User:Thimbleweed/sandbox/Military camouflage

No single camouflage pattern is effective in all terrains. The effectiveness of a pattern depends not only on colour tones, patterns will play a role too: Strong contrasts are better suited for jungles and forests where the play of light and shade is prominent, while low contrasts are better suited to open terrain with little shading structure. Patterns made to match the local terrain may be more effective in that terrain than more general patterns. However, unlike an animal or a civilian hunter, military units may need to cross several terrain types like woodland, farmland and built up areas in a single day.. While civilian hunting clothing may have almost photo-realistic depictions of tree bark or leaves (indeed some such patterns are based on photographs) military camouflage is designed to work in a range of environments. With the cost of uniforms in particular being substantial, most armies operating globally have separate uniforms for woodland/jungle, desert and snowy terrain. An American attempt at a global camouflage pattern for all environments (the 2004 UCP) was however withdrawn after a few years of service. On the other end of the scale are terrain specific patterns like the "Berlin camo", applied to British vehicles operating in Berlin during the Cold War, where square fields of various gray shades was designed to hide vehicles against the mostly concrete architecture of post-war Berlin.

Finnish artillery during the Winter War, showing improvised snow camouflage made from bedsheets and whitewash

References

Possible new source:

http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/the-camouflage-things-they-carried