Draft:Uniforms and insignia of the Red Army (1917-1922)

Continuation of 1917 culture. Note on only field and sometimes service uniforms, no parade dress. Russian or eastern european symbol use.

From February to October

On 23 February 1917, Russia burst into revolution. Masses of people went to the streets with more than 200,000 workers going on strike the next day and by 1 March 170,000 soldiers joined the insurgents, all in Petrograd alone. The call for the abdication of the Tsar was essentially unanimous and on 3 March, with no one willing to take his place, the Romanov dynasty and all Tsardom fell.

The defining factor in the fall of the Autocracy was the lack of support from the military: Both soldier and sailor could bear the Court and the degrading treatment from their superiors any longer and so joined the masses. The symbols of the old regime, including those of the military, were the target of a campaign of iconoclasm from the populace which would form the basis of Soviet military symbology for years to come. The fighting men of this time looked much like their former selves in the old Imperial armed forces but with these anarchic tendencies applied.

Uniforms

Considering that the Provisional Government was meant to be only a temporary measure in order to host the first elections to the Constituent Assembly, it's understandable that they made fairly few reforms to the old tsarist uniforms. For the most part these reforms seemed to be made primarily to appease the fiery sentiments of the rank and file. To them the worst symbol of the old order were shoulder boards, especially those of officers. This hatred was so great that officers would sometimes be surrounded by gangs of soldiers and have their shoulder boards forcibly torn from their uniforms and in other instances even murder was committed over them. Men also began to refuse taking orders from officers wearing tsarist monograms on their shoulders. The reasoning behind these acts was aptly described in the diary of an officer paraphrasing his men's interpretation of Order No.1 from the Petrograd Soviet: 'Saluting acknowledges epaulettes which were created by the Tsar: the Father Tsar is no more, so there is no need for epaulettes, and no need to salute'. Early after February shoulder boards were not yet universally hated, with some adding red sewn material or ribbons to their own, but later the idea that shoulders boards were a relic of the Autocracy became almost monolithic. In the Navy shoulder boards were abolished on 16 April and would be replaced with sleeve stripes in British Navy fashion, whilst eagle embossed buttons would be changed to anchors when possible. A similar rank system was introduced in the army but never became popular and so was rarely used. The reforms in the Navy spurred on Army men to continue removing their and their officers' shoulder boards, often as a sign of solidarity with the sailors.

Flags

After the February Revolution the red flag had effectively, if not officially, become the national one; The old national tricolour had become irredeemably associated with the counter-revolution. It had become popular for soldiers to swear oaths to the revolution and the Provisional Government, usually under the regimental banner but some refused to take it under anything less than the red flag. In fact the old regimental flags had become quite unpopular as attested by the men refusing to continue the tradition of kissing the colours: The soldiery arguing that 'the monograms of the sovereigns - of our immemorial bloodsuckers - were present on the banners'. This lead to the old symbols on the banners being sewn over with red material, as seen in a Moscow parade on 4 March where one banner, once saying 'For Faith, Tsar and Fatherland', now said 'For Faith and Fatherland'.

Shock battalions, volunteer units formed after regular army units had become unreliable, carried flags consisting of two horizontal bars: the top bar was red and the bottom black, the former representing revolution and the latter death (these colours were emblematic of such units). Upon these flags would be white slogans and symbols representative of their owner's militaristic idealism. One such example read 'Freedom or Death' next to a portrait of Kerensky.

Medals

Many of the medals previously given out to troops contained old tsarist symbols and like the others, these would not escape the current mood in the armed forces. Soldiers scratched off portraits of the Tsar or simply just wore them back to front. Later a more centralised solution prevailed: Medals from the front would be sent back to the Mint where the embossment of Nicholas II would be replaced with that of St George's Cross.

Symbolic origins and the Red Guards

The colour red in Russia

After February, the culture of the revolutionary underground came to dominate Russian society along with it's love for the colour red. For centuries red (krasnaia in Russian) had been the international colour of defiance and revolution but within Russia it had its own unique meanings. Red had been a favoured colour of the Tsars, using it prominently in their architecture such as in the Red Square for example. Iconic buildings in Russia already sporting a revolutionary hue alongside krasnaia also meaning beautiful, not to mention it's populist appeal, gave the colour additional propaganda usage to the Bolsheviks. Despite these positive traits, for centuries a red flag on tall town buildings had a more sinister meaning - a plague outbreak; in the early days of the Civil War this lead to White units taking a wide berth around Soviet controlled settlements. The Bolsheviks did persevere in the face of this negative connotation however and red became the de facto symbol of their brand of revolution; Leftist groups opposing them would continue to fly the red flag such as the rebelling sailors of Kronstadt, the cream of the revolutionary crop, as if trying to reclaim the justifying power of the colour from the Bolsheviks.

