Which army does the protagonist belong to? It looks like the movie played down this on purpose.
The protagonist said several times that he was "8th", which caused deviations in various translations.
The translations I see are 8th Regiment and 8th Battalion, but in connection with other scenes in the movie, these translations are untenable:
The 8th Regiment of the British Army was renamed the Liverpool Infantry Regiment as early as 1881.
Each regiment has many battalions, so the 8th battalion is not recognizable at all.
I found that there are 3 pieces of evidence that the protagonist is actually from the 8th Division of the British Army.
First, at the beginning of the film, General Erling Moore explicitly ordered the protagonist to send the order to cancel the attack to the 2nd Battalion, Devonshire Regiment. When the protagonist sees the commander of this unit, Colonel Mackenzie (also translated as Mackenzie), the collar flower is the badge of the Devonshire Infantry Regiment, and he wears a green-red-green half-ring armband on his sleeve. This logo is the emblem of the 8th Division during World War I, indicating that the subordinate units were mainly from three regiments when it was formed.
Second, there is no cap badge on the protagonist's own helmet, but his comrade's helmet has it. Although there is no close-up, I found this regiment by comparing the logos of the British regiments - Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment).
Third, when the protagonist and his comrades report to Lieutenant Leslie, they can be seen wearing red half-ring armbands, which are the 24th Brigade of the 8th Division.
The 2nd Battalion of the Sherwood Foresters belonged to the 24th Brigade of the 8th Division during World War I, while the 2nd Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment belonged to the 23rd Brigade of the 8th Division.
That's right.
Wearing content
The identity of the British army the protagonist meets on the way is a little confusing:
Captain Smith, who speaks to the protagonist, wears a hat badge, indicating that they belong to the Cheshire Infantry.
Many soldiers in this unit wore armbands with red crossed lines on a white background, which belonged to the 32nd Machine Gun Company of the 11th Division.
The few soldiers in the car wore white and blue armbands, a symbol of the 31st Division.
The battalions of the Cheshire Infantry were not part of the 11th or 31st Divisions during World War I.
This may have been a mistake the crew made when they wanted to reuse props.
Advanced gear
The protagonist and most of the British soldiers in the film use the 1908 style individual suit, otherwise known as the P1908 suit or the P08 suit. This World War I era outfit has achieved waterproof, integrated wear and take off, flexible matching and other functions.
1908 style individual soldier equipment structure diagram (omitted, welcome to pay attention to my public account armored staff to view)
(a.) Belt.
(b.) Bayonet cover.
(c.) 2 cross straps.
(d.) Ammo bags, one on each side.
(e.) 2 backpack straps.
(f.) Backpack.
(g) Satchel
(h.) Water bottle bags.
(i.) Excavation fortification tool bag (head).
(j.) Backpack straps.
(k.) Water bottle sleeve retaining straps.
(I.) Attachment strap for kettle sleeve.
(m.) Excavation fortification tool bag (tail).
(n.) Adjustment belt.
(o.) Attachment strap for ammo bag.
(p.) Hand cross straps.
It can be said that it covers the marching combat requirements of the British infantry in this era. It has many advantages:
1. Waterproof.
When the armies of many countries still use leather belts and armed belts to carry weapons and equipment, the British army's P1908 uses woven cotton that has been waterproofed.
2. Overall wear and take off.
Various fasteners are made of brass, and the belt buckle is a D-shaped buckle.
With the exception of the backpack, all accessories can be fastened to the waistband and cross straps with fasteners. So, if you want to take off your gear, just unbuckle the belt and take it off like a jacket.
It can be quickly donned when assembling and preparing for battle, saving time and effort.
The protagonist also demonstrated this feature of P1908 in the movie, which can be put on and taken off in an instant, flexible and fast.
3. Good balance.
All equipment is fixed on the belt and cross belt, on the one hand, the load is dispersed and the burden on the soldiers is reduced, on the other hand, the balance is also taken into account. This means that even if one side of the pouch is empty, none of the straps will slip loose. This also makes it easier for soldiers to concentrate during combat.
4. Flexible collocation.
The carrying equipment can be flexibly matched, except that the backpack must be carried on the back, bullets, water bottles, and bayonet covers can be fixed on any one of the four buckles according to the soldier's personal habits, and the equipment can be increased or decreased according to the needs of combat.
5. Good concealment.
The cloth material can be dyed in khaki, which also blends in with the environment and is easy to mass-produce by machine. The color of the leather belts and armed belts of the armies of other countries is obviously different from that of the military uniforms.
This integrated package design concept makes the P1908 very popular with the British army and even the armies of other countries in the Commonwealth of Nations. Later, some of the individual equipment used by the British army also developed along this concept.
Military uniform part
Badge section
Please pay attention to my public account, Armored Staff, to check it out.
Lieutenant Leslie in the play, whose collar flower indicates that he belongs to the York and Lancaster Infantry.
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