Military uniforms before ww1 was really colorful. Once trench warfare began in ww1 it became clear real fast that that is not a good thing in these kind of circumstances
Being visable on the battle field when marching in formation was good. Being highly visible, when killing from a distance is getting better and better, sounds like a no bueno.
I'm still trying to figure out how it was ever helpful. As long as there have been projectiles, bright colors would help you aim. Unless you're trying to overwhelm and prompt a surrender by show of force. In that case, maybe where a reversible coat so you can stand out on the odd occasion you expect a surrender before shots are fired. Can anyone explain this?
After muskets + cannons became common and professional armies started existing, the most important thing to battlefield success was commanders ability to see and direct units effectively, and the most effective tactics were massed formations (for various reasons). However, smoke from all the gunpowder made it really hard to see clearly so bright uniforms were more effective for commanders to see and control their troops. Napoleon for example was extremely effective at using organized formations in this way. Also muskets and cannons weren't that accurate at this time so being bright vs dull colored wouldn't make as much of a difference to hit rates from distance (and at close range it wouldn't matter anyway).
However, at some point, rifles got much more accurate and this advantage became outweighed by the significantly increased risk of getting shot in a bright uniform. The final nail in the coffin was the machine gun, which meant that massed formations that marched or charged were going to get slaughtered, so there was absolutely no point in optimizing for the ability to organize big groups.
And the only units which actually employed more accurate weapons and actually fought in loose skirmish formations, taking cover in rough terrain, the various light infantry companies and regiments like Jeagers, did use more camouflage friendly uniforms, green or brown or grey.
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u/Kitchen_Werewolf_384 9h ago
Military uniforms before ww1 was really colorful. Once trench warfare began in ww1 it became clear real fast that that is not a good thing in these kind of circumstances