None of the combatants entered WW1 with helmets. Or, at least, with proper helmets - some German units used the famous "spiked helmet" or variants thereof; however, these were little more than caps made from expensive materials by a "craft" process,...

None of the combatants entered WW1 with helmets. Or, at least, with proper helmets - some German units used the famous "spiked helmet" or variants thereof; however, these were little more than caps made from expensive materials by a "craft" process, that offered little protection.

One of the many products of the rapid development in armaments in the 19th century was that of "overhead" anti-personnel munitions. This would have included a number of projectiles but, principal among all, were shrapnel shells fired from the relatively new "quick fire" (breech-loaded) artillery pieces. According to Ernst Junger (in "Storm of Steel"), shrapnel was in effect the storm of steel - a pervasive, semi-constant feature in active areas of the battleground. These munitions were designed to explode (preferably) over the heads of enemy troops, showering them with metal balls and other metal fragments travelling at high velocity and high temperature. The result, in the early period of trench warfare, was a very high number of head and neck injuries, often fatal. All sides on the Western Front saw a need to address this problem.

The British and French were, on might say, first out of the blocks, producing contrasting designs (the French complex, the British very simple) which had in common a concentration on protecting the head and the back of the neck from overhead shrapnel. The Germans were just a little later, and seem to have adopted - literally - a more all-round approach, affording slightly inferior neck protection in favour of better all-round protection. Why the French and British did not adopt the German "squarehead" approach may have been due to reluctance to substitute a new and unknown design over designs that had proved themselves reasonably satisfactory in answering their intended brief.

There was, of course, at least one significant disadvantage of the German "stahlhelm", in particular, when compared with the British Brodie "tin hat". A "Brodie" shell could be produced with a small number of stampings from plate steel; indeed, a pretty complete "Brodie", at a pinch, could be produced by one stamping. The German process, by contrast, required at least 13 stampings, executed in a strict order of stamping, to produce their complex helmet shape while preserving even distribution of steel through the shell. This was relatively expensive and time-consuming, a sufficient reason to make it unattractive to the British under the pressure of wartime conditions. And indeed later, in the interwar period of military expenditure cutbacks.

As to the Chinese - the Nationalist Chinese military was under heavy influence from German advisers up to about 1935, and were very influenced by German military technology. Not sure how many Chinese "German" helmets were actually made in Germany. The Chinese showed great ingenuity in imitating German models, not only in helmets, but in small arms as well. The quality, however may not have been up to scratch in all cases.

I have entered a post on the fabrication of German WW1 helmets in, I think, the "German Forces" folder of this photo site. Input "stahlhelm" in the site search and you will see it. Best regards, JR.

I always assumed that it was only because the "bad guys" had used the superior design that, for image implications, it took the "winning side" so long to accept and adopt it.

I have always been amazed how the Germans designed and used this style helmet since WWI. It was the most superior helmet design and used by the Germans since WWI. Finally after 2 World Wars, Korea and Vietnam America finally adopted this style for our...

I have always been amazed how the Germans designed and used this style helmet since WWI. It was the most superior helmet design and used by the Germans since WWI. Finally after 2 World Wars, Korea and Vietnam America finally adopted this style for our own troops.