Red Coats

[Nage]

Well this ones i`ve read on VARP forum. 

 

A long time ago, Britain and France were at war. 

 

During one battle, the French captured a British colonel. 

 

They took him to their headquarters, and the French general began to question him. 

 

Finally, as an afterthought, the French general asked, "Why do you British officers all wear red coats? Don't you know the red material makes you easier targets for us to shoot at?" 

 

In his casual, matter-of-fact, way, the officer informed the general that the reason British officers wear red coats is so that if they are wounded, the blood won't show, and the men they are leading won't panic. 

 

And that is why, from that day forward, all French army officers wear brown trousers.

 

 

 

 

p.s. I`ve heard this about Brits having read coats before (the blood thing) plus the one that they are very recognizable on field of battle. Is anyone of those true or the truth lies somewhere else???

[Jabo]

It's certainly not true about the blood - in fact blood stains red fabric black. The adoption and continued use of red by certain regiments (and later, forces elsewhere in the Empire) after the Restoration in 1660 seems to have had more to do with the relative cheapness of red dyes than policy. Funnily enough this also led to the end of red tunics as general issue in 1914 as the cochineal dye used at that time had become prohibitively expensive. These days red tunics are only authorised for officer mess dress and regimental bandsmen.

 

As far as French officers wearing brown trousers, I'm pretty sure that might be part of the joke too.

 

Jabo

[Nage]

Thanks Jabo, always good to learn something new.

I thought at least the French part was true  

[DD_Arthur]

Excellent Nage!!

 

Why did they wear red coats?  Not having been in the Army myself, my first thought would be it was a socially acceptable way of cross-dressing from the seventeenth to nineteenth century. 

 

Or; forget about the blood thing. Its a myth.  By around the end of the seventeenth century most armies had given up their pikes and halberds and were equipped with muskets and supported by cannon and cavalry. Any battlefield very quickly became obscured by smoke.  It made it much easier to tell friend from foe if everyone was colour coded.

Since a musket's effective range is around fifty metres there was no question of camouflaging anyone.  This only started to matter around 1850 when the first rifles came into use with effective ranges up to three and four hundred metres.

 

 Red had been worn by various British troops from around the mid-sixteenth century but came to be the standard colour of the uniforms issued to the New Model Army during the English civil war.  Its an expensive thing kitting out an army and red dyes were cheap and the process simple.  Britain was not the only nation to adopt red for uniforms either.  However, the British army were one of the first armies to discard bright, colourful uniforms for combat after their experiences in India where Khaki became standard in the latter half of the nineteenth century.  I think - but I'm not too sure - that the British army ( or part of it ) last fought in red coats in the Sudan in the late nineteenth century....er, possibly.

 

Red tunics and ladies underwear still play an important part in ceremonial uniform worn by the British Army to this day.     

 

Edit; Jabo beat me to it.  He just skimmed over the cross-dressing

[Nage]

So, the truth about red color of the uniform is only the economic part of it. 

And to reflect on Victorian age wars. Guts, glory & carnage. I mean, standing to about 50m in front  of fire by rank unit and they are in fire and advance, one simply must have no interest in life it self or he has to be nutz because first few rows will definitely be shot. Rest is luck.

Is there any like early age kevlar armor or something like that? Surely someone has to come to that idea after seeing one battlefield.  

[BadAim]

The Yanks invented the cure during the Revolution. Hide behind a tree with a rifle and let the Redcoats walk down the center of the road with thier Muskets. Well, at least 'till their in range...........