60. Day, January 22, 2018
The Russian army marched into First World War with wide leather belts which carried large brass buckles ...:
Here are two infantrymen with such belts on ...:
Each branch had its own version - here again the model for the infantry ...:
For artillery, for example, cannon barrels were added to the Tsar's eagle ...
... for sappers there were crossed axes ...:
The only ones who did not wear such belts were the Cossacks!
They preferred very narrow leather belt with simple metal buckle ...:
But why?
There were three reasons for this:
First, it is relatively expensive to keep such a belt buckle "in good condition", the sensitive material had to be cleaned very often - too much effort for a Cossack.
Secondly: A polished belt buckle made of brass reflects sunlight very well - and betrays its wearer even at a long distance!
For Cossacks, who did a lot of reconnaissance and on-the-spot service, in which it was important to remain unseen, so completely unsuitable.
The third reason shows this photo ...:
The rather large buckle presses when sitting in the abdominal area - and the longer you sit, the more uncomfortable gets this pressure!
And Cossacks sat a lot - on horses!
That's why they preferred other belts with other buckles!
The color of the leather could vary considerably, as the next picture shows, showing three Cossacks. By the way, Kusma Kryuchov is on the left ...:
However, even with these belts a reddish brown tone dominated!
The brown tone I did this time with these colors ...:
And the buckle again with ...
That's how it has become - it glazes still a bit ...:
Cheers
