Soldado, Corps of Engineers, Portugal, 1912.jpg

In common with most European armies, the Portuguese replaced their colourful blue uniforms with a plainer service dress prior to the outbreak of the Great War. With the experience of colonial warfare in Africa and after testing they chose a grey cloth to camouflage their soldiers.

This member of an Engineer unit wears the grey covered sun helmet, that replaced the covered shako. It has a small Portuguese cockade (red and green) attached to the front, and a wider brim than usually encountered. The jacket and trousers are plain, the former with a fly-front. Unit numbers would be carried on a slide on the shoulder straps.

His equipment is a new pattern to support the 6.5mm M1904 Mauser-Vergueiros carbine, used by this corps, the cavalry and artillery.

This was not the uniform worn by the Portuguese expeditionary corps to France in 1915. They wore a bluer shade of grey, cut like the British service dress.