Origins of the red star

There are a few stories of how the red star came to be the symbol of the Red Armed Forces, some more reputable than others. One credible story says that in 1917, members of the Moscow garrison were ordered to wear white tin stars on their caps to differentiate themselves from the mass influx of troops returning from the front against the Central Powers. When a revolutionary air came over them, the garrison painted these stars red with the Bolsheviks approving so much of the idea that it would become the official symbol of the Soviet military. Another less reputable story claims that the star was introduced by the large section of Jews in the young government and military who, allegedly, saw the Revolution as the in-progress building of the Promised Land in Russia. Either way, the official line from the Bolsheviks was that the star represented world revolution on the five continents.

The red star was by no means a new symbol however, for it had religious implications deeply rooted in peasant superstition. One pamphlet from 1918 justified to the peasant soldier why he wore the red star in folkloric terms:

There once was a beautiful maiden named Pravda (Truth) who had a burning red star on her forehead which lit up the whole world and brought it truth, justice, and happiness. One day the red star was stolen by Krivda (falsehood) who wanted to bring darkness and evil to the world. Thus began the rule of Krivda. Meanwhile, Pravda called on the people to retrieve her star and 'return the light of truth to the world'. A good youth conquered Krivda and her forces and returned the red star to Pravda, whereupon the evil forces ran away from the light 'like owls and bats', and 'once again the people lived by truth'.

The Red Guards

The beginnings of the Red Army and its continuation of this revolutionary symbology can be seen in the Red Guards that preceded it in 1917. These armed bands, primary composed of factory workers, were a wholly volunteer force where commanders were elected during militia meetings.As more men returned from the front their ranks were swelled with soldiers and sailors as well as international volunteers, during the first months of 1918.

Uniform

Red Guard uniform, or lack thereof, was a melting pot of both military and civilian garments. Guardsmen wore whatever was available with their scant red symbols being the only thing that united them aesthetically. German and Austro-Hungarian POWs turned Red Guards would continue wearing their old uniforms due to a lack of alternatives. During the civil war years, the Red Army would inherit such a situation until proper uniforms could be provided.

Insignia

After their creation following the February Revolution, they began to wear cloth red stars and diagonal (top right to bottom left) red strips on caps, and red ribbons alongside red cloth armbands however the extent to which any of these were worn varied. Some armbands would have writing displaying date of formation, locality or factory of origin of the unit, detachment number and/or simply the words Red Guard. Later after October others could have designs (an example being a depiction of Saint George from Moscow) or badges (such as the militia shield badge introduced under the Bolsheviks).

General uniform

In the first years of it's life, the uniform of the Red Army was anarchic: Both military and civilian garb was worn, men fought each other over life saving army coats in the winter whilst others had to wear laced ladies' boots. One bad-tempered Trotsky had even said to a conference of army political workers in December 1919 that "Comrades, I don't want to frighten you, but I do want to say that, although we have have not been brought down by Denikin or Kolchak, we may yet be brought down by overcoats and boots".

In the first half of 1918, it had become apparent that the new model of army was inadequate, both small in number (200,000 by April) and typically ineffectual in the face of the Germans and the reactionary Volunteer Army. The elections and volunteerism of the Red Guards was abandoned and conscription for men ages 21 to 26 was introduced on 12 June, swelling the size of the army. This engorged force along with the appalling state of the country's logistics meant that the introduction of new uniforms and insignia would only be on paper for large portions of the army who would continue on using old tsarist stock and whatever else they could get their hands on. Discipline around insignia was so absent in fact that it wasn't uncommon for commanders to wear their rank patches in varying designs and all kinds of imaginative arrangements.

Though the situation would improve over the civil war years, at no point during it could it be said that there was one true uniform; Not even the supposedly ubiquitous red star would be worn by everyone in the army, with some exceptions, until the end of 1919.

