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Military tradition

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The Pionniers (pioneers) are the combat engineers and a traditional unit of the French Foreign Legion. The sapeurs of the Legion traditionally sport large beards, wear leather aprons and gloves and hold axes.

Military traditions are customs, symbols, ceremonies and practices through which an armed force, service or unit preserves selected parts of its past. They include distinctive uniforms, insignia, drill, military music, commemorations and unit histories.[1] Military culture is broader term than military tradition. It includes the shared values, beliefs, norms, symbols, language, and behaviors that define a military organisation's identity and its members' goals. Traditions are one way through which culture is expressed and transmitted.[2]

Concept and transmission

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Military culture is communicated through both formal instruction and everyday social practices. Traditions, deployment, rituals, vocabulary, and shared values shape interactions among personnel and transform civilians into military members.[3]

Military tradition is not immutable. Militaries may abandon practices incompatible with professional ethics. The U.S. Army classifies rituals like "blood wings" as hazing.[4] The United States Army prohibits hazing in any form, with the policy applying to Active, Guard and Reserve soldiers, as well as Army civilians and contractors.[5]

Military music

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Armies once used drums, fifes, trumpets, and bugles for audible signalling across battlefields and camps, covering tactical orders (advance, halt, assault, cease fire) and daily routine calls. This order-by-instrument practice is termed celeustic music.[6]

Telegraphy ended most battlefield uses of bugle calls, but they remain in military routines and ceremonies. In the United States Army, Reveille and Retreat mark the beginning and end of the duty day and accompany flag ceremonies.[7]

Military music has served signalling, morale, ceremony and unit identity, with modern primary use as ceremonial.[8]

Commemoration

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Some military practices evolve into public commemorative rituals. The Last Post began as a daily bugle call. It is now sounded at military funerals and remembrance services.[9]

Insignia and dress

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Military insignia encode history and battle honors, starting from identification tools into symbols of identity.[10]

Battle honours

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Battle honours are granted to publicly acknowledge military units for their active engagement in combat against organized and armed conflicts.[11] By attaching the names of earlier operations to a continuing unit, battle honours carved selected parts of its operational history as collective memory or identity.

Customs and courtesies

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A retired United States Army first sergeant salutes the Colors during a Veterans Day parade in Pittsburgh.

The hand salute is a common courtesy used to express respect for rank, authority, flags, etc. Its origin is uncertain.[12] In many armed forces, the gesture acknowledges the rank or office rather than the individual.[13]

Mess

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A military mess is a designated dining area for military personnels. The origins of formal military dining are uncertain. U.S. Army literature traces the dining-in to Viking victory feasts held to celebrate battles and feats of heroism.[14] Another explanation form the United States Navy describes it as passing in medieval monasteries and early Christian universities before being adopted by military organizations.[15] The better-documented history begins in the British Army. During the eighteenth century, formal dining became essential to the regimental mess system, where rules and customs of communal meals became increasingly enforced.[16] British mess influenced its Commonwealth of Nations military traditions. The Canadian Armed Forces, for example, describe their mess following the British model.[17]

Formal toasts are a feature of military dining. In the United States Army dining-in, their subjects and sequence are planned in advance according to protocol, unit traditions and the commander's preferences.[18]

Military tattoos

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A military tattoo was used for an evening signal. The term later came to mean ceremonial displays performed by military musicians.[19]

In Europe

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European armed forces maintain traditions through regiments, connecting current members to past formations via names, insignia, ceremonies, battle honours, and uniforms.[20]

Chivalry developed as an important ethical, social and martial ideal among the medieval European nobility and warrior elite, though it varied across time and place.[21]

Within Europe a wide variety of separate military traditions developed until at least World War I[22][23]. WWI and its social/political troubles disrupted many pre-war military traditions. Armies replaced colorful coats with khaki uniforms[24] and became more mechanized[25]. Post-WWI imperial collapses shifted power from the aristocracy to the working class.

In the United Kingdom

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In Britain, military traditions developed primarily along regimental lines, taking the form of long-established regimental customs, insignia, badges and distinctive features of uniform. Since the late 1960s, a series of regimental mergers and disbandments have diluted British military tradition, although it still remains strong in the Guards Division.

The Ceremony of the Keys has taken place every night, locking of the Tower of London. Performed for 700 years, with the Chief Yeoman Warder and an escort from the Tower's military garrison.[26]

Trooping the Colour is a British ceremonial tradition in which a battalion's Colour is carried through the ranks.[27] Trooping the Colour was carried or trooped along the ranks.[28]

Soldiers of the Brigade of Gurkhas during a military exercise.

