Uniforms of the Doughboy 1917-1918
Although there is quite an extensive subject
to be covered in pre-WW1 uniforms,
we will only cover the uniforms of war time.
Tunics of the American Expeditionary Force
General Note: The tunic itself was cut so as to give the soldier a "fit" look. The tunics were very fitted almost to the point of being uncomfortable which photographic evidence will support.
Model 1912 Tunic
Although this model came before the M1917 tunic, this tunic was used very often by the AEF. With the supply problems of the US Army needing so many uniforms so quickly, the surplus of uniforms available were used. There is even M1912 tunics manufactered in 1917 and even 1918.
Left: This famous picture of Joyce Kilmer
shows him wearing a M1912 Tunic, distinguished
by the two rows of stitching visable on his
right sleeve near the cuff.
Right: An original M1912 tunic. Note the color
of the material and the two rows of stitching
near the cuff.
Construction:
4 patch pockets, standing color where the collar discs were worn, interior fully lined, 2 slowly tapering epaletts or shoulder tabs, Buttons with and without rims were both used on this model tunic.
Wool
The wool used in M1912's was generally a tightly woven wool and was khaki/tan in color.(the exact shades and color varied)
Model 1917 Tunic
The most common tunic worn by the American Doughboy in the Great War was this tunic.
Construction:
4 patch pockets, standing color with holes punched for collar discs, interior fully lined. Cuffs had either one row of stitching roughly an inch or so from the bottom of the cuff, or no stitching at all. Wool
Above are two samples of what the typical
wool used in the M1917 tunics looked like.
Note: Color and weave varied greatly in
WW1 uniforms. This merely represents the
most common.Also photos can tend to
mis-represent the "true" color"
The M1917 tunic used an olive drab colored wool which was very coarse in texture. The shade of olive drab varies very much in color and shade. Thankfully we have the luxury of many exsisting examples to notice differences in details.
