![BW Dienstanzug Heer](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/BW_Dienstanzug_Heer.jpg)
''Feldgrau'' (English: field-grey) is a grayish green color. It was the official basic color of
military uniform
A military uniform is a standardised dress worn by members of the armed forces and paramilitaries of various nations.
Military dress and styles have gone through significant changes over the centuries, from colourful and elaborate, ornamented c ...
s of the German armed forces from the early 20th century until 1945 (
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
) or 1989 (
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
). Armed forces of other countries also used various shades of that color. ''Feldgrau'' was used to refer to the color of uniforms of the armies of Germany, first the
Imperial German Army
The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...
and later the ''Heer'' (ground forces) of the ''
Reichswehr
''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...
'' and the ''
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
''.
Variations
In
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
the color ''feldgrau'' was a light grey-green, though there were variations of the shade ranging from greys to browns. It was one of the first standardized uniforms suitable to the age of
smokeless gunpowder
Finnish smokeless powderSmokeless powder is a type of propellant used in firearms and artillery that produces less smoke and less fouling when fired compared to gunpowder ("black powder"). The combustion products are mainly gaseous, compared to a ...
.
''Feldgrau'' is commonly used to refer to the color of German army uniforms during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It was also used by the East German
National People's Army
The National People's Army (german: Nationale Volksarmee, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990.
The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) an ...
, under the description steingrau (stone-grey). Feldgrau was introduced to the Austrian
Bundesheer
The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria.
The military consists of 22,050 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 0.74% of natio ...
in line to the German pattern as well.
History
In 1907, the so-called field-grey peace uniform (''feldgraue Friedensuniform''), with colored cuffs, facings, shoulder straps and gorgets was issued by decree in
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
, followed by the non-Prussian contingents of the other German states and lastly by the
Bavarian Army
The Bavarian Army was the army of the Electorate (1682–1806) and then Kingdom (1806–1919) of Bavaria. It existed from 1682 as the standing army of Bavaria until the merger of the military sovereignty (''Wehrhoheit'') of Bavaria into that of t ...
in April 1916. Formerly most infantry regiments in the German Imperial Army wore "
Prussian blue
Prussian blue (also known as Berlin blue, Brandenburg blue or, in painting, Parisian or Paris blue) is a dark blue pigment produced by oxidation of ferrous ferrocyanide salts. It has the chemical formula Fe CN)">Cyanide.html" ;"title="e(Cyani ...
" tunics, although Bavarian units had light blue and
jägers dark green. Cavalry uniforms were of a wide range of colors. Until the outbreak of war in August 1914, the traditional brightly colored uniforms of the
Deutsches Heer continued to be worn as parade and off-duty wear. Barracks dress was normally an off-white fatigue dress and the field-grey uniform introduced in 1910 was generally reserved for manoeuvres and field training. Upon the outbreak of war field-grey became the normal uniform of all German soldiers. Active service experience led to the adoption of a darker grey-green shade of color in 1915, now described as "stone-grey".
Following the German example, other countries selected ''feldgrau'' in either light grey or grey-green shades as the basic color for their service uniforms. Examples were Portugal (1910), and Sweden (1923). After testing, Italy adopted a similar colored uniform with a greenish tinge on 4 December 1908, known as ''Grigio Verde''.
[Giorgio Franzosi, pages 2-3, "Il Soldato Italiano dal 1909 al 1945", Rivista Militare, Roma 1988]
Other countries today
Austria
![Bataillon de la garde autrichienne](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Bataillon_de_la_garde_autrichienne.jpg)
In 1909 the
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...
adopted
pike-grey
Cadet grey (sometimes spelled ''cadet gray'' in parts of the United States) is a somewhat blue-greyish shade of the color grey. The first recorded use of ''cadet grey'' as a color name in English was in 1912. Before 1912, the word ''cadet grey' ...
(''Hechtgrau'') as the color of the field service uniform of its infantry, artillery, engineers and transport units. Previously it had been reserved for
Jaeger and
Landwehr
''Landwehr'', or ''Landeswehr'', is a German language term used in referring to certain national army, armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large-scale, low-strength fortif ...
regiments. Following the outbreak of World War I the light blue-grey shade of ''Hechtgrau'' proved unsuited for campaigning in Europe and from 1915 onwards the grey-green ''feldgrau'' was substituted.
At the formation of the
First Austrian Republic
The First Austrian Republic (german: Erste Österreichische Republik), officially the Republic of Austria, was created after the signing of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 10 September 1919—the settlement after the end of World War I w ...
's armed forces in 1929, there were strong similarities to German uniforms, including the ''feldgrau'' uniform and the corps colors and rank insignia adopted.
Today, in accordance with national traditions, the uniform color of the Austrian armed forces is named ''feldgrau'', though other shades such as ''braungrau'' (English: brown-grey), and ''steingrau'' (stone-grey) are used, along with ''NATO-oliv'' (NATO-olive).
Chile
The
Chilean Army
The Chilean Army ( es, Ejército de Chile) is the land arm of the Military of Chile. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, a special operations brigade and an air brigade.
In recent years, and a ...
also wears a full dress uniform in feldgrau.
Finland
The current dress uniform of the
Finnish Army
The Finnish Army (Finnish: ''Maavoimat'', Swedish: ''Armén'') is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: the infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraft ...
(M/83) is a grey uniform patterned after the German 1944 uniform. The Finnish Army has used grey uniforms since its founding in 1918. M/83 and its equally grey predecessors were used as the common service uniform up to the 1980s, with camouflage (M/62) used only in the field uniform. Today, the common service uniform is a camouflage uniform (M/62, M/91 or M/05). The grey colour is called ''kenttäharmaa'' (literally "field grey") in Finnish, sometimes also known as ''armeijan harmaat'' (army greys). "Going into army greys" remains a popular saying for entering military service.
Sweden
The
Swedish Armed Forces
The Swedish Armed Forces ( sv, Försvarsmakten, "the Defense Force") is the government agency that forms the armed forces of Sweden, tasked with the defense of the country as well as with promoting Sweden's wider interests, supporting internati ...
used a very similar color for infantry uniforms; for example the grey
m/39 and later on grey-green, as the German ones. The last uniform in the latter color was the woollen
m/58 winter uniform.
Shades of grey
The table below shows some shades of grey in line to the rough
RAL colors
See also
*
Hechtgrau
*
Marengo
*
OG-107
The OG-107 was the basic work utility uniform (fatigues) of all branches of the United States Armed Forces from 1952 until its discontinuation in 1989. The designation came from the U.S. Army's coloring code "Olive Green 107" and "Olive Green 50 ...
*
Slate gray
Slate gray is a gray color with a slight azure tinge that is a representation of the average color of the material slate. As a tertiary color, slate is an equal mix of purple and green pigments.
Slaty, referring to this color, is often used t ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Feldgrau
Military uniforms
Shades of gray