to the main square of the country. During each ceremonial changing of the guard, the orchestra traditionally plays the national anthem.

It seems that, while marching, Evzones make a lot of superfluous, too “ceremonial” movements. But this is exactly what their traditional drill step looks like. Strange-looking boots with pompoms - tsaruhi - weigh 5 kilograms each, and each is lined with 60 steel nails. Nails - so that the Evzones can beautifully click on the pavement. The sound of “well-belted” footsteps cannot be compared with anything. Pumpons also make sense. Once upon a time, Evzones hid dangerous and insidious weapons in them - sharply sharpened knives, with which they could unexpectedly hit the enemy. That is why they so diligently demonstrate pum-poms, pacing along the pavement.

Not everyone is taken to Evzones. The candidate must be handsome and tall - at least 187 cm tall and, moreover, psychologically stable. The marching step of recruits is not taught for too long, only 5 weeks, but the classes are very intense. After training, the soldiers are allowed to guard at the Parliament and the entrance to the Presidential Palace.

South Korea

Wardrobe of the royal guard South Korea also similar to military uniform like a squirrel costume on a judge's robe. Nevertheless, these courageous and stern warriors belong to the elite units and are capable of solving the most difficult combat missions. They just must not want to flaunt it, so they traditionally dress up in robes, underpants and tall hats.

And this is how the dress uniform of the South Korean diving troops looks like:

And here attention to the South Korean parade was attracted rather not by the form, but by the actions of the military :)

Fiji

It's hard to believe, but these guys in torn skirts and slippers are also the most honored of the guards of the President of Fiji.

Russia

Black Sea elite units of combat swimmers at the celebration on the occasion of the Day Navy Russia in Sevastopol. In order not to step on each other's flippers, the fighters did without them.

Thailand

5th of December, National holiday in Thailand - the birthday of His Majesty the King. At a colorful ceremony at the Royal Plaza in Bangkok, the elite units of the Royal Guard, resembling a box of pencils, solemnly reaffirm their oath to His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Iran

Parade of the Iranian army in Tehran. It is very difficult to determine not only the rank, but also the type of troops behind the camouflage in the form of rough vegetation.

Women's troops:

India and Pakistan

The Evening Dawn Ceremony is a complex highly artistic ritual performed by Pakistani and Indian border guards at a checkpoint in the city of Amritsar to the delight of tourists. It takes place every day before sunset.

You have to understand that it's pure. local custom, because the tradition of lowering the flag at the Wagah checkpoint began in 1947, when the newly independent British India split into India and Pakistan. Although the Indian uniform and headdresses of the Pakistani and Indian border guards are from the times of colonial England.
The nightly ceremony at the post of Wag reflects all the complexities of relations between the now hostile states, which were once part of one great country demonstrating strength and determination to defend their interests.

Here is the ceremony itself:

From the Pakistani side, the stands are chanting: "Pakistan zindaba-a-d!" (“Long live Pakistan!”), the Indian side replies: “Bharat! Bharat! ("India! India!"). From the speakers, drowning out the screams, the patriotic song "My Pakistan" sounds. Singing is also heard from the Indian side. Then an old man in a green coat runs out to the gate, the state flag flutters in his hands. The crowd greets him with a loud cheer: "Pakistani bapu!" ("Pakistani dad!"). It turns out that it is as much a part of the tradition as the ceremony of lowering the national flag. "Muslims-e!" - the old man shouts invitingly, addressing the stands. Long live Pakistan! the crowd answers. Music and slogans from both sides merge, forming some kind of unthinkable cacophony.

Meanwhile, in front of the flagpoles, the main action begins. Guardsmen in national uniforms appear on both sides. After complex rebuildings, the gates swing open, and guards of honor greet each other. On the Pakistani side, the rangers, burly Pashtun guys, perform some kind of war dance. Then the officers from the Pakistani and Indian sides (one in black uniforms with black plumes on their heads, others in khaki uniforms with red plumes) shake hands. The crowd in the stands greets the handshake with loud shouts. The officers begin to lower their colors - the spectators go on a rampage. Then another handshake and the gates slam shut.

Having splashed out the accumulated emotions, the audience with a sense of fulfilled civic duty, return to their business. Of course, to a certain extent this is an invented and rehearsed show, but it contains main point: each side seeks to show "we are peaceful citizens, we do not violate borders, we are ready for cooperation, but our strength and power will be enough to defend our interests in case of conflict."

India

Indian ceremonial military uniform:

Soldiers at the parade dedicated to the Day Republics:

These are the Sikh bosses in the service:

God forbid to meet this in battle:

Parade. Speech by the military.

Peru

Riot Suppression Unit. They don't seem to be uncommon there.

Bulgaria

The shots of the film "Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession" are sooo reminiscent of the harns lads :)

China

Ninzi of the 21st century. And if you imagine that there are more than a billion of them ...

Based on materials from freemindforum.net, vsyako-razno.ru and ngine.com.ru.

The personal ranks of the French army were divided into generals, officers and non-commissioned officers. Initially, the ranks coincided with the positions held by the persons who wore them, but gradually they acquired an independent meaning, emphasized by external insignia.

LOWER RANKS:

Insignia of soldiers and non-commissioned officers

Ordinary soldiers of selected infantry companies (grenadiers, carabinieri and voltigeurs) and selected regiments (cuirassiers, mounted carabinieri and part of the regiments of the Imperial Guard) had epaulettes instead of shoulder straps (usually woolen) different colors, which distinguished the elite from ordinary soldiers. In addition, veterans of all regiments were distinguished by chevrons for long service; these chevrons were sewn on the left sleeve above the elbow. The color of the stripes was usually red or auroral (golden yellow).

OFFICER RANKS:

Officer insignia

The main insignia of the officers were epaulettes embroidered with silver or gold galloon, which corresponded to the military rank and were worn on the shoulders of the uniform and frock coat. The color of the epaulette was determined by the color of the regiment's instrument: silver with white and gold with yellow buttons. Chief officers wore an epaulette with a thin fringe on their left shoulder, and a counter-epaulette without fringe on their right; the staff officers had epaulettes with thick fringe on both shoulders. The epaulette and counter-epaulette of the sous-lieutenant had two strips of red silk along the field; the lieutenant was distinguished by one stripe on the field, and the captain had a field that was clean in the color of the device. The chief (commander) of a battalion or squadron - had an epaulette and a counter-epaulette like a captain, but the fringe on the left epaulette was threaded (twisted thick). The major wore two epaulettes with a fringe fringe, but the field of epaulettes was the color opposite to the regiment's device (with white buttons - gold, with yellow - silver). The Colonel had two one-coloured epaulettes with a fringed fringe.

Colonel of the 9th Hussars in full dress uniform and captain of the 12th Hussars in dress coat - an example of a different type of insignia in the cavalry

GENERALS AND MARSHALS:

General insignia

French army generals wore special form, introduced in 1803. Differences in ranks came down to epaulettes, sewing on a uniform, scarves and lanyards. The brigadier general wore two silver stars on epaulettes with twisted thick fringes, a belt of blue leather, and a gold weave waist scarf with blue flecks. A general's valve was attached to the hat, but the top of the hat was not sheathed with galloon.
The divisional general wore three silver stars on epaulettes, a red leather belt and a general's scarf with red splashes; the sewing on the collar and cuffs was double. A hat with a general flap was sheathed on top with gold galloon.

PRODUCTION:

IMPERIAL GUARD

sergeant major (senior sergeant), grenadier and captain of the regiment of foot grenadiers of the Old Guard in marching uniform

The text is from the Encyclopedia "Patriotic War of 1812". Moscow, ROSSPEN, 2004