French soldiers in Madagascar – While officers retained the traditional blue tunics, the ranks wore khaki jackets and shirts
While its origins lay in British India, the use of khaki was not limited to the British Army. By the end of the 19th century most of the nations of Europe that had colonies overseas had begun to utilize similar colored “tropical” uniforms. One interesting irony is that in many cases European officers and NCOs were outfitted with their “European” style uniforms, while colonial troops wore the khaki colored ones. Many of these colors were never officially deemed “khaki” but the colors were extremely close in practice.
It was Britain’s traditional enemy – and later its closest ally – that soon adopted khaki throughout its global empire.