Early WWI Belgian Infantry's greatcoat color

[Calimero]

Hello all,

I was wondering if someone have information on the Belgian army’s early WWI uniforms. From what I find on the net, all infantry units (Line, Grenadier and Carabinier) had black greatcoats… This was the result of a quick search and, since then, I’ve also found pictures of Carabinier in green greatcoats and Grenadiers in (really) dark blue greatcoats… which of these are correct colors?

Cheers!

[SJWi]

Good morning, I'm no expert but have found some clues in my Osprey "Belgian army in WW1" and " Collection 1914-18 The Belgian Soldier" by Orep Editions.

Regarding the Carabiniers the Osprey says "the greatcoat was supposedly green, but was in practice black, earning them the German nickname "The Black Devils". 

Regarding the Grenadiers there is no specific reference to the greatcoat colour except to say "on campaign they wore the standard line infantry uniform"

My Orep refers to blue-black ( ie dark blue) for line infantry and green-black for light infantry.

There is one photo of a grenadier mannequin in what I think is the Brussels Military Museum and I would say that it looks very dark blue.

Sorry I can't help any more.     

[Helen]

I went with a black green for the Carabiniers and as mentioned above a dark blue for the grenadier/line greatcoat.

Thanks.

[Calimero]

Thanks for the replies!

Carabinier do look great with green coats.

Cheers!

[waterproof]

 For me Helen's choice of color is the best one.
I think that both colors, green and blue have already gone into black.

Helen, very nice pictures. I like your painting style. From which manufacturer are the dogs with the machine gun cart ?

[SJWi]

I suspect the dog cart and indeed most of the 28mm figures are from Brigade Models ( as opposed to the US Company Brigade Games). They produce quite a large  and very nice early WW1 Belgian range. Bit of an oddity given their primary focus on smaller scale sci-if and Aeronef.

[Helen]

For me Helen's choice of color is the best one.
I think that both colors, green and blue have already gone into black.

Helen, very nice pictures. I like your painting style. From which manufacturer are the dogs with the machine gun cart ?

Thank you. Brigade Models for the dog cart. Great War Miniatures for the Grenadiers/Ligne.

[monk2002uk]

There is a pre-war movie of the Belgian Army on manoeuvres here:



It includes footage of dogs and machine gun carts.

Robert

[waterproof]

Thanks Helen , I did not know brigade games yet.

Thanks monk2002uk, this is very worth seeing. Interesting is also that you see bicycles very often and almost no motorized vehicles.
This reflects the spirit of that time very well. The chic cavalry officer had a great reputation among the population, especially the female ones  .

[Helen]

Thanks Helen , I did not know brigade games yet.

Thanks monk2002uk, this is very worth seeing. Interesting is also that you see bicycles very often and almost no motorized vehicles.
This reflects the spirit of that time very well. The chic cavalry officer had a great reputation among the population, especially the female ones  .

Please understand I mentioned Brigade Models:

http://www.brigademodels.co.uk/GreatWar28/index.html

Thank you.

[waterproof]

Yes, of course. My mistake, I had understood you correctly but repeated it wrong  .
Thanks for the hint.

[Helen]

Yes, of course. My mistake, I had understood you correctly but repeated it wrong  .
Thanks for the hint.

Thank you.

[bz1]

Line infantry and Grenadiers would have worn dark blue greatcoats. Carabineers and Chasseurs-a-pied wore dark green greatcoats. In practice however it would seem that the dark green ones were pretty much black.

I've not seen any pictures of actual Carabineer greatcoats that are green. I've only seen green ones in drawings.

The Royal Museum of the Armed Forces in Brussels has an example of infantry, grenadier and carabineer uniforms. I've attached some pictures - apologies for the photos the lighting in the museum isn't great.

I did a small painting guide detailing my take on the colours - http://www.brigademodels.co.uk/Blog/2013/08/painting-belgians-part-one-the-infantry/ This may be of use to you.

The other thing to consider is that at the time the military in Belgium was in complete turmoil. Reserve troops would have been issued with whatever was available. So having some figures in the wrong coats / trousers wouldn't look out of place.

If you really want to delve into the subject then this is a fantastic book (but not cheap) - https://www.amazon.co.uk/BELGIAN-ARMY-GREAT-Pierre-Lerneux/dp/3902526750

[Helen]

Thanks Bz1 for the book reference.