Red clothing in the Red Army

In the early period of the civil war, when troops often had to supply or produce their own uniforms, the cultural obsession with the colour red manifested once more. Soldiers sought out red materials to make their tunics and according to G.H. Mikhailovsk, a Russian diplomat, an entire unit outfitted in the colour occupied Sevastopol in 1919: 'Over all the city... [from] Nakhimovsk Avenue to Ekaterininsk Street [there] was ... a red cavalcade all in red garments from head to toe, with high white gaiters on some... so that they looked like a new type of American red Indian'. Even experienced commanders would wear women's coats with some sense of pride if they sported a suitably proletarian hue.

Foreign uniforms

After the beginning of the Allied intervention, some foreign uniform pieces began to make their way into the Red Army as Lenin recalled during a 1920 conference: '... and to us now one after [another] approach trains with splendid English equipment, [which] frequently meet Russian Red [Army] men. Whole divisions invested in ... English [clothes] and[,] ... [as] one comrade in the Caucasus [related to me], [a] whole [Red Army] division [wearing] Italian bersale. I feel very sorry that I do not have [any photos] of these ... Red [Army] men ... . I must [admit] ... that the Red Army [is] beholden to English merchants[; merchants] that dress our men via their soldiers, which the Bolsheviks beat and will beat still many more times...'. Although speaking in hyperbolic terms, there was truth behind Lenin's words as shown by British Major General Knox's outrage at the situation in Siberia during 1919: 80% of the White Army's conscripts had run off to the Red side of the front presumably taking 200,000 British uniforms with them. Commissar Trotsky sent a letter to Knox thanking him for his donation to the Red Army. Foreign uniforms in the army predate such events however as foreigners who joined would sometimes retain their old uniforms in spite of orders to do the contrary.

1918

Headwear

The most prevalent piece of headwear for both sides during the civil war was the peaked service cap (furashka) of the Imperial Army. These would have varied from khaki to olive in colour with a black leather peak and sometimes a leather chinstrap although others had peaks and chinstraps made of the same cloth as the rest of the hat. Leather peaks were supposed to be painted khaki in the field. The M1910 winter cap (papakha) was also worn as well as innumerable different types of fur hat. The papakha consisted of a khaki headpiece with an upward folded front flap and a wider upward folded rear flap that could be folded down to cover the ears and neck; The flaps were made of either light grey natural or artificial astrakhan fur. A khaki side cap (pilotka) was introduced in 1916 for Russian soldiers to wear under French supplied Adrian helmets. In the Red Army these were mostly worn by cadets.

Tunics and greatcoats

The different variants of the M1910 and M1912 winter wool and the M1914 summer cotton field shirts (all called gymnastiorkas) were very common, especially amongst the lower ranks. These all had standing collars fastened by two buttons as well as two or three buttons that, along with the opening to be fastened, stopped about half way down the khaki to olive shirt (they could turn an off white with enough hard wear and washing however). Among officers 'French' tunics were popular, this being a slang term for tunics of British or American style: Such tunics typically having turnover or standing collars, four external pockets (two chest and two waist), and buttoned cuff flaps. Officers additionally wore M1909 and M1913 kitels which were similar to the French but with standing collar, internal skirt pockets, and no cuff flaps. Black leather jackets of varying styles were also popular among red commanders just as it came to be in the last war.

The mid-shin length greatcoats (shinel) had falling collars and were grey to brown with hooks instead of buttons, some with decorative buttons, or light blue-grey with two rows of six buttons with the former being worn by all ranks and the latter usually being worn by officers. The cavalry variant coat was longer, cut just above the ankle, and had cuffs that curved to a point at the back and front; all were cinched at the rear with a half-belt with two buttons. Sometimes a bashlyk, a kind of stand-alone hood, would be worn as well.

Leg and footwear

Both officers and other ranks wore trousers (sharovari). For some officers these took the form of breeches whilst most soldiers wore semi-breeches (tight at the calf and loose at the thigh but less so in both cases than full breeches). These were typically olive-khaki (in this case usually darker and greener than the gymnastiorka) but could vary greatly in colour depending on from where in the Imperial Army they originated, often with brightly coloured stripes down the leg.

The Red Army on the march. They wear furashka caps, gymnastiorkas, sharovari trousers, and puttees. Note the prevalence of woven bast lapti peasant shoes. None of these men seem to be wearing Red Army insignia; this, along with sharing the same uniforms, would often lead to Reds and Whites mistaking each other for allies, or friends for enemies, during the Civil War.

