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Japanese Infantry question,

Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 8:55 am
by dougeagle
What color were Japanese battle fatigues in Burma?
Were they a khaki color?

Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 12:23 pm
by piersyf
According to the Handbook on Japanese Military Forces the standard uniform was olive drab. There were no special uniforms issued for tropical climates, they were just issued variations on the summer uniform from a temperate area (long or short sleeve basically).

Given that uniform issues were quite rare, and that the Japanese soldier was meant to be as self sufficient as possible (and not a drain on logistics), and the Japanese supply system was nowhere near as lavish as the Allies, my guess would be that what we see as khaki is just a really faded olive drab. Given that the tropical sun will fade ANYTHING really quickly, I'd say that troops garrisoning an atoll would have had plenty of sun and plenty of time for their uniforms to go from OD to something paler.

Heck, if we accept that Russian uniforms were of odd colours and faded in their climate, I don't see why the same wouldn't be true in the Pacific.

P