The experts, called camoufleurs, were mostly painters, sculptors and theatre-set artists. The French established a Section de Camouflage (Camouflage Department) at Amiens in 1915, notably headed by Lucien-Victor Guirand de Scévola. Contemporary artistic movements such as cubism, vorticism and impressionism also influenced the development of camouflage as they dealt with disrupting outlines, abstraction and colour theory. Gestalt Psychology influenced the development of camouflage as it dealt with questions such as "How is it that we see anything?". Portugal, during the Peninsular War, fielded light infantry known as Cacadores who wore brown-jackets which helped conceal them.Īn American artist and zoologist, Abbott Thayer published a book Concealing colouration in the Animal Kingdom, which was widely read by military leaders, though his advocacy of countershading (to hide shadows) was less successful. The Germans adopted feldgrau ("field grey") in 1910. The Italian Army used grigio-verde ("grey-green") in the Alps from 1906 and across the army from 1909. The United States, who had green-jacketed rifle units in the Civil War, were quick to follow the British, going khaki in the same year. Winston Churchill ( First Lord of the Admiralty in WWI, Prime Minister in WWII) considered deception in war to be an indispensable "element of léger de main, an original and sinister touch, which leaves the enemy puzzled as well as beaten." Other nations They introduced the Ghillie suit for concealment for sniping in World War I. The Lovat Scouts were formed from Scottish gamekeepers for service in the Boer war. Khaki-coloured uniform became standard service dress for both British and British Indian Army troops stationed in British India in 1885, and in 1896 khaki drill uniform was adopted by British Army for the service outside of Europe in general, but not until the Second Boer War, in 1902, did the entire British Army standardise on khaki (officially known as "drab") for Service Dress. This improvised measure gradually became widespread among the troops stationed in India and North-West Frontier, and sometimes among the troops campaigning on the African continent. The resulting hue varied from dark or slate grey through light brown to off-white, or sometimes even lavender. īritish forces during the mutiny of 1857 in India dyed their white drill uniforms to inconspicuous tones (following the practice started by the Corps of Guides in 1846), called khaki (from the Hindi- Urdu word for "dusty" ), by immersion in mud, tea, coffee or coloured inks. As they carried more accurate Baker Rifles and engaged at a longer range, they were dressed in a rifle green jacket, in contrast to the Line regiments' scarlet tunics. The first regular units to adopt camouflage colours were the 95th Rifle Regiment and the 60th Rifle Regiment, created during the Napoleonic Wars to strengthen the British skirmish line. Different countries have taken different paths towards the development of military camouflage. CADPAT, addresses visibility in the near infrared as well as visible light, for concealment from night vision devices. The intent of camouflage is to disrupt an outline by merging it with its surroundings, making a target harder to identify, or to confuse an observer as to its nature. The jägers in contrast were issued green and later other drab colour uniforms to allowing for more modern tactics. The bright colours and bold, impressive designs to daunt the enemy, foster unit cohesion, allow easier identification of units in the fog of war, attract recruits, and reduce desertion. The nature of their tasks required something else than the brightly coloured uniforms commonly used for uniforms back then. Previously known as concealing coloration or deceptive concealment, military camouflage was first practised in the mid 18th century by jäger- or rifleman units armed with rifles. In that war, long-range artillery and observation by air combined to expand the field of fire, and camouflage was widely used to decrease the danger of being targeted. The French slang word camouflage came into common English usage during World War I when the concept of visual deception developed into an essential part of modern military tactics. In practice, it is the application of colour and materials to battledress and military equipment to conceal them from visual observation. Military camouflage refers to any method used to render military forces less detectable to enemy forces.
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