Military Headgear from the Mid-19th Century to the First World War - with Drawings by the Author

In the year 1808 the Prussian army, in addition to the Life Regiment, included 5 further hussar regiments. The former was already split on 20.12.1808.

In 1815, alongside the Guard and the 1st and 2nd Life Regiments, there were 10 additional hussar regiments.

The hussars initially wore the usual cavalry shako. On 16.06.1843 winged caps made of felt were introduced. Only the Guard and Regiments No. 3 and 10 received fur caps.

A black cloth strip — color-lined — was wound around the black felt caps, ending at the tip. For parade it was allowed to hang it down in parade fashion.

Convex brass scale chains belonged to the winged cap, but were only permitted from 1847 onwards, however not for parade.

The cap had chin cords attached and a standing (white) hair plume affixed.

On the right side of the cap sat the Prussian cockade. For officers this was black and silver.

On 23.10.1842 the Pickelhaube was introduced in Prussia as the modern headgear together with the tunic; it replaced the far too heavy shako.

At first the Pickelhaube was almost twice as tall as later; only over time did it develop into a distinctly elegant headpiece. The visor was angular, the long back neck-visor was curved.

The Pickelhaube was gradually adopted by all other German states and was also worn abroad in part, e.g. in Sweden, in Russia and even in Great Britain.

The Pickelhaube (helmet) was worn as a black lacquered leather helmet with varying helmet ornamentation/trim by most branches/units of the Imperial Army. The cuirassiers, the Saxon heavy horse (guard riders/ carabiniers) and the mounted jägers wore metal models with long downward-curved rear visors. The artillery (except — until 1916 — the Bavarian) had a ball instead of the typical spike as a helmet crest. In addition, shakos were worn by the jägers, telegraph, airship and aviator battalions as well as by the machine-gun detachments. The ulans wore the czapka derived from Polish models and the hussars wore fur caps since 1850.

From 22.03.1897 the Imperial cockade was worn on the right side of the helmet; the provincial cockade was then attached on the left.

From 1884 white caps were worn during maneuvers. From 17.05.1892 reed-green covers that covered the entire helmet came into use. These showed the respective regimental number in red (28.01.1897).

From 1887 the ball ornamentation on the Prussian Pickelhaube was replaced by a circumferential welt. This simplification did not apply to officers' helmets.

From 08.01.1891 a new — illustrated here — method of attaching the scale chains became mandatory, replacing the hooks. The visor now again had a stabilizing rail.

The Guard infantry and other regiments wore white or black hair plumes for parade; the musicians, as usual, had red plumes.

Prussian ranks wore on various occasions the unattractive visorless field cap. The cap consisted of dark blue cloth with (for the infantry) crimson-red trim strips and the same type of edging around the cap rim. Before 1897 only the respective provincial cockade was worn (on the trim strip). Since 1897 the Imperial cockade was worn on the front of the field cap on the cap top.

The field cap with visor — as depicted here — was not regulation; therefore on contemporary photos of ranks in parade dress the caps are regularly privately owned pieces.

In 1914 the German Imperial Army, in addition to the Guardes du Corps regiment (Potsdam) and the Guard Cuirassier Regiment (Berlin), had 8 line cuirassier regiments of 5 squadrons each.

The Prussian cuirassiers wore as a rule helmets from bright polished iron with brass fittings and arched scale chains (since 1843).

However, the Guardes du Corps regiment, like the Guard Cuirassier Regiment and Cuirassier Regiment No. 6, wore helmets and scale chains of tombak and fittings of nickel silver.

With regard to helmet ornamentation there were particularities in some line regiments, such as the Life Cuirassier Regiment 'Great Elector' (Silesian) No. 1. This regiment wore helmets of white iron with yellow scale chains and a helmet ornament of brass. Initially the heraldic eagle was used. Later (1902) the unit received the Frederickian eagle with the motto band: PRO GLORIA ET PATRIA.

Cuirassier Regiment Queen (Pomeranian) No. 2 wore from 1861 the (here depicted) special helmet bandeau, which was intended to commemorate the Battle of Hohenfriedberg (also Battle of Hohenfriedeberg or Battle of Striegau) fought on 4 June 1745 during the Second Silesian War.

Dragoons originally developed as mounted infantry. In 1914 the German Imperial Army had a total of 26 dragoon regiments, including 2 Mecklenburg (No. 17, 18), 2 Hessian (No. 23, 24) and 2 Württemberg (No. 25, 26).

The dragoons wore as headgear a helmet of black-lacquered leather with an angular front visor and a slightly rounded rear visor, a trefoil and the dragoon eagle with the motto band: MIR GOTT FÜR KÖNIG UND VATERLAND. For the two guard regiments the guard eagle with star served as helmet ornament. Other dragoon regiments also carried special helmet ornamentation.

The typical headgear of the ulans in the German Imperial Army — as in other European armies — was the czapka. This goes back to Polish origins. The head part of the czapka consisted of pressed black-lacquered leather, the front visor was round. There was no rear visor. On the headpiece sat a mount with a square top. On the top the field emblem and the roughly 30 cm long — hanging — parade hair plume as well as the so-called chin cord were attached. The chin cord ended in two tassels. On the mount a fabric cover in the respective badge color was attached for parade purposes. The headpiece bore the helmet ornament at the front, which differed from regiment to regiment and from contingent to contingent. The (yellow) scale chains were always arched.

