Camouflage is used these days by hunters and military people. But what exactly is camouflage? The word camouflage comes from the French word camouflage which means “to blind or veil.” Camouflage is used to disguise an object or person in plain sight to keep it hidden from something or someone.

How did the history of camouflage begin? The first recorded use of camouflage dates back to the 14th century, in feudal Japan. The ninjas used dark camouflage colors during their operations, which generally occurred during darkness (dusk to dawn). There were also times when ninjas wore clothing that blended in with the operating environment.

During the 18th century, smaller irregular ranger or scout units were the first to adopt drab shades of brown and green as unit colors. It took a few more years before the main armies were convinced to change their brightly colored uniforms. But in 1857, the British Army in India was forced to dye their red tunics and white denim uniforms in neutral shades like khaki. Although started as a temporary measure, as they had too many war casualties, the color became standard in the Indian service in the 1880s. In 1902, during the Second Boer War, khaki became the standard color of the uniforms of the entire British Army.

During the same year, the United States Army began using khaki. Some military units began to use camouflage in self-defense against the increasing accuracy and rate of fire of weapons.

In 1906, the Italian army in the Alps began to wear gray-green (grigio-verde) and in 1909 it became the standard color of the uniform of the entire Italian army. In 1908, the Russian Army began to wear khaki uniforms as well. In 1910, the German Army began using the color field gray (feldgrau) for its battle dress.

Before these different armies started wearing camouflage, they tended to wear bright colors with bold, impressive designs that were supposed to intimidate the enemy, make units easily identifiable in the fog of war, encourage unit cohesion, they attracted new recruits and reduced desertion.

In 1915, the French army gave up its fancy white gloves and red trousers after a crushing defeat by the Germans. They listed artist services that would help develop stealthier outfits. Tea camouflage section (Camouflage Department) was established. It was headed first by Eugene Corbin and then by Lucien-Victor Guirand de Scevola.

They were mostly painters, sculptors and theater artists. These artists helped create hand-painted uniforms, but since the technology had not yet been developed to mass-produce hand-painted uniforms, they were restricted to exposed individuals such as forward artillery observers and snipers. In addition to uniforms, they also created decoy tanks, fake bridges, and even papier-mâché horse carcasses that snipers used as blinds.

In 1915, De Scevola was responsible for building an observation tree that was made of steel with bark camouflage. In 1916 these trees became popular with the French and British armies. In 1917, painted canvas netting was introduced, and by the end of the war, 7 million square yards of canvas netting had been used.

At this time, other countries realized the advantage of camouflage and soon established their own units of artists, designers, and even architects.

The mass production of uniforms began during the First World War. By World War II, camouflage uniforms became more common on individual soldiers.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the US 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment stationed in Europe began using a digital camouflage pattern on their vehicles. Around the same time, the Australian Army also experimented with digital camouflage on its helicopters.

More recently, digital camouflage patterns have been adopted by the Canadian Army and Air Force, the United States Marine Corps (MARPAT), the United States Army (ACUPAT), and most of the armed forces of Canada. Jordan.

In mid-2006, South Korea adopted a digital camouflage pattern similar to that of the USMC MARPAT.

These days, camouflage patterns have become a part of civilian life, but unknown to today’s generation, camouflage had become part of Parisian fashion by 1914. During the 1960s, artists began to use camouflage in their works (for example, Andy Warhol, Alain Jacquet, etc.)

Modern military-print clothing first found its civilian market among hunters and through military surplus. Eventually, it became popular with civilians because it is sturdy, well made, and cheap in the United States and other countries.

Jim Crumley, a hunting enthusiast, is said to be the person responsible for making military camouflage more widespread. In the late 1970s, he used a magic marker to draw vertical lines of tree trunks on a few pairs of tie-dyed coats and pants he owned. His patented “Trebark” design was born from him and became a very popular brand name.

Recently, camouflage continues to be a large part of civilian fashion, from streetwear to high fashion brands using “faux-camouflage.”

However, in some countries like Aruba, Barbados, and other Caribbean nations, civilians are not allowed to wear camouflage, including children and tourists.