The Bavarian, two Württemberg, one Baden and two Hessian regiments
have white or black (Bavarians red) plumes, otherwise as for a
“red” Prussian corps. The Mecklenburg artillery has silver buttons.
The Saxon field artillery uniform is altogether different, consisting of
green tunics with red collars and Swedish cuffs, gold appointments,
red edgings, and black plume (horse artillery have a brass scale).
Prussian and Bavarian field artillery have white belts, others black.
The foot artillery, which has white shoulder-straps, is distinguished from the field by the black Brandenburg cuff with plain blue flap (Guard Swedish cuff, guard-stripes, &c.) and by a red trouser piping. The Saxon foot artillery is distinguished from the field by the ball ornament instead of plume, and the “German” cuff. Belts black (Guard and Bavarians white). Bavarian foot artillery as Prussian, but with a spiked helmet and black cuff-flap, red-edged.
The pioneers have the same uniform as artillery, but with silver buttons and appointments. The shoulder-straps are red, the helmet is spiked (Guards, black plume). The cuffs are black, red-edged, Swedish. Saxon pioneers as field artillery, but with “German” cuff. The “communication troops” wear similar uniforms with special badges, some having the Jäger shako. The Train (army service corps) has dark blue dragoon uniforms with light blue facings and black plumes; Saxons, however, have light blue with black facings. Medical officers and hospital corps wear blue uniforms with blue collars and cuffs and red edgings; stretcher bearers, &c., blue with magenta facings and silver buttons, &c.
Rank Badges (a).—Non-commissioned officers: lance-corporal a button on each side of the collar. Corporals and sergeants gold or silver lace on the collar and cuffs, small patches of the national colours on the collar patches of the greatcoat. Sergeants are distinguished from corporals by a button to the collar. There are numerous minor distinctions on the sword knots, lance pennons, hussar girdles, &c. Sergeant-majors have a narrow ring of lace on the cuff in addition to the broad under-officer’s ring; and on the greatcoat patch two small national patches. Aspirant officers wear the uniform of their non-commissioned rank with some of the officer’s distinctions. (b) Officers: The distinctive mark of the commissioned officer is the shoulder-piece (epaulette or cord). The epaulette is almost always silver and is worn as a “scale,” i.e. without fringe, by captains and subalterns, with a fine fringe by field officers and with a thick fringe by general officers. The ranks within each class are distinguished by small stars on the circle of the epaulette, lieutenant, major, and major-general, no star; first lieutenant, lieutenant-colonel and lieutenant-general, one Star; captain, colonel and general, two stars. A colonel-general has three stars and a field-marshal crossed batons. The number or cipher is also worn by all regimental officers. The body of the epaulette is usually of the same colour as the shoulder-strap of the rank and file. The shoulder cord for captains and subalterns is made up of straight strips of silver lace, that for field officers is of twisted silver cords, that of general officers is composed of two gold cords and one of silver and colours intertwined. In all these, lines of the national colours are interwoven with the silver. Badges, numbers, &c., as on the epaulette. A silver waist-sash (staff officers and adjutants shoulder-sash) is worn by all combatant officers (except hussars, who have girdles). An interesting survival of earlier uniforms is found in the full dress of general officers. The tunic buttons below the waist, and while on the left shoulder there is only a narrow silver cord, on the right the thick cord of gold, silver and coloured silks is extended to form an aiguillette. The aiguillette is also worn on the right shoulder by staff officers and some others. A universal custom, which is also a survival, is for all ranks to wear sword-knots, even with the bayonet.
The new service dress is a loose-fitting “field-grey” uniform, except in Jägers, machine-gun detachments and Jägers zu Pferd, who wear grey-green field dress.
Austria-Hungary
The infantry uniforms, since the abandonment of the historic white after 1866, have been of a very quiet shade of dark blue, and the facings colours are more varied than those of any other army. The “German,” that is Austrian, infantry wears in full dress a dark blue single-breasted tunic, light blue trousers, and a black leather shako with double eagle and a metal ball ornament. The equipment is black. On the shoulders are straps terminating in rolls or “wings,” all of the regimental colour, as are the collar and the (“German”) cuffs. In marching or service dress the tunic is replaced by a hooked jacket or blouse with plain cuffs, no shoulder-straps, and only collar patches of the regimental colour. The trousers are turned up over or tucked into a high ankle boot. The field cap is of cloth, cylindrical, with flaps buttoning in front. Hungarian infantry wears the same tunic but has a silver or white embroidered device in front of the cuff. The trousers are tight pantaloons, with a yellow piping and “Austrian”—really Hungarian—knots. Officers of infantry have no shoulder cords or straps. The full dress shako and the collar are ornamented with braid or lace according to rank. A yellow waist-sash is worn. Hungarian officers are dressed as Austrian except for the tunic cuff ornament. In other respects both the tunic and the blouse are similar to the men’s. Jägers wear a broad-brimmed felt hat with cock’s feather plume on the left. The tunic, trousers and cap are green-grey; the buttons gold; cuffs, collar, shoulder ornament and piping in full dress, and collar patch and piping in undress, green. Officers wear the waist-sash and double green stripes on the trousers. All officers in undress wear plain dark grey trousers and dark grey cylindrical cloth cap, both in the line and the Jägers.
