Otto von Bismarck wearing a cuirassier officers' metal Pickelhaube

Prussian police leather Pickelhaube

The Pickelhaube (plural Pickelhauben; from the German Pickel = "point" or "pickaxe", and Haube = "bonnet", a general word for headgear) was a Prussian spiked helmet worn in the 19th century by the German military, firefighters, and police. Bismarck with Pickelhaube Source: Uni Duesseldorf, copyright expired. ... Bismarck with Pickelhaube Source: Uni Duesseldorf, copyright expired. ... Bismarck redirects here. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (798x692, 78 KB) Description: prussian Pickelhaube (police) Source: german wikipedia Date: ? Author: de:User:Stahlkocher Permission: released in german wikipedia on 16. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (798x692, 78 KB) Description: prussian Pickelhaube (police) Source: german wikipedia Date: ? Author: de:User:Stahlkocher Permission: released in german wikipedia on 16. ... For other meanings, see Helmet (disambiguation). ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... It has been suggested that Firefighter Assist and Search Team be merged into this article or section. ...

The Pickelhaube was originally designed in 1842 by King Frederick William IV of Prussia, and its use slowly spread to other German principalities. In 1887, the Kingdom of Bavaria was the last German state to adopt the Pickelhaube. During the late nineteenth century, the armies of a number of nations (including Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Portugal, Norway, Russia, and Sweden) adopted the Pickelhaube or at least something very similar. The Pickelhaube has also influenced the design of the pith helmet, as well as the "bobby" helmet worn by policemen in England to this day. 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Photograph of Frederick King Frederick William IV of Prussia (October 15, 1795 - January 2, 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 1840 to 1861. ... The Livonian Order joined the Teutonic Order in 1237; the Monastic State of the Teutonic Order around 1455 After the partition of the 2nd Peace of Thorn in 1466 The Prussian Homage, Jan Matejko. ... 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ... The geographic region and Free State of Bavaria (German: Freistaat Bayern), with an area of 70,553 km² (27,241 square miles) and 12. ... Pith helmet of Harry S. Truman The Pith Helmet (also known as Sun helmet, Topee, or Topi) is a lightweight helmet made of cork or pith typically from the sola or a similar plant [1], with a cloth cover, designed to shade the wearers head from the sun. ... Crest-type custodian helmet; in this case with the Hampshire Constabularys atypical badge The custodian helmet is the correct name for the style of helmet worn by British police officers. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ...

The basic Pickelhaube was made of hardened (boiled) leather, given a glossy-black finish, and reinforced with metal trim (usually plated with gold or silver for officers) that included a detachable metal spike. Some versions of the Pickelhaube worn by artillery units, however, employed a ball-shaped finial rather than the pointed spike. Military Pickelhauben also mounted two round, colored cockades behind the chinstraps attached to the sides of the helmet. The right cockade, the national cockade, was red, black and white. The left cockade was used to denote the province of the soldier (Prussia-black and white; Bavaria-white and blue; etc). Aside from the spike finial, perhaps the most recognizable feature of the Pickelhaube was the ornamental front plate, which also denoted the regiment's province or state. The most common plate design consisted of a large, spread-winged eagle, the emblem used by Prussia. Other plate designs were used by Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden, and Hessia, to name some of the most common. Boiled leather, sometimes called cuir bouilli, was historically a popular construction material for armour. ... The Tricolore cockade of France. ...

All-metal versions of the Pickelhaube were worn mainly by cuirassiers, and often appear in portraits of high-ranking military and political figures (such as Otto von Bismarck, pictured on this page). These helmets were sometimes referred to as lobstertail helmets by allied forces due to their distinctive curved neck guard. Cuirassiers were mounted cavalry soldiers equipped with armor and firearms, first appearing in late 15th-century Europe. ... Bismarck redirects here. ...

All helmets produced for the infantry before and during 1914 were made of leather. As the war progressed, however, Germany's leather stockpiles dwindled. After extensive imports from South America, particularly Argentina, the German government began producing ersatz Pickelhauben made of other materials. In 1915, some Pickelhauben began to be made from thin sheet steel. However, the German high command needed to produce an even greater number of helmets, leading to the usage of pressurized felt and even paper to construct Pickelhauben. Ersatz is a German name (literal meaning: substitute) for products, especially chemical compounds and provisions developed in wartimes when shortage of certain goods was imminent. ...

