| Historical Colours, Standards And Guidons |
Article Index for Historical |
Website Links For Historical |
Information AboutHistorical Colours, Standards And Guidons |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT HISTORICAL COLOURS, STANDARDS AND GUIDONS | |
| historical flags | |
|
SOVIET UNION Each regiment in the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union had its own Regimental Colour, which was produced to a standard design:
All the Colours were red with gold fringe and square in form. 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!'). FRANCE 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. 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.
GERMANY 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. Third Reich
SPAIN 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. 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. SEE ALSO Modern Colours And Guidons |
|
|