In military organizations, the practice of carrying colours, standards or Guidons, both to act as a rallying point for troops and to mark the location of the commander, is thought to have originated in Ancient Egypt some 5,000 years ago. It was formalized in the armies of medieval Europe, with standards being emblazoned with the commander's coat of arms.
As armies became trained and adopted set formations, each regiment's ability to keep its formation was potentially critical to its, and therefore its army's, success. In the chaos of battle, not least due to the amount of dust and smoke on a battlefield, soldiers needed to be able to determine where their regiment was.
Regimental flags are generally awarded to a regiment by a head-of-State during a ceremony. They were therefore treated with reverence as they represented the honour and traditions of the regiment. Colours may be inscribed with the names of battles or other symbols representing former achievements (see battle honours).
Regiments tended to adopt "flag guards", composed of experienced or élite soldiers, to protect their colours. As a result, the capture of an enemy's standard was considered as a great feat of arms.
They are never capriciously destroyed - when too old to use they are replaced and then laid-up in museums, religious buildings and other places of significance to their regiment. However, in most modern armies, standing orders now call for the Colours to be intentionally destroyed if they are ever in jeopardy of being captured by the enemy.
Due to the advent of modern weapons, and subsequent changes in tactics, Colours are no longer carried into battle, but continue to be used at events of formal character.
The Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic's military colors of the Argentine Army, Argentine Navy and Argentine Air Force are the Flag of Argentina as the National War Color and the Unit Color. The National War Color is a variation of the Argentine national flag made for military use, while the Unit Color differs per service arm and unit.
Units of the army of Brazil carry two Colours. The standard of the Army measures 80 × 120 cm, white with the Army coat of arms in the centre, trimmed with gold fringe. The name of the service is inscribed in gold letters on a green scroll beneath the shield. Above the shield is a knight's helmet with red and sky blue mantling. The staff is topped by a nickel-plated lance-head finial, 32 cm high. Below the lance-head, there is a cravat (laço militar) divided lengthwise, sky blue and red, with a gold fringe at the end, tied in a bow and fastened with a cockade of blue with the Southern Cross in white stars, red, and blue. Ten red streamers with campaign honors inscribed in sky blue letters are also attached below the lance-head. The staff is 212 cm long, not including the lance-head, and 3.5 cm in diameter. It is covered in sky blue velvet with a red spiral strip. The colour belt is 10 cm in width, covered with sky blue velvet with red velvet stripes.
Brazilian army units also carry the national flag as a Colour. This is in the dimensions 90 × 128 cm. It is mounted on the same size staff and with the same finial as the Army standard, but the cravat is divided lengthwise yellow and green, with a gold fringe at the end, tied in a bow and fastened with a cockade of blue with the Cruzeiro do Sul in white stars, yellow, and green. The staff is covered in green velvet with a yellow spiral strip. The colour belt is 10 cm in width, covered with green velvet with yellow velvet stripes of width and number varying with the rank of the organization's commander.
Units of the Chilean Army carry one main Colour, known as the estandarte de combate (combat standard). This is the same as the national flag, but with an embroidered star and with the unit designation, honorific title, founding date and place, and, depending on the unit, other historic information and honours embroidered diagonally across the fly in gold. The flag is also trimmed with gold fringe. It is mounted on a staff with a gilt condor finial; below the finial is a cravat in the national colours with decorations attached. In addition to the military Colour, particularly distinguished units, and long serving units may carry a second Colour known as a bandera coronela (colonel’s colour). This is a red field with a large white five-pointed star. In the angles of the star are the names and dates of battle honors surrounded by laurel wreaths, all in gold, while in an arc above the star is the designation of the unit, also in gold. The flag is also surrounded by gold fringe.
The Chilean Air Force, the Chilean Navy, the Carabineros de Chile and the Chilean Gendarmerie all use the estandarte de combate as their main color, and do not use the bandera coronela at all.
The main state colors of the Military Forces of Colombia is the Flag of Colombia with the Coat of arms of Colombia in the center inside a circle with a red border, in a larger size (used by the National Army of Colombia and the Colombian Air Force) and the same flag, this time with a smaller circle with the coat of arms (used by the Colombian National Armada). These flags also carry medals and decorations attached to the flag. The MFC also uses unit regimental colors, two in all, that differs accordingly per service.
In the United States military, each branch has its own flag, an organizational color, sometimes also called a ceremonial flag. Each of these is 4 ft 4 in × 5 ft 6 in, some using 2.5 in gold fringe during specific instances. The ceremonial flag is paraded with a National Color of equal dimensions in a color guard, with gold fringe as necessary. The National Color is never dipped in salute, but remains vertical at all times, while the organizational colors and any guidons are dipped as necessary. When the National Color is not cased, all persons salute the Colors. The finial is a nickel or chrome-plated spearhead, though the Navy uses different finials on occasion.
Each service attaches campaign/battle streamers, sometimes known as battle honors, for actions in which the service as a whole has taken part. These can either be war service streamers, which are in the colors of the appropriate campaign medal and have the name of the campaign embroidered; or unit citation streamers, which have the name of the action embroidered and signify that the unit's performance in a specific action has been worthy of special mention. Units are also permitted to wear streamers of overseas awards they may have been presented with. These streamers are in the colors of the appropriate medal ribbon.[1] The streamers are 3 ft × 2.75 in. The Army, for instance, currently has 178 service streamers,[2] embroidering the name of each battle on each, as does the Air Force. The Marine Corps and Navy instead embroider award devices onto streamers to consolidate them, having 62 and 34, respectively.