Royal Navy sailors traditionally received a daily rum ration, known as the “tot”. The practice ended on 31 July 1970.[29] Royal Navy submariners traditionally earn their dolphins after learning the location and function of a submarine’s systems and completing their qualification.[30] Royal Navy submarines may fly the Jolly Roger when returning from a successful combat mission.[31]

Some British military personnel may keep up a animal mascots. Royal Fusiliers replaced their endangered blackbuck with an otterhound.[32]

The Brigade of Gurkhas continues the recruitment of Nepalese soldiers begun by the East India Company in 1816. Four Gurkha regiments entered the British Army following the Partition of India in 1947.[33]

The Light Dragoons continue former horse-cavalry reconnaissance. They now use Jackal 2 vehicles.[34]

In Germany

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For the Bundeswehr, tradition is a selective, value-based engagement, prioritising post-1955 history and only constitutionally compatible elements.[35] The Bundeswehr ideal of the citizen in uniform comparable to Peelian principles, keeps soldiers' constitutional rights while imposing a special duty to defend the civic liberal democratic order. It forms the guiding principle of Innere Führung.[36] The military resistance of 20 July 1944 is a central Bundeswehr tradition.[37] In Prussia and later the German Empire, traditions were tied to local states. Even after German unification, like Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg retained elements of their separate military identities.[38]

Frederick William I of Prussia's Potsdam Giants were famous for recruiting exceptionally tall soldiers.[39]

The modern Bundeswehr explicitly draws on the military traditions of the Prussian Reform Movement of Gerhard von Scharnhorst, August Neidhardt von Gneisenau and other reformers after Prussia's defeat in the 1806 campaign against Napoleon. Its founding date, 12 November 1955, was chosen as the bicentenary of Scharnhorst's birth.[40] Scharnhorst's reforms linked military renewal with education, professionalism, and meritocracy.[41] The Prussian officer corps played Kriegsspiel to practise command with maps. By 1918, playing it formed part of every Imperial German officer’s education.[42]

Army officers playing Kriegsspiel during military manoeuvres in 1872.

From the 1870s, free Kriegsspiel reduced rigid tables and allowed experienced players to judge results. Opposing received only position-specific information.[43] Moltke the Elder combined war games and staff rides to prepare commanders for independent coordination during operations.[44] The German officer corps developed the staff ride (German: Stabsreise). Officers studied tactical and operational problems on actual terrain. Like Kriegsspiel, it trained Auftragstaktik, staff work and command. The Reichswehr continued staff rides and wargaming during the interwar period, adapting them to the limits of the Treaty of Versailles.[45] Interwar German exercises developed into large two-sided manoeuvre games. In the 1936 Hesse manoeuvres, nearly 50,000 soldiers from five divisions operated against one another; the 1937 Mecklenburg manoeuvres were about 160,000 personnel, 830 tanks and aircraft.[46] The Bundeswehr continues the wargaming tradition.[47]

The Portepee-Fähnrich was an examination to the Prussian officer corps that required candidates to prove a general education before war school.[48] The transition to Fähnrich followed circular academic examinations. Following the thirteenth grade, at age nineteen, cadets would again be examined and, upon passing, gain a degree equivalent to the Abitur.[49] In the late nineteenth-century Prussian Army, even upon graduation from the Kadettenschulen, cadets were not commissioned as officers but were promoted to Fähnrich (ensign), ranking just above sergeants. [49] The German rank of Fähnrich originated with the medieval standard-bearer.[50] Among the Landsknechts, the Fähnrich carried the banner, and was appointed by the Oberst.[51] The title entered German armies for officer training.[49] Once approved, Fähnrich officers received two years of specialist training.[49] In the Reichswehr, officer training followed a stages, Kriegsschule instruction, examinations, field exercises and final qualification. Junior officer qualification took four years.[52] The three-year War Academy course became compulsory for all officers.[53] Wehrmacht Fahnenjunker trained at Kriegsschule and Truppenschule in Army Training Centres. WWII shortened courses, making front service both training and selection.

German Jäger originated from 17th-century foresters for skirmishing and reconnaissance.[54] Jäger and reconnaissance continue the Horrido—Joho! call, as their response and battle cry.[54]

German armour forces wear rose pink as their Waffenfarbe branch colour.[55]

In France

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The French created the concept of Esprit de corps, or the concept of pride in one's unit, within most elite or uniquely French units. North African units like the Zouaves, the tirailleurs, the French Foreign Legion, or even the Mamluks which served in Napoleon Bonaparte's Imperial Guard developed distinctive styles of dress. Many of these distinctive styles were later adopted by the French Metropolitan Army during the nineteenth century.

A French zouave from 1888 in the distinctive campaign uniform worn in North Africa. His trousers would normally be red.

