Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - XII. Signal and commissariat service
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
SIGNAL AND COMMISSARIAT 141
uniforms of much the same pattern and style as
the German army. The cap is the same summer
and winter, somewhat like the German “ Miitze,”
with a broad yellow band and a metal star in
front. In cold weather they protect their heads
with a capuchon of soft wool over their caps, of
exactly the same shape and stuff as the Russian
soldiers’ “ bashlihk.” All the army except the
cavalry wears the same pattern uniform, only the
colour of the collars and trouser-stripes being
different for the various arms ;
red for the infan-
try, yellow for artillery, and maroon for the
engineers, with blue for the commissariat, and
dark green for the ambulance corps. The cavalry
uniform is of flaming red, with yellow cords and
light green braid—outrageously gaudy.
Experiences from the war have proved how
unsuitable dark uniforms are ;
the men can be
seen quite plainly a long distance away, and it is
unquestionable that this much contributed to
make their losses so heavy. The men had a full
understanding of this, and when on duty in the
advanced lines it was not an uncommon thing to
see them with their khaki tunics drawn over the
dark uniform, or with the grey-lined tunics turned
inside out ;
frequently they wore a kind of waist-
coat made of goat-skin with the hair out. I have
even seen them make a kind of overall out of
common bags. On one occasion, which I will
mention later, the soldiers, before an attack, drew
their grey underwear—hoods, jerseys, and drawers
—over their dark uniforms, in order to be less
conspicuous. Undoubtedly the experiences from
the war will lead to a complete discarding of their
present winter uniforms, and khaki-coloured
woollen stuff will be substituted, as has already
been the case with the overcoats. These are
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