In the Army, most regiments, battalions of regiments, and separate battalions also have a stand of colors. The first is the National Color, which is a 36 in × 48 in version of the national flag trimmed with a 2.5 in wide gold fringe, and is the equivalent of the Queen's Colour in the British Army. The second is the Organizational Color, which is the equivalent of the Regimental Color; this is the same dimensions as the National Color, but is of a single color representing the branch of the service that the unit is from; each branch also has its own fringe color, which the Organizational Color is trimmed with. In the center of the Color is the eagle from the Great Seal of the United States, but with the regimental coat of arms in the shield. The eagle has in its beak a scroll bearing the regimental motto, with the crest of the regiment's coat of arms above it and the regiment's name below. Attached to the Organizational Color will be the campaign and unit citation streamers awarded to the individual unit - these are equivalent to the battle honours embroidered directly onto the colours of British and Commonwealth units. The Organizational Color was carried in lieu of a National Color until shortly before the Civil War, when the Stars and Stripes became the National Color.[3]
In the Marine Corps, each battalion-sized unit or larger maintains a set of colors.[4][5] The organizational color identical to the Marine Corps battle color, excepting that the scroll will have the unit's name instead of "United States Marine Corps". It will also bear the streamers authorized to the unit, or scarlet and gold tassels if none are authorized.
Fringe is generally not seen on the National Colors when carried by Marine Corps unit (the exception being indoor parades). Instead, a red, white, and blue tassel is used to decorate.
While the Navy uses a number of maritime flags, such as the Ensign and Jack of the United States, the Flag of the United States Navy is normally seen only at ceremonies and parades. The display of streamers and fringe is consistent with that of the Marine Corps.
U.S. Air Force (USAF) groups have the same National Color as the Army; the Organizational Color is ultramarine blue, with the group's coat of arms beneath the USAF crest, which is an eagle on a cloud background. The fringe is in gold.
Aside from the three state colors (the Flag of Uruguay, the Flag of Artigas and the Flag of the Treinta y Tres), the Uruguayan military also has regimental colors that differ per service and unit.
This details the two Chinas (People's Republic of China and Republic of China)
The People's Liberation Army is the overall body for the entire armed forces of the People's Republic of China, and is represented by a single flag, which serves as a ceremonial colour for all regiments and larger formations. This is based on the national flag, but has instead of the four smaller gold stars the Chinese characters for the numerals '8' and '1', which stands for the 1 August, which was the date in 1927 that the PLA was founded. When paraded, the flag is fringed with gold, and is mounted on a red and gold pole. However, each branch of the PLA has its own flag, based on the Army Flag:
The army of the Republic of China (Taiwan) also has a single flag that it uses, which is red, with a blue rectangle in the centre and the white sun from the national flag. It has a red flagpole with silver spearhead finial and red tassels immediately underneath. Individual units use a variation of the Army Flag as their own identifying Colour; this features a white strip next to the hoist, which has the unit's name in black characters, as well as yellow fringe.
Philippine military colors are the Flag of the Philippines as the National Color, the Organizational Colors, and the Unit Regimental Color. The Flag of the Philippines is the National Color of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, but unlike the US color has no markings on the flag. The Organizational Colors are the flags of the AFP's four Major Service Commands while the Unit Regimental Color differs per service arm and unit. Like the US, it also has 2nd order guidons for companies and troops, but these are also based on the Spanish military guidons, not on the American ones, reflecting the long history of the military establishment here. These guidons are therefore not swallow tailed save for the PMA, the Philippine Army's Escort and Security Btn and some other units.
Each unit of the Royal Thai Armed Forces is given a colour called the "Thong Chai Chalermphol" (Thai: ธงชัยเฉลิมพล) or Victory Colours. These are presented to each unit personally by the King of Thailand. The flags are divided into four different designs, for: Royal Thai Army, Royal Thai Navy, Royal Thai Air Force and Royal Guard units.
Before their presentation the colours are ceremonially blessed in a religious ceremony attended by Buddhist monks and other high ranking dignitaries inside the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok. During the ceremony amidst the chanting of the monks, the King will personally hammer the brass nails into the staff of each colour using a silver hammer. Each colour contains about 32-35 nails, in which the cloth is attached to the wooden staff. Within the same ceremony, the King will also take a strand of his own hair and conceal it within a compartment at the top of the staff, which is closed by a round silver screw top. The King will also attach each colour with its own ceremonial Buddha image, and bless each colour with holy water. The ceremony is steeped in Buddhist and Brahmic heritage, it symbolizes and cements the King's role as Chief Kshatriya (กษัตริย์) or Warrior ruler of his realm. It also emphasizes his constitutional role as Head and Chief of the Thai Armed Forces (จอมทัพไทย: Chomthap Thai).
These colours are similar to the Flag of Thailand and therefore are treated like the State Colours of the Commonwealth, but are not lowered to the ground but above it when salutes are rendered by these Colours.
A moth-eaten rag on a worm-eaten pole,
It does not look likely to stir a man's Sole,
'Tis the deeds that were done 'neath the moth-eaten rag,
When the pole was a staff, and the rag was a flag.
The Colours of the Infantry are a set of large flags, unique to each regiment, that the ordinary soldier would be able to identify straight away.