Zouaves emerged in Algeria during the 1830 French conquest, initially with local mercenaries. Their name and distinctive dress later symbolized French colonial troops.[56] The 1st Foreign Regiment is the oldest regiment of the French Foreign Legion. Founded in 1841, it maintains the Legion's ceremonial and historical roles, as well as its heritage and band.[57]

The Battle of Camerone became the central tradition of the French Foreign Legion in 1931. Every Legion unit commemorates it on 30 April by reciting the battle narrative. At Aubagne, Captain Jean Danjou’s wooden hand is carried publicly.[58]

The képi blanc is earned by completing the 70-kilometer Marche Képi Blanc .[59] The Legion’s pioneers keep up practice of digging trenches saps. Wearing traditional gear and looks, pioneers lead Legion formations to symbolically "open the way," honoring their historical role clearing obstacles.[60] The Chasseurs Alpins keep the specialised tradition of mountainous and winter warfare. Training combines climbing, skiing, snowshoes. The "tarte" beret shades, cushions, or warms.[61] The Troupes de marine remembers the French Thin defence in Battle of Bazeilles during the Franco-Prussian War annually on 31 August and 1 September. The tradition recalls house-to-house and close-quarter fighting in an early instance of modern urban warfare.[62]

French Spahi regiments started North African Arabs and Berber irregular cavalry in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia and later joined the regular army. They served as scouts, escorts and vanguard and they fought throughout Europe from Crimea to the Western Front. Even after adopting khaki field dress, they wore North African headdress, loose garments and cloaks.[63] During the Gulf War, the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment and 1st Spahi Regiment served as the primary reconnaissance regiments of the French 6th Light Armoured Division. Each equipped with AMX-10 RC.[64]

Since 1829, each class of the Saint-Cyr military academy has selected a name recalling a soldier, commander, battle or historical event. Since 1934, each class has also adopted its own insignia.[65] Since 1855, Saint-Cyr cadets wear red-and-white plumes called the casoar on their shakos.[65]

Russia

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The late Imperial Russian Army was recruited principally from the Russian rural population. Although Ukrainians, Tatars, Finns, Lithuanians, Poles, Circassians and other peoples also served.[66] The ordinary soldier’s diet relied on rye bread, cabbage soup, porridge, potatoes, peas, beans and other staples.[67] Soldiers sang about their villages, sweethearts, horses and admired commanders, while Cossack songs were vigorous choruses.[68] The Kamarinskaya was among the dances Steveni observed, ordinarily accompanied by singing or concertina music.[69] Soldiers used the Russian banya for hygiene and leisure, including winter bathing.[70]

Most Russian military practices are modified Soviet continuations.[71] The Soviet DOSAAF system still used for pre-draft military training in shooting, parachuting, aviation, driving, skiing, and fieldcraft.[72]

Japan

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Bushidō has often been presented as an inherited code of the samurai, but historians have shown that its modern form was developed and popularised in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. During the Meiji era, writers refashioned samurai models as a national character, later linking them to military traditions and nationalism.[73] The postwar Japan Self-Defense Forces use awards and ceremonies to recognize service and reinforce unit cohesion. The Ministry of Defense states that personnel awarded badges and medals for metric contributions to their units may wear them at SDF ceremonies and other official occasions.[74]

United States

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Military service sometimes extends across generations within American families. A 2011 Pew Research Center survey found that veterans were more likely than the general public to have immediate relatives who had served: 50 per cent had a veteran parent, 43 per cent had a veteran sibling and 21 per cent had a son or daughter who had served.[75] This tradition is associated with the Southern United States and is seen in a high representation of Southerners in the U.S. military today and throughout the nation's history.[76][77]

Baron von Steuben drilling Continental Army troops at Valley Forge, depicted by Edwin Austin Abbey.

American military drill was substantially standardized by Baron Friedrich von Steuben, who arrived at the Continental Army encampment at Valley Forge on 23 February 1778 and subsequently introduced a systematic program of drill and training.[78] In 1779, he wrote Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States, known as the Blue Book. Introduced at Valley Forge remained for 85 years, until the American Civil War, and its vocabulary survives till the current day.[79]

TC 3-21.5 (successor to FM 3-21.5 and FM 22-5) now governs U.S. Army drill.[80] During the retreat ceremony, Retreat marks the end of the duty day and is followed by To the Color, during which the national flag is lowered.[81] Other U.S. Army ceremonial drills include change-of-command ceremonies, reviews and parades, guard mounting, military funerals, color ceremonies.

