Bigeard cap

Last updated
French Commandos de Chasse wearing Bigeard caps. Commando de chasse V66 du 4me Zouaves.jpg
French Commandos de Chasse wearing Bigeard caps.
Olive Bigeard. Quco1964.JPG
Olive Bigeard.

The Bigeard cap (French : casquette Bigeard) is a field cap worn by the French Army and several others. It was allegedly invented by French General Marcel Bigeard [1] [2] to replace the colorful and less practical colored headgear worn by the French Army in its war in Indochina.

Contents

The Bigeard is a cloth field cap with a short cloth peak. Originally produced in lizard, [3] [4] it was later produced in olive green and various camouflage patterns to include, [5] forest, [6] and desert. [6] The cap is more of a peaked sidecap and is available with or without neck flaps for sun protection. [6]

The Bigeard cap has subsequently been indissociable from the unconventional warfare seen during the various conflicts of the 20th century.

Users

Portuguese "Quico" variant Quico-camp.JPG
Portuguese "Quico" variant

Several armies have copied the design, Rhodesian army as the "swallowtail cap" [7] in English or "Quico" (pronounced kiko) in Portuguese vertical lizard [6] [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fez (hat)</span> Cylinder-shaped cap with a flat crown

The fez, also called tarboosh/tarboush, is a felt headdress in the shape of a short, cylindrical, truncated (peakless) hat, usually red, typically with a black tassel attached to the top. The name "fez" may refer to the Moroccan city of Fez, where the dye to color the hat was extracted from crimson berries. However, its origins are disputed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slouch hat</span> Wide-brimmed soft felt or cloth hat most commonly worn as part of a military uniform

A slouch hat is a wide-brimmed felt or cloth hat most commonly worn as part of a military uniform, often, although not always, with a chinstrap. It has been worn by military personnel from many different nations including Australia, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Canada, India, New Zealand, Southern Rhodesia, France, the United States, the Confederate States, Germany and many others. Australia and New Zealand have had various models of slouch hat as standard issue headwear since the late Victorian period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kepi</span> Flat circular cap with a visor

The kepi is a cap with a flat circular top and a peak, or visor. In English, the term is a loanword from French: képi, itself a re-spelled version of the Alemannic German: Käppi, a diminutive form of Kappe, meaning "cap". In Europe, the kepi is most commonly associated with French military and police uniforms, though versions of it were widely worn by other armies during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In North America, it is usually associated with the American Civil War, as it was worn by soldiers on both sides of the conflict.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military uniform</span> Standardised military dress

A military uniform is a standardised dress worn by members of the armed forces and paramilitaries of various nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pith helmet</span> Lightweight cloth-covered helmet

The pith helmet, also known as the safari helmet, salacot, sola topee, sun helmet, topee, and topi is a lightweight cloth-covered helmet made of sholapith. The pith helmet originates from the Spanish military adaptation of the native salakot headgear of the Philippines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Combat uniform</span> Military uniform

A combat uniform, also called field uniform, battledress or military fatigues, is a casual type of uniform used by military, police, fire and other public uniformed services for everyday fieldwork and combat duty purposes, as opposed to dress uniforms worn in functions and parades. It generally consists of a jacket, trousers and shirt or T-shirt, all cut to be looser and more comfortable than more formal uniforms. Design may depend on regiment or service branch, e.g. army, navy, air force, marines, etc. In the army branches, fabrics tend to come in camouflage, disruptive pattern or else green, brown or khaki monochrome, in order to approximate the background and make the soldier less visible in nature. In Western dress codes, field uniform is considered equivalent to civilian casual wear. As such, field uniform is considered less formal than service dress uniform, generally aimed at office or staff use, as well as mess dress uniform, and full dress uniform.

<i>Troupes coloniales</i> Military unit

The Troupes coloniales or Armée coloniale, commonly called La Coloniale, were the colonial troops of the French colonial empire from 1900 until 1961. From 1822 to 1900 these troops were designated Troupes de marine, and in 1961 they readopted this name. They were recruited from mainland France and from the French settler as well as indigenous populations of the empire. This force played a substantial role in the conquest of the empire, in World War I, World War II, the First Indochina War and the Algerian War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Side cap</span> Foldable military cap

A side cap is a military cap that can be folded flat when not being worn. It is also known as a garrison cap or flight cap in the United States, wedge cap in Canada, or field service cap in the United Kingdom; or in vulgar slang as a cunt cap or piss cutter. In form the side cap is comparable to the glengarry, a folding version of the Scottish military bonnet. It has been associated with various military forces since the middle of the 19th century, as well as various civilian organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uniforms of the Imperial Japanese Army</span> Uniforms worn by personnel of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces

Imperial Japanese Army uniforms tended to reflect the uniforms of those countries who were the principal advisors to the Imperial Japanese Army at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peaked cap</span> Form of uniform headgear with a short visor, crown, band, and insignia

A peaked cap, peaked hat, service cap, barracks cover, or combination cap is a form of headgear worn by the armed forces of many nations, as well as many uniformed civilian organisations such as law enforcement agencies and fire departments. It derives its name from its short visor, or peak, which was historically made of polished leather but increasingly is made of a cheaper synthetic substitute.

