And the Now for as long as most could remember, the soldiers in the British Army had always

warned their famous red coats into battle. Whether in the fields or on a ship, members of the British military

could be seen proudly wearing this very distinctive aspect of their uniform.

And as most will remember, whether true or not we don't know for sure, it is said that even Paul Revere during his famous midnight ride in April of 1775, he shouted,

the Redcoats are coming to warn the colonists that the British soldiers were

on the march.

The Red Coate, as a piece of clothing, has been both famous and infamous.

But the War against the Boers in 1899, the war that we're discussing in this series, this war

would be very different.

For in this war, the British had to abandon their famous redcoats during this fight in the very brown and tan and green landscape that is South Africa.

And they needed to get rid of that redcoat for something that wouldn't stand out as much, something

that would blend in.

After all, that is the essence of camouflage, and camouflage is a virtue in war.

But especially when you're fighting an enemy like the Boers.

For the Boers were lethal in this landscape, especially their snipers who used smokeless gunpowder, which meant that they couldn't be located

after they picked off an enemy. The British would simply hear the shot fired and then they would

watch as one of their fellow soldiers dropped dead next to them having no idea where the shot had come from.

And as another journalist in South Africa at this time, a man named Leo Amory would write the Boer soldier quote

went out in a business-like way to kill men as he would to kill dangerous wild beasts."

End quote.

So to avoid being picked off and killed by bore bullets,

the soldiers in the British Army

...