In the United States, the minimum military funeral-honours ceremony includes the playing of Taps and the folding and presentation of the national flag to the deceased's next of kin.[82] Three rifle volleys over a grave differ from an artillery 21-gun salute.[83]


In the United States, the Oath of Enlistment and Oath of Office traditions mark the entry into service and state strongly duty to the Constitution of the United States. These traditions are traced to oaths of the Continental Army in 1775, with the first constitutional oath adopted in 1789.[84] As a recurring military tradition, the oath links generations of Soldiers through shared ideas of loyalty, duty, honor, trust.[85]

Common U.S. Army dining-in toasts include those to the President of the United States, the Army, division, regiment and unit, generally in descending order of rank or importance.[86] Traditionally, the junior officer present proposes the toast to the Army.[87] When foreign guests attend, their heads of state may also be toasted. U.S. Army guidance allows a collective toast to foreign heads of state, followed by a senior foreign officer’s response.[88] Field Artillery dining traditions may call Saint Barbara and a toast to the unit's heritage and comrades who have gone before us.[89]

In fiction

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Military Tradition is used in the strategy game Sid Meier's Civilization III, released by Atari, as a technological advance that allows the building of cavalry units.

Military Tradition is a game concept in the strategy game Europa Universalis IV released by Swedish PC strategy game designer, Paradox Interactive. In the game, a player-controlled faction can accumulate Military Tradition by engaging in land battle. A higher Military Tradition value results in the ability to recruit generals and conquistadors of better quality.

