Color de la unidad del ejército real tailandés- Color de la unidad de la Marina Real Tailandesa
- Color de la unidad de la Real Fuerza Aérea Tailandesa
- Colores de las unidades de la Guardia Real
En las organizaciones militares, se cree que la práctica de llevar colores , estandartes , banderas o banderines , tanto para actuar como punto de reunión de las tropas como para marcar la ubicación del comandante, se originó en el Antiguo Egipto hace unos 5000 años. El Imperio Romano también hizo que los estandartes de batalla que leían SPQR fueran parte de sus vastos ejércitos. Se formalizó en los ejércitos de Europa en la Alta Edad Media , con estandartes blasonados con el escudo de armas del comandante .
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A medida que los ejércitos se entrenaban y adoptaban formaciones fijas, la capacidad de cada regimiento para mantener su formación era potencialmente crítica para su éxito (y, por lo tanto, para el de su ejército). En el caos de la batalla, debido a la cantidad de polvo y humo en el campo de batalla, los soldados necesitaban poder determinar dónde se encontraba su regimiento.
Las banderas de regimiento suelen ser entregadas por un jefe de estado durante una ceremonia. Por lo tanto, se las trataba con respeto, ya que representaban el honor y las tradiciones del regimiento. Los colores pueden llevar inscritos los nombres de batallas u otros símbolos que representen logros anteriores (consulte honores de batalla ).
Los regimientos solían adoptar " guardias de color ", compuestas por soldados experimentados o de élite, para proteger sus colores. Como resultado, la captura de un estandarte enemigo se consideraba una gran hazaña de armas.
Nunca se destruyen por capricho; cuando son demasiado viejas para usarse, se reemplazan y se guardan en museos, edificios religiosos y otros lugares de importancia para el regimiento. Sin embargo, en la mayoría de los ejércitos modernos, las órdenes vigentes exigen que las banderas se destruyan intencionalmente si alguna vez corren el riesgo de ser capturadas por el enemigo. [ cita requerida ]
Debido a la llegada de armas modernas y los consiguientes cambios en las tácticas, los colores ya no se llevan a la batalla, pero continúan utilizándose en eventos de carácter formal.
En Camboya , los colores de las fuerzas armadas y otras instituciones uniformadas siguen las prácticas británicas, estadounidenses y francesas.
Hasta 2022, lo que era esencialmente una versión grande de la bandera de Camboya con el nombre de la unidad debajo en blanco en la franja azul inferior se usó como el color del rey de las formaciones de la RCAF antes de ser reasignada como el color nacional para desfiles y ceremonias. En 2023, debutó un nuevo diseño derivado de China, pero que también recuerda a los días de los antiguos reinos en territorios camboyanos: es un diseño unificado con la insignia de la unidad o formación en el centro y el nombre de la unidad en jemer debajo, pero con colores diferentes según el servicio:
El Ejército Popular de Liberación es el organismo general de todas las fuerzas armadas de la República Popular China y está representado por una única bandera, que sirve como color ceremonial para todos los regimientos y formaciones mayores. Está basada en la bandera nacional , pero en lugar de las cuatro estrellas doradas más pequeñas, tiene los caracteres chinos para los números "8" y "1", que representan el 1 de agosto , el día de 1927 en que se fundó el EPL. Cuando desfila, la bandera tiene flecos dorados y está montada en un mástil rojo y dorado.
Cada rama del EPL tiene su propia bandera, basada en la bandera del ejército (Estandartes del EPL):
Estos tampoco se exhiben públicamente, excepto con la misma franja dorada que la bandera del ejército.
Los colores de las unidades individuales basados en el color de servicio del EPL se introducirían solo a partir de 2018 (y eso, solo a modo de prueba), cuando los contingentes móviles de las unidades del Comando del Teatro Norte que participaron en el ejercicio militar conjunto "Vostok 2018" con las Fuerzas Armadas Rusas llevaron colores rojos con el nombre de la unidad en la franja blanca más cercana al asta de la bandera. Los colores de batalla de prueba se habían entregado a la Policía Armada Popular algunos años antes de que la práctica fuera adoptada por las Fuerzas Terrestres del EPL en un período experimental. Durante el desfile militar civil del 1 de octubre de 2019 que marcó el 70 aniversario de la República Popular China , una unidad de guardia de color móvil estrenó después de muchos años los colores de guarnición otorgados a cada formación y agencia del EPL, que son rojos con el nombre de la formación o agencia en chino mandarín en letras blancas o doradas (pero sin la franja blanca), con algunos colores que llevan inscripciones adicionales con honores de batalla o condecoraciones otorgadas a la formación o agencia en cuestión.
El ejército de la República de China (Taiwán) también tiene una única bandera que utiliza, que es roja, con un estandarte del cielo azul con un sol blanco en el centro. Tiene un asta roja con un remate de punta de lanza plateada y borlas rojas inmediatamente debajo. Las unidades individuales usan una variación de la bandera del ejército como su propio color de identificación; esto presenta una franja blanca junto al polipasto, que tiene el nombre de la unidad en caracteres negros, así como una franja dorada (como es el caso desde 1961 para todas las unidades de las Fuerzas Armadas de la República de China , pero desde 1947 se limitaron solo a las unidades del ejército por encima del nivel de regimiento). El color de la guardia de honor del ejército es dorado con el escudo de armas de la unidad en el centro.
Los colores de la Armada de la República de China eran el rojo pero con el sello de la Armada en un cantón azul oscuro en el centro hasta la década de 1980, los colores de la compañía de la guardia de honor solo usan azul oscuro y el sello de la Armada, que son los mismos colores utilizados hoy en otras unidades de la ROCN.
Para el Cuerpo de Marines de la República de China , los colores de batalla de su unidad, desde 1960, reflejan los del USMC, pero desde la década de 1980 el nombre de la unidad está en la franja blanca cerca del polipasto (al igual que el resto de las fuerzas armadas, anteriormente estaba en un pergamino similar al del USMC).
Los colores utilizados por la Fuerza Aérea de la República de China son azul cielo con el sello de la fuerza aérea en el centro (anteriormente era rojo con el cantón azul cielo con el escudo de armas, el diseño antiguo sólo lo usa hoy la guardia de honor).
Las unidades de la Policía Militar de la República de China , que antes utilizaban el color azul, ahora utilizan el color marrón con los brazos del ROCMP.
Las unidades que dependen del Ministerio de Defensa Nacional llevan el color naranja con el escudo de armas del Ministerio en el centro. Los colores de la guarnición son azules con el emblema del Kuomintang, una corona de trigo y tres círculos entrelazados en amarillo, rojo y azul respectivamente. Las unidades de reserva llevan el color rojo, mientras que la Reserva de Taiwán usa el verde.
Sólo las siguientes academias militares lucen sus colores, ya que el color ROCAF es utilizado por la Academia de la Fuerza Aérea de la República de China :
En todos los eventos en que esté involucrada la ROCAF, la bandera de la ROC se utilizará como color nacional.
En Indonesia , los colores de las Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales de Indonesia , la Policía Nacional de Indonesia y otras instituciones uniformadas se conocen como Panji-panji . El Panji-panji es llevado y escoltado por un guardia de color conocido como "Pataka", una abreviatura de Pasukan Tanda Kehormatan en indonesio . [1]
Durante los desfiles de graduación y de graduación, siempre que se toma el juramento de alistamiento o de nombramiento, se utiliza la bandera de Indonesia como color nacional.
En los desfiles, los colores de servicio más comunes son los de las Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales de Indonesia (TNI), la Policía Nacional de Indonesia y las unidades de la Policía Municipal (conocidas como Panji-Panji Kesatuan/Lambang-Lambang Kesatuan ). Dentro de las TNI, existen colores de servicio para las tres ramas militares. Panji-panji significa colores militares/de servicio en indonesio.
No militar:
Tunggul y Pataka son términos utilizados para identificar colores por debajo del nivel de comando o especialidad de servicio dentro de las Fuerzas Armadas, la Policía Nacional y la Policía Municipal. Los primeros son para unidades de nivel de batallón/escuadrón y comandos territoriales militares o equivalentes, los segundos para brigadas/regimientos, divisiones/comandos regionales y comandos de especialidad de servicio y operativos. Comparten un diseño común: el escudo heráldico de la unidad aparece en el anverso, mientras que el emblema de su formación de informes aparece en el reverso. Todos los colores tienen flecos dorados y llevan un remate Garuda basado en el escudo nacional.
Dentro del TNI , Policía y Policía Municipal , los colores de especialidad son:
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El Ejército Popular de Corea es el organismo que agrupa a todas las fuerzas armadas de la República Popular Democrática de Corea . Hasta 1993, el Ejército Popular de Corea estaba representado por una única bandera, que servía como color ceremonial para todos los regimientos, instituciones educativas y formaciones más grandes. El color se basa en la bandera nacional , pero el emblema nacional sustituye a la estrella [2] y en los desfiles los colores estaban rodeados por una franja dorada. Las letras doradas en Hangul hasta 1992 eran "Por la unificación e independencia de la patria y el pueblo" ( 조국의 통일 독립과 인민을 위하여 ), luego reemplazadas por el segundo lema "Por la unificación y la independencia de la patria, y la libertad y felicidad del pueblo" ( 조국의 통). 일, 독립과 인민의 자유와 행복을 위하여 ). A partir de 2023, el lema es "¡Por la prosperidad infinita de la patria y la seguridad del pueblo! ( 조국의 무궁한 번영과 인민의 안녕을 위하여 )".
