Uniforms of the Czecho-Slovak Legion Technical Department

All material and reconstructions are by A. Karevskiy.

The main sources for this material are:

Tatarov, B. "Czechoslovak Military Formations in Russia: Part 1, 1917-1918 // Staryi Tseykhgauz, No. 5-6", Moscow, 2015. pp. 54-76; and " ... Part 2, 1919-1920 // Staryi Tseykhgauz, No. 3", Moscow, 2016, pp.73-83.

Orian, E., Panus, B., Stechlik, E. and Steidler, F. "Ceskoslovenska Legie v Rusku, 1914-1920", Prague, 2014.

Bullock, D. "The Czech Legion // Men-at-Arms No. 447", Oxford, 2007.

From 1919 the Technical Department came under the Czechoslovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In Order No. 50 of 22 July 1919, the Czechoslovak Army in Russia established ranks for engineering and technical specialists, with three categories of military-technicians and six categories of military-engineers. Since these personnel were considered administrative (non-combat), the stripes on the sleeve shields were horizontal. Those for technicians made of brown ribbon and for engineers were made of silver or gold braid). The shields were piped with the green of technical units and services.

Order No. 117 of 27 October 1919 amended this:

§7. The branches of the armed forces and services are distinguished by the colour of the piping on the shield sleeves and the tabs on the coat collars. The following are established: ... technical units are olive green.

§8. The designation of the unit and speciality is placed in the lower half of the shield.

The actual specialist insignia was not specified. In practice, a monogram of an intertwined "TO" was used.

Insignia of the Technical Department of the Czechoslovak Corps:
First row, as per the 27 October 1919 order: 1 – sergeant; 2 – second lieutenant; 3 – major;
Second to fourth rows, as per the 22 July 1919 order: 4 – third class technician;
5 – second class technician; 6 –first class technician; 7 – sixth class engineer;
8 to 12 – fifth class to first class engineers, respectively; 13 – greatcoat buttonhole tab;
14 – tunic collar tab of the "Vladivostok uniform"; 15 – service stripes

Uniforms of the Technical Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Employees of the Technical Department were given the same uniform as military personnel, with the appropriate sleeve insignia. From July 1919 the variation in quality and cut of clothing began to be gradually replaced by a uniform introduced in June 1919, designed specifically for the Czechoslovak units in Russia, the so-called "Vladivostok uniform", shown in Figure 4. Figure 3 wears the collar tabs of the Vladivostok uniform, but on an earlier tunic, and with a Russian cap shaped in the characteristic Czechoslovak manner.