"Austrian Oak Leaves" Topic

In uniform prints Austrian troops are often shown with oak leaves worn in their hats and I have read somewhere that this was only done when they were in the field. When did this practice start and what was the reason for it? Was it initially for recognition purposes?

Dear Sir
This field sign dates probably at least from the Thirty Years War.
Stephen

Thanks Stephen,

I didn't realise it went back that far. I guess I should have posted to the Renaissance Discussion Board as well.

I have a couple of prints showing them wearing them on parade in 1815, I think it had become pretty much part of full dress, like officers only wearing one glove in portraits…

Remember, oak in summer, fir in winter.

K

I didn't know about the fir. Fortunately my figures are small 15s and have been modeled without additional hat foliage so I won't have to go back and paint darker green leaves on the figures in overcoats.

Stephen

In the TYW period, you also get the start of the waistsash also as a recognition symbol.

Field signs have been used for centuries.

"The Welsh leek badge goes back to the Middle Ages. In 633 AD the Welsh were sorely pressed by the invading Saxons. They met at the Battle of Heathfield, where there was a field filled with leeks. To distinguish themselves from the enemy, the Welsh wore the leeks in their hats—and subsequently gained a great victory over their enemies. To commemorate the victory they won, the Welsh soldiers were given the right to wear a leek pinned to their caps on March 1, the feast "

And, of course, cockades were the state of the art field signs of horse & musket armies.

Interesting topic.

You learn something new everyday on TMP. I did not know the origin or the field sign or the summer/winter distinctions, which make sense when you think about it.

In springtime, a nice stalk of asparagus was considered appropriate. The Prussians preferred white, the Austrians green.

This lasted until the Second Spargelkrieg of 1793, in which the Italian regiments in Habsburg service got grumpy for lack of rations, and ate the headgear of much of the army, apparently using up a year's worth of balsamic vinegar in the process.

Source: Johann Christian Adelbrecht, Herzog von Gemüsenschlacht, "Aus meinem Leben in der Spargelgeschichte des habsburgischen Reiches" (Wien, 1804).

It seems like oak leaves would turn brown and crumble pretty quickly. Were they constantly renewing them? Holly would probably last longer.

And more effective if you ran out of ammunition and were reduced to head-butting the enemy.