In regiments of infantry of the British Army and the armies of other Commonwealth countries, each battalion carries two colours, which collectively are called a stand. These are large flags, usually 36 in × 45 in, and mounted on a pike which is 8 ft 7½ in long; the King's/Queen's Colour (or President's Colour in non-Commonwealth Realms) is usually a version of the country's national flag, often trimmed with gold fabric, and with the regiment's insignia placed in the centre. The Regimental Colour is a flag of a single colour, usually the colour of the uniform facings (collar/lapels and cuffs) of the regiment, again often trimmed and with the insignia in the centre. Most regiments that are designated as 'royal' regiments (that is either have the word 'Royal' or the sponsorship of a royal personage in their name) have a navy blue Regimental Colour. Irish regiments - today the Royal Irish Regiment - have a dark green Regimental Colour.
The colours of the five regiments of Foot Guards have the pattern of the line infantry reversed, with the Queen's Colour being crimson with the regimental insignia and honors and the Regimental Colour a variation of the Union Flag with the battle honours embroidered.
By tradition, rifle regiments do not carry colours; this goes back to their formation, when they were used as skirmishers and sharpshooters. While individual units may have had banners or pennants to distinguish themselves from other units, regiments as a whole never needed a full stand of Colours. Today, the two rifle regiments in the British Army, The Rifles and the Royal Gurkha Rifles carry their battle honours on their drums, while the Royal Green Jackets also had theirs inscribed on their cap badge; this tradition is maintained by The Rifles, who wear the Maltese Cross badge of the Royal Green Jackets, inscribed with the regimental honours, as the belt badge. In place of a Regimental Colour, the Gurkhas carry the Queen's Truncheon.
In the British Army's cavalry units, the Queen's Cavalry Standard and the Regimental Standard (for the heavy cavalry) and the Queen's and Regimental Guidons (for the light cavalry) are the equivalents to the line infantry colours. The former is crimson with the Royal coat of arms and cypher, plus the regimental honors, while the latter has an adaptable background colour per unit (the colour is sometimes scarlet) and is swallow-tailed (for the light cavalry only), and includes the regimental coat of arms and honors. Before the 1950s however Timpani in the drumhorses (and later snare, bass and tenor drums in the dismounted bands) carried the regimental honors of the light cavalry regiments.
The Honourable Artillery Company is today an artillery regiment and has both a stand of Colours (Queen's and Regimental) and Guns. The latter are also regarded as colours and accorded the same compliments just as the Royal Artillery regard their guns as their Colours.
Woven onto the colours are battle honours; the Queen's Colour has honours from the First World War and Second World War, while the Regimental Colour has honours from other campaigns. The Regimental Colour will also have other distinctions, including antecedent emblems and unique honours; one significant example is the Sphinx emblem carried by regiments who took part in the Egypt campaign of 1801. If the regiment has more than a single battalion, then there will be identifying marks on the colours to show which battalion they belong to. There are various other embellishments that can be added to the colours on various occasions:
In the UK, 41 Commando, Royal Marines and the 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment were also awarded the PUC and permitted to display the streamer of their regimental colours.
Because of their importance to the regiment, prior to a new stand of colours being presented, they are consecrated.
The Royal Hospital, Chelsea had neither colours nor other distinctive device during its entire history, until 2002 when Her Majesty the Queen presented the Hospital with the Sovereign's Mace. This is now paraded by a party of In-Pensioners at all of the Royal Hospital's ceremonial events
The Corps of Royal Marines has a single pattern Queen's Colour, which is the Union Flag with the foul anchor and the reigning sovereign's cypher interlaced in the centre. Above is a scroll with the single battle honour Gibraltar surmounted by St Edward's Crown. Below is the globe (which represents the many Battle Honours the Royal Marines had earned) surrounded by a laurel wreath (which represents the Battle of Belle Isle) and below this is a scroll with the Corps' motto. Each of the three commandos (the battalion-sized formations that make up the bulk of the corps) has a Queen's Colour, with the only difference being the colour of the cords and tassels. Each commando also has its own Regimental Colour. The Regimental Colour is a dark blue flag (because the Corps is classed as a 'royal regiment') with a small Union Flag at the pike head. The Colour carries similar central embellishments as the Queen's Colour, with the exception that the cypher of George IV replaces that of the reigning monarch and the unit numeral is below. The Royal Cypher is at the other corners. The Regimental Colours also have the coloured cords and tassels, which are gold combined with the following colours:
NB: The Fleet Protection Group carries on the traditions of 43 Commando, and has custody of the unit's Colours.
The former 41 Commando was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation for its service in the Korean War, and was thus permitted to carry the streamer on its Regimental Colour.
The Colours of Her Majesty's ships in the Royal Navy consist of:
In addition, each principal command in the Royal Navy also has its own Queen's Colour which is a variation of the White Ensign, with its dimensions altered to mirror those of the Colours of infantry regiments. In the centre is the Royal Cypher of the reigning monarch within the Garter, surmounted by the crown.
Unlike the Colours of regiments in the Army, every Queen's Colour of the Royal Navy is identical. The following units hold a Queen's Colour of the Royal Navy:
RAF Colours are made of sky blue silk and measure approximately 36" x 36". The following colours have been awarded:
The Queen's Colour for the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom is a variation of the RAF Ensign with its dimensions altered. The RAF Roundel is moved to the lower fly, with its place in the centre again taken by the Royal Cypher surmounted by the crown. Other colours feature the unit's badge in the centre with the Royal Cypher and crown in the first quarter.
The RAF's Squadron Colours are its counterpart to the Regimental Colors. They are in air force blue with a gold fringe surrounding it, with the regimental insignia and honors.
