uniforms British army 1743 soldier drummer cannon Although British troops have often been portrayed in films as toiling in hot c
Although British troops have often been portrayed in films as toiling in hot climates in heavy scarlet serge uniforms, officers from the end of the Crimean War onwards generally took a far more practical approach. Wolseley had lightweight grey linen uniforms purpose-made for his expeditions in Ashanti and Sudan. In India, almost all troops soon copied the neutral Khaki (an Urdu word meaning "dust") uniforms first adopted by Indian irregular units on the North-West Frontier. The last battle in which British troops wore scarlet was the 1885 Battle of Gennis in the Sudan. Khaki became the official colour for campaign dress in 1902, but scarlet (and even rifle green) had been superseded long before that date. Likewise, faced with campaigns in harsh environments far from any convenient lines of communication, British leaders insisted that the primary quality of any equipment should be robustness. Sometimes, this resulted in the British army apparently lagging behind its contemporaries in Europe. Nevertheless, new rifles, guns and technical equipment such as field telegraphs were steadily introduced; sometimes the issue of a weapon was not even complete before it was superseded by another model. The history of the British Army spans over three and a half centuries and numerous European wars, colonial wars and world wars. From the early 19th century until 1914, the United Kingdom was the greatest economic and Imperial Power in the world, and although this dominance was principally achieved through the strength of the British Royal Navy, the British Army played a significant role. In peacetime, Britain has generally maintained only a small professional Volunteer army, expanding this as required in time of war, due to Britain's traditional role as a sea power. Since 1745, the army has played little role in British domestic politics (with the exception of the Curragh mutiny), and, other than in Ireland, has seldom been deployed against internal threats
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