Why did German World War I soldiers’ helmets have an upward spike on top? Was this kind of helmet used exclusively by the infantry?
I think the one with the spike was ceremonial, other than seeing it on Colonel Klinks desk on hogans heros, the only other one I have noticed actually wearing it was chancilor bismarck.
Declan
There’s a wikion it:
It was a relic of an earlier era of warfare (remember the British with their red coats and silly fur hats?). The German Picklhaube was introduced in 1842. It worked well enough until the start of WWII, when a combination of a) it was found to be useless in trench warfare and b) it was expensive to manufacture meant that its days were numbered.
It looks like it was pretty universal in the German Army.
Previous threads on topic:
What was the point of a Picklhaube?
So if not the Vikings, then who did wear helmets with horns? Anyone?
My high school history teacher told me it was so people don’t jump on you from behind. Sounds like a pretty good reason, although a knife in the neck or a bullet in the back would have done the trick as well.
It was just the style at the time, like wearing an onion on your belt.