En 1993, como parte del 40º aniversario de la conclusión de la Guerra de Corea y el 45º desde la fundación de la RPDC, el antiguo color fue reemplazado por los diseños vistos durante más de tres décadas en los principales desfiles festivos. Todos los colores comparten el mismo reverso con el emblema del Partido de los Trabajadores de Corea en oro y, a excepción de los Guardias Rojos Obreros y Campesinos, tienen un dorado idéntico en Hangul que dice "Fuerzas armadas revolucionarias del Partido de los Trabajadores de Corea, Ejército Popular de Corea [nombre de la unidad] / Unidad No.425 (en ceremonias)" ( 조선로동당의 혁명적무장력인 조선인민군 제425 군부대 ), el número 425 en honor a la fecha (25 de abril) de la fundación en 1932 del Ejército Guerrillero Popular Antijaponés, cuyo linaje continúa el servicio actual, pero con los mismos colores que en el anverso, que también muestra la marca 4.25 en numeración dorada. Las unidades de la Guardia también tenían su insignia debajo de la marca 4.25. En 2023, se adoptó un nuevo diseño modificado basado en las plantillas de 1992-93 para el KPA con el lema conservado, y la marca 4.25 finalmente se eliminó, reemplazándola ahora por la fecha de la rama o unidad de servicio. Las formaciones de la Guardia conservaron su emblema oficial debajo de la fecha de fundación. El reverso de estos colores se actualizó. Estos colores están en flecos dorados cuando se muestran en desfiles públicos en Pyongyang , la capital nacional, y durante las visitas de estado de los guardias de honor del Comando de la Guardia Suprema , que es una formación interservicios a diferencia del resto del comando cuyo personal proviene de las Fuerzas Terrestres. Los colores del diseño de 1948 y 1992, desde las celebraciones del 60 aniversario de la conclusión de la Guerra de Corea en 2013, han sido utilizados solo por unidades de guardias y batallones del KPA que visten uniformes de gala históricos de la década de 1940 y principios de la de 1950, los colores de 1992 tienen un contorno de insignia de guardias dorado en el reverso para indicar el estado de guardias del color de la unidad, mientras que los colores solo usan las armas y el lema de 1948 en lugar del actual.
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Las tradiciones de los colores de las unidades militares y de las ramas de las Fuerzas Armadas de la República de Corea se derivan en su mayoría de la práctica occidental de considerar la bandera de Corea del Sur como un color nacional.
En la actualidad, cada una de las ramas de servicio de la ROKAF tiene los colores de su regimiento, todos con flecos dorados, que llevan los guardias de color siguiendo una mezcla de tradiciones occidentales. Los colores son los siguientes:
En los principales desfiles festivos se utilizan dos colores adicionales como parte de la guardia de colores nacional.
Los colores de la unidad y de las especialidades siguen una mezcla de los modelos occidentales con influencias del modelo occidental, compartiendo desde los años 1990 un diseño común con el nombre de la unidad en Hangul debajo del emblema (en la Marina, el nombre de la unidad/comando está en un pergamino blanco debajo siguiendo el precedente estadounidense).
Además, la unidad de guardia tradicional de la 3.ª División de Infantería de la República de Corea lleva colores similares a los utilizados durante la era imperial, que usaban los Sumunjang o guardias del palacio real con su banda militar tradicional, Daechwita . Solo se utilizan durante las visitas de estado a la república y en los días festivos importantes.
En Laos , los colores de las fuerzas armadas y otras instituciones uniformadas siguen la práctica norcoreana. Básicamente, se trata de una versión grande de la bandera laosiana con el nombre de la unidad debajo en blanco en la franja superior y roja en la inferior.
Los colores militares filipinos son la bandera de Filipinas como color nacional, los colores de la organización y el color de batalla de la unidad. La bandera de Filipinas es el color nacional de las Fuerzas Armadas de Filipinas , pero a diferencia del color estadounidense, no tiene marcas en la bandera. Los colores de la organización son las banderas de los cuatro comandos de servicio principales de las AFP, mientras que el color de batalla de la unidad difiere según el brazo de servicio y la unidad. Al igual que los EE. UU., también tiene banderas de segundo orden para compañías y tropas, pero también se basan en las banderas y estandartes militares españoles, no en los estadounidenses, lo que refleja la larga historia del establecimiento militar aquí. Por lo tanto, estas banderas no son de cola de golondrina, excepto para la PMA, el Batallón de Escolta y Seguridad del Ejército de Filipinas y algunas otras unidades bajo el Ejército de Filipinas.
Los colores de los colores organizacionales son:
Cada unidad de las Fuerzas Armadas Reales de Tailandia recibe un color llamado " Thong Chai Chalermphol " ( en tailandés : ธงชัยเฉลิมพล ) o Colores de la Victoria. Estos son entregados personalmente a cada unidad por el Rey de Tailandia . Los colores se dividen en cuatro diseños diferentes, para: el Ejército Real de Tailandia , la Marina Real de Tailandia , la Fuerza Aérea Real de Tailandia y las unidades de la Guardia Real . Los colores de la Marina Real no llevan flecos, el resto tienen flecos dorados. Todos llevan la cifra del monarca reinante en la esquina superior derecha cerca del polipasto.
Antes de su presentación, los colores son bendecidos ceremonialmente en una ceremonia religiosa a la que asisten monjes budistas y otros dignatarios de alto rango dentro del Templo del Buda de Esmeralda en Bangkok . Durante la ceremonia, en medio del canto de los monjes, el Rey martillará personalmente los clavos de latón en el bastón de cada color usando un martillo de plata. Cada color contiene alrededor de 32 a 35 clavos, en los que se une la tela al bastón de madera. Dentro de la misma ceremonia, el Rey también tomará un mechón de su propio cabello y lo ocultará dentro de un compartimento en la parte superior del bastón, que está cerrado por una tapa redonda de rosca de plata. El Rey también unirá cada color con su propia imagen ceremonial de Buda y bendecirá cada color con agua bendita. La ceremonia está impregnada de herencia budista y brahmica; simboliza y consolida el papel del Rey como Kshatriya Jefe (กษัตริย์) o gobernante guerrero de su reino. También enfatiza su papel constitucional como Jefe y Jefe de las Fuerzas Armadas tailandesas (จอมทัพไทย: Chomthap Thai).
Estos colores son similares a la bandera de Tailandia y, por lo tanto, se tratan como los colores estatales de la Commonwealth, pero no se bajan al suelo sino que se mantienen sobre él al son de Sansoen Phra Barami (el himno real) cuando se saluda con estos colores a la familia real tailandesa (especialmente al Rey y la Reina) en todos los eventos militares a los que asisten.
La bandera de Turquía es utilizada por las Fuerzas Armadas turcas como color nacional y, por lo tanto, tiene características distintivas:
De manera similar a la práctica china, la bandera de Vietnam se usa como color nacional en todas las formaciones de nivel de batallón superior dentro del Ejército Popular de Vietnam . Tiene flecos dorados y, cuando se usa en ceremonias, suele tener el lema dorado Quyết thắng ("determinación para ganar") en la esquina superior derecha del color, cerca del asta, con cualquier condecoración o medalla adherida a él.
Un trapo comido por la polilla en un poste carcomido,
no parece que vaya a conmover el alma de un hombre.
Son las acciones que se hicieron bajo el trapo comido por la polilla,
cuando el poste era un bastón y el trapo una bandera.
Sir Edward Hamly al ver algunos antiguos colores del 32.º Regimiento de Infantería en la iglesia de Monmouth . [3]
Mientras sus colores perduren y quede un hombre para llevarlos, un regimiento nunca puede morir; pueden reclutarlo de nuevo alrededor de ese hombre, y el regimiento continuará su camino hacia la gloria futura con las mismas tradiciones antiguas detrás de él y la misma atmósfera que lo rodeaba que hizo hombres valientes de sus antepasados. Así que, aunque los colores no son exactamente el alma de un regimiento, son la encarnación concreta de él, y son incluso más sagrados que la persona de un soberano reinante.
Talbot Mundy , El alma de un regimiento
Los colores de la infantería y los estandartes de la caballería son un conjunto de grandes banderas, propias de cada regimiento, que el soldado raso podría identificar inmediatamente. [ cita requerida ]
Las fuerzas navales y aéreas de estos tres países también tienen colores similares basados en sus propias insignias. Las reglas estipuladas por el Departamento de Defensa canadiense establecen que el Primer Color o el Color Superior simboliza la lealtad de la unidad a la Corona ; la autorización para poseer el color de un rey solo puede ser otorgada, y el color presentado, por el monarca o su representante virreinal. El diseño basado en la bandera de Canadá refleja la costumbre establecida para los regimientos de línea de infantería a mediados del siglo XVIII, cuando el color del soberano se basaba en la bandera nacional, como era la práctica en las unidades británicas y francesas en Canadá. [4]
Dada su herencia de la Commonwealth como antigua colonia británica, las Fuerzas Armadas de la India lucen colores equivalentes a los utilizados en el ejército británico.
Sólo la Armada y la Fuerza Aérea lucen los colores de servicio del Presidente, que son sus respectivas insignias navales y banderas de la fuerza aérea , que tienen flecos dorados con modificaciones:
Los colores del Presidente (el estandarte y el banderín para las unidades montadas del Ejército y las unidades de vuelo de la Fuerza Aérea, y los estandartes para las armas de servicio y la infantería ligera) son otorgados a unidades distinguidas de las Fuerzas Armadas por el Presidente de la India , que es el Comandante Supremo de las Fuerzas Armadas ; son los equivalentes a los colores de regimiento británicos. En el Ejército , estos colores llevan la insignia del regimiento/batallón y cualquier honor de batalla reconocido ganado por la unidad.
En la actualidad, sólo la Guardia Presidencial ha tenido un estandarte completo, siguiendo la práctica británica, compuesto por el estandarte del Presidente y un estandarte del regimiento.
El mismo formato de los colores del soberano y del regimiento se aplica también en Malasia. Los colores del rey y del regimiento de las Fuerzas Armadas de Malasia son las banderas otorgadas por el rey de Malasia en sus responsabilidades como comandante supremo en jefe de las Fuerzas Armadas y por los otros ocho monarcas estatales. Los colores se otorgan a las unidades reconocidas como unidades reales y a las banderas de grandes formaciones (el color del rey) y a las unidades que reciben sus nuevos colores de regimiento (el color de regimiento de la unidad).
El color del rey es amarillo con el escudo nacional rodeado de arroz en el centro. Por lo tanto, Malasia es uno de los dos únicos países de la Commonwealth, el otro es Brunei , que no utiliza su bandera nacional como color principal (la bandera es el color principal de todo el establecimiento de las Fuerzas Armadas). Los lados están blasonados con los honores de batalla de la unidad. En el cantón se puede ver el emblema de servicio de cualquiera de los servicios de las Fuerzas Armadas (Ejército, Marina y Fuerza Aérea). El color del regimiento, sin embargo, difiere según el brazo o rama del servicio (este último caso se utiliza en el Ejército) y la unidad. Ambas banderas tienen flecos dorados que las rodean. Estos colores solo están presentes en los desfiles formales.
Durante el Desfile del Día de la Independencia y el Día de las Fuerzas Armadas, el 21 de septiembre, como las fuerzas armadas que participan en el desfile no visten sus uniformes de gala, solo el 1.er Batallón del Regimiento Real Malayo , que viste uniformes de gala, está presente con sus colores del Rey y del Regimiento. Para el resto de los servicios que participan en el desfile público, se aplica el siguiente orden:
Además, en la década de 1910 se le concedió a la Real Fuerza Militar de Johor el privilegio de tener su propio color de regimiento, como única fuerza de defensa estatal del país.