The naval and air forces of both Australia and Canada also have similar Colours based on their own ensigns. Rules stipulated by the Canadian Department of Defence state that the First, or Senior Colours symbolizes the unit's loyalty to the Crown; authorization to possess a Queen's Colour may only be granted, and the Colour presented, by the Queen or her vice-regal representative. The design based on the flag of Canada reflects the custom established for infantry line regiments in the mid 18th century, when the Sovereign's Colour was based on the national flag.[7]
When Sri Lanka declared itself a republic in 1972 the units that had a Queen's Colour retired them. These were replaced by the new President's Colour, which was first awarded in 1972. The following colours have been awarded:
The same format of Sovereign's and Regimental Colours also apply in Malaysia. The King's Colours and Regimental Colours of the Malaysian Armed Forces are the flags given by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in his responsibilities as Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and by the 8 other state monarchs, to units recognized as Royal units and to flags of large formations (the King's Colour) and to units now receiving their new regimental colours (the Unit Regimental Colour).
The King's Colour is yellow with the national arms surrounded by paddy on the center, thus Malaysia is the only Commonwealth country that does not use its national flag for use as a senior Colour (the flag is the senior color of the entire Armed Forces establishment). The sides are emblazoned with the battle honors of the unit. On the canton the service emblem of either service of the Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force) can be seen. The Regimental Colour, however, differs by service arm and unit. Both flags have gold fringes surrounding them.
Singaporean military colours of the Singapore Armed Forces are divived today into Service State Colours and Unit Regimental Colours. Until 1997 there were also Service Regimental Colours and Unit State Colours. The State Colours are similar to the Flag of Singapore but differ per service. But Regimental Colours are different, and they differ per unit or service arm (save for the flags of the Air Force and Navy that show their respective service colours instead and some SAF service-wide commands). Their common design is that of the regiment arms at the center.
Infantry units have a drapeau / vaandel, a square vertical tricolour of black, yellow, and red within a 15 mm wide gold border, the whole being 90 cm square. The names of battle honours for which the unit was cited are embroidered in gold in French on the obverse and in Dutch on the reverse, in straight lines.
Danish infantry units carry a regimentsfane or bataljonsfane, which measures 105 × 140 cm. The flag is a variation of the Dannebrog, with a curvilinear white Dannebrog cross, set with its center about 1/2 the width of the hoist from the hoist edge. The royal cypher is embroidered in gold over the center of the cross, the unit badge in gold in the upper hoist, and the unit number and/or name in gold in the lower hoist. Some regiments have additional marks in the upper and lower fly. The Prince's Life Regiment, for instance, has Prince Henrik's cipher in the upper fly and the Queen Mother's in the lower, as one of its antecedents was the Queen's Life Regiment. The finial is an ornate gold openwork spearhead with the royal cypher in the center. Attached below the spearhead are one or more fanebander, lengths of red silk with gold fringe at each end, knotted around the pike, with the regiment's battle honors inscribed in gold. The colour is decorated with a gold cord with two tassels and bordered with a thin strip of gold cord. The sleeve holding the colour to the pike is attached with ornamental nails, the first three of which represent the sovereign, the Fatherland, and the Union.
Units of Finnish Defence Forces have a single Colour. The Colours are either active or traditional. An active Colour belongs to a brigade or a separate regiment. A traditional Colour belongs to a battalion or a regiment that has formerly been separate but is now part of a brigade. The difference between an active and traditional Colour is the way of presenting them. The active Colour has always a guard of two officers, while a traditional Colour is borne without one. The military oath is always given in the presence of the active Colour of the unit.
The Finnish military vexillology is a mixture of Scandinavian and Russian tradition. The Colours are usually modelled after Swedish regimental flags of the 17th century, but some units carry flags modelled after Russian or German flags. The Colour usually bears the emblem of the province where the unit is located with an appropriate symbol of the service branch. No battle honours were awarded for units during the Second World War but some units have battle honours from the Finnish Civil War.
The Pope decided English crusaders would be distinguished by wearing a white cross on red, and French crusaders a red cross on white (Italian knights were allocated a yellow cross on a white background, etc.),[8] English knights soon decided to claim "their" cross of red on white, like the French. In January 1188, in a meeting between Henry II of England and Philip II of France, the two rivals agreed to exchange flags (France later changed its new white cross on red for a white cross on a dark blue flag).[9] Some French knights carried on using the red cross however, and as English knights wore this pattern as well, the red cross on white became the typical crusader symbol regardless of nationality.[10]
As the use of regimental colours spread in Europe, the habit developed of using a symmetric white cross as the basis of the design of the French regimental flags, and by the 18th c. almost every regiment had a white cross. The regiments were distinguished by the colours of the cantons
After the French Revolution and the appearance of the new Tricolore, crosses disappear in 1794 and various arrangements of the tricolor come into use. Napoleon standardizes first in 1804 to a white field chape-chausse of red and blue, and in 1812 to the modern French flag.
Somehow, the French Armed Forces of today are not officially considered to be the successors of the Royal Army and Navy, although many of their individual units are de facto. Accordingly, battles fought and won by the Royal Army and Navy before the French Revolution (such as Patay, Fontenoy, Chesapeake, Porto Praya and so on) do not appear as battle honours on regimental colours. The names of battles of the old times, however, which are rightly still considered as most glorious by the modern French Army, are honoured by being given to ships or armoured vehicles, and remembered by anniversaries.
As a paradoxical example, the 1st Infantry Regiment Picardie (founded 1479, during the reign of Louis XI) which is one of the oldest regiments with continuous service of all European armies, has fought an impressive number of fierce battles since the 15th century, as one may imagine... yet, officially, its battle honours record starts only in 1792:
The following official documents relate to the colours of the Land Army (armée de Terre) :
Regimental colours are 90 cm × 90 cm Tricolore silk square flags - standards are smaller: 64 cm × 64 cm - surrounded by a golden fringe. Both are set on a stave (2.11 m long and 32 mm diameter - staves for standards are slightly shorter) ended by a 38 cm pike-shaped finial with a cartouche bearing the initials "RF" for République française on one side, and the name or number of the unit on the other side.