| Austrian. | Hungarian. | |||
| Facings. | White or silver buttons, &c. |
Gold or brass buttons, &c. |
White buttons, &c. |
Gold buttons, &c. |
| Black | 58th | 14th | 38th | 26th |
| Dark brown | 17th | 55th | 78th | 68th |
| Maroon | 7th | 93rd | 83rd | 12th |
| Dark red | 18th | 1st | 53rd | 52nd |
| Amaranth red | 95th | 90th | — | 86th |
| Bordeaux red | 88th | 89th | — | — |
| Cherry red | 77th | 73rd | 23rd | 43rd |
| Madder red | 74th | 15th | 34th | 44th |
| Crimson | 81st | 84th | 82nd | 96th |
| Scarlet | 80th | 45th | 9th | 37th |
| Vermilion | 20th | 35th | 67th | 71st |
| Pink | 36th | 57th | 66th | 65th |
| Rose | 97th | 13th | 6th | 5th |
| White | 92nd | 94th | — | — |
| Sea green | 87th | 21st | 25th | 70th |
| Apple green | 54th | 9th | 79th | 85th |
| Bright green | 10th | 91st | 50th | 46th |
| Grass green | 28th | 8th | 62nd | 61st |
| Seaweed green | — | 102nd | — | — |
| Grey green | 47th | 56th | 60th | 48th |
| Pike grey | 49th | 30th | 69th | 76th |
| Ash grey | 24th | 11th | 33rd | 51st |
| Orange | 42nd | 59th | 63rd | 64th |
| Imperial yellow | 22nd | 27th | 31st | 2nd |
| Sulphur | 41st | 99th | 101st | 16th |
| Sky blue | 8th | 4th | 19th | 32nd |
| Pale blue | 75th | 40th | 29th | 72nd |
| Pearl | 98th | 100th | — | — |
Dragoons wear light blue jackets with collar and cuffs of regimental colour and narrow white or gold shoulder cord, red trousers, black crested helmets (gilded crests for officers), and slung pelisse exactly similar to the jacket except that the collar and cuffs are of black fur. The jacket is not merely an ornament, but is frequently worn, serving as a tunic. The field cap of the rank and file is red, shaped as for infantry, but without peak. Belts brown. The facings are—dark red 1st and 3rd, black 2nd and 6th, grass green 4th and 9th, imperial yellow 5th and 12th, sulphur yellow 7th and 10th, scarlet 8th and 11th, madder red 13th and 14th, white 15th. Silver buttons 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 13; gold 3, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15.
Hussars wear dark or light blue jackets and pelisses, the former braided, the latter braided and edged with black fur. The trousers are red with gold “Austrian” knots and piping (all hussars are Hungarian) and the boots have the usual hussar braid. The headdress is a shako with black “shaving-brush” plume. Regimental distinctions are as follows:—
| Shako. | Silver. | Gold. | Shako. | Silver. | Gold. | ||
| Uniform Dk. blue |
White | 9th | 3rd | Uniform Lt. blue |
White | 12th | 2nd |
| Dark blue | 13th | 1st | Light blue | 7th | 10th | ||
| Madder red | 5th | 8th | Madder red | 4th | 14th | ||
| Ash grey | 11th | 15th | Ash grey | 16th | 6th |
Lancers (Uhlans, who do not carry lances) wear the lancer cap (czapka) with black plume looped back, and old ornaments, light blue double-breasted lancer tunics (slung on the shoulder as pelisses) with madder red cuffs and piping—but no “plastron”—black for collar and gold shoulder cord. The jacket is plain, light blue, with breast and skirt pockets and flaps edged red, red collar and cuffs, no shoulder cord. The trousers are red. Regimental distinctions—top of the czapka, imperial yellow 1st and 6th, dark green 2nd and 7th, madder 3rd and 8th, white 4th, light blue 5th, cherry 11th, dark blue 12th and 13th. Gold buttons 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 12th; silver 6th, 7th, 8th, 11th and 13th.
All cavalry officers wear gold or silver pouch-belts; in undress dark grey trousers and cap are worn. Men’s undress cap as for dragoons. All cavalry men carry the carbine slung and have brown belts.
Artillery wear maroon tunics, light blue trousers, red collars, cuffs, shoulder-straps and wings, light blue cap, shako with black plume looped back. Fortress artillery have a red stripe in the trousers, technical artillery are dressed as field, but with dark grey trousers and cap and without plume. Buttons gold. On the jacket the whole collar is red. Officers wear pouch-belts as cavalry, and in undress the usual grey trousers and cap.
Engineers have an infantry uniform, but in the Jäger colours, grey and green. Train (A.S.C.) as artillery, but with light blue facings and red trousers with cap. Their shako has no plume.