During World War 1 the black leather jackboots worn by the army had to be supplemented with puttees and ankle boots; critical shortages of either of these lead to the introduction of lapti, a kind of slipper made of leather or woven birch-bark by peasants, for many in the Red Army. Both military and civilian leather boots, puttees, and leather or canvas gaiters were in use, the first being popular with red commanders especially. Valenki felt overboots would have been worn in winter when available.

Equipment

The most commonly worn equipment for the average soldier was either the brown ammunition belt with one or or two ammunition pouches, and in some cases the old Romanov eagle buckle, or a fabric/canvas bandolier (the canvas version was introduced during the World War). A variety of haversacks and backpacks were were worn usually of cloth or canvas. When not worn, and if procured, greatcoats would be fastened in bandolier-style over the shoulder and under the arm; this could provide some limited protection against sabre slashes. During the early parts of the Civil War, ammunition belts for machine guns were worn criss-crossed over the chest either for convenience or due to necessity. Bayonet frogs, Linnemann entrenching tools, a curved debout knife and/or water bottle-tin bowl combinations could also have been worn.

Commanders in the field wore belts with one or two shoulder braces. After November 1917 wearing two front braces vertically was banned, presumably to help differentiate between friend and foe, but this was not universally followed. Upon these belts were worn map cases, pistol holsters (although simply tucking pistols into belts was common practice until 1922), kindzhal daggers, binocular cases, and whistles on the brace; the Mauser C96, with its wooden holster-stock combination, was the sidearm favoured most. Sabres and shashkas (a kind of Caucasian sabre lacking a handguard) were worn in the 'oriental' manner, this being on a separate over-the-shoulder strap with the cutting edge facing backwards. Leather equipment of Caucasian chic, black with chased silver ornaments, was especially fashionable amongst those on the southern fronts.

Insignia

During the Red Army's brief flirtation with military democracy, insignia was essentially along the same lines as that of the Red Guards; the only further development beyond this at that time was a cloth red star above the left cuff indicating a commander of a force of any size. After its return to form, the army began to slowly introduce its own distinct insignia. The first of these, introduced by the Supreme Military Soviet (SMS) on 29 July, was 'the Revolutionary Military Symbol of the Red Army': an enamel or painted star containing a bronze hammer-and-plough device set within a silver wreath (an oak branch on the left side and a laurel on the right). This was essentially the Red Army's membership badge which was worn on the left breast. It was initially worn by only commanders and cadets but soon could be worn by all Red Army servicemen. Under these badges or in the bottom gap between the laurel and the star shoulder board branch badges from the old army would sometimes be worn.

On the same day a dedicated cap badge of a slightly convex enamel or painted star with hammer-and-plough was also introduced. This was intended to be worn on the band but would often be worn on the crown instead. In 1918 the star was actually worn "upside down" (two points up and one down) but would be changed to the expected orientation by the end of the year. In lieu of official red stars, or one of the unofficial locally made variants, soldiers would sometimes wear the golden stars from old tsarist officers' shoulder boards and in other cases tsarist branch of service shoulder badges (an example would be the crossed cannons of the artillery).

Not until 1920 would the Red Army have its own branch insignia and so innumerable unofficial designs were worn if not the previously mentioned tsarist symbols on caps. These were sometimes based on the branch insignia designs of the old Imperial Army, such as the machine gun worn on the shoulder boards of imperial machine gunners, but now worn on the upper left sleeve in embroidered gold wire.

On 21 October, the month the Soviet government adopted the Geneva Convention, the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic (RMCR) signed Order No. 120 which elaborated on the insignia to be worn by sanitary personnel in the army: 'Due to the fact of enemy violence towards the sanitary personnel, providing aid for the wounded and sick servicemen, it is prescribed: ... 2. To the military-sanitary personnel to have the enamel mark of the Red Cross on the cap-band instead of the former [imperial] cockade, and to those working on a battlefield, besides - the Red Cross [on a white] armband on the left sleeve'.

Above the left cuff, cloth or braid red or yellow wound stripes were worn; this was a continuation of those introduced in 1916.