The cravate hanging from the pike is made of two tricolour silk ribbons, 90 cm long and 24 cm wide, ended by a 8 cm gold fringe on which the unit number or monogram is embroidered in gold, encircled by a oak and laurel wreath. French decorations and fourragères[13] awarded to the unit are pinned or tied to the cravate; foreign awards and decorations are borne on a red velvet cushion.
All writings on the colour are embroidered in gold, as well the unit number (or monogram) encircled in antique oak and laurel wreath in each corner of the flag.
Obverse of a colour:
Reverse of a colour:
By tradition, all the battalions of the rifles (the bataillons de chasseurs à pied together with the chasseurs alpins) share a single collective colour. Individual battalions have pennants (fanions) and the flag of the rifles (Drapeau des chasseurs) is given to be held each year in turn to a different rifle battalion. As a result, the single flag displays all the battle honours earned by every rifle battailon.
The Colours worn by the ships of the National Navy (Marine nationale) consist of the National Ensign and the jack:
Currently, only eight individual National Navy units do have colours[15] other than the National Ensign or the FNFL jack. Under recommendation 808 EMM/CAB of December 5, 1985, naval units to which colours can be bestowed must be those with manpower equivalent to that of a regiment, which are specialised in combat or services on land (or corps which have inherited their traditions from such units), and naval instruction centres or colleges. The flags are quite similar to those of Land Army units, the difference being the wreaths in corners which encircle anchors instead of name of unit, except for the Naval Gunners (initials CM) and the Fleet Engineering Cadets College (initials EAMF).
As of today, these units are (between brackets is where the colours are currently kept):
The colours of Air Army (armée de l'Air) units are by all means similar to those of the Land Army from which it separated as an independent military arm in 1933. Colours are generally not bestowed to Air Army units smaller than escadres (wings), land combat regiments, air force bases, instruction centres or air colleges.
The units of the National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie nationale) have colours which are very similar to those of the Land Army. Each region (formerly legion), instruction centre, college or Republican Guard Regiment has its flag or standard, altogether 56 flags and 2 standards. The reverse of colours of the Departmental Gendarmerie units and Gendarmerie instruction centres have the same motto as the Land Army units (Honneur et Patrie) but the colours of the Mobile Gendarmerie have their own particular motto: Valeur et Discipline (Valour and Discipline). Most subordinate or smaller units use 50 cm large x 40 cm high pennants.
The National Gendarmerie also has a common flag, under the guard of the Director-general, on which five battle honours are registered:
Many of today's armed forces of independent countries that once were part of the French Empire share customs and traditions closely similar if not identical to those of the French military regarding organisation of military arms, army and navy rank structures and uniform styles. Indeed, in countries where the decolonisation process had been conducted through peaceful political negociations (chiefly French West Africa and French Equatorial Africa), French colonial units were sometimes directly inherited by the former colonies where they had been raised to form the basis of the new national armies. This legacy not only included colour etiquette (the way colours are respected, taken care of and paraded), but also design, adapted to new national flag designs.
On the contrary, in countries where independence came as the aftermath of bloody wars of liberation, such as in Vietnam and Algeria, due to the Cold War context, French military culture was strongly rejected often only to be replaced by communist Soviet or Chinese style military culture (colours, ranks, uniforms, parade pace, etc.).
As one of the World's great powers together with Great Britain, France did not only exercise its influence by conquest but also by the prestige of its military. At the height of European colonial expansion in the 19th century, France's army and Britain's navy were each regarded as the most powerful forces ever on land and at sea. This lead many a military to copy both powers' military and naval cultures. As most navies in the World adopted the British naval looks (double-breasted navy blue jacket and peaked cap for officer, blue jean collar for ratings, etc.), numerous land armies adopted French-inspired uniforms during the 1860s and 1870s (both Union and Confederate armies during the American Civil War, the Chilean Army of the War of the Pacific, the Russian Imperial Army, etc.) and even sometimes imported types of French units (e.g. Zouave regiments). France's influence on military fashion dimmed for the time being after the most unexpected French defeat ending the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 and many armies then changed to adopt Prussian military style (as a perfect example of this trend, Chilean soldiers traded their kepis for pickelhauben!).
As far as regimental colours are concerned, French influence was mainly to to be seen in armies of smaller European powers with strong cultural, economical or political ties to France, notably in such countries whose national flag itself was patterned after the French national flag, such as Belgium or Romania.
Units of the Bundeswehr have only a single Colour. The Truppenfahne is a square version of the national flag with the Bundesadler (national shield) overall in the center. The flag is surrounded by a black, red, and gold lacework border and edged on three sides by gold fringe. The finial is a gilt bronze openwork spearhead surrounding a black and silver Iron Cross. Below the finial, a streamer is attached with the unit badge at the top and its designation embroidered in gold at the end. These streamers are red for army (Heer) units, blue for the navy (Marine), and white for the air force (Luftwaffe). The streamer is the same length as the hoist of the flag.[16]
Traditionally, Army infantry and tank/cavalry regiments have a single colour or war flag (Greek: Πολεμική Σημαία). This is blue, with a white cross and features St George and the Dragon in the centre. The flag has no distinguishing features for individual regiments, although battle honours are sometimes added to the flag; the regiment's identity is inscribed on the flagstaff. The pattern has been in use since the 1830s, with no changes between the periods of monarchy or republic. The Hellenic Army Academy has also been awarded a war flag, its cadets having participated in the Battle of Crete in 1941. Similar flags exist also for the Air Force, featuring the archangels Michael and Gabriel. Recently war flags were assigned to the Army NCO Academy and the Police Academy.
