There’s a good Wiki article, but it doesn’t explain why the helmet had the point on top. Any thoughts?
German Wikipedia claims it was meant to divert sabre blows when first introduced in 1843.
General coolness. It came from Napoleonic era helmets having crests, feathers or what not.
The Pickelhaube was originally leather and did not have much protective value.
Until that became too expensive in WW1, and they switched to felt or cardboard. :eek:
So it wasn’t an anti-parachutist measure, then?
OK, everybody, heads down, … and … CHARGE!!!
Seriously, it seems to be largely because Freddy Bill IV thought they looked cool. IIRC, at one point officers were allowed to replace the issue spike with a customized spike of their own. That rapidly got out of hand, as they started wearing taller and taller spikes, until it reached a point of absurdity, and they were restricted to wearing the officially issued spike.
“Mom! Gunther’s spike is bigger than mine!”
=SMACK!=
Actually, I thought the spikes were so the troops could play ring-toss in the trenches while they waited for the whistle to go Over the Top…
Evidence that Wikipedia contributors in other languages can be as error prone as those in the English language edition.
Military people do not generally want hard structures projecting from helmets. (That is why most decorations tended to be feathers through the years.) A stiff object fastened to a helmet is liable to catch a blade, either causing the helmet to be ripped from the head or enabling even a non-lethal blow to yank the head damaging or breaking the neck.
The winged helmets (and later horned helmets) that are familar to viewers of opera and readers of “northern” fantasy literature were pretty much invented for dramatic presence in the opera and other stage productions. Helms with projections found in ancient archaeological digs tend to be ceremonial rather than intended for battle.
This, of course, leaves unanswered the question of why one would stick a pike on a helmet in the middle of the 19th century. At a guess, it was either a sign that sabres were falling out of favor as the preferred weapons of the cavalry (were the Germans partial to the lance?) or that they were put into service by some idiot whose only serious connection with the military was watching operatic presentations. I don’t know whether the original spikes were intended to break away easily, to be removed before combat, or were just a really dumb idea*. (To reduce inury from a downward sword cut, a strong crest with no silly projections works much better–as noted by actual helmut design extending back a few thousand years.)
- I suppose that this could mean that the German Wikipedia article is accurate. It just seems a bit odd that the Germans, who were quite serious about developing a strong military and who included a number of states for which their primary income for many decades came from renting out mercenary troops would embrace the spike for such a clearly inappropriate reason.
The idea of simply looking taller seems to be the main inspiration.
That the idea behind the Roman mohawk brush over the helmet,
and the tall fur hats at Windsor guard stations.
Possible, but a bit hard to believe. More likely it was a carry-over from the hard helmets of the Uhlans, a Central European cavalry tradition. Do enough exploring on cavalry in Wikipedia and you’ll find all sorts of wild stuff including medieval cavalrymen wearing wings on their backs, cavalrymen with enormously tall helmets, etc. Seems the main reason was to be imposing and therefore scary to the enemy.
I read somewhere that cavalrymen did wear a sash that ran from their helmet to the shoulder to entangle sabre blows from the left side. A lot of this stuff devolved into show-only.
Anyone else remember the episode of The Simpsons when a group of WWI reenactors passed their final exam, and tossed their Picklehaube helmets into the air?
Also makes it real handy when you’re roasting brats around a campfire.
I thought it ws just for intimidation, like horns or something like that on top of your helmet.
[QUOTE=633squadron]
Do enough exploring on cavalry in Wikipedia and you’ll find all sorts of wild stuff including medieval cavalrymen wearing wings on their backs, cavalrymen with enormously tall helmets, etc. Seems the main reason was to be imposing and therefore scary to the enemy.
QUOTE]
The Monglos used a lot of horse-herding techniques in war, including their lariat: a rope looped at the end of a pole.Polish Winged Hussars wore wings as a counter measure (plus, they looked and sounded cool - but that was an add-on)
Did the Monglos hang out with the Psychlos? I think they appeared in a scene of Battlefield Earth. I’d know their helmets anywhere.
Of course, only the Infantry and Cavalry had spikes on the pickelhaube; the artillery had a ball, representing a roundshot. This practice was also followed by the British with their blue cloth helmets (Home Service) and white helmets (Colonial pattern).