Uniforms of the Royal Danish Army

Royal Danish Army uniforms were originally influenced by French, Prussian and Russian military traditions.

[4] Towards the end of the 17th century, different army regiments began to introduce the distinct red coat.

[4] When Claude Louis, Comte de Saint-Germain became head of the army, he attempted to change the base colour to Prussian blue.

[5] When Claude Louis returned to power, in March 1767, he instead issued orders to change the colour to white as the French Royal Army.

[8] Throughout the next 50+ years, the uniforms saw changes in cut of jacket and trousers, removal of the Tricorne in favour of the shako.

[8] Economic hardship also affected the uniforms, causing the removal of extravagant epaulets, feathers, tresses, and galloons.

[10] In 1848, the red coat was exchanged with a Double-breasted dark blue jacket, and the cumbersome shako was replaced with a more practical kepi.

[10][11] In 1880, the uniforms saw minor updates, along with a colour change of the hats, which had been made dark blue a few years prior.

[10][13] This uniform was in Reseda green and was inspired by the lessons learned by the great colonial powers, where the bright blue/red jackets where too visible in on the battlefield.

[16] With the increased risk of a German invasion during World War I, the Security Force was established to ensure Danish neutrality.

[17] Following the end of the WWI, the General Staff learned the M/15 had inadequate camouflage capabilities, leading to the creation of the M/23 uniform.

The result of the "turned-down" collar also meant, that the four-pointed stars, which had previously signified personnel of the officer class, was replaced with the emblem of the regiment introduced at the same time.

[33] The M/44, was ineffective against the elements and received many complaints from the soldiers, this led the army to introduce the M/58 combat uniform.

[37] During a joint military exercise in Germany, it was reported that the M/58 uniforms were significantly more visible through Night vision than other nations.

[39] The M/84 system saw gradual improvements over the years, starting in 1992, when Danish soldiers deployed on international missions were issued the Gefechtshelm M92.

All branches of the Army issued the M/84, it consists of the barrack dress version of the trousers and jacket, a green shirt, beret, and a stable belt in either black or the colours of the regiment.

[44] Due to the changing weather in Denmark, the shirt can either be short or long sleeved, and there can furthermore be worn a jumper or rain-jacket.

[40] With the deployments to the Middle East, a desert version of the light uniform was introduced, using the M/01 camouflage (Ørken Kampuniform).

[50] The generals' full dress M/1880, is more elaborate than officers' with gold ornamentation and is worn with a bicorne with feathers.

[51] With the creation of Denmark's own hussar regiment in 1762, the first version of the uniform was introduced, and has remained practically unchanged since 1870.

[53] The blue dolman was introduced with the creation of the regiment in 1762, and saw a number of small changes,[54] before being replaced with a simplified version, having fewer braids across the chest in 1870.

Edward, Prince of Wales, being a big fan of the Danish hussar uniform, suggested to allow officers to continue wearing the pelisse, as they had to buy them privately in either case.

It is the only uniform in the world to still use it, and has been in use since the reign of Frederick V.[54] In the beginning the hussars would wear a Flügelmütze, however, by 1774 it was replaced by a tall shako.

[61] Like the Household Division of the British Army, the Royal Life Guards serve as an active protection force.

[63][50] It is worn with blue full-dress pants and a kepi, it not allowed to wear medals on the uniform, only ribbons.

[66] During the '60s Danish Army officers, who was posted internationally, started to complain about the M/47 and M/59 service uniforms.

The uniforms were seen as old and outdated, causing embarrassment for Danish officers serving international postings.

[67] Replacements for the M/47, started with T/68 test uniform, which was produced in different shades of green, and had a cut similar to the British battledress.

[73] With the increase in international missions in arid environments, a decrease in national threats, and need for more modern equipment, it was decided that the M/01 and M/84 was insufficient.

[74] This along with the fact, that the current uniforms' camouflage pattern was too specialized for the modern Danish international engagements in changing environments.