In 1914 the German Imperial Army, in addition to the Life Guard Hussar Regiment (Potsdam), had 20 line regiments, of which three were Saxon units (No. 18, 19, 20).

From 1850 all hussar regiments wore fur caps; the Guard Hussars and Hussar Regiment No. 3 had already been equipped with them as early as 1843. The previous winged caps were passed on to the Landwehr cavalry.

The officers' fur cap of the Prussian Guard Hussar Regiment was made of opossum, the ranks' caps of black seal fur. The kolpak was red. As a helmet badge officers wore a white guard star, while the ranks had a yellow star. Around the star ran the embossed patriotic band. The yellow rosettes or scale chains were arched.

For parade the officers' fur cap was adorned with a white egret plume with a cuff of ostrich feathers; the holder was silver with small chains.

The parade plume of the non-commissioned officers was white with the lower third black; that of the ranks entirely white.

The 1st Life Hussars were established on 16.10.1807 and the parent unit was considered the Hussar Regiment von Prittwitz No. 5. Garrisons were (1877) Langfuhr, Osterode and Stargard.

The 2nd Life Hussars were then established on 20.12.1808 in Oletzko from the aforementioned Life Hussar Regiment. According to Haber (The Cavalry of the German Empire, p. 158) the regiment was formed from the 2nd battalion of the 1st Life Hussar Regiment, which had four squadrons. The 4th squadron, however, was ceded in 1815 to form the 8th Hussar Regiment. Garrisons were (1877) Posen and Lissa in Posen.

The Life Hussar Regiments No. 1 and 2 (both Danzig-Langfuhr) bore as a peculiarity on the fur cap a white-metal skull under the motto band.

For officers it was a silver-plated skull.

Upon the introduction of the tunic the artillery also received the Pickelhaube, initially however the infantry model. Only in 1844 was the ball introduced, which at first had an elongated shape. It did not become round until the late 1840s.

The field artillery wore the black-lacquered leather helmet with round front visor and yellow fittings and crest ball. The fittings were of brass, for the Guard of tombak. As a rule the Prussian formations bore the yellow Prussian heraldic eagle with FR. This eagle had received the patriotic band in 1860.

Here there were, however, a number of peculiarities: some regiments wore the eagle with a breast shield and the letters FWR or helmet bands. From 1895 the welt running around the spike neck was introduced.

Top right: Shako of an officer of the 7th Guard Infantry Regiment (Swiss) of the Garde du Roi around 1814-16.

Top left: Shako of the 3e Chasseurs d'Afrique. Around 1850.

Middle left: Shako (model 1874) for ranks of Chasseurs à cheval (mounted chasseurs).

Middle right: Shako (model 1874) for ranks in the "6e régiment de hussards" (6th Hussar Regiment).

Very bottom: Shako of the Ecole Spéciale Militaire around 1914.

By A.K.O. of 14.02.1907 (announcement on 25.02.1907) field-gray clothing was introduced in the Prussian army for the ranks of the foot troops after a series of trials. Bavaria (22.03.1907), Saxony (21./22.03.1907) and Württemberg (23.05.1907) followed. Primarily the basic colors of clothing and equipment were changed. But the cut also became looser and more comfortable. The new clothing was in the colors field-gray and gray-green (for jägers and marksmen) and initially stood alongside the previous colorful uniforms. The first samples were issued in April of the year 1907. Cavalry also later received a new field uniform of field-gray or gray-green cloth. For officers the field-gray uniform was prescribed on 23.02.1910. They were to wear uniforms in the same color as the ranks. Corresponding implementation regulations are dated 18.03.1910.

The above drawings show peaked caps and side caps of German soldiers in the First World War. The field-gray field cap had a colored trim strip that left the base cloth visible below. The top and the edges of the trim strip had colored edgings. The field cap had no visor. It was criticized as impractical. For ranks only the field cap was regulation. Non-commissioned officers had a service cap with visor. From 1915 their chin straps and visor were also field-gray. Officers also wore peaked caps with or without chin straps. These were privately owned items.

The most striking change for the German soldier was, however, the introduction of the steel helmet in 1916, which replaced the classic Pickelhaube.

The reason for this innovation was the enormous number of head injuries, e.g. also from shell or stone splinters. According to Jürgen Kraus, head injuries accounted for almost 50% of fatal wounds.

From the summer of 1915 two well-known scientists developed a new type of helmet: surgeon Professor Dr. August Bier and Captain of Artillery Friedrich Schwerd. Initially 400 trial helmets were produced, which passed the first test on 20.11.1915.

In a meeting at the War Ministry on 23.11.1915 the introduction of the steel helmet was recommended; the awarding of the first contracts began in April 1916.

In April the first 1.2 million steel helmets were ordered.

In World War I a total of 7.5 million steel helmets were produced.

Only from February 1918 were the German troops sufficiently equipped with steel helmets and thus able to equip replacements accordingly.

The helmet was made of high-quality chrome-nickel steel and offered sufficient protection against small shell splinters and shrapnel bullets.

In trench warfare, for protection against direct fire by infantry, an additional brow plate (made of nickel) could be fitted.

The number of issued brow plates was intended to amount to about 5% in relation to the issued steel helmets.