La Institución Victoria es la única institución educativa privada que recibió la distinción por su papel en la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
Los colores militares de las Fuerzas Armadas de Singapur se dividen hoy en colores de estado de servicio y colores de regimiento de unidad. Hasta 1997 también había colores de regimiento de servicio y colores de estado de unidad. Los colores de estado de servicio son similares a la bandera de Singapur , pero difieren según el servicio, con el emblema del servicio en el campo blanco. Pero los colores de regimiento son diferentes y difieren según la unidad o el brazo de servicio (excepto las banderas de la Fuerza Aérea y la Marina que muestran sus respectivos colores de servicio en su lugar y algunos comandos de servicio de las SAF como la Policía Militar). Su diseño común es el de las armas de regimiento o de comando en el centro del color, que es del color de los revestimientos del uniforme de la unidad o la rama de servicio a la que pertenece. Ambos tienen flecos dorados y se muestran solo en ocasiones importantes. Los antiguos colores de estado de unidad llevaban el emblema o insignia de la unidad en el campo blanco de la bandera nacional.
Cuando Sri Lanka se declaró república en 1972, las unidades que tenían el color del Rey, primero con la Union Jack y luego con la bandera nacional actual , lo retiraron. Se reemplazaron por el nuevo Color del Presidente , que se otorgó por primera vez en 1972. Se han otorgado los siguientes colores:
Los colores del regimiento siguen el modelo británico, y los dos regimientos de infantería ligera ( el Regimiento Sinha de Sri Lanka y el Cuerpo de Fusileros de Sri Lanka ) no llevan ningún color. A diferencia de la Artillería Real británica, la Artillería de Sri Lanka lleva un conjunto de colores del Presidente y del Regimiento, lo mismo ocurre con los Ingenieros de Sri Lanka.
A diferencia de la Fuerza Aérea, que utiliza un diseño de un solo color similar al de la RAF, la Marina utiliza colores de unidad y comando de la misma manera que el Ejército.
El diseño de los colores del Presidente de las unidades de la Armada y la Fuerza Aérea son las versiones con flecos dorados de sus banderas de servicio. El color del Presidente del Ejército es una bandera nacional con flecos dorados con el escudo nacional entre las franjas verde azulado y naranja a la izquierda.
En los regimientos de infantería del ejército británico y de los ejércitos de otros países de la Commonwealth , cada batallón lleva dos colores, que en conjunto se denominan bandera. Se trata de banderas grandes, normalmente de 36 x 45 pulgadas (91 cm × 114 cm), montadas sobre una media pica de 8 pies y 7 pulgadas de largo.+1 ⁄ 2 pulgadas (2,629 m) de largo; el color del rey o la reina (color del estado o del presidente si el país es una república) suele ser una versión de la bandera nacional del país , a menudo adornada con tela dorada y con la insignia del regimiento colocada en el centro. El color del regimiento es una bandera de un solo color, generalmente el color de los revestimientos del uniforme (cuello/solapas y puños) del regimiento, nuevamente a menudo adornado y con la insignia en el centro. La mayoría de los regimientos que se designan como regimientos "reales" (es decir, tienen la palabra "Real" o el patrocinio de un personaje real en su nombre) tienen un color de regimiento azul real , la mayoría de los regimientos reales tienen un cantón de la bandera de la Unión en ese fondo. Los regimientos irlandeses, hoy el Regimiento Real Irlandés , tienen un color de regimiento verde oscuro.
Los colores de los cinco regimientos de la Guardia de Infantería tienen el patrón de la infantería de línea invertido, siendo el color del rey de cada uno de los 1.º Batallones el carmesí con la insignia del regimiento, una corona real y honores, y el color del regimiento una variación de la bandera de la Unión con los honores de batalla bordados. Los colores del rey de los batallones adicionales de estos regimientos (actualmente en manos de las cinco compañías adicionales de cuatro de los seis regimientos) presentan un cantón de la bandera de la Unión en la esquina superior.
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Por tradición, los regimientos de fusileros no llevan banderas, algo que se remonta a su formación, cuando se utilizaban como tiradores y escaramuzadores. Aunque las unidades individuales pueden haber tenido estandartes o banderines para distinguirse de otras unidades, los regimientos en su conjunto nunca necesitaron una bandera completa. Hoy en día, los dos regimientos de fusileros del ejército británico, los fusileros y los fusileros gurkhas reales, llevan sus honores de batalla en sus tambores, mientras que los Royal Green Jackets también los tenían inscritos en la insignia de su gorra ; esta tradición se mantiene en los fusileros, que llevan la insignia de la cruz de Malta de los Royal Green Jackets, inscrita con los honores del regimiento, como insignia del cinturón. En lugar de un color de regimiento, los gurkhas llevan la porra de la reina otorgada en 1863.
El Regimiento Sinha de Sri Lanka fue el primer regimiento moderno no británico en recibir porras cuando se le otorgaron en 2017. En 2019, se otorgó una porra similar, la Rana Parashuwa , al Regimiento de Fuerzas Especiales del Ejército de Sri Lanka , la primera de su tipo otorgada a una formación de fuerzas especiales de la Commonwealth. Anteriormente, el Regimiento de Rangers Reales del Ejército de Malasia recibió una porra de regimiento en 1966.
En la India , el presidente de la India entrega colores o estandartes en lugar de porras, siguiendo la práctica rusa y de acuerdo con las antiguas tradiciones indias, a todos los regimientos de infantería de reconocimiento y fusileros .
En las unidades de caballería del ejército británico , el estandarte de caballería del rey y el estandarte del regimiento (para la caballería pesada) y los banderines de caballería del rey y los banderines del regimiento (para la caballería ligera) son los equivalentes a los colores de la infantería de línea. El estandarte del rey es carmesí con el escudo de armas real y la cifra, más los honores del regimiento, mientras que el estandarte del regimiento (escuadrón/unión) tiene un color de fondo adaptable por unidad (el color es a veces escarlata) e incluye a veces la insignia de la Unión debajo de la corona y la cifra real a los lados de la insignia, con los honores de la unidad debajo. El banderín de caballería ligera tiene cola de golondrina e incluye el escudo de armas y los honores del regimiento. Sin embargo, antes de la década de 1950, los timbales en los caballos de tambor (y más tarde los tambores de caja, bajos y tenores en las bandas desmontadas) llevaban los honores y las insignias del regimiento de caballería ligera. Para los regimientos de guardias de dragones , la secuencia es mixta, ya que estos regimientos tienen un estandarte de caballería del rey y banderines de regimiento.
La Caballería de la Casa Real tiene los siguientes colores únicos:
Entretejidos sobre los colores se encuentran honores de batalla ; el color del rey tiene honores de la Primera Guerra Mundial y la Segunda Guerra Mundial, mientras que el color del regimiento tiene honores de otras campañas. El color del regimiento también puede tener otras distinciones, incluidos emblemas anteriores y honores únicos; un ejemplo significativo es el emblema de la Esfinge que llevan los regimientos que participaron en la campaña de Egipto de 1801. Los guardias de infantería llevan honores de batalla de todos los enfrentamientos en ambos colores. Si el regimiento tiene más de un batallón, entonces hay marcas de identificación en los colores para mostrar a qué batallón pertenecen.
Hay varios otros adornos que se pueden agregar a los colores en diversas ocasiones:
En el Reino Unido, el 41.er Comando de los Royal Marines y el 1.er Batallón del Regimiento de Gloucestershire también recibieron la PUC y se les permitió exhibir la cinta de los colores de su regimiento.
Por su importancia para el regimiento, antes de presentar un nuevo conjunto de colores, se consagran .
Los colores de la RAF están hechos de seda azul celeste y miden aproximadamente 36" × 36". Se han concedido los siguientes colores:
The King's colour for the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom is a variation of the RAF Ensign with its dimensions altered. The RAF Roundel is moved to the lower fly, with its place in the centre again taken by the royal cypher surmounted by the crown. Other colours feature the unit's badge in the centre with the royal cypher and crown in the first quarter.
The RAF's squadron standards are its counterpart to the regimental colours. They are in air force blue surrounded by a gold fringe, with the squadron insignia and honours.
The Royal Hospital, Chelsea had neither colours nor other distinctive device during its entire history, until 2002 when Queen Elizabeth II presented the hospital with the Sovereign's Mace. This is now paraded by a party of in-pensioners at all of the Royal Hospital's ceremonial events.
The Corps of Royal Marines has a single pattern king's colour, which is the Union Flag with the foul anchor and the reigning sovereign's cypher interlaced in the centre. Above is a scroll with the single battle honour Gibraltar surmounted by St Edward's Crown. Below is the globe (which represents the many battle honours the Royal Marines had earned) surrounded by a laurel wreath (which represents the Battle of Belle Isle) and below this is a scroll with the corps' motto. Each of the four commandos (the battalion-sized formations that make up the bulk of the corps) has a King's colour, with the only difference being the colour of the cords and tassels. Each commando also has its own regimental colour. The regimental colour is a dark blue flag (because the corps is classed as a 'royal regiment') with a small Union Flag at the pike head. The colour carries similar central embellishments as the king's colour, with the exception that the cypher of George IV replaces that of the reigning monarch and the unit numeral is below. The royal cypher is at the other corners. The regimental colours also have the coloured cords and tassels, which are gold combined with the following colours:
The former 41 Commando was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation for its service in the Korean War, and was thus permitted to carry the streamer on its Regimental Colour.[9]
The colours of His Majesty's ships in the Royal Navy consist of:
In addition, each principal command in the Royal Navy also has its own king's colour which is a variation of the White Ensign, with its dimensions altered to mirror those of the colours of infantry regiments. In the centre is the royal cypher of the reigning monarch within the Garter, surmounted by the crown.
Unlike the colours of regiments in the Army, the king's colours of the Royal Navy are identical with no battle honours. The following units hold a king's colour of the Royal Navy:
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary also holds a king's colour, unique for a civilian organisation. It is a variation of the RFA's Blue Ensign, with the dimensions altered to mirror the Royal Navy King's Colour. It has the same royal cypher in the centre.
Infantry units have a drapeau / vaandel, a square vertical tricolour of black, yellow, and red based on the national flag within a 15 mm wide gold fringe, the whole being 90 cm square. The names of battle honours for which the unit was cited are embroidered in gold in French on the obverse and in Dutch on the reverse, in straight lines.
