Historical colours, standards and guidons
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[edit] Soviet Union
Each regiment in the armed forces of the Soviet Union had its own Regimental Colour, which was produced to a standard design:
- Obverse - red field, a red star yellow bordered and the full name and number of a military unit below. Each unit has its own inscription.
- Reverse - red field, a gold hammer and sickle and the motto 'ЗА НАШУ СОВЕТСКУЮ РОДИНУ!' ('For our Soviet Motherland!')
All the Colours were red with gold fringe and square in form.
[edit] Guards Regiments
The Colours of those regiments that were classed as 'Guards' was slightly different. These had the portrait of Lenin, the motto ЗА НАШУ СОВЕТСКУЮ РОДИНУ! and the letters CCCP on the obverse and the small star with hammer and sickle in its centre, unit's name and a motto on the reverse. The mottoes were different for different regiments (for example, those regiments made Guards in the Great Patriotic War bore the motto 'Death to the German Invaders!').
[edit] France
[edit] Revolutionary Army
In 1794, the French Army was reorganised following the Revolution. Regiments were renamed demi-brigades, with three battalions in each. The 1st Battalion of each was raised from the volunteers, while the 3rd Battalion were conscripts. These two received identical colours. The 2nd Battalion meanwhile was formed from a regiment of the old Royal Army, and received a different colour from the 1st Battalion. The colours of all of the 2nd Battalions were identical to each other (except for the demi-brigade's number), while the 1st Battalions all received different colours.
[edit] Imperial Army
In the Imperial Army under Napoleon I, regiments received new colours, which were called aigles (eagles), from the eagle that was mounted atop the pole. Up to 1812, they resembled the colours of the Revolutionary Army, specifically the 1st Demi-Brigade of infantry, with a white diamond and the corners filled in (from clockwise top left) red-blue-red-blue. The name of the regiment was written in gold on the obverse, and the words Valeur et Discipline, together with the battalion number, on the reverse. The regiment's number was written in gold in the four corners. In 1812, a new pattern of colours was authorised; this used the French Tricolour, fringed in gold, and with various regimental and imperial devices forming a frame around the gold writing. The obverse bore the name of the regiment, while the reverse saw listed its battle honours. However, only those actions in which the Emperor himself had participated were permitted to be displayed, so some regiments had nothing on the reverse of their colours. Only the 1st Battalion of each regiment was issued with this Colour; subsequent battalions were issued with plain, coloured marker flags; although the regulations issued specifically prohibited the addition of any inscriptions or insignia, many battalions did so to allow them to stand out.
- Battalion Flag Colours after 1812
- 1st Battalion - Regimental Colour
- 2nd Battalion - White Flag
- 3rd Battalion - Red Flag
- 4th Battalion - Blue Flag
- 5th Battalion - Green Flag
- 6th Battalion - Yellow Flag
- The regiments of the Imperial Guard were subjected to a similar pattern after 1812, with the 1st Battalion carrying the regiment's Colour, and subsequent battalions carrying plain red flags with either grenades (for grenadier regiments) or hunting horns (for chasseur regiments) in the centre and at the corners.
- French Colours prior to the Revolution
- French Colours from the Revolution onwards
[edit] Germany
[edit] Kingdom of Prussia
King Frederick II - known to history as Frederick the Great - ascended the throne of Prussia in 1740. Shortly thereafter he began to issue colours of a new pattern to the infantry regiments of the Prussian Army. Under the new regulations, each regiment received two flags per battalion. The first battalion carried the King's Colour (leibfahne) and one Regimental Colour (regimentsfahne), while the second battalion carried two regimentsfahnen. The Leibfahne had a white field and the Regimentsfahne had a field in the distinguishing colour of the regiment. In the center of both colours was a circular tablet bearing the crowned Prussian eagle under a scroll inscribed Pro Gloria et Patria (For Glory and Fatherland), all within a wreath surmounted by the royal crown. The corners were decorated with crowned royal cyphers (FR for Fredericus Rex) The colours of the wreath, crown and cyphers could be either gold or silver. Unusually, Prussian infantry colours were longer at the hoist than on the fly, measuring 140 by 120 centimetres. Cords and tassels were silver and black. The colours were made of silk, with insignia painted on. The colours of the regular infantry regiments remained virtually unchanged from 1742 until 1806, when catastrophic defeat at the hands of Napoleon all but destroyed the once-proud Prussian Army. When new flags were issued to the reconstituted army beginning in 1811-12, their design was based on the original pattern, but with a number of modifications.
[edit] Third Reich
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- Army: The pattern of the colours for the German Army of the Third Reich was instituted in 1936. It encompasses a square white flag with a black Iron Cross extending nearly to the edges; the cross has a silver border followed by a thinner black edge and a white fimbriation; in each corner is a black swastika. At the center of the flag is a white disk surrounded by a silver wreath and containing a black ("Army type") eagle grasping a black swastika. The colour of the background varied depending on the branch of the service. Cavalry and artillery had the same pattern, but as a swallow tailed standarte (standard) rather than an ordinary fahne.
- Luftwaffe: The ground troops of the Luftwaffe were given different colours to those of the army. It was either red (for anti-aircraft troops) or yellow (for field troops), with a black lined white diagonal cross. On the obverse in the centre was an Iron Cross on top of a silver wreath. In each corner was a black swastika, with the whole flag trimmed in silver. The reverse was identical except for a silver (Luftwaffe type) eagle replacing the Iron Cross.
- Marines: The colours of the marine infantry were similar in design to those of the Luftwaffe. The flag itself was blue, with a black swastika replacing the eagle. The wreath was gold instead of black, as were the diagonal lines. In the corners were gold anchors (top left, bottom right) and Iron Crosses (top right, bottom left). On the other side was an Iron Cross in the centre, with gold eagles replacing the two Iron Crosses in the corners. The flag was fringed in gold.
- Waffen SS: The colours awarded to the Waffen SS were completely different from those of the rest of the armed forces. It was essentially the national flag, fringed with gold, with the battalion and regiment numbers in the top left hand corner.
[edit] Spain
[edit] Kingdom of Spain
An army regulation of July 1810 stated that line infantry regiments of the Spanish army would bear two colours. The first battalion would carry the coronela (King's Colour), which was white and bore the Royal Coat of Arms in the centre, sometimes on top of a burgundy cross, surrounded by various regimental devices, while the second battalion (and independent battalions of light infantry) would carry the sencilla (Regimental Colour), which would have a burgundy cross with the provincial coat of arms at the four corners, and the name of the regiment in the top half. In 1843, the regulations introduced a new pattern for regimental colours, with the sencilla replaced by the batallona. This was a flag that adopted the national colours of red-yellow-red horizontal stripes, with a simplified royal coat of arms in the centre atop a small burgundy cross and the name of the regiment encircling it.
[edit] Spain under Franco
Following the victory of General Franco in the Spanish Civil War, the Spanish army adopted the policy of using only a single colour, the batallona, with the new coat of arms in its centre replacing the Royal arms, and the name of the regiment encircling it.