Distinct elements of a military culture are also present in many fictional publications. These are often used as an important element in shaping fictional culture by authors. Military fiction is a key component of the "military and popular culture" subfield.[90]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "The Bundeswehr's Traditions". Bundeswehr. Federal Ministry of Defence. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2026. "Traditions are not history, but rather a set of deliberate and meaningful selections from it."
  2. ↑ Isham, Matthew (2021). "Leadership in a People-First Army". Military Review. Army University Press. Retrieved 7 August 2026. Army culture is the "shared set of beliefs, values, norms, and symbols" that unites the institution and is communicated through "policies, doctrines, customs, traditions, songs, and ethos."
  3. ↑ Heward, Carolyn; Li, Wendy; Chun Tie, Ylona; Waterworth, Pippa (2024). "A Scoping Review of Military Culture, Military Identity, and Mental Health Outcomes in Military Personnel". Military Medicine. 189 (11–12): e2382–e2393. doi:10.1093/milmed/usae276. Retrieved 8 August 2026. Through norms, traditions, rituals, values, lexicon, dress, training, and deployments, military culture governs interactions and fosters identity transformations among personnel.
  4. ↑ Mattson, Jennifer (5 September 2012). "Senior leaders combat hazing". The United States Army. United States Army. Retrieved 8 August 2026. The Army has to move away from all forms of hazing, including those that are recognized as traditions during a promotion or pinning ceremony.
  5. ↑ United States Army Chief of Staff (13 January 2012). "Army Leadership: Hazing not compatible with Army Values". United States Army. United States Army. Retrieved 8 August 2026. Hazing, in any form, has no place in our Army and will not be tolerated. This applies at all levels to all Active, Guard and Reserve Soldiers, Civilians and contractors.
  6. ↑ Dumoulin, Géry (November 2024). "Bugle". Musical Instruments Museum. Royal Museums of Art and History. Retrieved 8 August 2026. Soldier buglers were trained to sound the various signals that governed military life as a whole, from unit designation calls to tactical signals ... not forgetting service signals ... The ancient art of transmitting orders using musical instruments is known as celeustic.
  7. ↑ Binkley, Cameron (28 March 2023). "From the Historian: Bugle Calls—The Origins of Army Music". The United States Army. United States Army. Retrieved 8 August 2026. Today, the bugle call is no longer needed to communicate a commander's orders in battle. However, the tradition of using bugle calls is deeply engrained in Army culture.
  8. ↑ "When Music Sounds the Marching Orders: The Army, the Nation and Its Harmonies". Institut des hautes études de défense nationale. Institut des hautes études de défense nationale. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2026. Military music began as a means of tactical communication on the battlefield, but has evolved to go beyond this function alone.
  9. ↑ "The Last Post". Australian War Memorial. Australian War Memorial. 8 December 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2026. In military tradition, the Last Post is the bugle call that signifies the end of the day's activities. It is also sounded at military funerals to indicate that the soldier has gone to his final rest and at commemorative services such as Anzac Day and Remembrance Day.
  10. ↑ "Regimental badges". National Army Museum. National Army Museum. Retrieved 9 August 2026. Soldiers wear a badge on their uniform headdress as a way of identifying the regiment or corps to which they belong. Many badges feature symbols that are important to the unit. These might include links to a sovereign or royal dynasty, the regiment's city or county origins, or a famous battle honour.
  11. ↑ "The Principles and Eligibility Criteria for the Award of Canadian Forces Battle Honours". Canadian Armed Forces Military Identity System. Department of National Defence. 30 August 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2026. Battle honours are awarded to provide public recognition to combatant military units for active participation in battle against a formed and armed enemy.
  12. ↑ Pagan Carbone, Josue E. (14 August 2020). "Military customs and courtesies: a Soldier's perspective". The United States Army. United States Army. Retrieved 10 August 2026. What were the origins of the hand salute? Actually, we don't know. There are some theories for this action. ... Although these are some theories, there is no exact date on the birth of the hand salute.
  13. ↑ Pagan Carbone, Josue E. (14 August 2020). "Military customs and courtesies: a Soldier's perspective". The United States Army. United States Army. Retrieved 10 August 2026. When a Soldier salutes a high ranking officer, he or she is not saluting the individual but showing respect to the rank.
  14. ↑ The Dining-In (PDF) (Report). United States Army Command and General Staff College. 15 March 1985. p. iii. CGSC Pamphlet 28-1. The exact origin of the Dining-In is not known, It is believed, however, that the practice dates back to an old Viking tradition of holding formal ceremonies to celebrate great battles and feats of heroism.
  15. ↑ "Mess Night Manual". Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 11 August 2026. Tradition has it that the custom began in the monasteries, was adopted by the early universities, and later spread to military units when the officers' mess was established.
  16. ↑ The Dining-In (PDF) (Report). United States Army Command and General Staff College. 15 March 1985. p. iii. CGSC Pamphlet 28-1. During the early eighteenth century, the British Army incorporated the practice of formal dining into their regimental mess system. Customs and rules of the mess were soon institutionalized
  17. ↑ "Aide-Memoire – Annex I – Mess Etiquette". Department of National Defence. 19 April 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2026. Messing in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) generally follows the British model, from whom most traditions have descended.