Danish Navy, Army and Air Force units carry a unit colour (Danish: regimentsfane) and for the Life Guards a battalion colour (bataljonsfane), which measures 105 × 140 cm, former horse units a slightly smaller guidon.[10] The flag is a variation of the Dannebrog, with a curvilinear white Dannebrog cross, called the Mantova cross, set with its centre about one-half the width of the hoist from the hoist edge. The royal cypher is embroidered in gold over the centre of the cross, the unit badge in gold in the upper hoist, and the unit number, name or both in gold in the lower hoist. Some regiments have additional marks in the upper fly. The Jyske Dragonregiment, for instance, has Prince Henrik's cipher in the upper fly. The finial is an ornate gold openwork spearhead with the royal cypher in the centre. Attached below the spearhead can be one or more campaign streamers (fanebånd). The colour is decorated with a gold cord with two tassels and bordered with a thin strip of gold cord. The sleeve holding the colour to the pike is attached with ornamental nails, the first three of which represent the sovereign, the Fatherland, and the Union.
Units of the Finnish Defence Forces have a single colour. The colours are either active or traditional. An active colour belongs to a brigade or an equivalent unit in the FDF. A traditional Colour belongs to a battalion or a regiment that has formerly been separate, but is now part of a brigade. The difference between an active and traditional Colour is the way of presenting them. The active colour always has a guard of two officers, while a traditional Colour is borne without one. The military oath is always given in the presence of the active colour of the unit.
Finnish military heraldry is a mixture of Scandinavian and Russian tradition. The colours are usually modeled after Swedish regimental flags of the 17th century, but some units carry flags reminiscent of Russian or German traditions. Colours often bear the emblem of the province where a unit is located. They also commonly feature the traditional colours of a service branch or a shared design element, for example the black flags of most engineer units. There were no battle honours awarded during the Continuation War (co-belligerent with Nazi Germany), but some units have battle honours from the Finnish Civil War and the Winter War.
Units and institutions of the Finnish Defence Forces which have not received a colour of their own use the unadorned swallow-tailed Flag of Finland as their State Colour, and the oath of service for NCOs and volunteer enlisted personnel assigned to these units are given in its presence.
In January 1188, in a meeting between Henry II of England and Philip II of France, it was agreed that both would go on a crusade, and that Henry II would use a white cross and Philip II would use a red cross.[11] Later on,[year needed] this usage was inverted, and the English took to using a red cross on white, and the French a white cross on red.[citation needed]
As the use of regimental colours spread in Europe, the habit developed of using a symmetric white cross as the basis of the design of the French regimental flags, and by the 18th century almost every regiment had a white cross. The regiments were distinguished by the colours of the cantons.
After the French Revolution and the appearance of the new Tricolore, crosses disappear in 1794 and various arrangements of the tricolour come into use. Napoleon standardizes first in 1804 to a white field chape-chausse of red and blue, and in 1812 to the modern French flag. Atop of the staff of colours of the Napoleonic army the Imperial Eagle (modelled after the Ancient Roman Aquila) was placed, which actually rose to be more important symbol of the regiment than colours itself.
The modern French Armed Forces are not officially considered to be the successors of the Royal Army and Navy, although many of their individual units trace their histories to before the foundation of the First Republic. Accordingly, battles fought and won by the Royal Army and Navy before the French Revolution (such as Patay, Fontenoy, Chesapeake, Porto Praya and so on) do not appear as battle honours on regimental colours. The names of battles of the old times, however, which are rightly still considered as glorious by the modern French Army, are honoured by being given to ships or armoured vehicles, and remembered by anniversaries.
As an example, the 1st Infantry Regiment, founded in 1479 during the reign of Louis XI, has fought a number of battles since the 15th century, but its battle honours are only recorded from 1792 onwards:
The following official documents relate to the colours of the Land Army (armée de Terre) :
Regimental colours are 90 cm × 90 cm Tricolore silk square flags – standards are smaller: 64 cm × 64 cm – surrounded by a golden fringe. Both are set on a stave (2.11 m long and 32 mm diameter – staves for standards are slightly shorter) ended by a 38 cm pike-shaped finial with a cartouche bearing the initials "RF" for République française on one side, and the name or number of the unit on the other side.
The cravate hanging from the pike is made of two tricolour silk ribbons, 90 cm long and 24 cm wide, ended by an 8 cm gold fringe on which the unit number or monogram is embroidered in gold, encircled by an oak and laurel wreath. French decorations and fourragères[note 1] awarded to the unit are pinned or tied to the cravate; foreign awards and decorations are borne on a red velvet cushion.
All writings on the colour are embroidered in gold, as well the unit number (or monogram) encircled in antique oak and laurel wreath in each corner of the colour.
Obverse of a colour:
Reverse of a colour:
By tradition, all the Army's rifle battalions (the bataillons de chasseurs à pied together with the chasseurs alpins) share a single collective colour. Individual battalions have pennants (fanions) and the flag of the Rifles (Drapeau des chasseurs) is held each year in turn by a different rifle battalion. As a result, the single flag displays all the battle honours earned by every rifle battalion.
The colours of Air Force (armée de l'Air) units are by all means similar to those of the Army from which it separated as an independent military arm in 1933. Colours are generally not bestowed to Air Army units smaller than escadres (wings), land combat regiments, air force bases, instruction centres or air force colleges.
The units of the National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie nationale) have colours which are very similar to those of the Land Army. Each region (formerly legion), instruction centre, college or Republican Guard Regiment has its flag or standard, altogether 56 flags and 2 standards. The reverse of colours of the Departmental Gendarmerie units and Gendarmerie instruction centres have the same motto as the Land Army units (Honneur et Patrie), but the colours of the Mobile Gendarmerie have their own particular motto: Valeur et Discipline (Valour and Discipline). Most subordinate or smaller units use 50 cm large × 40 cm high pennants.
The National Gendarmerie also has a common flag, under the guard of the Director-general, on which five battle honours are registered:
The Colours worn by the ships of the National Navy (Marine nationale) consist of the National Ensign and the jack:
Currently, only eight individual National Navy units have colours[14] other than the National Ensign or the FNFL jack. Under recommendation 808 EMM/CAB of 5 December 1985, naval units to which colours can be bestowed must be those with manpower equivalent to that of a regiment, which are specialised in combat or services on land (or corps which have inherited their traditions from such units), and naval instruction centres or colleges. The flags are quite similar to those of Land Army units, the difference being the wreaths in corners which encircle anchors instead of the name of unit, except for the Naval Gunners (initials CM) and the Fleet Engineering Cadets College (initials EAMF).
As of today, these units are (between brackets is where the colours are currently kept):
Many of today's armed forces of independent countries that once were part of the French Empire share customs and traditions closely similar if not identical to those of the French military regarding organisation of military arms, army and navy rank structures and uniform styles. Indeed, in countries where the decolonisation process had been conducted through peaceful political negotiations (chiefly French West Africa and French Equatorial Africa), French colonial units were sometimes directly inherited by the former colonies where they had been raised to form the basis of the new national armies. This legacy not only included colour etiquette (the way colours are respected, taken care of and paraded), but also design, adapted to new national flag designs.
On the contrary, in countries where independence came as the aftermath of bloody wars of liberation, such as in Vietnam and Algeria, due to the Cold War context, French military culture was strongly rejected often only to be replaced by communist Soviet or Chinese style military culture (colours, ranks, uniforms, parade pace, etc.).
As one of the World's great powers together with Great Britain, France did not only exercise its influence by conquest, but also by the prestige of its military. At the height of European colonial expansion in the 19th century, France's army and Britain's navy were each regarded as the most powerful forces ever on land and at sea. This lead many a military to copy both powers' military and naval cultures. As most navies in the World adopted the British naval looks (double-breasted navy blue jacket and peaked cap for officer, blue jean collar for ratings, etc.), numerous land armies adopted French-inspired uniforms during the 1860s and 1870s (both Union and Confederate armies during the American Civil War, the Chilean Army of the War of the Pacific, the Imperial Russian Army, etc.) and even sometimes imported types of French units (e.g. Zouave regiments). France's influence on military fashion dimmed for the time being after the unexpected French defeat ending the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. Many armies then changed to adopt Prussian military style (as a perfect example of this trend, Chilean soldiers traded their kepis for Pickelhauben).
As far as regimental colours are concerned, French influence was mainly to be seen in armies of smaller European powers with strong cultural, economical or political ties to France, notably in such countries whose national flag itself was patterned after the French national flag, such as Belgium or Romania.
Units of the Bundeswehr have only a single Colour. The Truppenfahne is a square version of the national flag with the Bundesadler (national shield) overall in the centre. The flag is surrounded by a black, red, and gold lacework border and edged on three sides by gold fringe. The finial is a gilt bronze openwork spearhead surrounding a black and silver Iron Cross. Below the finial, a streamer is attached with the unit badge at the top and its designation embroidered in gold at the end. These streamers are red for army (Heer) units, blue for the navy (Marine), and white for the air force (Luftwaffe). The streamer is the same length as the hoist of the flag.[15]
The tradition was also observed by the National People's Army of East Germany, whose unit colours mirrored the national flag.
Until the Second World War German military units maintained colours of the Prussian pattern regardless of service branch, while the Waffen-SS followed the national flag pattern.
Traditionally, Army infantry and tank/cavalry regiments have a single colour/standard or war flag (Greek: Πολεμική Σημαία). This is blue, with a white cross and features St George and the Dragon in the centre.[16] The flag has no distinguishing features for individual regiments, although battle honours are sometimes added to the flag; the regiment's identity is inscribed on the flagstaff. The pattern has been in use since the 1830s, with no changes between the periods of monarchy or republic. The Hellenic Army Academy has also been awarded a war flag, its cadets having participated in the Battle of Crete in 1941. Similar flags exist also for the Air Force, featuring the archangel Michael. Recently war flags were assigned to the Army NCO Academy and the Police Academy.
Unlike the Army, Police and Air Force, the Hellenic Navy uses as both the naval ensign and national colour the flag that later became the modern official national Flag of Greece. The Hellenic Coast Guard and the Hellenic Fire Service use the Navy pattern.
The flag of the Swiss Guard, the army of the Vatican City, consists of four-quarters. The Coat of Arms of the current pope is in the first quarter, while the arms of Pope Julius II are in the fourth quarter. In the second and third quarters are horizontal stripes of red, yellow and blue, the colours of the unit's uniforms.