The flag of the Swiss Guard, the army of the Vatican City, consists of four quarters. The Coat of Arms of the current pope is in the first quarter, while the arms of Pope Julius II are in the fourth quarter. In the second and third quarters are horizontal stripes of red, yellow and blue, the colours of the unit's uniforms.
The flag also has the coat of arms of the commander within a wreath, on a background of the colour of his canton. The design of the flag changes with the election of a new pope and the appointment of a new commander.
The Colour (bandiera di guerra) for army units (other than cavalry) is a square version of the national tricolour in silk, 99 cm × 99 cm. It is mounted on a pike 2.2 m long, made of wood covered with green velvet and decorated with ornate brass nails arranged in a spiral. The pike is topped by a 35 cm high finial consisting of an ornate gilt brass spearhead chased with a five pointed star and the monogram RI (for Repubblica Italiana), which is in turn mounted atop a gilt brass ball on which is the name and date of establishment of the unit. The pike is adorned with two silver cords 67 cm long, each with a 10 cm long silver tassel and a blue silk cravat 8 cm × 66 cm with an 8 cm silver fringe at each end, to which the unit’s decorations are pinned, the ribbons of the decorations overlapping so that the medals hang down the cravat.
In the Dutch armed forces, the Colour is orange. On the obverse is the royal cypher of the monarch that gave the regiment its (original) colour, with the unit's name underneath, both in gold; around the four edges is a laurel branch. On the reverse is the arms of the Kingdom of the Netherlands without the mantle. The shield is blue and is strewn with small upright rectangles; the main device is a crowned rampant lion, holding a sword in its upper paw. The lion and rectangles are gold, whilst the blade of the sword is silver. Supporting the shield on either side is a gold rampant lion, facing outwards towards the viewer. There is a gold crown above the shield; whilst below it is a blue scroll with the motto Je Maintiendrai in gold. The shield and lions are surrounded by a wreath of green palm and oak leaves, and there is another wavy gold laurel wreath around the edge. Battle honours are added in the corners of the obverse; if additional honours are awarded, they are placed on streamers that are attached to the pike until the presentation of a new Colour. The Military Order of William or other decorations are attached to the pike when awarded. The pike has a finial of a lion on a block holding a sword and a bunch of seven arrows. Traditionally a colour is 87 cm x 87 cm (with a pike of 2.50 m in length), but armoured infantry regiments carry colours that measure 60 cm x 60 cm (with a pike of 2.20 m in length). Guards regiments carry the same colour, with some differing details.[17]
Norwegian infantry units have a stand of colours - the first (King's Colour) is the national flag, while the second (Regimental Colour) is unique to each unit:
The standard military colours of the Polish Armed Forces are in red and white, with the design tracing back to the Polish Second Republic, a standardized form based on earlier colours. The motto of the Armed Forces, "God, Honor and Fatherland" are at the reverse while the Polish military eagle (which differs per service) is at the center of the obverse. The unit's name is inscribed on the obverse.
All regiments of the Portuguese Army have a National Colour - Estandarte Nacional - which is based on the National Flag of Portugal. Regiments and battalions also have regimental heraldic colours based on the unit's coat of arms.
National Colours are also carried by major units of the Portuguese Navy, Portuguese Air Force and Portuguese National Republican Guard.
The official standard for the National Colours was established in 1911 and states that they should measure 120 cm in the hoist by 130 cm in the fly, the National Arms being surrounded by two olive branches tied by a scroll with the motto "Esta é a Ditosa Pátria Minha Amada - This is My Loved Happy Motherland".
According to the Romanian General Staff, “The military colors (drapel de luptă) are the symbol of military honor, bravery and glory. They evoke the past struggle of the Romanian people for national liberty and the traditions of unity, reminding each soldier of his sacred duty to serve the Fatherland with trust, and to defend at all costs the unity, sovereignty and independence of Romania”.
The military colors are granted to military units by presidential decree, on the advice of the Minister of National Defense, the Minister of Internal Affairs or the director of the Romanian Intelligence Service. According to the Ministry of National Defense, the complete description of this military insignia is as follows:
The military colors of Romania are made of double silk cloth and have dimensions of 100 × 66 cm (2:3 ratio). The canvas has the colors of the Romanian flag and its obverse is identical with the reverse. The national coat of arms, measuring 29 × 21.5 cm, is applied in the middle of the yellow stripe, 18 cm above its base. In each corner, 5 cm from the edge of the canvas, is sewed a wreath of oak leaves, which surrounds the weapon signs, all of golden thread:
The three sides of the flag not attached to the pole are decorated with fringes of golden thread (5–7 cm long) and tassels of the same material (10–12 cm long) hang from the corners of the fly. The flag is attached to the pole by an antioxidant metal rod 70 cm long.
