Blouses, Battle Dress, Olive Drab, W.A.

Historical Background

The blouse and trousers, i.e. the uniform of this pattern, was produced in the USA in the years 1941-1945, under the program established by the Lend-lease Act (1941). The uniform was based on the British Battledress patterns and was intended for the armies of the Commonwealth countries (Great Britain and Canada), but it was also used by other armies, e.g. Polish, Czechoslovak, French, etc., which were supplied from Great Britain. The individual parts of the uniform were designated as Blouses, Battle Dress, Olive Drab, W.A. and Trousers, Battle Dress, Olive Drab, W.A., which partly revealed the olive drab color of the uniform, as well as the reason for its production (W.A. – War Aid or War Assistance). In fact, we know from practice that the color spectrum of these uniforms was significantly more diverse than that of British or Canadian Battledress uniforms, and larger differences could also be registered in the weight of the woolen cloth used. These U.S. made Battle Dress, Olive Drab, W.A. uniforms were already used on the North African battlefield, then during the Italian Campaign and finally during the Allied landings in Normandy until the end of World War II on the Western European battlefield.