The flag also has the coat of arms of the commander within a wreath, on a background of the colour of his canton. The design of the flag changes with the election of a new pope and the appointment of a new commander.
The 120 cm × 140 cm Unit colour of the Hungarian Defence Force is the current regulation colour of all Hungarian Defence Forces units since 15 March 1991. The flag is made of white fibres-satin. The height of the coat of arms with the crown is 57, and the width is 58 cm along with the crown. The coat of arms is made of silk with gold and silver embroidery. The edges of the flagship are surrounded by 11–11, and 9–9, 10 cm, red and green flames on the longer sides, extending 15 centimetres. The flames of the flames start and end on each side with a red colour, with the flaming tongues separated by a green circle in the four corners of the flag. The flagpole has a 5 mmm national-colour silk ribbon on its 3 free edges that do not fit the rod, with 10–10 centimetres national colour silk ribs on two free tips. The white part of the flagpole outside the party is twisted once on the pole, fixed with 3 equally spaced brass nails - 25-25-25 mm equally spaced. The flagpole is a 21-centimeter long, stylized leaf-shaped sandblasted brass, on both sides with a baroque, bronze Coat of arms of Hungary, without shield holders. The rod is 238 centimetres long, cylindrical, scarlet-lacquered, bottom-foldable in the lower third. Brass rings at the pole separation lines and a brass cap at the bottom end.[17]
The Colour (bandiera di guerra) for army units (other than cavalry) is a square version of the national tricolour in silk, 99 cm × 99 cm. It is mounted on a pike 2.2 m long, made of wood covered with green velvet and decorated with ornate brass nails arranged in a spiral. The pike is topped by a 35 cm high finial consisting of an ornate gilt brass spearhead chased with a five pointed star and the monogram RI (for Repubblica Italiana), which is in turn mounted atop a gilt brass ball on which is the name and date of establishment of the unit. The pike is adorned with two silver cords 67 cm long, each with a 10 cm long silver tassel and a blue silk cravat 8 cm × 66 cm with an 8 cm silver fringe at each end, to which the unit's decorations are pinned, the ribbons of the decorations overlapping so that the medals hang down the cravat.
Lithuania's military colours under the Lithuanian Armed Forces tend to follow a mix of the Russian and British practice, as well as of US tradition, with the national flag being designated as a National Colour, but only flown by guards of honour in ceremonies. Unit colours of the Land Forces follow the Imperial Russian pattern, with the fringe in gold or bi-colour of red/green and bearing Vytis (obverse) and unit emblem (reverse) in the centre. The Naval Forces uses a ceremonial form of the naval ensign as an overall branch colour with gold fringe following British precedence.
In the Dutch armed forces, the colour (or standard in case of the mounted (i.e. cavalry and field and horse artillery) regiments) is orange (except for the colour of the midshipman corps,[clarification needed] which is red). All are gold fringed.
On the obverse is the royal cypher of the monarch that gave the regiment its (original) colour, with the unit's name underneath (including the year the regiment or corps was established), both in gold; around the four edges is a laurel branch. Battle honours are added in the corners of the obverse and sometimes also on the left and right of the royal cypher; if additional honours are awarded, they are placed on streamers that are attached to the pike until the presentation of a new colour. Battle honours refer to places (e.g. Waterloo or Rotterdam), areas (West-Java or Afghanistan) (seas included, for example Java-zee), or to a military campaign (Tiendaagse Veldtocht or Veldtocht van 1815); the year or years of engagement are always added, except on the colours of the Netherlands Marine Corps.
On the reverse is the arms of the Kingdom of the Netherlands without the mantle. The shield is blue and is strewn with small upright rectangles; the main device is a crowned rampant lion, holding a sword in its upper paw and a bundle of seven arrows in its lower paw. The lion and rectangles are gold, whilst the blade of the sword is silver. Supporting the shield on either side is a gold rampant lion, facing outwards towards the viewer. There is a gold crown above the shield; whilst below it is a blue scroll with the royal motto Je maintiendrai (French for 'I will maintain') in gold. The shield and lions are surrounded by a wreath of green palm and oak leaves tied together with an orange and blue ribbon, and there is another wavy gold laurel wreath around the four edges.
The Military Order of William or other decorations are attached to the pike when awarded. The pike has a finial of a lion on a plinth holding a sword and a bunch of seven arrows. Traditionally a colour is 87 cm × 87 cm (with a pike 2.50 m long). Guards regiments carry the same colour, with some differing details. The same applies to the colours carried by the Royal Military Academy and the Royal Military School. Standards measure 50 cm × 50 cm with a pike 2 m long.[18]
Only Regiment van Heutsz has a full British-styled stand as a variant of the national flag used by the regiment in the Korean War is used as the Regimental Colour with the orange colour as the King's Colour (or Queen's).
Norwegian infantry units have a stand of colours – the first (King's Colour) is the national flag, while the second (Regimental Colour) is unique to each unit:
The standard military colours of the Polish Armed Forces are in red and white, with the design tracing back to the Polish Second Republic, a standardized form based on earlier colours. The motto of the Armed Forces, "God, Honour, Fatherland" (Polish: Bóg, Honor, Ojczyzna) are at the reverse while the Polish military eagle (which differs per service) surrounded by a gold wreath is at the centre of the obverse. The unit's name is inscribed on the obverse. The eagle is also featured as the finial in all colours.
Each of the commands, units, forces and establishments of the Portuguese Armed Forces has a national colour, which is considered the parade version of the Flag of Portugal. The National Republican Guard, the Public Security Police and some fire departments also have national colours.
The traditional distinction between colours (Portuguese: bandeiras, literally "flags") - carried by foot units - and standards (estandartes) - carried by mounted units - was abolished in the 1960s, with all of them being uniformly reclassified as "national standards" (estandartes nacionais). At the same time, another type of standard was introduced, this being the heraldic standard, each of which reflects the particular heraldic symbology of the corresponding unit.
The official model for the military colours was established in 1911 and states that they should measure 120 cm in the hoist by 130 cm in the fly, the field being vertically divided in green and red, with the National coat of arms in the centre, surrounded by two golden olive branches tied by a white scroll containing the motto Esta é a Ditosa Pátria Minha Amada (This is my Beloved Blissful Motherland). Despite the existence of this official model, the various branches of the Armed Forces adopted different models of colours over the years, with various designs and dimensions.
In March 2020, a uniform model of national colours was adopted for all the branches. This is based in the 1911 official model, but measuring 120 cm both in the hoist and in the fly. The name of the unit, its heraldic symbol and their battle honours are embroidered in a gravat attached to the base of the finial, the colour of the gravate varying accordingly with the branch of service. Naval units were allowed to keep the traditional Order of Christ Cross embroidered in the canton of the cloth of their national colours. The several commands, units, forces and establishments of the Armed Forces will have to replace their old national colours by the new model within 10 years.
The national colours of the National Republican Guard and of the Public Security Police follow the 1911 model and continue to keep the traditional practice of having the names of the units inside white scrolls which are inserted on the field of the flag itself.
According to the Romanian General Staff, "The military colours (drapel de luptă) are the symbol of military honour, bravery and glory. They evoke the past struggle of the Romanian people for national liberty and the traditions of unity, reminding each soldier of his sacred duty to serve the Fatherland with trust, and to defend at all costs the unity, sovereignty and independence of Romania".
The military colours are granted to military units by presidential decree, on the advice of the Minister of National Defence, the Minister of Internal Affairs or the director of the Romanian Intelligence Service. According to the Ministry of National Defence, the complete description of this military insignia is as follows:
The military colours of Romania are made of double silk cloth and have dimensions of 100 × 66 cm (2:3 ratio). The canvas has the colours of the Romanian flag and its obverse is identical with the reverse. The national coat of arms, measuring 29 × 21.5 cm, is applied in the middle of the yellow stripe, 18 cm above its base. In each corner, 5 cm from the edge of the canvas, is sewed a wreath of oak leaves, which surrounds the weapon signs, all of golden thread:
The three sides of the flag not attached to the pole are decorated with fringes of golden thread (5–7 cm long) and tassels of the same material (10–12 cm long) hang from the corners of the fly. The flag is attached to the pole by an antioxidant metal rod 70 cm long.
The pole, of brown wood, is 240 cm high and 3.5 cm in diameter. A brass cylinder is at the base, 4 cm long and closed on the bottom. The rod is attached to the pole by a brass ring, gilt on its lower part, and a 6 cm high cylindrical protective tube of the same material and gilt on its upper part. The ring (3.2 cm high) is inscribed with the name of the unit. Another brass cylinder is placed on the tip of the pole, 6 cm long and of brass. The eagle (similar to the Roman aquila), of gilt copper, sheet, 15 cm high and 11.5 cm wide, is placed over this. Looking rightward, the eagle's wings are pointed downward and it holds the thunderbolts of Jupiter in its talons. It is placed on a parallelepipedal support of the same metal (10 × 3.5 × 2 cm), which has a 3.4 cm high ornament on its lower part. The support is screwed onto the brass cylinder and has inscribed into the front the motto Onoare și Patrie ("Honour and Fatherland"). The name of the respective unit is engraved into the reverse.
Other features of the military colours are a tie for attaching decorations, six sashes for the armed escort of the colour guard and the colour ensign and a protective cover of impermeable fabric.
The military colours of navy vessels are identical to their ensign. The ensign is in turn identical to the national flag, being made of ordinary canvas in various dimensions, according to the ship's rank, size and place of hoisting. They are flown in their vessels in accordance with relevant regulations.
Until Peter the Great assumed the office and throne of Tsar in 1685, various flag designs were used by land and naval units of Imperial Russia.
In the 18th century the Imperial Russian Army started to have colours of its own. Starting from the 1730s, Cross style flags in the colours of the various military units appeared in various units: large flags for the infantry and the other arms and small flags for the cavalry and horse artillery. These flags mirrored the Commonwealth military colours of today, with one colour set as the state colour and the rest as the regimental and battalion or squadron colours. 1797 regulations introduced new designs for the infantry—for regular units, the state colour being white with the state emblem and the company, battalion and/or regimental colours using the assigned colours of their units, for the Imperial Guard a different emblem was used, and the design was identical. New colours were issued in 1800, but only Guards units used them.
Regulations set in 1813 unified infantry unit colours into one. Guards units used the orange and black of the Order of Saint George with the facing colours and unit emblem at the centre.
All these years, the cavalry colours were different.