  18. ↑ The Dining-In (PDF) (Report). United States Army Command and General Staff College. 15 March 1985. pp. 16–17. CGSC Pamphlet 28-1. Although unit traditions and the desires of the commander dictate the procedures used ... the order and subject of each toast should be decided upon in advance
  19. ↑ "Army leads 75th anniversary of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo". The British Army. British Army. 1 August 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2026. The term 'tattoo' was used to describe the last duty call of the day, as well as a ceremonial form of evening entertainment.
  20. ↑ "Infantry". The British Army. British Army. Retrieved 7 August 2026. The Infantry of the British Army is based on the regimental system, built on hundreds of years of history from its antecedents.
  21. ↑ Kaeuper, Richard W. (2016). Medieval Chivalry (PDF). Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 7 August 2026. Emerging in the medieval period, chivalry embodied ideals that elite warriors cherished and practices that formed their profession. [...] Though showing regional and chronological variations, chivalry at its core enshrined the practice of prowess in securing honor.
  22. ↑ Chickering, Roger (2012), Showalter, Dennis; van de Ven, Hans; Chickering, Roger (eds.), "War, society, and culture, 1850–1914: the rise of militarism", The Cambridge History of War: Volume 4: War and the Modern World, Cambridge History of War, vol. 4, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 119–141, ISBN 978-0-521-87577-6, retrieved 2026-08-12{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  23. ↑ Watson, Alexander (2014), Winter, Jay (ed.), "Morale", The Cambridge History of the First World War: Volume 2: The State, The Cambridge History of the First World War, vol. 2, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 174–195, ISBN 978-0-521-76653-1, retrieved 2026-08-12{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  24. ↑ "Trench equipment". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 2026-08-12.
  25. ↑ "The Battle of Riga: A Case Study for Successful Breakthrough Operations". Army University Press. Archived from the original on 2026-06-08. Retrieved 2026-08-12.
  26. ↑ "The Ceremony of the Keys". Historic Royal Palaces. Retrieved 11 August 2026. Be part of this ancient tradition, which has taken place every night for at least 700 years in the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London.
  27. ↑ "What is Trooping the Colour?". The British Army. British Army. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2026. In the very earliest days of land warfare, Colours (regimental flags) were used as rallying points in battle.
  28. ↑ "The Queen and Members of The Royal Family attend Trooping the Colour 2019". The Royal Family. Royal Household. 8 June 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2026. Trooping the Colour originally ensured that soldiers recognised their battalion's colour during battle.
  29. ↑ "Heroes and memories" (PDF). Navy News. Royal Navy. September 1991. Retrieved 11 August 2026. The ending of "the tot"—the traditional Navy daily rum ration.
  30. ↑ "Royal Navy's newest attack submarine completes NATO operations". Royal Navy. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2026. They learn the location and function of hundreds of valves aboard and 'earn their dolphins' to become fully-fledged submariners.
  31. ↑ "End of an era for HMS Triumph" (PDF). Navy News. Royal Navy. February 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2026. A Submarine Service tradition which celebrates the completion of a successful combat mission.
  32. ↑ "The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers". National Army Museum. Retrieved 11 August 2026. The regiment subsequently adopted a British Otterhound called 'George'.
  33. ↑ "Brigade of Gurkhas". British Army. Retrieved 11 August 2026. 1816 Peace Treaty (Sigauli). Gurkhas recruited into the East India Company.
  34. ↑ "The Light Dragoons". British Army. Retrieved 11 August 2026. It used to be fast horses that helped these multi-skilled soldiers to cover the battlefield quickly – today it's the Jackal 2 armoured vehicle.
  35. ↑ "The Bundeswehr's Traditions". Bundeswehr. Federal Ministry of Defence. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2026. Germany's military history is characterised by ruptures and caesuras. Only elements of German history that are consistent with the value system of the free democratic basic order can serve as a basis for traditions.
  36. ↑ "Leadership Development and Civic Education". Bundeswehr. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2026. The rights guaranteed in the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany also apply to them.
  37. ↑ "The Bundeswehr's Traditions". Bundeswehr. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  38. ↑ "Von Steuben and Frederick the Great" (PDF). United States Army Inspector General. Retrieved 11 August 2026. In Prussia itself ... there was an ancient tradition of military service going back to the days of the Teutonic Knights ... This tradition of service, coupled with the reforms first implemented by the Great Elector and continuing through to Frederick the Great
  39. ↑ Administrator (2026-02-04). "Giants! A history of height, science and the Potsdam army". www.festival.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2026-08-12.
  40. ↑ "Bundeswehr begeht den 67. Jahrestag ihrer Gründung". Bundeswehr (in German). Bundeswehr. 7 November 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2026. Gewählt wurde der 12. November, weil der preußische Reformer, General Gerhard von Scharnhorst (1755 – 1813), exakt 200 Jahre zuvor geboren wurde. Die Bundeswehr stellte sich damit in die Tradition der preußischen Heeresreformen, die von Scharnhorst maßgeblich vorangetrieben hatte.
