The concept of army first appeared in the world during the Assyrian period. When we say the first army in a modern sense and with continuity, it does not go far, we encounter the Janissaries in the Ottoman Empire.
Of course, armies of different countries since ancient times; differed in many aspects such as their capacities, defense-offensive methods, equipment possibilities. However, when we examine it carefully, we can see that the uniform of each army has its own color and flashy details.
The reason for the ostentation was psychological superiority.
The reason behind the ostentatious design of the uniforms is the belief that the visuality of the uniform creates a psychological superiority on the battlefield. In fact, we can still see a similar one in team jerseys in sports competitions. For example, some football clubs; He can embroider the motifs of predatory animals such as lions, tigers and eagles on his jerseys.
This ostentation in the uniforms should be put aside, what is more interesting is that the colors are far from the ‘khaki’ tones we are used to.
For example, the Janissaries mentioned above wore red uniforms, which were generally believed to represent power in the Ottoman Empire.
Let’s look again at the Grande Armée, or ‘Grand Army’, led by Napoleon I (Napoleon Bonaparte), which brought numerous victories to the French Empire.
Napoleon’s soldiers preferred to carry the colors of the French flag, namely dark blue, red and white, as opposed to the khaki green tones we are accustomed to today.
So what happened that, despite countless examples like the ones above, military uniforms only turned to shades of khaki and green?
Actually, there is not such a big mystery behind the answer. To learn the main reason for this radical change, it is enough to think about the period when wars with sword-shields went to wars using firearms.
While bright, colorful and imposing clothes do not pose a problem in battles fought in narrower areas with weapons such as swords; it made you a direct target in longer ranged battles with firearms. For this reason, since war technologies and the use of firearms have increased, colors such as khaki green have become widespread in the use of uniforms of the armies.
The first examples of khaki camouflage were provided by the British army.
Back in the 1850s, the British army in search of colonialism in India preferred the usual classic red-and-white uniform. A uniform of this color made the unit an easy target during combat.
The lieutenant general of the time, Harry Burnett Lumsden, became aware of this problem and began to seek a solution. The first idea that came to mind was to pour mud, dust and tea on the uniforms to bring them closer to the color of the land. Now it was more difficult to distinguish the soldiers, and the idea paid off.
How was the name Haki born?
These uniforms, which are very close to the earth color, were called ‘khaki’, which means “earth” color in Hindi. This word later passed into our language as ‘khaki’.
And countries began to prefer khaki camouflage instead of colorful uniforms
This uniform understanding, which was adopted in different countries in the following years, started to include patterns on it in parallel with the development of war strategies. During the war, these patterns were customized according to the countries so that the soldiers of the same unit could recognize each other more easily. In fact, the French and British armies even worked with painters on this issue, and military uniforms became today’s camouflage with these improvements.
To summarize briefly; military uniforms that symbolized pomp and power in the more primitive period; With the development of war technologies, it has become a direct element of winning and security strategies.
Let’s leave these war technologies and strategies aside for now, and end our content with the following words of the Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk:
“War must be necessary and vital. War is murder unless the life of the nation is in danger.”
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