Army Ranking by Insignia 

A favourite pastime of mine is learning to recognise the different ranks through arm and shoulder insignia. It was a quick way of identification and implication of authority on and off the battlefield.

It's also a good way of learning how the differing army systems worked and how many sections and levels of hierarchy were present.

So far I can tell you all the British ranks by memory and am halfway through learning the French and German. Impressed? I like to test myself by visiting the Imperial War Museums and not looking at the labels!