  41. ↑ "Happy Birthday Bundeswehr!". Bundeswehr (in German). Bundeswehr. 12 November 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2026. Zentral gehörte dazu, dass fortan Leistung statt Herkunft zählte ... Maßgebliches Kriterium dafür wurden Qualifikation und Leistung. Als Anhänger der Aufklärung wirkte Scharnhorst dahingehend, dass bei den Offizieren das militärische Handwerk abzurunden war durch Bildung.
  42. ↑ McConnell, Richard A.; Gerges, Mark T. (17 October 2018). "Seeing the Elephant". Military Review. Retrieved 11 August 2026. Every officer until 1918 played Kriegsspiel as part of their education.
  43. ↑ McConnell, Richard A.; Gerges, Mark T. (17 October 2018). "Seeing the Elephant". Military Review. Retrieved 11 August 2026. The opposing players were placed in separate rooms.
  44. ↑ "Conflict, Chaos, and Auftragstaktik". Military Review. Army University Press. Retrieved 11 August 2026. staff rides and war games had sufficiently honed [his commanders'] skills at interaction and cooperation.
  45. ↑ Burke, Eric Michael (2024). Siren Songs: The Allure of Warfighting and the German and U.S. Armies (PDF). Army University Press. Retrieved 11 August 2026. In the wake of the 1923 Ruhr crisis, the character of German war games and staff rides took two major turns.
  46. ↑ Arensdorf, Ashley (December 2021). "British and German Approaches to Tactical Officer Training during the Late 1930s". Military Review. Army University Press. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  47. ↑ "Wargaming Initiative in Hamburg". Bundeswehr. 31 July 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2026. They are mainly used for two different purposes: for enriching initial and follow-on training (known as 'educational wargaming') and for answering questions and thus contributing to decision-making (called 'analytical wargaming').
  48. ↑ The Prussian Army—How Recruited and Officered (PDF). Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 12 August 2026. he must then pass an examination in the usual subjects of a liberal education known as the "portepee fahnrich" examination, attend a war-school
  49. 1 2 3 4 Matzenbacher, Michael B. (2018). "Mission Command: The Who, What, Where, When and Why". Military Review. Army University Press. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  50. ↑ Kluge, Friedrich. "Fähndrich". An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.
  51. ↑ Fiedler, Siegfried (1985). Kriegswesen und Kriegsführung im Zeitalter der Landsknechte. Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe. pp. 75–76.
  52. ↑ Arensdorf, Ashley (2021). "British and German Approaches to Tactical Officer Training during the Late 1930s" (PDF). Military Review. Army University Press: 5–6. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  53. ↑ van Creveld, Martin (1982). Fighting Power: German and U.S. Army Performance, 1939–1945. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 182–185. ISBN 978-0-313-23333-3.
  54. 1 2 "Infantry". Bundeswehr. 8 August 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  55. ↑ "Armoured Forces". Bundeswehr. 8 August 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2026. The origin of rose pink as the arm-of-service colour is not definitively clear.
  56. ↑ "Marche des zouaves". Carnet de chants de l'armée de Terre (in French). French Army. Retrieved 7 August 2026. Les premiers bataillons de zouaves sont constitués dès 1830, aux tous débuts de la conquête de l'Algérie, en incorporant des mercenaires.
  57. ↑ "1st Foreign Regiment". Légion étrangère. French Army. Retrieved 7 August 2026. "Created in 1841, it is the senior regiment of the Legion." Its Foreign Legion Services Company performs Legion-wide functions including "history and heritage" and "the Foreign Legion band".
  58. ↑ "1863 Battle of Camerone". French Foreign Legion Information. Retrieved 11 August 2026. Camerone Day has since become the most important day of the year.
  59. ↑ "French Foreign Legion: Brothers in Arms". Monocle. Retrieved 11 August 2026. This initiation phase includes the Marche Képi Blanc.
  60. ↑ "Traditions". French Foreign Legion Information. Retrieved 11 August 2026. The parades of the Foreign Legion are opened by this unit.
  61. ↑ "Meet the Chasseurs Alpins, the French Army's elite mountain infantry unit". NATO. 8 February 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2026. They set up camp and ran training drills in the challenging mountain terrain.
  62. ↑ O’Neill, Shannon (31 August 2023). "Pacific Marines, French Armed Forces Commemorate Bazeilles Day". United States Marine Corps. Retrieved 11 August 2026. The Troupes de Marine commemorate Bazeilles Day annually.
  63. ↑ "French Spahis, 1915". National Army Museum. Retrieved 11 August 2026. They retained their Zouave style uniform, with Arab headdress and hooded cloak.
  64. ↑ McGrath, John J. (2008). Scouts Out! The Development of Reconnaissance Units in Modern Armies (PDF). Combat Studies Institute Press. pp. 141–142. Retrieved 11 August 2026. The 6e DLB had six battalion-sized maneuver combat units, two of which were reconnaissance elements. These were the 1er Régiment Étranger de Cavallerie ... and the 1er Régiment de Spahis.
  65. 1 2 "What is the École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr?". Boot Camp & Military Fitness Institute. 30 October 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2026. Since 1829, every class (promotion) of Saint-Cyr chooses a name.
  66. ↑ Steveni, W. Barnes (1914). The Russian Army from Within (PDF). George H. Doran Company. p. 31. Retrieved 13 August 2026. The bulk and backbone of Russia's grey-coated millions come from the Krestjane, or peasant classes.
  67. ↑ Steveni, W. Barnes (1914). The Russian Army from Within (PDF). George H. Doran Company. p. 43. Retrieved 13 August 2026. The soldiers' diet mostly consists of cabbage soup, porridge, potatoes, peas, beans, good wholesome rye bread, macaroni, garlic, fish, lard.
  68. ↑ Steveni, W. Barnes (1914). The Russian Army from Within (PDF). George H. Doran Company. pp. 49–50. Retrieved 13 August 2026. He is passionately fond of singing, and spends long hours alone composing and improvising plaintive songs.