Naval flags, until 1861–62 (with a brief break in the late 1790s) whilst using the St. Andrew's cross in blue on white, mirrored the British Royal Navy.
From 1942 onwards, each regiment in the armed forces of the Soviet Union (especially the Army and Air Force) had its own colour, which was produced to a standard design:
The colour was gold fringed.
The former designs had a red star on the reverse with the name of the Central Executive Committee and later, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR surrounding it, and the obverse had the unit inscription below the coat of arms of the Soviet Union, which had the Soviet Union state motto ("Workers of the world, unite!") and the red star with the hammer and sickle inside (both were on the flag of the Soviet Union) above it (the latter was near the hoist). Naval flags until 1935 sported different designs. (Distinguished units would be given a second colour, the Revolutionary Red Banner of Honour, by the all-Union CEC (before 1924 by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee).)
The Soviet Navy colours had the 1935 official design with them (it was later revised in 1950), with additions for units honoured with the Order of the Red Banner, but in 1964 the Supreme Commander's and Defence Minister's own naval colour and the colours of the Navy Commander-in-Chief (formerly the Minister for the Navy) and Chief of Naval Operations were issued with different designs used, with the addition of the Armed Forces General Staff's own naval colour. The first colour was red with the USSR state arms, the next two had the arms with blue stripes indicating office rank, and the final two were adaptations of the naval ensign (with a different ensign with the rank) plus the stripes. The 1935 design (that of a white field with a blue lower stripe and the red star plus the hammer and sickle above the blue stripe) replaced a much earlier, post-revolutionary naval colours design adopted in 1925. In 1944 a different flag was issued to the Navy for its land based units – the same design used by the Army with a different obverse having the unit name below the naval ensign.
Early flags even had the RKKA and RKKF insignia (the Army General Staff, represented by crossed blue rifles and later became the General Staff's naval colour until 1964, the Naval General Staff and the Army Naval Operations Staff, later the flag of the People's Comissariat for the Navy on its 1938 creation and was issued with two new colours for the Navy Commissar and Deputy Commissar) beside the hammer and sickle, even the flags of the People's Commissar for National Defence and that of the Navy General Staff and the various flags of naval officers which had the ensign on a canton surrounded by a red field, derived from the Navy Commissar's. The cruiser Aurora since 1968 has had a different version of the ensign, flanked by the Order of the Red Banner and of the Order of the October Revolution on the top sides of the star, as the Aurora was the only naval recipient of the latter order in 1967 while in 1918, the Order of the Red Banner was conferred to the ship.
The colours of those regiments that were classed as "Guards" was slightly different as per 1942 regulations. These had the portrait of Lenin, the Za nashu motto and the abbreviation "USSR" (СССР, SSSR) on the obverse and the small star with hammer and sickle in its centre, unit's name and a motto on the reverse of the colour. The mottoes were different for every regiment (for example, those regiments made Guards in the Great Patriotic War bore the motto "Death to the German invaders", Смерть Немецким захватчикам, Smyert' Nyemyetskim zahvatchikam). In some Guards Armies and Corps, different designs on the obverse and reverse were used. Even the Lenin portrait was different in these colours. All of them were gold fringed.
The Navy's Guards units still had the 1935 design, with the addition of the Guards ribbon below, except for units which were honoured with the Order of the Red Banner and became Guard units later. The difference is in the red five-pointed star, in which Red Banner Guard unit flags had applied the Guards ribbon below aside from the Order of the Red Banner on the star for units that had the order bestowed on their colours earlier. Units which used the 1944 regimental colour design but adapted for the navy's guards units[19] included air and marine units which still had the obverse of Army and Air Force guards units standards.
Since the birth of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the aftermath of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the old Soviet unit colours were retained. Starting in 1998, the traditional Imperial Russian Armed Forces flag designs were reinstated; however, the new designs began to appear in the early years of the 21st century in the Army and Air Force. But the Russian Navy's old naval colour (St. Andrew's cross in blue on a white field) began to be used again in 1992. It has several variations, and the old jack colour of the Soviet Navy (pre-1935) soon became its jack colour, with the red star with the hammer and sickle removed. The unit colours (especially those of the Navy honour guards) have the same design with the unit insignia at the centre of it while Guards units and bemerited and decorated units apply a different version of the colour.
The new Army and Air Force unit colours are square shaped, have a St. Andrew's cross in the colours of the Ribbon of Saint George, and with the unit insignia in the middle of the obverse and the national arms at the reverse, with the service branch emblem on the corners. These colours are the basis for similar ones used today in the various Russian uniformed services.
The design of the colours of the Swedish Armed Forces of today dates back to several separate regulations from early 19th century up to the first united regulations of the three fighting services in 1972. The majority of the army colours are dated back to the summarized regulations of 1950. The colours of the Swedish Amphibious Corps (former Swedish Coastal Artillery) were decided in model 1944. The colours of the Swedish Air Force were modelled in 1938. Most older colours are embroidered by hand while younger ones can be both machine and handmade.[20] When a military unit, as regards traditions, is amalgamated with another, both colours will be carried together. In principle this will go on as long as both colours are usable. When one of the two (or more) no longer can be repaired, the unit will be granted a new colour. This new colour will reflect the traditions of both units without altering the prescribed model.[20]
Exceptions from this rule are:[20]
A colour is normally granted to the following by the King, by the Prime Minister or the Commander of the Armed Forces:[20]
At the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, quadrangular flags with wedge panels on the free end appeared. The most used colors were red, followed by white, blue, and occasionally yellow. The most widely used flag images were crosses, holy and princely symbols and ancestral tridents-bidents. The flag of the Galicia-Volynia principality was blue with a golden lion.
In 1410, Ruthenian troops took part in the Battle of Grunwald on the side of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania against their old ally from the time of the Principality of Galicia-Volhynia, the Teutonic Order. The Polish chronicler Jan Dlugosz left a description of the banners of the troops from the ruthenian lands who appeared to fight the crusaders.
The Zaporozhian Army received their first flags from foreign monarchs from the 16th century: during the Moldavian campaigns of the Austro-Turkish war and the campaign of the Holy League.[21]
In 1646, for the campaign against the Turks, Wladyslav IV Vasa provided a flag: ironically, it was under this banner that the Cossacks won their first resounding victories over the Polish army during the Khmelnytskyj uprising — at Yellow Waters, Korsun, and Pyliavtsi.
According to the system, there were regimental, sotnia and kish banners. Among the flags of the day, rectangular and trapezoidal panels prevailed. The insignia of numerous units had a triangular shape of various shades of red. Instead of a single state flag, the highest heraldic symbol of the Hetmanate was the image of the Archangel Michael on a red background. Most of the flags that have survived to our time contain an equilateral Cossack cross and eight-pointed stars, sometimes combined with images of the crescent moon, a symbol of the Christian-Muslim civilizational confrontation, the latter, from 1572 (in honor of Lepanto), had a pan-European distribution as a symbol of victory in the confrontation with the Islamic threat.[22] From the 18th century, primarily in the Poltava (1717) and Lubny (1758) regiments, two-color flags of yellow and blue became widespread.
In general, until the second half of the 18th century. there are relatively fragmentary data available, more detailed information from the time of the unification of flags during the time of Kyril Razumovsky: on March 8/18, 1755, he issued a form for the manufacture of flags according to a single model according to the project of Colonel Ivan Kulyabka of Lubny — one side was to contain the Coat of Arms of the Nation, and the other symbol of a military unit. Despite this, the colors and sizes of the flags were arbitrary. Similar standards existed until 1768 - the reign of Peter Rumyantsev, who began to introduce imperial symbols in the Cossack army.
The unification of the banners of the Hetmanate did not in any way affect the ensign of the Zaporozhian Army, the general banner — the Great Banner — still contained Archangel Michael on a red background, the flags of the kurin and palanquins were mostly crimson in color. The banner of sea campaigns with the image of St. Nicholas was white, besides it, after the Oleshkivsk sich period, there was also a titular red banner of imperial origin. Among the kurin banners, the red ones with the image of St. George.
The first Cossack colonizers of the Sloboda region formed the Slobid regiments, the banner of which also featured Christian and religious themes. In total, there were 36 flags in the five regiments, together with the sotnias. The reverse side of the sotnia flags contained the name of the regiment and the sotnia. In contrast to the banners of the rest of the Ukrainian Cossacks, the Slobid banners contained the image of the Mother of God, the patroness of the Cossacks, as the main motif. With the reorganization into regular hussars, the previous symbols of the units were abolished.
In 1792, the Zaporozhians were moved to the Kuban, where the Tmutarakan Principality was located, forming the Black Sea Cossack Army.
Following the collapse of the Russian Empire, the Tsentralna Rada came to power in Ukraine in spring of 1917, it was forced to promptly put together an army to defend the new republic against their enemies. Nearly all units of the newly created army were detached from the Imperial Russian Army. After the first all-Ukrainian military congress that took place on May 18–21, 1917 in Kyiv, the Ukrainian General Military Committee was created. The committee was placed in charge for creation and restructuring of the army.
The next congress, defying a ban placed by the Russian Provisional Government, took place on June 18–23, 1917 in Kyiv. The main requests of the congress were proclamation of the Ukrainian Democratic Republic, full Ukrainization of army and navy, and an immediate peace treaty.
On January 27, 1918, the Ukrainian Central Rada approved the project of the Ukrainian naval ensign, developed by the Ukrainian Maritime Council (it consisted of two stripes: blue at the top, yellow at the bottom; on the top - the golden sign of Prince Volodymyr - the Trident with a cross at the top), modeled after the British White Ensign.
In 1919, blue-yellow unit colours based on the national flag were adopted for units of both the regular Army of the Ukrainian People's Republic and the Ukrainian Galician Army.
With restored independence the Armed Forces of Ukraine adopted a maroon design for its colours, which were gold fringed and contained the official heraldic arms of the armed forces.
Maroon and gold are the colours used in the current military colours used in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with origins in the Imperial Russian Army's Cossacks and Ukrainian units. In the obverse the Coat of arms of Ukraine, surrounded by a gold wreath, is at the centre of an Orthodox Cross – both symbols form the emblem of the Armed Forces – with a St. Andrew's Cross under it with the same emblem in the sides, with the Armed Forces Motto (For Ukraine, for her Freedom) surrounding the emblem and crosses. The unit's name is in the reverse. The colour is gold fringed and is mounted on a pole with a trident finial modeled on the national arms. The same design is used in the National Guard of Ukraine but in blue and with the 2015 grenade badge. Active duty NG units sport dark blue colours with the Orthodox Cross, grenade and the coat of arms at the corners.
