Military beret

Berets have been a component of the uniforms of many armed forces throughout the world since the mid-20th century. 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 Europe, South America and Iran have influenced the push to the left.

Berets are in some countries particularly associated with elite units, who often wear berets in more unusual colours.

The informal use of beret-like headgear by the military of Europe dates back hundreds of years, one example being the Blue Bonnet, that became a de facto symbol of Scottish Jacobite forces in the 16th and 17th centuries.citation needed As an officially required military headdress, its use dates back to the Carlist Wars of Succession for the Spanish Crown in the 1830s by order of Carlist General Tomás de Zumalacárregui who wanted a local and non-costly way to make headgear that was resistant to the mountain weather, easy to care for and could be used on formal occasions.

The French Chasseurs alpins, created in the early 1880s, were the first regular unit to wear the military beret as a standard headgear. These mountain troops were issued with a uniform which included several features which were innovative for the time, notably the large and floppy blue beret which they still retain. This was so unfamiliar a fashion outside France that it had to be described in the Encyclopædia Britannica of 1911 as "a soft cap or tam o'shanter".

Berets have features that make them attractive to the military: they are cheap, easy to make in large numbers, can be manufactured in a wide range of colors, can be rolled up and stuffed into a pocket or beneath the shirt epaulette without damage, and can be worn with headphones (this is one of the reasons why early tank crews adopted the beret). The beret is not so useful in field conditions for the modern infantryman, who requires protective helmets, and non-camouflage versions are seldom seen on operations.

The beret was found particularly useful as a uniform for armored-vehicle crews, and the British Tank Corps (later Royal Tank Corps) adopted the headdress as early as 1918.

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