  69. ↑ Steveni, W. Barnes (1914). The Russian Army from Within (PDF). George H. Doran Company. pp. 49–50. Retrieved 13 August 2026. Without vodka, music, song and dance, and frequent "prasniks" (holidays), the existence of a soldier would be unbearable.
  70. ↑ Steveni, W. Barnes (1914). The Russian Army from Within (PDF). George H. Doran Company. pp. 51–52. Retrieved 13 August 2026. They break a hole in the ice of the nearest river ... and have a dip. They then hurry back to the warm and comfortable banja.
  71. ↑ Grau, Lester W.; Bartles, Charles K. (2017). The Russian Way of War: Force Structure, Tactics, and Modernization of the Russian Ground Forces (PDF) (Version 1.2 ed.). Foreign Military Studies Office. p. XV. Retrieved 13 August 2026. The Russian system today is based on what they have preserved, modified, and improved from their former Soviet system.
  72. ↑ Grau, Lester W.; Bartles, Charles K. (2017). The Russian Way of War (PDF). Foreign Military Studies Office. pp. 5–7. Retrieved 13 August 2026. DOSAAF, in one form or another, still exists in many states of the former Soviet Union.
  73. ↑ Benesch, Oleg (1 September 2016). "Reconsidering Zen, Samurai, and the Martial Arts". The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus. Retrieved 7 August 2026. The 1890s saw many new and repurposed concepts popularized as ancient "native" ethics, and bushido was ideally suited to this purpose.
  74. ↑ "Defense of Japan 2020" (PDF). Ministry of Defense, Japan. Ministry of Defense. 2020. p. 410. Retrieved 8 August 2026. Recognized personnel may wear Defensive Meritorious Badges and Medals for Contribution to Unit Merits on their left chest at SDF ceremonies and other occasions.
  75. ↑ "The Military-Civilian Gap: Fewer Family Connections". Pew Research Center. Pew Research Center. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2026. Fully half of military veterans have a parent who served, compared with 41% among the general public. And 43% of veterans say they have a sister or brother who served in the military, compared with 27% of all adults.
  76. ↑ Kane, Tim. "Who Bears the Burden? Demographic Characteristics of U.S. Military Recruits Before and After 9/11". The Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on February 6, 2017. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  77. ↑ Wood, Louise, Amy (2010). The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture: Volume 19: Violence. Univ of North Carolina Press, sponsored by the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi and the Center for the Study of the American South. pp. 112–115. ISBN 9780807869284.
  78. ↑ "Steuben's Regulations Book". Valley Forge National Historical Park. National Park Service. Retrieved 8 August 2026. On February 23, 1778, it was answered with the arrival of the Prussian officer Baron de Steuben. Steuben's hands-on training program helped the army become a more proficient fighting force
  79. ↑ Drill and Ceremonies (PDF) (Report). Headquarters, Department of the Army. 3 May 2021. TC 3-21.5. Retrieved 8 August 2026. To ensure continuity and uniformity, von Steuben, by then a major general and the Army Inspector General, wrote the first Army field manual in 1779, "The Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States," commonly referred to as the Blue Book. The drill procedures initiated at Valley Forge were not changed for 85 years, until the American Civil War, and many of the drill terms and procedures are still in effect today.
  80. ↑ Drill and Ceremonies (PDF) (Report). Headquarters, Department of the Army. 3 May 2021. TC 3-21.5. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  81. ↑ Mayne, Anthony R. (22 August 2013). "End of the day ceremony honors American flag". United States Army. Retrieved 8 August 2026. The retreat ceremony actually has two distinct sections. The first bugle call, Retreat, is approximately 29 seconds long, the second part, To the Colors, is 42 seconds long.
  82. ↑ "Military Funeral Honors". National Cemetery Administration. United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved 9 August 2026. The honor detail will, at a minimum, perform a ceremony that includes the playing of Taps.
  83. ↑ "Military Support for State Funerals". Joint Task Force–National Capital Region. United States Army Military District of Washington. Retrieved 9 August 2026. The fact that the firing party consists of seven service members firing three volleys does not constitute a 21-gun salute.
  84. ↑ "Oaths of Enlistment and Oaths of Office". U.S. Army Center of Military History. United States Army. Retrieved 9 August 2026. The first oath under the Constitution was approved by Act of Congress 29 September 1789.
  85. ↑ "Oath of Enlistment". Army Values. United States Army. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  86. ↑ The Dining-In (PDF) (Report). United States Army Command and General Staff College. 15 March 1985. p. 17. CGSC Pamphlet 28-1. The most frequent toasts offered at the Dining-In are to the President of the United States, United States Army, division, regiment, and unit ... These toasts are given in descending order.
  87. ↑ The Dining-In (PDF) (Report). United States Army Command and General Staff College. 15 March 1985. p. 17. CGSC Pamphlet 28-1. It is customary for the junior officer present to offer the traditional toast to the United States Army.
  88. ↑ The Dining-In (PDF) (Report). United States Army Command and General Staff College. 15 March 1985. p. 17. CGSC Pamphlet 28-1. When more than one country is represented, the President of the Mess proposes a collective toast to the heads of their several states
  89. ↑ The Dining-In (PDF) (Report). United States Army Command and General Staff College. 15 March 1985. pp. D-2 – D-3. CGSC Pamphlet 28-1. A toast to our heritage and comrades who have gone before us
  90. ↑ Ender M.G., Reed B.J., Absalon J.P. (2020) Popular Culture and the Military. In: Sookermany A. (eds) Handbook of Military Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02866-4_36-1 https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-030-02866-4_36-1
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