Following the exemple of the Knights of Malta: ca. 1600-1870 (and parade until 1919): white uniforms with black facings, a white cassock with the complex Teutonic black cross, evolving with time to a white
soubreveste / false cuirass with the black-and-gold cross
(same general evolution as the French
Mousquetaires, but being of 'knightly' rather than 'mounted infantry' origin the corps would have heavy cavalry boots rather than dragoon buckled
bottines, and trumpets rather than drums; the helmet adopted during Napoleonic times would be of the Prussian cuirassiers type).
Not sure about the metal of the buttons (tin or brass) which fixed also the color ('silver' or 'gold') of the lace edging the tricorne: 'white' would fit better with the 'black and white' general patter,n, but I suspect that for 'knights' 'yellow' / gold would be more appropriate.
Real cuirass in war time: at first worn under the cassock, and thus blackened and undecorated; later worn alone instead of the
soubreveste in campaign, and then of 'white' steel with a blackened iron and brass Teutonic cross decorating the breastplate.
Variant of
pickelhaube (of the heavy
stahlhelm type) as soon as available, indeed with a glamorous crest.
Thus from the WAS on, and definitively after 1815, also very similar to the Prussian
Gardes du Corps, except for the red facings (black) and later red
soubreveste (white with black-and-gold cross):
One could argue they would look more impressive / threatening and 'Germanic' if entirely clad in black with only the white cassock /
soubreveste of the Order, but I suspect the idea would come from references to far more recent German types (Panzer, SS) and thus is not historically justified? Unless it characterizes a subunit of specially fanatical knights volunteers to any suicidal mission -forlorn hope, last stand &c? In the 18th C. - 19th C. no lepers as the Knights of Saint Lazarus, but 'penitent knights' in penance for having contracted a venereal disease?
A possible (likely?) complication: military orders fielded 'knights' (
milites) and attached 'sergeants' (
servientes): if the difference is kept, while the
ritter would follow the description above sergeants would have simpler uniforms, basically grey instead of white (still with black facings, but tin buttons / white lace), the (simplified) Teutonic cross appearing only on cartridge boxes and later shakos /
kasket/
pickelhaube, and would provide infantry and artillery (with black smallclothes, black powder is dirty) in addition to
chevau-légers / dragoons.
Now in the Holy Land the Military Orders had locally recruited Turcopoles: following the tradition the Teutonic Order may have
Schwarzes Kreuz Turkopolen i.e. Uhlans (in grey and black?) such as in the 18th C.:
Then if the Order had moved South to survive
https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=8245239&postcount=10 the
Turkopolen would be
husaren rather than
uhlanen.
PS: no way to adjust the size of the images?
