The following is a list of historical military colours, standards and guidons in different countries that do not exist today.
France
Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages, units did not have specific colours attached to them; rather, they often wore the heraldry of their lord. The armies of France often used the fleur-de-lis, a symbol of the Capetian dynasty. The King of France also had an official battle standard, the Oriflamme: a special flag, red with gold, and the motto "Montjoie Saint-Denis". When the Oriflamme was taken into battle, it signified that there would be no quarter given to the enemy. English soldiers during the same time period sometimes wore Saint George's Cross as a symbol of identification.
Ancien Régime (15th-18th centuries) The French colours of the Ancien Régime got the same design: a white cross, the Cross of France (vertical cross, but sometimes it was a St Andrew's cross, like the "Royal Deux Ponts" Régiment's flag). The rest of the standard was depending on the regiment. Often, the Cross of France divided the flag in four equal quarters. The quarters could have the same colour (specially for the Marine troops's flags). Sometimes, there were two colours: the top-left and the bottom-right quarters of one colour, the top-right and the bottom-left of another. In the most part of the time, lys flowers were on the Cross of France, with an inscription or a motto. The regiment often got the name of their province: Picardie (the oldest regiment of Europe), Normandie, Piemont, Provence... but were also called with special names, like "Régiment de la Reine" (Queen's regiment), which had a dark green and black quartered flag, with the cross of France. Each regiment had its flag. The colonel, at the head of the regiment, had a special flag: it also had the white Cross of France, but the four quarters were white too (white was the colour of the French monarchy). The actual flag of Quebec has exactly the design of the French colours of this time. The same pattern was used by regiments made up of foreign nationals who served with the Royal Army infantry.
Revolutionary Army
In 1794, the French Army was reorganised following the Revolution. Regiments were renamed demi-brigades, with three battalions in each. The 1st Battalion of each was raised from the volunteers, while the 3rd Battalion were conscripts. These two received identical colours. The 2nd Battalion meanwhile was formed from a regiment of the old Royal Army, and received a different colour from the 1st Battalion. The colours of all of the 2nd Battalions were identical to each other (except for the demi-brigade's number), while the 1st Battalions all received different colours.
Imperial Grand Army
In the Imperial Army under Napoleon I, regiments received new colours, which were called aigles (eagles), from the eagle that was mounted atop the pole. The designs differed per speciality.
Infantry
Up to 1812, the colours of infantry regiments resembled the colours of the Revolutionary Army, specifically the 1st Demi-Brigade of infantry, with a white diamond and the corners filled in (from clockwise top left) red-blue-red-blue. The name of the regiment was written in gold on the obverse, and the words Valeur et Discipline, together with the battalion number, on the reverse. The regiment's number was written in gold in the four corners. In 1812, a new pattern of colours was authorised; this used the French Tricolour, fringed in gold, and with various regimental and imperial devices forming a frame around the gold writing. The obverse bore the name of the regiment, while the reverse saw listed its battle honours. However, only those actions in which the Emperor himself had participated were permitted to be displayed, so some regiments had nothing on the reverse of their colours. Only the 1st Battalion of each regiment was issued with this Colour; subsequent battalions were issued with plain, coloured marker flags (a practice that began in 1809); although the regulations issued specifically prohibited the addition of any inscriptions or insignia, many battalions did so to allow them to stand out.