Forage cap is the designation given to various types of military undress, fatigue or working headwear. These vary widely in form, according to country or period. The coloured peaked cap worn by the modern British Army for parade and other dress occasions is still officially designated as a forage cap.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casquette d'Afrique</span> French military headgear

A casquette d'Afrique was a type of lightweight military headgear generally used by the French metropolitan and colonial armies from the early 1830s to the 1860s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcel Bigeard</span> French military officer and politician (1916–2010)

Marcel Bigeard, personal radio call-sign "Bruno", was a French military officer and politician who fought in World War II, the First Indochina War and the Algerian War. He was one of the commanders in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and is thought by many to have been a dominating influence on French "unconventional" warfare thinking from that time onwards. He was one of the most decorated officers in France, and is particularly noteworthy because of his rise from being a regular soldier in 1936 to ultimately concluding his career in 1976 as a Lieutenant General and serving in the government of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Senegalese Tirailleurs</span> Colonial infantry in the French Army

The Senegalese Tirailleurs were a corps of colonial infantry in the French Army. They were initially recruited from Senegal, French West Africa and subsequently throughout Western, Central and Eastern Africa: the main sub-Saharan regions of the French colonial empire. The noun tirailleur, which translates variously as 'skirmisher', 'rifleman', or 'sharpshooter', was a designation given by the French Army to indigenous infantry recruited in the various colonies and overseas possessions of the French Empire during the 19th and 20th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lizard (camouflage)</span> Family of camouflage patterns

The lizard pattern is a family of many related designs of military camouflage pattern, first used by the French Army on uniforms from 1947 to the late 1980s. It was based on the British paratroopers' Denison smock. The use of the pattern is widespread in Africa, despite its association with France, because armed factions and militaries tend to obtain them from whichever source has it available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Lao Army</span> Military unit

The Royal Lao Army, also designated by its anglicized title RLA, was the land component of the Royal Lao Armed Forces (FAR), the official military of the Kingdom of Laos during the North Vietnamese invasion of Laos and the Laotian Civil War between 1960 and 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greek Army uniforms</span>

The modern Greek Army has a history of almost 200 years, during which it has undergone dramatic changes and been involved in some of the major conflicts on the European continent. The modern Greek military throughout its history was closely following international developments in equipment and uniforms. With the notable exception of the elite Evzones units, which based their uniforms on the indigenous traditional garments of the 18th century, the rest of the Army, as most militaries worldwide, was always quick to adopt the military fashion current among the armies of the influential Great Powers. This influence can be roughly divided in three periods: French-style uniforms, which dominated throughout the 19th century, the British styles introduced around World War I and used during World War II and until the late 1960s, and the "NATO" or US-style predominating from ca. 1968 onward. Various individual items or details can of course be traced to other influences, and there were also transitional uniforms combining previous designs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military beret</span> Berets as part of a military uniform

Troops began wearing berets as a part of the headgear of military uniforms in some European countries during the 19th century; since the mid-20th century, they have become a component of the uniforms of many armed forces throughout the world. Military berets are usually pushed to the right to free the shoulder that bears the rifle on most soldiers, but the armies of some countries, mostly within Europe, South America, and Asia, have influenced the push to the left.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Lao Navy</span> Naval component of the Royal Lao Armed Forces

The Royal Lao Navy was the naval component of the Royal Lao Armed Forces (FAR), the official military of the Royal Lao Government and the Kingdom of Laos during the Laotian Civil War between 1960 and 1975.

References

  1. "LA CASQUETTE BIGEARD" (PDF). www.fondation-general-bigeard.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-05-28. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  2. DENYS, Hubert. "04- L'origine de la casquette BIGEARD". episodes-histoire. Archived from the original on 2015-05-11. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  3. "Sales site". fr.shopping.rakuten.com. Retrieved 2019-08-18.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. "Photo" (JPG). pmcdn.priceminister.com. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  5. ""BIGEARD " CAP". Doursoux.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "French F2 "Bigeard" cap, surplus". Varusteleka.com.
  7. Modern African Wars (1) 1965-80 : Rhodesia, Men at Arms Series 183, Copyright June 15, 1986, by Peter Abbott and Philip Botham (Author), ISBN   978-0850457285
  8. Modern African Wars (2) Angola and Moazambique 1961 - 74, Peter Abbot & Manuel Rodriques Osprey Men-at-Arms 202, 1988Copywrite, ISBN   978-0850458435