Shadowless Characters 4

The fourth drawing in the series shows Corporal Antoine Louis Gérard, an ambitious law student who put his Paris studies on hold and volunteered in the army in his native Nevers, joining the 13th Infantry Regiment at the start of the hostilities, dreaming of military honours. He's slightly unhappy with the speed he is currently rising trough the ranks...
Unlike his section mates who are all wearing the M1902 "bleu horizon" uniform, he is shown wearing the earlier "Reseda" uniform, who was introduced at the start of the hostilities to replace the very visible m1888 uniform but was nonetheless retired after just one year due to it's colour being too close to that of the British uniforms and leading to a lot of friendly-fire incidents at medium ranges and in low-light conditions. The helmet is also made out of cork and does not protect the wearer's head, even from ricochets.

The character on the right is private first class Lothaire Marval, only child of a couple of notorious circus dwarf acrobats who, being of average height, instead of following his parents' careerer worked instead as the circus mechanic. His talent with machines lead to his being drafted into the Armoured Corps as a tank driver on the start of the hostilities. As a tank driver he wears the distinctive beret (in fact a field modified civilian model) as well as leather jacket and splinter face mask to avoid eye injuries from armour spallation if the tank is hit by a non-penetrating hit. while in the tank he also wears a leather crash helmet.


The other drawings in the series:
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