During World War I, it was soon discovered that the Pickelhaube did not measure up to the demanding conditions of trench warfare. Soon after war began, the Germans added cloth covers to their brightly ornamented Pickelhauben in order to reduce their combat visibility. Much more serious was that leather helmets offered almost no protection against common head wounds caused by exploding shells and shrapnel. Another dangerous and even humiliating inadequacy of the helmet was the fact the spike on the top of it often extended over the trench making the spike not only a target for snipers but also an indicator as to the location of helmet-wearing soldier inside the trench. Beginning in 1916, the Pickelhaube was slowly replaced by a new German steel helmet (Stahlhelm), intended to offer greater head protection from shell fragments. After the adoption of the Stahlhelm, the Pickelhaube was reduced to ceremonial wear. With the collapse of the German Empire in 1918, the Pickelhaube was abolished, and even the police adopted shakos. In modified forms the new Stahlhelm design would continue to be worn by German troops into World War II. Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Robert Nivelle Herbert Henry Asquith Sir Douglas Haig Sir John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Woodrow... German Stahlhelme from the Second World War Stahlhelm (plural, Stahlhelme) is German for steel helmet. The Imperial German Army began to replace the traditional leather Pickelhaube (spiked helmet) with the Stahlhelm during the First World War in 1916. ... Motto: Gott mit Uns (German: God with us”) Anthem: Heil dir im Siegerkranz (unofficial) Territory of the German Empire in 1914, prior to World War I Capital Berlin Language(s) Official: German Unofficial minority languages: Polish (Posen, Lower Silesia,Upper Silesia, Masuria) French (Alsace-Lorraine) Government Constitutional monarchy Emperor  - 1871... Year 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... A Shako of a French Navy uniform of the 19th century. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

The spiked helmet continues to be part of a clichéd mental picture of Imperial Germany, especially in the United Kingdom. This is possibly because of the extensive use of the Pickelhaube in British propaganda during World War I. This clichéd image also appears in the opening credits of Hogan's Heroes, which portray a World War I German Pickelhaube with a World War II US Army Air Corps cap hung on its spike in a television series about the Second World War. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... An Australian anti-conscription propaganda poster from World War One U.S. propaganda poster, which warns against civilians sharing information on troop movements (National Archives) The much-imitated 1914 Lord Kitchener Wants You! poster Brochure of the Peoples Temple, portraying cult leader Jim Jones as the loving father of the... Hogans Heroes was an American television situation comedy that ran from September 17, 1965 to July 4, 1971 on the CBS network for 168 episodes. ...

The Pickelhaube was often used in propaganda against the Germans

The Pickelhaube is still part of the dress uniform of the Swedish Royal Guard; the Military Academies of Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador; the Army Band of Chile; and the Presidential Guard Battalion of Colombia. Traffic police in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan also use a form of the Pickelhaube. Image File history File links 'Destroy_this_mad_brute'_WWI_propaganda_poster_(US_version). ... Image File history File links 'Destroy_this_mad_brute'_WWI_propaganda_poster_(US_version). ... Royal Guards: Livgardet-cavalrymen in ceremony at the Royal Palace. ...

Ceremonial Pickelhaube of a Swedish Royal Guard soldier

In the lead-up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, a moulded plastic version of the Pickelhaube was available as a fanware article. The common model was coloured in the black-red-gold of the German flag, with a variety of other colours also available. This was not particularly successful, arguably because of the negative connotations that the Pickelhaube still evokes with many German people.
ImageMetadata File history File links 51479sweden_helmet. ... ImageMetadata File history File links 51479sweden_helmet. ... For the video game by EA see 2006 FIFA World Cup (video game). ... The flag of Germany was adopted in its present form in 1919. ...

External links

• Colonel J's Pickelhaube Musings
• On-line guide to the different patterns of Imperial German Pickelhaube
• Evolution of the Pickelhaube
• Evolution of the Stahlhelm