Cap badges of the Red Army (1918-1922)
Red star badge as of People's Commissar of War Affiars Order No. 594 (from 29 July 1918)	Red star badge as of RMCR Order No. 953 (from 13 April 1922)	Red star badge as of RMCR Order No. 1691 (from 11 July 1922)

1919

In the previous year the RMCR created one 'Commission on the Elaboration of Uniform' on 25 April. The purpose of the Commission, as the name somewhat implies, was to host a competition starting on 7 May to design new uniforms and insignia for the Red Army. Many prominent artists and designers took part with the Commission's decisions on new uniforms, insignia, and branch of service colours finalised on 18 December. The RMCR backed these decisions on 16 January 1919 through Order No. 116 which announced their official adoption into the army.

The tsarist myth

It has been erroneously claimed that the M1919 Red Army uniform actually originated in 1913 in order to commemorate the tricentenary of the Romanovs. These uniforms, with three tabs across the chest apparently commemorating each century of the dynasty, would have supposedly been taken from already existing stores and modified for Red Army use. This is likely the product of a game of chinese whispers wherein the fact that the budenovka hat was originally designed in 1913 for the Imperial Army (though never seeing use) has been blown out of proportions.

Headwear

1919 issue budenovkas: note the varying materials, cuts, and colours used. 1: This infantry budenovka is of the first pattern as indicated by the shorter drooping point (no stiffening rod) and the lack of a cap badge. Black paint lines the inner edge of the crimson star. The buttons are made of bone. 2: A khaki second pattern budenovka with the red bordered black star of the engineers and black branch colour cloth covered buttons. 3: Second pattern budenovka in cavalry colours. The blue star has a black painted line near the inner edge. 4: This second pattern budenovka's abnormally large black engineer star lacks the red edging typical of the branch. The brass buttons are embossed with the hammer and plough. 5: Another second pattern example this one being made of corduroy for summer use. The buttons are covered in corduroy and the star lacks the black inner edging.

The most distinctive piece of the new M1919 uniform was the budenovka although it only became commonly worn from 1920. This woollen khaki headgear, intended for winter use, could easily be identified by the blunt cloth "spike" that protruded from the top below which was a cloth peak and a cloth flap, secured with branch colour buttons and leather straps, which could be rolled down to cover the neck, ears, and chin. On the front was worn a cloth star (4.3-8.8cm in diameter) in branch of service colour with black paint within the star following close to its edges; black stars had red paint around the edges (both 5-6mm in width). A second pattern was introduced on 8 April 1919 with a taller point, a stiffening rod to prevent the point drooping, and a larger star (10.5cm in diameter) with an enamel Red Army cap badge worn in its centre. Men who modified their budenovkas to have taller points were jokingly nicknamed umootvod, meaning rod-brains: the taller the point the more feeble the mind. A light khaki cotton version was also worn in the summer.

The hat was named after the famed and mustachioed cavalry commander Semyon Budyonny, however, budenovka was just one of a few names this unique headpiece was known by, although it was the most prevalent. The official name was shlem (helmet) but it was first widely known as a bogatirka due its semblance to the helmets of the medieval bogatyrs of Russian legend; the hat was designed by the artist Victor Vasnetsov who was well known for his folkloric paintings of such figures. For a time it was also known as the frunzevka in tribute to Mikhail Frunze, another Red commander, whose troops included weavers who were some of the first to produce and wear the hat.

Tunics and greatcoats

The new khaki field shirt, introduced from 8 April 1919, was very similar to the old one but with a few notable additions and changes. Its two buttons that went down the chest were now concealed under a cloth strip and it forwent buttons for the standing collar in favour of two sets of hooks; two khaki bone buttons fastened the gathered cuffs and flapless internal waist pockets were added; three horizontal mirrored spearhead shaped tabs called razgovory were worn across the chest button flap (22cm x 4.5cm), as well as a smaller one across the neck (8cm x 2.5cm), all in branch colour. In the field khaki razgovory would sometimes replace the coloured ones. Commanders would sometimes have their old Tsarist gymastiorkas tailored so that they would better resemble the new tunic.