The pole, of brown wood, is 240 cm high and 3.5 cm in diameter. A brass cylinder is at the base, 4 cm long and closed on the bottom. The rod is attached to the pole by a brass ring, gilt on its lower part, and a 6 cm high cylindrical protective tube of the same material and gilt on its upper part. The ring (3.2 cm high) is inscribed with the name of the unit. Another brass cylinder is placed on the tip of the pole, 6 cm long and of brass. The eagle, of gilt copper, sheet, 15 cm high and 11.5 cm wide, is placed over this. Looking rightward, the eagle’s wings are pointed downward and it holds the thunderbolts of Jupiter in its talons. It is placed on a parallelepipedic support of the same metal (10 × 3.5 × 2 cm), which has a 3.4 cm high ornament on its lower part. The support is screwed onto the brass cylinder and has inscribed into the front the motto “Onoare şi Patrie” (“Honor and Fatherland”). The name of the respective unit is engraved into the reverse.
Other features of the military colors are a tie for attaching decorations, six sashes for the troops in the flag’s guard and a protective cover of impermeable fabric.
The military colors of navy vessels are identical to their ensign. The ensign is in turn identical to the national flag, being made of ordinary canvas in various dimensions, according to the ship’s rank, size and place of hoisting.
From 1942 onwards, each regiment in the armed forces of the Soviet Union (especially the Army and Air Force) had its own colour, which was produced to a standard design:
The colour was gold fringed.
The former design had a red star on the reverse with the name of the Central Executive Committee and later, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR surrounding it, and the obverse had the unit inscription below the coat of arms of the Soviet Union, which had the Soviet Union state motto and the red star with the hammer and sickle inside (both were on the flag of the Soviet Union) above it (the latter was near the hoist).
The Soviet Navy colours had the 1935 official design with them (it was later revised in 1950), with additions for units honored with the Order of the Red Banner, but in 1964 the Suprme Commander's and Defense Minister's own naval colour and the colours of the Navy Commander-in-Chief (formerly the Minister for the Navy) and Chief of Naval Operations were issued with different designs used, with the addition of the Armed Forces General Staff's own naval colour. The first colour was red with the USSR state arms, the next two had the arms with blue stripes indicating office rank, and the final two were adaptations of the naval ensign (with a different ensign with the rank) plus the stripes. The 1935 design (that of a white field with a blue lower stripe and the red star plus the hammer and sickle above the blue stripe) replaced a much earlier, post-revolutionary naval colors design adopted in 1925. In 1944 a different flag was issued to the Navy for its units – the same design used by the Army with a different obverse having the unit name below the naval ensign.
Early flags even had the RKKA and RKKF insignia (the Army General Staff, represented by crossed blue rifles and later became the General Staff's naval colour until 1964, the Naval General Staff and the Army Naval Operations Staff, later the flag of the People's Comissariat for the Navy on its 1938 creation and was issued with two new colors for the Navy Commissar and Deputy Comissar) beside the hammer and sickle, even the flags of the People's Commissar for National Defense and that of the Navy General Staff and the various flags of naval officers which had the ensign on a canton surrounded by a red field, derived from the Navy Commissar's. The cruiser Aurora since 1968 has had a different version of the ensign, flanked by the Orders of the Red Banner and of the October Revolution on the top sides of the star, as the Aurora was the only naval recipient of the latter order in 1967 while in 1918, the Order of the Red Banner was conferred to the ship.
Regimental colours of the Guards units
The colours of those regiments that were classed as "Guards" was slightly different as per 1942 regulations. These had the portrait of Lenin, the Za nashu motto and the abbreviation "USSR" (СССР, SSSR) on the obverse and the small star with hammer and sickle in its centre, unit's name and a motto on the reverse of the colour. The mottoes were different for every regiment (for example, those regiments made Guards in the Great Patriotic War bore the motto "Death to the German invaders", Смерть Немецким захватчикам, Smyert' Nyemyetskim zahvatchikam). In some Guards units, different designs on the obverse and reverse were used. Even the Lenin portrait was differet in these colours. All of them were gold fringed.
The Navy's Guards units still had the 1935 design, with the addition of the Guards ribbon below, except for units which were honored with the Order of the Red Banner and became Guard units later. The difference is in the red five-pointed star, in which Red Banner Guard unit flags had applied the Guards ribbon below aside from the Order of the Red Banner on the star for units that had the order bestowed on their colours earlier. These units also used the 1944 regimental colour design but adapted for the navy's guards units.[18]
Since the birth of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the aftermath of the dissolution of the USSR, the old Soviet unit colours were retained. Starting in 1998, the traditional Imperial Russian Armed Forces flag designs were reinstated; however, the new designs began to appear in the early years of the 21st century in the Army and Air Force. But the Russian Navy's old naval color (St. Andrew's cross in blue on a white field) began to be used again in 1992. It has several variations, and the old jack color of the Soviet Navy (pre-1935) soon became its jack color, with the red star with the hammer and sickle removed. The unit colors (especially those of the Navy honor guards) have the same design with the unit insigia at the center of it while Guards units and bemerited and decorated units apply a different version of the colour.
The new Army and Air Force unit colors are square shaped, have St. Andrew's cross in the service or arm color, and with the unit insignia in the middle.
The first Yugoslav military colours came about when the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was established in 1918. These were the square versions of the Flag of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia with the coat of arms and the motto of the Yugoslav Royal Army. The unit names were attached to a ribbon at the pole. The colours were inspired by the military colours of Serbia and of the Croat, Slovene and Bosnian military units of resistance against Austria-Hungary during the First World War.
With the birth of the communist Partisans in 1941 in time for the Second World War, their flags showed the same Pan-Slavic colors on them (arranged according to nationality) but this time a red star was added in the middle. The naval units had a different ensign used and these flags became the basis for the military colours of Democratic Federal Yugoslavia at the time of its 1943 proclamation.
By the time, these flags had the unit name on the pole pennants and were gold fringed. The Partisan General Staff had their own version of it.