Only the 93rd Mechanized Brigade (Ground Forces), the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces and the Ukrainian Marine Corps have been granted additional colours so far in addition to the official maroon unit colours.
The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine shares a similar colour design to the Armed Forces but with the green colour added to distinguish its units.
The first Yugoslav military colours came about when the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was established in 1918. These were the square versions of the Flag of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia with the state coat of arms and the motto of the Yugoslav Royal Army. The unit names were attached to a ribbon at the pole. The colours were inspired by the military colours of Serbia and of the Croat, Slovene and Bosnian military units of resistance against Austria-Hungary during the First World War.
With the birth of the communist Partisans in 1941 in time for the Second World War, their flags showed the same Pan-Slavic colours on them (arranged according to nationality) but this time a red star was added in the middle. The naval units had a different ensign used and these flags became the basis for the military colours of Democratic Federal Yugoslavia at the time of its 1943 proclamation.
By the time, these flags had the unit name on the pole pennants and were gold fringed. The Partisan General Staff had their own version of it.
Post-war colours (from 1947, when the nation became a Federal People's Republic) used various flag design with the Yugoslav People's Army motto in Serbo-Croatian (For the freedom and independence of the socialist fatherland) both in Cyrillic and Latin and differed per unit or service arm of the YPA, but was longer and were gold fringed. Just as before, the unit name stayed on the attached ribbon. Both the Flag of Yugoslavia and the flag of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia were used as National Colours in parades. Unique colours were issued to the Navy, to YPA reserve units and the Territorial Defence Forces of the republics.
Today all the nations of the former Yugoslavia have separate colour traditions per armed forces, but keep their unique appearance.
The Serbian Armed Forces colour design is very much unique, while gold fringe can be seen in these colours. At the obverse is the national flag design, a tricolour with the national coat of arms in the center of the colour, while the emblem and facing colour of the unit represented (combat formation or support unit) is in the reverse.
Cuba's military colours under the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces tend to follow a mix of the Soviet and US practice, as the Cuban flag is treated as a National Colour.
El Salvador's military colours under the Salvadoran Armed Forces heavily follow US models, as the Salvadoran flag, with gold fringe, is treated as a National Colour- but its design is based on the American Civil War example and Argentine and Mexican precedence: the name of the unit is on the bottom blue stripe of the colour in gold lettering.
Honduran military colours under the Honduran Armed Forces heavily follow US models, as the Honduran flag is treated as a National Colour.
The Mexican Armed Forces use the Flag of Mexico as the National Colour, with the unit inscription below the Coat of arms of Mexico and the official name of the country (Estados Unidos Mexicanos, "United Mexican States") above it. It is the standard design for infantry units and other general services. The same design is used as the National Standard of all Mexican Army cavalry and artillery units as well as artillery units of the Mexican Naval Infantry (under the Navy). Colours and standards are both gold fringed, and the lettering is also in gold.
As a uniformed federal force, the National Guard's units are entitled to a National Colour or Standard.
Mexican Navy units and the Heroic Military Academy are the only ones entitled to regimental colours. Navy schools carry a white gold fringed colour with the heraldic emblem of the school.
Nicaragua's military colours under the Nicaraguan Armed Forces are heavily following US practice, as the Nicaraguan flag is treated as a National Colour. The unit colours are in red, with a gold outline of Nicaragua with the service, unit or branch insignia in the centre.
In the United States military, each branch has its own flag, an organizational colour, sometimes also called a ceremonial flag. Each of these is 4 ft 4 in (132 cm) × 5 ft 6 in (168 cm), some using 2+1⁄2 in (6.4 cm) gold fringe during specific instances. The ceremonial flag is paraded with a National Color of equal dimensions in a colour guard, with gold fringe as necessary. The National Color is never dipped in salute, but remains vertical at all times, while the organizational colours and any guidons are dipped as necessary. When the National Color is not cased, all persons salute the Colors. The finial is a nickel or chrome-plated spearhead, though the Navy uses different finials on occasion.
Each service attaches campaign/battle streamers, sometimes known as battle honours, for actions in which the service as a whole has taken part. These can either be war service streamers, which are in the colours of the appropriate campaign medal and have the name of the campaign embroidered; or unit citation streamers, which have the name of the action embroidered and signify that the unit's performance in a specific action has been worthy of special mention. Units are also permitted to wear streamers of overseas awards they may have been presented with. These streamers are in the colours of the appropriate medal ribbon.[23] The streamers are 3 ft (91 cm) × 2+3⁄4 in (7.0 cm). The Army, for instance, currently has 178 service streamers,[24] embroidering the name of each battle on each, as does the Air Force. The Marine Corps and Navy instead embroider award devices onto streamers to consolidate them, having 62 and 34, respectively.
U.S. Air Force (USAF) groups and above have the same National Color as the Army; the Organizational Color is ultramarine blue, with the group's coat of arms beneath the USAF crest, which is an eagle on a cloud background. The fringe is in gold. Wing and force colours have their heraldic emblem used instead of the eagle.
This is the same design for Air Force commands and educational institutions but with the eagle replaced by the emblem of the formation.
In the Army, most regiments, battalions of regiments, and separate battalions also have a stand of colours. The first is the National Color, which is a 36 in × 48 in (91 cm × 122 cm) version of the national flag trimmed with a 2+1⁄2 in-wide (6.4 cm) gold fringe, and is the equivalent of the King's Colour in the British Army. The second is the Organizational Color, which is the equivalent of the regimental colour; this is the same dimensions as the National Color, but is of a single colour representing the branch of the service that the unit is from; each branch also has its own fringe colour, which the Organizational Color is trimmed with. In the centre of the colour, for regiments is the eagle from the Great Seal of the United States, but with the regimental coat of arms in the shield. The eagle has in its beak a scroll bearing the regimental motto, with the crest of the regiment's coat of arms above it and the regiment's name below. Attached to the Organizational Color are the campaign and unit citation streamers awarded to the individual unit – these are equivalent to the battle honours embroidered directly onto the colours of British and Commonwealth units. The Organizational Color was carried in lieu of a National Color until shortly before the American Civil War, when the Stars and Stripes became the National Color.[25] Civil War era units sometimes carried alternative Organizational Colors based on their home state flags or of other designs.
Brigade, division and corps colours, also gold fringed, are in the facing colour of the service branch, for brigades the colour is of a bicolour design. These colours have the command heraldic arms at the centre.
In the Marine Corps, each battalion-sized unit or larger maintains a set of colours.[26][27] The organizational colour is identical to the Marine Corps battle colour, except that the scroll has the unit's name instead of "United States Marine Corps". It also bears the streamers authorized to the unit, or scarlet and gold tassels if none are authorized.
Fringe is never used on the national colors when carried by Marine Corps unit.[28] Instead, a red, white, and blue tassel can be used to decorate.
Prior to Executive Order 10812 of 24 April 1959, the United States Navy used the U.S. Naval Infantry Battalion Flag as its unofficial colours.[29] While the Navy uses a number of maritime flags, such as the Ensign and Jack of the United States, the Flag of the United States Navy is normally seen only at ceremonies and parades. The display of streamers and fringe is consistent with that of the Marine Corps.
When Naval Construction Battalions (Seabees) were first formed in 1942 the Naval Infantry Battalion Flag was mandated by Naval Regulation as the colours of the Naval Construction Force.[29] Each battalion-sized unit or larger maintains a set of colours. The organizational colours of each unit is identical, excepting that each will have the unit's name and number in white on the flag.[29] The display of streamers authorized to the unit is consistent with that of the Marine Corps.
Organizational colours of the US Navy's other shore establishment commands and units and all command formations are in navy blue with the arms of the unit or command, with appropriate displayed streamers attached if authorized.
Each unit of the Argentine Armed Forces, the Argentine National Gendarmerie, the Argentine Federal Police and the Argentine Naval Prefecture bears the national colours on flags, called the National War Flags, which are the national flag with the unit's name embroidered on it in gold lettering. The colours are carried by the unit's most junior officer, escorted by two armed NCOs, except in academies and schools, where it is carried by the top-ranked student of the senior course, and escorted by his or her second- and third-ranked classmates. If a decoration has been awarded to the unit, it is attached to the national colours' cravat. The national colours are never dipped in salute, except to salute another national colours which pass by or are being the subject of a special honour. Besides the national colours, each unit has its unique regimental colours, normally in the arm or service's colour background, with the unit's coat of arms on it. However not all units have such a common background. For example the Regiment of Patricians has the Cross of Burgundy as its official regimental colours because of its lineage dating back from 1806. Units which were made part of the Army of the Andes during Argentina's independence war also carry the Flag of the Army of the Andes as a 3rd Colour.
Units of the Brazilian Armed Forces carry a stand of two Colours, differing per service.
The standard of the Brazilian Army measures 80 × 120 cm, white with the Army coat of arms in the centre, trimmed with gold fringe. The name of the service is inscribed in gold letters on a green scroll beneath the shield. Above the shield is a knight's helmet with red and sky blue mantling. The staff is topped by a nickel-plated lance-head finial, 32 cm high. Below the lance-head, there is a cravat (laço militar) divided lengthwise, sky blue and red, with a gold fringe at the end, tied in a bow and fastened with a cockade of blue with the Southern Cross in white stars, red, and blue. Ten red streamers with campaign honours inscribed in sky blue letters are also attached below the lance-head. The staff is 212 cm long, not including the lance-head, and 3.5 cm in diameter. It is covered in sky blue velvet with a red spiral strip. The colour belt is 10 cm in width, covered with sky blue velvet with red velvet stripes. The Brazilian Navy's flag uses dark blue colours; the Brazilian Air Force flag uses ultramarine blue.
Brazilian military units also carry the national flag as a National Colour. This is in the dimensions 90 × 128 cm. It is mounted on the same size staff and with the same finial as the Army standard, but the cravat is divided lengthwise yellow and green, with a gold fringe at the end, tied in a bow and fastened with a cockade of blue with the Cruzeiro do Sul in white stars, yellow, and green. The staff is covered in green velvet with a yellow spiral strip. The colour belt is 10 cm in width, covered with green velvet with yellow velvet stripes of width and number varying with the rank of the organization's commander.
Unit colours differ per service branch and speciality.
