Private Afghan Army 1980

Title: Private Afghan Army (Afghanistan l980)
Artist: Chris McNab
Date: 2002

As this soldier demonstrates, the troops of the Afghan Army were ill equipped to fight the highly motivated Mujahedeen guerrillas during the Soviet Union's 10-year occupation of Afghanistan. The standard grey-drab combat uniform and soft-peaked cap provided scant protection from the severe Afghan weather, and gave a poor appearance on the parade ground (it doubled as parade kit). The webbing is of local manufacture from cheap leather, and the civilian belt has an inadvisably shiny gold buckle which could be an aiming point for a sniper. The rifle is the venerable Mosin-Nagant 7.62mm (0.3in) M1944 carbine, a weapon with origins back to 1888 and, by 1980, hopelessly outdated against the AK series rifles. Canvas gaiters, worn to protect against mud and water intrusion, feature mud-reinforced black leather sections. Afghan soldiers were inconsistently equipped throughout the conflict.


Source :
Book "20th Century Military Uniforms" by Chris McNab

Private Abyssinian Patriot Army (Ethiopia 1941)

Title: Private Abyssinian Patriot Army (Ethiopia 1941)
Artist: Chris McNab
Date: 2002

Abyssinia fell under italian control in 1935 after an invasion from the Italian territories of Somaliland and Eritrea. With the onset of World War II, the Italians thus used Abyssinia as a jumping-off point for their East African campaigns into the Sudan and Kenya, However, resistance from Abyssinian patriots and an effective British campaign in the region returned Abyssinia to its own control in May 1941. The soldier pictured here is one of the Abyssinian resistance fighters who fought alongside the Allies. There was no uniform as such, the patriots usually utilizing whatever items of European clothing were available. This soldier has a khaki tunic and pantaloons, probably of pre-war italian or German origin, worn with canvas leggings, but no boots. The riffe is the German 7.62aum (0.3in) 98K, and a péstol hangs from his leather belt.

Source :

Book "20th Century Military Uniforms" by Chris McNab