cylindershakoHetalia © by Hidekaz Himaruya
Preußen (プロイセン)/Gilbert Beilschmidt (ギルベルト・バイルシュミット) in uniform of the prussian army during the reign of king Friedrich II. "der Große" (フリードリヒ2世 "大王", 1712-1786).
The vest under the uniform-jacket was, depending on the unit, either white or yellow, in reality.
Gilbert wears buttoned overknee-gaiters made of cloth which were standard equipement for soldiers worldwide, that time. Depending on the unit, the gaiters were of black or white cloth. It's said the common prussian soldier wore black gaiters, because dirt wasn't that visible as on white gaiters, so they needed to be laundered and replaced less. This saved money. On the other hand, often, gaiters were either too tight and hindered blood circulation, or too loose and needed to be stuffed and fixed with needles. Plus, buttoning two gaiters with twenty buttons each takes some time...
However, officers and cavalrists wore leathern boots, later on. The leathern straps under the knee weren't worn always, too. During the Napoleonic Wars, the gaiters were shortened and then finally fully replaced by leathern boots.
Prussia leans on a walking stick, iconic for king Friedrich II.
Gilbert bears the "Pour-le-Mérite" (プール・ル・メリット勲章), introduced by Friedrich II in 1749. It was one of the highest prussian orders to be awarded by the König von Preußen (プロイセン王) until the end of imperial Germany in 1918. Later, higher classes, e.g. with oak leafs, were introduced.
Bearer include e.g. of course most kings and princes of Prussia, Voltaire (french poet and friend of Friedrich II.), Manfred von Richthofen (the flying ace of WW1 known as the "Red Baron") and general Erwin Rommel (the "Wüstenfuchs" of WW2, who was bestowed with it in WW1 during his service in the royal army of Württemberg when he fought in the alpes against the Italians).
Prussia wears the original blue maltese-cross version (later nicknamed "Blauer Max"(ブラウアー・マックス)), which was primarily awarded for military merit.
A ring-version especially for science and arts (プール・ル・メリット平和勲章) was introduced later. This one is still awarded by todays Bundespräsident (連邦大統領) of Germany.
2016-02-19 22:59:07 +0000