Fig. 1 (left)
Volunteer Corps of Students (Schleswig-Holstein)

The members of the German Freikorps wore a special dress, consisting of elements showing their revolutionary and national feelings: An "Arbeiterkittel" (worker's shirt), the "Calabreser" hat with the black-red-gold cockade and feather and sometimes long leather boots.

Together with obsolete arms of all kinds and ages including swords of the 17th century these units' appearance reminded of mercenaries of the Thirty Years War.

Fig. 2 (right)
Private, 15th Infantry Battalion of the Line (Schleswig-Holstein), fatigue dress

To distinguish themselves from their former Danish comrades, Schleswig-Holstein regular soldiers of the infantry wore the light blue fatigue dress consisting of a short jacket instead of the red coat and a field cap (old form) instead of the czako.

Sometimes additional white sleeves were worn around the left arm. The Danish red and white cockade was first replaced by the red-white-blue cockade (Schleswig-Holstein) but soon the black-red-gold cockade, the colours of a united Germany, came into use.

Drawings by Jan Schlürmann