Units of the Chilean Army carry one main colour, known as the estandarte de combate (combat standard). This is the same as the national flag, but with an embroidered star and with the unit designation, honorific title, founding date and place, and, depending on the unit, other historic information and honours embroidered diagonally across the fly in gold. The flag is also trimmed with gold fringe. It is mounted on a staff with a gilt condor finial; below the finial is a cravat in the national colours with decorations attached. In addition to the military colour, particularly distinguished units, and long serving units may carry a second Colour known as a bandera coronela (colonel's colour). This is a red field with a large white five-pointed star. In the angles of the star are the names and dates of battle honours surrounded by laurel wreaths, all in gold, while in an arc above the star is the designation of the unit, also in gold. The flag is also surrounded by gold fringe. Since 2017, the 16th Infantry Regiment Talca became the first to sport a blue coloured bandera coronela in honour of its origins as a city guard battalion formed during the War of the Pacific.
The Chilean Air Force, the Chilean Navy, the Carabineros de Chile and the Chilean Gendarmerie all use the estandarte de combate as their main colour, and do not use the bandera coronela at all. The design is the same as in the Army's.
The main state colours of the Military Forces of Colombia and the National Police of Colombia is the Flag of Colombia with the Coat of arms of Colombia in the centre inside a circle with a red border, used by all the services. These flags also carry medals and decorations attached to the flag. The MFC and the NPC also uses unit battle colours (brigade-level, regiment-level and battalion-level), that differ accordingly per service. All of them are gold fringed. Uniquely for Colombia, the battle colour tradition is mainly US-influenced. In addition, the service colour is used as a secondary color, also gold fringed, to denote service affiliation.
The Navy, given the British influence, uses the national flag as a State Colour for ships and commands, and few naval units have a full strand of colours.
Aside from the three state colours (the Flag of Uruguay, the Flag of Artigas and the Flag of the Treinta y Tres), the Uruguayan military also has regimental colours that differ per service and unit. The national colours have armed colour guards while the regimental colour has none at all. All are gold fringed.
In the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela, aside from the Flag of Venezuela as the National Colour, there are also Organizational Colours for each of the 6 service branches and the Ministerial Colour of the Ministry of Defence and Unit Colours, which differ per service branch and arm. Every military unit from the Ministry of defence down to all individual units have a stand of colours like in the United Kingdom, but differ from the battalion to the service and the national level. The national flag, until the 1940s, served also as the unit state colour in the same manner as the National Colour of the United States Army and the State/Sovereign's Colour in the Commonwealth of Nations, and was based on the national flag but with the unit inscription replacing the stars in the centre in white lettering. The Venezuelan National Militia is the only service branch that uses a battle colour, similar to the flag of the Cuban July 26 Movement: the colour is red and black with the service name on it in white, and a separate colour is used for the service headquarters at the Montana Barracks in Caracas. Starting from July 2013 onward it was granted permission to use a 4th colour for its battalions: red with the eyes of the late President Hugo Chávez and the inscription Chavez Vive (Chavez Lives On) below, topped with a scarlet star.
Since 2014 the National Armed Forces uses two additional colours (the National Militia its 5th and 6th): that of the Supreme Commander's Colour, which is red bearing the portrait of the late President Chávez surrounded by a wreath and the Armed Forces Motto (Independence and Socialist Fatherland, we will live on and triumph!) below and the inscription Supreme Commander of the Bolivarian Revolution (Comandante Supremo de la Revolución Bolivariana) and the eight golden stars from the National Flag above it, plus the Memorial Colour of the Liberator and Father of the Nation (introduced in the summer of 2016), which is of the same colour facing but with the wreath containing the portrait of Simon Bolivar, the eight gold stars and his title above and the words Freedom, Sovereignty, Independence (Libertad, Soberania e Independencia) below the title, all in gold.
The colours used on the Unit Colours are as follows:
The standard is the colours-equivalent for the heavy cavalry (e.g., horse guards and dragoon guards). At 27 by 30 in (69 by 76 cm), on an 8 ft 6 in-long (259 cm) pole, it is much smaller than infantry colours, so that it can be carried by a soldier on horseback. The guidon is the equivalent for the light cavalry (e.g., dragoons, light dragoons, hussars and lancers). It is swallow-tailed, 27 by 41 in (69 by 104 cm), with an 8 ft 6 in-long pole.
The word guidon is a corruption of the French guyde homme – 'the guide man'.[note 3] Originally each troop had its own, but this was quickly reduced to a single, regimental one. With the increased dispersion of troops required in the light cavalry role, their operational function had ceased by the 1830s and they were discontinued. The regiment's kettledrums, with the battle honours woven onto the drum banners (with the exception of 3rd The King's Own Hussars and its successors, where they are uncovered, with the battle honours engraved onto the kettledrums themselves) became the focal point of the regiment's loyalty. In 1952 King George VI reintroduced the guidons of the light cavalry for ceremonial purposes.
Both the standard and the guidon are usually of crimson trimmed in gold fringe and with the regiment's insignia in the centre. The regiment's battle honours are emblazoned on both the obverse and reverse, up to a maximum of 22 on each side.
Cavalry (armour) units carry a standard (Danish: estandart), of similar design to the infantry colour, but smaller and square, with the cross centred on the field. The royal cypher is in the upper hoist and the initials of the regiment in the lower hoist. The Guard Hussar Regiment's standard is unique, as it has two monograms – with King Frederick VI's monogram in top right corner.[30]
In the French Army, mounted units carry étendards (standards). Mounted units include armoured corps and cavalry, artillery, transportation, army aviation, and supplies. The étendard is a 64 × 64 cm square flag similar to the drapeaux carried by the units of foot, with the same design: the regimental name at the obverse and the battle honours at the reserve.
In the Italian Army, cavalry units carry a stendardo (standard) of the same pattern as the bandiera di guerra, but which measures 60 cm × 60 cm.
The two hussar regiments of the Royal Netherlands Army carry a standaard (standard), of similar design to the infantry colour, but smaller (50 cm × 50 cm).
Until the 1960s, the Portuguese Military followed the traditions of its foot units having colours (Portuguese: bandeiras, literally "flags"), while mounted units had standards (estandartes), the latter being smaller versions of the colours. Standards were also carried by naval and aviation units. In the 1960s, the traditional separation between colours and standards was abolished, with all being reclassified as "national standards" (estandartes nacionais). At the same time, a new type of standard, the heraldic standard, was introduced. Presently, the military units, commands, forces and establishments have both a national standard and an heraldic standard. While the design of the national standards reflects the National Flag, the designs of the heraldic standards reflect the individual heraldic symbology of each of the units.
In the Portuguese military parlance, a guidon (guião) is a small square flag of a battalion sized unit. Guidons of a very simple design were introduced in the 19th century, as the tactical field signs of the foot units that didn't carry colours, namely the second battalions of the infantry regiments and the independent caçadores (light infantry) battalions. In the early 20th century, the tactical role of the guidons was discontinued. The guidons assumed then a ceremonial role, coming to have a more elaborate design which incorporated the symbology of their respective units. Guidelines for the design of guidons accordingly with heraldic rules were introduced in the 1950s, these becoming mandatory and standardized in the 1960s. The present guidon design - similar in all branches of the Military - consists in the quadrature of the coat of arms of the corresponding unit or of its parent unit, framed by a bordure. The colours of the bordure can be used to identify a sub-unit inside its parent unit.
Besides heraldic standards and guidons, the Portuguese military units also use heraldic pennants (flâmulas). These are small swallow-tailed or triangular flags used to identify company sized units.
Some of the Portuguese uniformed security forces and civil emergency organizations also make use of heraldic standards, guidons and pennants, usually modelled after the military ones.
In the United States armed forces, guidons are much more prevalent, with units below battalion size being authorized to use them. In the US Army, these are swallow tailed flags that are 20 in × 27 in, and are in the colour of the branch of the service the unit is from, with the branch's insignia the most prominent device. Also on the guidon is included the unit's identifying letter, and the number(s) of its parent unit. War service and campaign streamers are not attached to these guidons, but unit citation streamers can be.
In regiments of the (British) Royal Artillery, and artillery regiments of other Commonwealth countries, the guns are afforded the status of colours.[31] This is due to the difficulty of artillery regiments being able to carry flags onto the battlefield, and the fact that the guns themselves were the rallying points for the soldiers manning them. As a consequence, whenever artillery regiments parade, the etiquette that would normally be applied to the colours is applied to the guns. During the Battle of Balaclava gunners abandoned their guns, in effect abandoning their colours, causing disgrace.[citation needed]
Because the guns have the status of colours, gunners of commonwealth countries will attempt to prevent their guns falling intact into enemy hands both for practical reasons (so that the guns can not be turned and used against their own side) and for the honour of the regiment.[32] For example, the last action of gunners of the Royal Artillery during the fall of Singapore was to destroy their guns.[33][34]
The Honourable Artillery Company, the oldest regiment in the British Army, and not part of the Royal Artillery,[citation needed] is the only artillery regiment to have both colours and guns, which are treated with equal respect.
In Singapore, however, since its independence the Singapore Army's artillery arm (the Singapore Artillery) uses colours instead of guns; this is also the case for the Malaysian Army, Pakistan Army, Royal Cambodian Army and the Royal Thai Army, whose artillery units use colours and not guns on parade. This has been the same case for the Indian Regiment of Artillery, which presents colours in dismounted parades, and the Sri Lanka Artillery, which has a strand of colours similar to the HAC.
The British Royal Navy and other navies of the Commonwealth of Nations call the flag-raising ceremony that happens every morning when a ship is in harbour colours. In British home waters, colours is conducted at 0800 (eight bells in the morning watch) from 15 February to 31 October inclusive, and at 0900 (two bells in the forenoon watch) during the winter.
When sunset is at or before 2100, flags are lowered at sunset at the ceremony of sunset. When sunset is after 2100, the evening flag lowering ceremony is called evening colours and carried out at 2100.
The United States Navy performs the same ceremonies, called "Morning Colors" and "Evening Colors", at 0800 and sunset each day. When "Colors" is played aboard Navy and Marine Corps bases, those outdoors must stop to render proper courtesies by saluting if in uniform or, if out of uniform, by standing at attention, until "Carry On" is sounded. Marines and sailors driving on base during this time are expected to stop their vehicles and stand at attention until the ceremony is over.
Many traditional yacht clubs worldwide also conduct morning and evening colour ceremonies. At 0800 each morning and at sunset during the club's active sailing season the ceremony is performed by the launchmen or harbourmaster.
Capturing an enemy's flag was formerly a major goal in war, and it is still practised today, and so capturing the enemy flag also appears in several games:
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