The Paroli (pl. Parolis; en: gorget patch, collar tab, or patch) was initially the designation for the coloured gorget patches of the Austro-Hungarian Army. It is applied on the gorget of a uniform coat or jacket and the battle-dress blouse. The Parolis indicated the egalisation colour and served as discrimination criteria of the 102 infantry regiments of the Austro-Hungarian Army, as well as dragoon regiment (mounted infantry) and the regiment of the uhlans (light cavalry). In other German-speaking armed forces, the designation was called Kragenpatte, Kragenspiegel, or Arabesque.
In the Austro-Hungarian Army, two Parolis (on the left and right side) were applied to the front part of the uniform gorget on the coat, Waffenrock (en: service uniform, dress uniform and/or battle-dress blouse), as indicated below. Rank stars and special badges could be attached as appropriate and indicated below.
The rank stars of the rank groups gemeine, charges, and Unteroffiziere (NCOs) were made from white celluloid. However, since the year 1913 Paroli rank stars to Stabsfeldwebel and Kadett were made from white silk. Offiziersstellvertreter (officer deputy) rank stars were made from brass, and the rank stars designated for Fähnrich and officers were metallic gold-plated or silver-plated. In cases of self-procurement, metal embroidered rank stars were allowed.
See main article: Rank insignia of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces, Waffenfarbe (Austria) and Adjustierung.
The galleries below show examples of Parolis:
See main article: Ranks of the Austrian Bundesheer. The system of rank insignia on military uniforms remains almost unchanged since the Austro-Hungarian Empire was established. Slight changes in wording has occurred, such as changing "paroli with distinction star" to "distinction insignia". However, today only the curved tongue on the coat with the upwards directed point is designated as Paroli.
The gallery below shows some examples of the today's Austrian Bundesheer.
See main article: Military ranks of Hungary. The system of rank insignia on military uniforms remains almost unchanged since the Austro-Hungarian Empire was established except the Soviet occupation. In 1990 when Hungary became a sovereign country again, the HDF took on heritage rank insignia of the Royal Hungarian Army with slight changes. Today these gorget patches are still called Paroli.
The gallery below shows an example of the today's Hungarian Defence Forces.
| Colour | Branch[1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Carmine | Logistics | ||
| Scarlet | Artillery, Air defence and General Officers | ||
| Cornflower blue | Signals and Electronics | ||
| Black | Armoured and Chaplains | ||
| Steel green | Technical, Chemical protection and Financial | ||
| Light blue | Air Force | ||
| Rifle green | Infantry | ||
| White | Reconnaissance and Special Forces | ||
| Dark blue | River Flotilla | ||