The standard is the colours-equivalent for the heavy cavalry (e.g., horse guards and dragoon guards). At 27 in × 30 in, on an 8 ft 6 in long pole, it is much smaller than infantry colours, so that it can be carried by a soldier on horseback.
The guidon is the equivalent for the light cavalry (e.g., dragoons, light dragoons, hussars and lancers). It is swallow-tailed, 27 in × 41 in, with an 8 ft 6 in long pole.
The word guidon is a corruption of the French guyde homme – 'the guide man'.[19] Originally each troop had its own, but this was quickly reduced to a single, regimental one. With the increased dispersion of troops required in the light cavalry role, their operational function had ceased by the 1830s and they were discontinued. The regiment's kettledrums, with the battle honours woven onto the drum banners (with the exception of 3rd The King's Own Hussars and its successors, where they are uncovered, with the battle honours engraved onto the kettledrums themselves) became the focal point of the regiment's loyalty. In 1952 King George VI reintroduced the guidons of the light cavalry for ceremonial purposes.
Both the standard and the guidon are usually of crimson trimmed in gold and with the regiment's insignia in the centre. The regiment's battle honours are emblazoned on both the obverse and reverse, up to a maximum of 22 on each side.
In the United States armed forces, guidons are much more prevalent, with units below battalion size being authorized to use them. These are swallow tailed flags that are 20 in × 27 in, and are in the color of the branch of the service the unit is from, with the branch's insignia the most prominent device. Also on the guidon is included the unit's identifying letter, and the number(s) of its parent unit. War service and campaign streamers are not attached to these guidons, but unit citation streamers can be.
Cavalry (armor) units carry an estandart (standard), of similar design to the infantry fane, but smaller and square, with the cross centered on the field. The royal cypher is in the upper hoist and the initials of the regiment in the lower hoist.
In the French Army, mounted units carry étendards (standards). Mounted units include Armoured corps and Cavalry, Artillery, Transportation, Army Aviation, Supplies. The étendard is a 64 × 64 cm square flag similar to the drapeaux carried by the units of foot.
In the Italian Army, cavalry units carry a stendardo (standard) of the same pattern as the bandiera di guerra, but which measures 60 cm × 60 cm.
The four Hussar regiments of the Royal Netherlands Army carry a standaard (standard), of similar design to the infantry colour, but smaller (50 cm x 50 cm).
In the Portuguese Armed Forces a flâmula (swallow-tailed or triangular guidon) is used by each unit bellow battalion size. Usually, the color of the field of these guidons is different from unit to unit, identifying it inside the mother battalion or regiment.
In regiments of the (British) Royal Artillery, and artillery regiments of other Commonwealth countries, the guns are afforded the status of colours.[20] This is due to the difficulty of artillery regiments being able to carry flags onto the battlefield, and the fact that the guns themselves were the rallying points for the soldiers manning them. As a consequence, whenever artillery regiments parade, the etiquette that would normally be applied to the colours is applied to the guns. During the Battle of Balaclava gunners abandoned their guns, in effect abandoning their colours, causing disgrace.
Because the guns have the status of colours, gunners of commonwealth countries will attempt to prevent their guns falling intact into enemy hands both for practical reasons (so that the guns can not be turned and used against their own side) and for the honour of the regiment.[21] For example the last action of gunners of the Royal Artillery during the fall of Singapore was to destroy their guns.[22][23]
The Honourable Artillery Company, the oldest regiment in the British Army, and not part of the Royal Artillery, is the only artillery regiment to have both colours and guns, which are treated with equal respect.
In Singapore, however since its independence the Singapore Army's artillery arm (the Singapore Artillery) uses Colours instead of Guns. But in the Venezuelan Army, Guns and Colors are both used, but the colors are attached to the lead gun of the unit.
The British Royal Navy and other navies of the Commonwealth of Nations call the flag-raising ceremony that happens every morning when a ship is in harbour Colours. In British home waters, colours is conducted at 0800 (eight bells in the morning watch) from 15 February to 31 October inclusive, and at 0900 (two bells in the forenoon watch) during the winter.
When sunset is at or before 2100, flags are lowered at sunset at the ceremony of Sunset. When sunset is after 2100, the evening flag lowering ceremony is called Evening Colours and carried out at 2100.
The general procedure for Colours in the Royal Navy is as follows. Note that in most ships Colours and Evening Colours/Sunset are usually conducted without a bugler, band or guard, except on special occasions.
The general procedure for Evening Colours/Sunset is the same as for Colours (with the replacement of "Evening Colours/Sunset" for "Colours" or "Eight/nine o'clock"), except that the bell is not rung, and the ensign and jack are lowered, in silence or to the sound of "Sunset" if a bugler or band is present. At Ceremonial Sunset, when a band is present, Sunset is usually preceded by an Evening Hymn (e.g. "The Day Thou Gavest Lord Is Ended").
The United States Navy performs the same ceremonies, called "Morning Colours" and "Evening Colours," at 0800 and sunset each day. When Colours is played aboard Navy and Marine Corps bases, those outdoors must stop to render proper courtesies by saluting if in uniform or, if out of uniform, by standing at attention, until "Carry On" is sounded. Marines and sailors driving on base during this time are expected to stop their vehicles and stand at attention until the ceremony is over. The Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 occurred as the fleet was preparing for Morning Colours, though this had no bearing on the success or outcome of the attack.
Many traditional Yacht Clubs worldwide also conduct morning and evening colour ceremonies. At 0800 each morning and at sunset during the club's active sailing season the ceremony is performed by the launchmen or harbormaster.