Today for Gus’ Gear I have an interesting uniform to present. When the war started, the French were using uniforms that were not suitable for modern warfare. The French Line Infantryman wore a dark blue coat with madder red trousers. They were relying on the elan of the uniforms from the Franco Prussian war to incite shock and fear in the adversary . Against modern weapons elan was not as effective as planned. The brightly colored French soldiers charging forward were countered with machinegun volleys. The uniform I present today takes visibility to the next level.
The Zouave regiments were dressed in a uniform of traditional north African style with an ornate collarless jacket (bolero), madder red baggy pantaloons and a red fez. A blue cotton sash, 4.2 meters long and 40 cm wide, is worn around the waist. The leather equipment is much like standard issue, with the exception of the rear ammo pouch. The rear ammo pouch has a loop that allows it to hang a bit lower to clear the back of the bolero. The Zouaves were equipped with the 2 liter water bottle from before the beginning of the war, as the larger capacity was needed in North Africa. The Metropolitan Army was equipped with the 1 liter water bottle at the beginning of the war, these were later replaced with the 2 liter bottles and sometimes two water bottles to make sure the Poilu had enough water. The Zouaves were armed with the Lebel Mle 1886/93 rifle.
The bolero, with red trim and colored patches (tombos), at the waist to designate the regiment, in this case yellow for the 3rd Regiment of Zouaves (red-1st, white-2nd, yellow-3rd and blue-4th). The trim is red on the Zouave uniform and yellow on the Tirailleur’s uniforms (regiments also from Northern Africa). The red chevron on the sleeve is for the rank of private first class. A vest (sédria) of similar design is worn under the bolero.
The pantaloons (sarouel), are baggy and loose fitting, made of madder red wool with blue piping on the front of the legs. They have a button fly and two slash pockets. The bottom of the sarouel have a cotton cuff with a drawstring to secure them to the calf of the leg above the white, cotton, button up leggings.
The headgear is a traditional fez (chéchia) that was worn in North Africa.