The kaftan was the new greatcoat for the army that, much like the new gymnastiorka, had only changed in few ways from its predecessor. The colour was now khaki with a darker khaki for the collar, pocket flaps and cuffs; two vertical internal pockets were at the waist and two at the breast with the former having flaps and the latter none; the kaftan's dark khaki cuffs would curve upward at the back; collar tabs were in branch colour as well as the three smaller razgovory chest tabs with buttons that went down the right side fastening the coat opening, which was also off centre, along with four sets of hooks; branch colour piping would sometimes be worn on the collar and cuffs. Just as with the new tunic, in the field khaki razgovory were meant to be worn.

The razgovory were in all likelihood meant to invoke the chest tabs worn by the Streltsy who had themselves revolted against the Autocracy in 1698. The meaning behind the nickname of razgovory isn't definitively known as it can be understood as meaning 'a conversation', 'a mess', or 'to mess around'. The first interpretation could be linked to how Red commanders and commissars were, supposedly, the first to receive the new coats and so their men saw the garb as synoynmous with their 'big talking' superiors whilst the latter could simply refer to the fiddly nature of fastening the buttons.

An example of an unofficial variation of the 1919 rank insignia. This regimental commander's patch (as indicated by the four squares) is made of embroidered gold wire on a red cloth backing although in this case the colour has faded with age. Take note of the use of the hammer and plough rather than the hammer and sickle.

Insignia

As the army became more conventionally hierarchical, the lack of any kind of distinctive rank insignia beyond the universal, and vague, red sleeve star became a greater issue. This was attested to by commanders such as I.P. Uborevich of the 18th Rifle Divsion who went to the lengths of creating a system of symbols for his own unit not long before the introduction of the official rank markings as did others. This official insignia took the form of a red cloth star (11 cm in diameter) with a black border (printed with ink) near the inner edge and a black hammer and sickle above the left cuff (centred 12.5cm above the cuff): under this star would be one to four triangles (4cm a side), squares (3cm a side), or diamonds (3.5cm height and 3cm width) organised in a horizontal line also of red cloth with the black inner edge stitching. The senior ranks, which used diamonds, had a larger star (14.5cm in diameter) which had an additional black inner edging within the first: the diamonds also had this additional edging. Various local and unofficial variants of these insignia also existed, with some of these combining both rank and branch distinctions. Often commanders would also organize the shapes into varying patterns until uniformity could be properly enforced.

The new 1919 regulations also introduced distinct branch colours to the army. These were as follows:

Branch colours as of RMCR Order No.116 (from 16 January 1919)
Branch	Colour
General Staff	Black (velvet) piped crimson
Infantry	Crimson
Cavalry	Medium blue
Artillery	Orange
Engineers	Black
Armour (Engineers)	Black
Medical Service	Same as attached branch
Air Service	Light blue
Border Guards	Green

On 22 August RMCR Order No. 1406 was implemented which introduced sleeve insignia for military transportation personnel. This consisted of a black, velvet, horizontal diamond (12cm by 8cm) edged green (3mm width) and containing a two winged railcar wheel embroidered in silver on the left sleeve. Commanders wore this patch on a red armband (12cm width) with black lines near the top and bottom edges: attached commissars the same but with dark yellow edging rather than green.

During the year it had become a popular practice to return deserters back to their unit with a black armband sewn to their sleeve; at the beginning of 1920 however, this practice was phased out as it would lead to said deserter being antagonised by their compatriots, sometimes to the point of violence or death.

Two divisional commanders and a commissar sitting far left, centre left, and far right (1921). Note how even amongst senior commanders insignia is varied or lacking: the first commander wears only an Order of the Red Banner, an award, to denote his allegiance whilst the commissar a seat along wears nothing that implies his loyalties let alone his position.

1920

Insignia

1920 saw the introduction of official branch insignia via one RMCR Order No. 572. The decision to implement such insignia was taken at the end of 1919 which was then followed on 5 January by the first design illustrations by the artist V.M. Popov: these being for the Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, and Engineers. These designs were approved by the RMCR and so a commission was established to further elaborate on them . This commission further assessed these badges, as well as a new design for aviation, over 15 days after which on 1 March these final variations were agreed to by the RMCR with them being added to the official uniform on 3 April as per the order.

These badges were worn on the upper left sleeve with each consisting of a shape in branch colour with gold (or silver for the Engineers) embroidery near the edges; in the centre of this would be a red star on a sun from which sunbursts (in the same embroidery) would emanate; on the lower half of the patch, superimposed over the sunburst, would be a green semi-circle or wedge in green representing the earth upon which would be an embroidered or metal branch emblem. The aviation badge lacked the earth and had a pair of wings under the red star.

