The evolution of military camouflage

Tim Newark discusses the history of military camouflage, with particular reference to the First World War. Artists were very much involved with devising the first patterns of camouflage used by the British Army on the Western Front during the First World War. This deployment of artists continued into the Second World War. But camouflage uniforms remained the preserve of elite military units and it was only in the 1970s that camouflaged combat dress became widely available. Now camouflage is devised by teams of scientists but some classic patterns still refer back to earlier, more creative, days.