Tag Archives: Imperial Germany

The German Schutztruppen Slouch Hat

While the sun/pith helmet remains the iconic headdress of the colonial empires established by the European powers in the second half of the 19th century it wasn’t the only headgear favored by those colonial forces. Indigenous colonial forces utilized a variety of headdress of course, while slouch hats were increasingly favored by various units beginning in the 1880s. One of the more notable variations was the German slouch hat, which largely used in German South West Africa. Continue reading

The Original Camouflage: Khaki Part III – German Khaki Through Two World Wars

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While late to the race for colonial empire Germany wasted no time trying to catch up, and it soon fitted its armies in khaki uniforms, even as the German presence in her colonies varied widely.

For use in Europe the German army adopted a field gray (“feldgrau”) that proved to be as unsuitable in Africa as the British scarlet had been in India. The Germans thus looked to its own tan-based uniforms. Continue reading