The specifics for each badge are as follows:

Branch arm badges as of RMCR Order No.572 (from 3 April 1920)
Branch	Colour	Shape	Emblem
Infantry	Crimson	Vertical diamond	Crossed rifles
Cavalry	Medium blue	Filled-in Horshoe	Crossed sabres
Artillery	Orange	Vertical shell	Crossed cannons
Engineer	Black	Square	Different for each speciality: i.e. crossed axes for HQ and departments
Air Service	Light blue	Horizontal diamond	Black wings and propellor - military and naval pilots; silver wings and propellor - observers; gold wings and propellor - other airmen

These would be edged to denote the acts of a servicemen: in gold for a member of a unit awarded the Order of the Red Banner and in silver for receiving a wound or for serving with the army in the field for over a year whilst also taking part in a major battle.

Branch specific uniforms

Armour

1918-1922

Civil war uniforms for all armoured units, just as it was during Word War 1, were defined by the rich use of black leather. Service caps with larger than normal crowns and squared visors in either leather or olive-khaki cloth were worn however, so were more typical caps of less exaggerated proportions; when not in use, goggles would often be worn across the band of these caps. In addition to service caps, black leather budenovkas were also sometimes seen. The effectively universal garment was a black leather jacket which could be of any type or cut but with the most common being the 1912 issue double-breasted 'Swedish' jacket (the imperial air service jacket was used by some) under which was worn a gymnastiorka. Below the belt were worn leather or cloth breeches with leather jack boots or boots with gaiters of varying shades of leather.

Although at this time a part of the engineers (they would become their own distinct branch by 1922), armoured troops much preferred their own distinct insignia with its motifs inherited from the Imperial Army. These sleeve badges varied between armour sub branches, and in some cases within, but common were designs of the Imperial armour's wheels, wings and machine gun emblem (in some cases the exact same badges that were used on shoulder boards) whilst the same but with a steering wheel rather than a machine gun (also a tsarist badge) was worn as well.

Cavalry

1918-1922

In the civil war years, the uniforms worn by most cavalrymen varied only slightly when compared to the other branches: A carbine and sabre or shashka was carried, bandoliers were common as well as dark blue breeches, and stirrups were worn over boots. In addition to these, a cavalry variant of the 1919 issue kaftan was also introduced (8 April) which only differed in having an open slit down the back of the skirt starting 14cm below the waist. A branch arm badge was also introduced in 1920.

Cossack uniforms (1918-1920)

These Cossacks, though in Imperial service, would show a good example of the typical Red Kuban if not for the shoulder boards, tsarist medals, and lack of Red Army insignia.

A Cossack's uniform varied depending upon which host he originated from and seemed to have been a continuation of the old Imperial uniform but with the appropriate changes of insignia. Cossacks of the Kuban Host wore their traditional garb: a short black fleece hat (kubanka) with red crown; a red service or drab-coloured linen shirt (beshmet) over which would be worn a drab-coloured, sleeved, ankle-length robe (cherkeska) with a deep v-neck and 7-11 decorative cartridge tubes (gaziry) on each breast which were a traditional indicator of rank (these would sometimes be used to carry ammunition and modified to show off the bullets of rifle stripper clips in a way that was trendy during World War 1); dark blue breeches which were piped red; soft leather, heeless boots which would be worn without strirrups as Cossacks traditionally used a short leather whip (nagaika) to drive their mounts (although conventional boots and stirrups may also have been worn); a red or drab-coloured bashlyk hood; and a decorative black leather belt with dangling straps and silver chased ornamentation from which would hang a kindzhal dagger and a shashka sabre.

Don Cossacks wore a much more conventional uniform: khaki gimnastyorkas; tall black fleece hats with red crowns or leather peaked caps with dark blue crowns, red bands as well as red crown piping; and lastly loose, dark blue trousers with wide red stripes down the outer seams tucked into jackboots.

The Orenburg Cossacks, combining the Kuban and Don styles, wore khaki gimnastyorkas but with decorative cartridge tubes. Along with these were worn dark blue, leather peaked caps with light blue bands and crown piping as well as dark blue, loose trousers with wide light blue stripes.

