Why Are Military Uniforms Khaki Green?

The concept of army first appeared in the world during the Assyrian period. When we say the first army in a modern sense and with continuity, it does not go very far. Janissaries We encounter.

Of course, the armies of different countries since ancient times; They differed in many aspects such as their capacities, defense-attack methods, and equipment possibilities. However, when we examine carefully, the uniform of each army It has its own color and flashy details. We can see that he has.

The reason for the ostentation was psychological superiority.

The reason behind the flamboyant design of the uniforms is that the visuality of the uniform is different on the battlefield. Believing it creates a psychological advantage. In fact, we can still see something similar to this in team uniforms in sports competitions. For example, some football clubs; They can embroider the motifs of predatory animals such as lions, tigers and eagles on their jerseys.

This ostentation in the uniforms should be put aside, what is more interesting is that the colors are far from the ‘khaki’ tones we are used to.

For example, the Janissaries, whom we mentioned above, were generally believed to represent power in the Ottoman Empire. They were wearing red uniforms.

Let’s look again at the Grande Armée, or ‘Grand Army’, led by Napoleon I (Napoleon Bonaparte), which brought numerous victories to the French Empire.

Napoleon’s soldiersContrary to the khaki green tones we are accustomed to today, they preferred to carry the colors of the French flag, namely dark blue, red and white.

So what happened that, despite countless examples like the ones above, military uniforms only turned to shades of khaki and green?

Actually, there is no such big mystery behind the answer. To find out the root cause of this radical change From wars with swords and shields to wars using firearms It is enough to think about the past period.

While bright, colorful and imposing clothes do not pose a problem in battles fought in narrower areas with weapons such as swords; you in longer ranged battles with firearms direct target it was making it. For this reason, since war technologies and the use of firearms have increased, colors such as khaki green have become widespread in the use of uniforms of the armies.

The first examples of khaki camouflage were provided by the British army.

Lieutenant General Harry Burnett Lumsden

Back in the 1850s, the British army in search of colonialism in India preferred the usual classic red-and-white uniform. A uniform of this color would protect the unit during combat. easy target it was making it.

lieutenant general of the period Harry Burnett Lumsden He realized this problem and started looking for a solution. The first idea that came to his mind was to make them closer to the color of the land by pouring mud, dust and tea on the uniforms. It was now harder to distinguish the soldiers and the idea paid off.

How did the name Haki come about?

These uniforms, which are very close to the color of earth, are called “earth” color in Hindi. ‘khaki’ was named. This word later passed into our language as ‘khaki’.

And countries began to prefer khaki camouflage instead of colorful uniforms

This uniform understanding, which was adopted in different countries in the following years, started to include patterns on it in parallel with the development of war strategies. During the war, these patterns were customized according to the countries so that the soldiers of the same unit could recognize each other more easily. Even The French and British armies even worked with painters on this subject. and military uniforms today with these developments. It became camouflage.

To summarize briefly; military uniforms symbolizing ostentation and power in the more primitive period; With the development of war technologies, it has become a direct element of winning and security strategies.

Let’s leave these war technologies and strategies aside for now, and end our content with the following words of the Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk:

”War must be necessary and vital. “War is murder unless the life of the nation is endangered.”

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