War flag
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A knight (Jan I van Brabant) flying a heraldic flag in battle, in addition to the heraldic device displayed on his shield (Codex Manesse, ca. 1304)
A war flag, also known as a military flag, battle flag, or standard,[1] is a variant of a national flag for use by a country's military forces when on land. The nautical equivalent is a naval ensign. Under the strictest sense of the term, few countries today currently have proper war flags, most preferring to use instead their state flag or standard national flag for this purpose.
Contents
1 History
2 Current war flags
2.1 Used by armed forces only
2.2 Army (land) use only
2.3 War flags that are also naval ensigns
2.4 Other war flags
3 Former war flags
4 See also
5 References
6 Further reading
7 External links
History
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Sound trumpets! Let our bloody colours wave! And either victory, or else a grave.
— Edward, Prince of Wales, in Henry VI, Part 3, Act II, Scene II
Field signs were used in early warfare at least since the Bronze Age.
The word standard itself is from an Old Frankish term for a field sign (not necessarily a flag).
Babur and his Mughal Army saluting the Nine Standards of Timur.
The use of flags as field signs apparently emerges in Asia, during the Iron Age, possibly in either China or India.[2] in Achaemenid Persia, each army division had its own standard, and "all officers had banners over their tents".[3] Early field signs that include, but are not limited to a flag, are also called vexilloid or "flag-like", for example the Roman Eagle standard or the dragon standard of the Sarmatians. The Roman Vexillum itself is also "flag-like" in the sense that it was suspended from a horizontal crossbar as opposed to a simple flagpole.
Use of simple flags as military ensigns becomes common during the medieval period, developing in parallel with heraldry as a complement to the heraldic device shown on shields. The maritime flag also develops in the medieval period. The medieval Japanese Sashimono carried by foot-soldiers are a parallel development.
Some medieval free cities or communes did not have coats of arms, and used war flags that were not derived from a coat of arms. Thus, the city of Lucerne used a blue-white flag as a field sign from the mid 13th century, without deriving it from a heraldic shield design.
Current war flags
Used by armed forces only
War flag of Bolivia
War flag of Brunei
Canadian Armed Forces ensign
War flag of the People's Liberation Army (China)
Georgia
Flag of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
Flag of the Armed Forces of Moldova
Officially not the war flag of Moldova
Myanmar
War flag of Portugal
Banner of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
War flag of the Royal Staff of Saudi Arabian Armed Forces
Flag of the Armed Forces of Serbia
Sri Lanka
Flag of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Army (land) use only
Bulgaria
War flag of the Chinese army
War flag of the Republic of China armed forces
Georgia
War flag of Hungary
India
Army ensign of Malaysia
Myanmar
Pakistan Army
Polish Land Forces
Russian Ground Forces
Saudi Arabian Army
South Korean army
Royal Thai Army
Flag of Turkish Land Forces Command
Ukrainian army flag
British Army non-ceremonial flag
Flag of Vietnam People's Army
Army flag of the United States of America
War ensign of Finland
War ensign of Peru
Flag of Saudi Arabian naval bases
Ensign of the Singaporean navy
War ensign of Sweden
The Ukrainian Navy's ensign
Other war flags
State, war flag, and state ensign of Denmark
State, war flag, and state ensign of Germany
State and state/naval ensign of Iceland
State/war flag and state/naval ensign of Norway
Flag of the Philippines at war
War flag (regimental color) of the Hellenic Army
The Ukrainian Air Force's flag
State, war flag, state, and naval ensign of Venezuela
Former war flags
Battle flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army
The original Eureka Flag specimen, rebel warflag at the 1854 Battle of Eureka Stockade.
Battle flag of the Confederate States (1861–65)
Cross of Burgundy Flag, Spain (1506–1843)
War flag of the Japanese imperial army
War flag of the People's Republic of Congo (1970–91)
The "Gadsden flag", used by some Continental forces during the American Revolutionary War (1775–83)
Battle flag of the United Irishmen, used at the 1798 Rebellion Battle of Arklow
War flag of East Germany (1960–90)
(currently banned in some European Union countries due to usage by neo-fascist groups)
Reichskriegsflagge, the war flag for the German Wehrmacht and official flag of the Kriegsmarine
State and war flag of the Kingdom of Greece (1863–1924 and 1935–70)
War flag of the Italian Social Republic (1943–45)
War flag of Prussia (1816)
War flag of the German Empire (1903–19)
War flag of the Roman Republic of 1849
South Vietnam
Flag of the Red Army (Unofficial)
Naval ensign of the Soviet Union
Royal Siamese Army (1892–1936)
Royal Siamese Army in Haw wars (1885–1890)
United States Cavalry guidon.
The United States of America's naval jack (1912–59)
War flag of the Royal Italian Army
War ensign of the Slovak Republic (puppet state of Nazi Germany 1939–45)
War flag of the Independent State of Croatia (puppet state of Nazi Germany 1941–45)
War flag of the Royal Hungarian Army (1939–45)
See also
- Colours, standards and guidons
References
^ "standard". Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. September 2005..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ flag. (2008). Encyclopædia Britannica. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica.
^ E. Pottier, Douris, London, 1909, p. 105 fig. 20, Plate XXV.b
Further reading
- Wise, Terence (1978) Military flags of the world, in color. New York: Arco Publishing. 184p.
ISBN 0668044721. War flags of 1618–1900.
External links
FIAV Flag Information Symbols at Flags of the World