The 'Red Hussars' (1918-1921)

Although most cavalry units wore fairly unremarkable uniforms, a few wore the exact opposite: vividly coloured and distinctive garments could be seen amongst some cavalrymen, who scavenged from the old Imperial storehouses of the Hussar regiments. Foremost amongst these units was the Zavolzhskaya Brigade of Red Hussars of the 14th Cavalry Division otherwise known as Vatman's Red Hussars Brigade. The Brigade, consisting of three regiments, wore the parade uniforms of both the 1st Sumskoy and 3rd Elisavetgradsky Hussar regiments. This uniform consisted of a light blue dolman with the shoulder-knots (a tsarist indicator of rank) removed as well as yellow tunic cords and brass buttons; red chakchiry breeches with yellow piping down the sides tucked into cavalry jackboots with the hussar rosette in brass on the fronts; The peaked cap was also light blue with yellow piping on the crown as well as above and below the band which varied in colour depending on from which Hussar unit it originated from: the 1st Sumskoy's was scarlet whilst the 3rd Elisavetgradsky's was white. The peak of these caps was black leather and smaller than those of the army service caps, often being worn crumpled in the fashion of the time. Instead of dolmans, commanders would wear the more conventional french tunics along with the proper rank insignia. Some of the Red Hussars, in lieu of red stars, would wear on their caps a metal badge consisting of a silver horseshoe behind two silver crossed sabres which in itself was superimposed by a gold horse's head. Regimental musicians would have worn gold lyres rather than stars as well. Some squadrons would also have had lances with two-colour pennants.

Although the Red Hussars are the most well known unit to wear such uniforms, they were not the only one. The 10th Kuban Cavalry Division's 55th 'Narva' Cavalry Regiment had a uniform which varied from Vatman's Brigade only in having white piping, tunic cords, and metal fittings as well as a yellow cap band which had all originally belonged to the 13th Narvsky Hussar regiment. Another unit was the 21st Rifle Division's Independent Cavalry Battalion which wore the orange caps and dolmans, blue cap bands, red breeches, and white piping and cords of the 15th Ukrainian Hussar Regiment however, brown busbys with light blue bags and white metal chin-scales would also have been worn.

General Staff

1919-1922

In 1919 the Red Army's General Staff received it's own, rather eccentric, uniform. It consisted of a scarlet service cap and riding breeches, both piped yellow, originating from the old Lifeguard Hussar Regiment stockpile; a dark crimson 1919 issue tunic with black velvet chest tabs, cuffs, and left sleeve star; silver aiguillettes on the right shoulder and spurred jackboots. This garb was woefully unpopular with staff members, who saw it as pompous. Some refused to wear the crimson tunic and instead gave them away to the seamstressing of their wives to be made into ladies' jackets. Conveniently, the aiguillettes came to be 'short in supply'. The hat and breeches became somewhat popular however and would be worn alongside a khaki shirt with the previous black velvet affects if not with the crimson one. The service uniform also included a crimson 1919 issue greatcoat with black velvet collar, chest tabs, pocket flaps, cuffs, and sleeve star all piped light green.

The field uniform added a knee-length, open-collared kaftan of high quality pea green material with black velvet collar, razgovory, pocket flaps, cuffs, and sleeve star, all piped crimson. Rows of metal edging topped with loops were sometimes worn on the collar and cuffs, 1-4 gold stripes for general officer equivalents and 3-4 silver stripes for field officer equivalents. A pea green budenovka with crimson piped black velvet star and black velvet buttons could also be worn with this.

Political Commissars

1918-1922

Political Commissars wore much the same as red commanders with the exception of the 1919 rank insignia. If a commissar wore a distinguishing mark, this would be in the form of a large red star edged gold on the left sleeve.

Insignia

Branch insignia

Branch	Image	Dates of use	Description	Worn	Material(s)

Unit insignia

Unit	Image	Dates of use	Description	Worn	Material(s)
Army of Taman		1918 -		Upper, middle,or lower left sleeve.	Cloth
Bashkir Cavalry Division/Brigade		1919 -NA	A cloth red star and crescent on a dark green diamond as worn by the Bashkir Cavalry Division (later reorganized as a brigade). Sometimes the star and crescent was instead embroidered in gold wire with the diamond being bordered in the same (possibly for officers). It was also worn without the green diamond.	Upper left sleeve.	Cloth on cloth or gold wire on cloth.

Timeline

Draft gallery

Notes

References

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