!!!Uniformen
Uniforms: Uniforms in the modern sense of the term were not worn by
soldiers of the Imperial army before the end of the 17%%sup th/%
century. The uniforms in the Prince Eugène era were mainly made
of pearl-grey cloth, which was the most inexpensive and durable in
those days. As national cavalry troops were integrated into the
Imperial army, e.g. the hussars coming from the lands of the Hungarian
Saint Stephen's Crown during the time of the Seven Years' War and the
uhlans from the territories which had been acquired in the course of
the first partition of Poland in 1772, foreign stylistic elements were
adopted. The uniforms of the Austrian army were radically changed in
the course of the Napoleonic Wars. For example, the leather helmets
for infantry and heavy cavalry introduced in 1798 were made after a
French model. In 1808 soldiers of the infantry were fitted out with
shakos replacing the uncomfortable helmets. One of the most striking
changes in service clothes in the history of the Austrian army was
made in 1849, when the "Frack" (tail-coat) was generally
replaced by the "Waffenrock" (service coat). The year 1868 was a
turning point in the development of Austrian uniforms, as the
traditionally white service coat of the infantry was abolished and
replaced by a dark blue one, which from then on was to be worn mainly
in parades. All branches of service had to wear service blouses with 4
pockets as part of their regulation field uniforms. The
"colourful" uniforms of the Imperial army were generally in
use until World War I. In 1908 pike-grey uniforms were introduced for
general official use, which were replaced by field-grey ones in 1916.
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The federal armed forces of the 1%%sup st/% Republic wore uniforms
very similar to those of the German Reichswehr until 1933, which were
afterwards replaced by uniforms tailored after traditional Austrian
models. Today the Federal Armed Forces are equipped with uniforms
adopted to modern service conditions, which show only few traditional
Austrian elements.
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The uniforms of Austrian police forces, officers, guards, etc. (
Police, Gendarmerie, Customs Guard, Judicial Guard) were largely
modelled after military uniforms until 1918; after 1918 they adopted a
more individual style.
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[Back to the Austrian Version|AEIOU/Uniformen|class='wikipage austrian']
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