Battledress facts for kids

U.S. Marines assigned to the 2nd Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team Company

Battledress is a general term for the military uniform worn into combat, as opposed to 'display' dress and formal uniforms worn at parades and functions. It may be either monochrome (often a shade of green or brown) or in military camouflage colours.

Images for kids

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  Troops from the Uzbek Ground Forces dressed in combat uniform during a military parade in Moscow.

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  An Australian soldier wearing the Australian Multicam Camouflage Uniform while firing his rifle

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  Canadian soldiers in service dress during the First World War

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  A Canadian contingent in Hong Kong wearing Khaki Drill uniform

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  Members of the Sherbrooke Fusiliers Regiment in service dress uniform, June 1945

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  Canadian soldiers marching in their green-coloured combat uniforms, August 1996

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  Canadian soldiers on exercise wearing CADPAT TW.

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  Canadian sniper Harold Marshall in a Denison smock

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  French soldiers during the Battle of the Somme, 1916

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  Field jacket and trousers for the lizard pattern battle dress uniform. The camouflage pattern was introduced in 1947 and used to until the 1980s

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  French Tundra Camo, used by the Chasseurs Alpins

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  French soldiers in combat uniforms during Exercise wessex storm.

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  M36 uniform worn by enlisted Wehrmacht infantry

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  German soldiers in flecktarn patterned combat uniforms

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  Indonesian soldiers of the Garuda Contingent. Most are dressed in a four-colour variant of Desert DPM

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  Shirt and trousers used in the Japan Self-Defense Forces combat uniform

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  The current NZ Army combat uniform, in the 2013-2020 NZMTP camouflage pattern.

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  Imperial Russian Army soldiers inspect an auto wreckage, 1915

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  Soviet soldiers prior to the Battle of Smolensk in 1941

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  Members of the Russian Airborne Forces in EMR Pattern uniform.

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  Historical reenactors depicting the New Model Army during the Battle of Naseby. Most British soldiers fought in red-coloured coats/tunics from the 17th to 19th century.

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  British Army soldiers in Burma, February 1945

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  Members of the Black Watch in combat uniforms relaxing during the Korean War

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  British issue shirt and trousers in temperate version of DPM.

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  One British soldier wearing a Multi-Terrain Pattern uniform, left, and other soldiers wearing temperate versions of Disruptive Pattern Material uniform

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  A member of 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment in Multi-Terrain Pattern uniform. The British Army first distributed the uniforms in 2010

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  Examples of different US combat uniforms. From left to right are Army Combat Uniform, Desert Battle Dress Uniform, Battle Dress Uniform and ERDL pattern