Hi everybody, I've been reading that the brand new M1916 helmet was used in combat for the first time in the battle of the Somme. At the beginning of that battle, about 300.000 units of this helmet had been produced. Anybody knows if every german soldier was already wearing this helmet from the beginning of this long battle? Were they distributed progressively along the battle in this and the rest of the front lines? Thanks in advance.
The initial regulation said that the helmets would remain in the trenches/positions upon relieve - and be handed down consequently.
This regulation led to a massive loss of helmets, thus troops arriving with Pickelhauben would have to fight on with a mixture of steel helmets and Pickelhauben.
However, at the end of the Somme fighting, all German units employed there would have received personal steel helmets.
Interesting. According to Stephen Bull, ersatz Pickelhauben were still being produced in late 1915. As late as September, attempts were made to standardize production, and the new model was termed the M1915. In the same month the wearing of the spike was officially forbidden (although troops had stopped wearing it many months before) and the new pattern cover had no hole or cover for the spike. Production continued for "about two years", by which time the Stahlhelm had replaced it in all but the quietest sectors of the Eastern Front.
Didn't know there was a handover system for the Stahlhelm (as there was at first for the Brodie). The first 30,000 were sent to Verdun in Jan 1916, and general issue was approved in Feb. By July almost 300,000 had been issued, first at Verdun, then on The Somme.
None of which answers the question precisely, but in the Osprey book on Stormtroopers there is a drawing of a Stormtrooper "observing the arrival of a new training cadre". He is wearing a Stahlhelm, and the newcomers a mix of Pickelhauben and Tschakos. The date given is May, 1916, which does suggest that the Stahlhelm would have been standard in front-line units but not yet universal. I haven't been able to find any pics of Verdun or The Somme showing Pickelhauben in the front line.
-- Edited by James H on Wednesday 2nd of December 2009 03:13:59 PM
__________________
"Sometimes things that are not true are included in Wikipedia. While at first glance that may appear like a very great problem for Wikipedia, in reality is it not. In fact, it's a good thing." - Wikipedia.
Steel helmet distribution as of Juli 1916 was as follows: 2. Army (Somme): 133,500; 3. A: 10,500; 4. A: 10,850; 5. A (Verdun): 55,550; 6. A: 13,700; 7. A: 11350; the three army detachments together: 15,000.
Sturmbataillon 5 always prided themselves to have been the first German army unit to have been equipped with steel helmets - testing them at Verdun. As they went into action on February 22nd, 1916, no other unit in the initial attack should already have worn steel helmets.
Even in 1917, field artillery regiments were only given 15 helmets (for forward observers), the rest of the men had to do with Pickelhauben. And training formations in Germany never received steel helmets (at least on a regular basis - but some units had very close ties to their replacement battalions, and train as you fight was true even then already).
The Assault Battalion 'Rohr' tested the helmets in late 1915 or early 1916 (from what I've read however this took place in the Vosges, not Verdun).
February 1916 saw the Sthalhelms being officially issued and used for the first time.
In July 1916, at the Somme the German soldiers would have been mostly wearing pickelhaubes (with the spike removed), but by the end of the campaign the Stahlhelm was issued to all Germans troops.
