When on duty away from the actual battle front the dress cap of red or blue (according to the corps) is frequently worn.
The rank of officers in the French Army was formerly indicated by stars on the cuffs for General officers and by gold or silver stripes around the cuffs of the coats for other officers, the widths, number and arrangement of the stripes being practically the same as those worn by officers of the same relative rank in the navy. These stripes proved too conspicuous for field service and a small section of the stripes showing on the front of the sleeve only was adopted for the service coats. These short stripes or galons are of dull gold or silver depending on the rank and are as shown in the accompanying illustration.
The insignia for the different grades of rank are as follows:
| Marshal of France | Seven stars on each cuff, arranged in three vertical rows, the center row having three stars and the outer rows having two stars each. |
| General | Four stars on each cuff, two placed horizontally in the center and one above and one below. |
| General of Division | Three stars on each cuff arranged in a triangle with the point up. |
| General of Brigade | Two stars placed on each cuff horizontally. |
| Colonel | Five gold stripes, or galons, on each cuff. |
| Lieutenant Colonel | The same as for Colonel except that the second and fourth stripes are of silver. |
| Major | Four gold stripes. |
| Captain | Three gold stripes. |
| Lieutenant | Two gold stripes. |
| Second Lieutenant | One gold stripe. |
The corps or branch of the service is indicated in the French Army by distinctive insignia or color patches worn on the collar at the front on both sides of the neck opening.
A distinctive feature of the French Army uniforms for both the officers and enlisted men is the “war service chevrons” worn on the right sleeve between the elbow and the shoulder with the point of the chevron up. A chevron of one stripe shows that the wearer has had one year’s active service at the front during the present war and an additional stripe is added to the chevron for each additional period of six months service at the front. These service chevrons are of dull gold.
Officers of the Algerian Corps and of the Colonial Infanterie wear winter service uniforms of khaki-colored cloth and hot weather uniforms of khaki cotton material; the design of the garments being the same as for those of the home troops except that the Algerians wear very loose baggy trousers cut after the “Zouave” style.
Officers in the Aviation service also wear khaki-colored uniforms.
The officers’ overcoat is single-breasted reaching to about three inches below the knees, closed with a single row of bronze buttons down the center of the front, buttoning to the neck, with a wide falling collar, and a large pocket on each side. Like the enlisted men’s overcoat it is fitted to have the fronts of the skirt button back to permit freedom of the legs in marching. The same stripes indicating rank are worn upon the sleeves as upon the service coat.
In the French Army there is a rank called “Adjutant” which corresponds to that of Warrant officer in the United States Navy and Marine Corps but for which there is no corresponding rank in the United States Army. His service uniform is similar to that worn by commissioned officers; his cap bears no rank stripes, and his rank is indicated by a narrow gold cuff stripe broken with sections of black.