Stahlhelm (plural,
Stahlhelme) is
German for "steel helmet". The
Imperial German Army began to replace the traditional leather
Pickelhaube (spiked
combat helmet) with the Stahlhelm during the
First World War in 1916. The term
Stahlhelm refers both to a generic steel helmet, and more specifically to the distinctive (and symbolic) German design.
The Stahlhelm, with its distinctive "coal scuttle" shape, was an instantly recognizable icon for military imagery and became a common element of military propaganda on both sides, just like the Pickelhaube before it.
Its name was also used by the Stahlhelm, a paramilitary nationalist organization established at the end of 1918.
At the beginning of World War I, none of the combatants were issued with any form of protection for the head other than cloth and leather caps. As the war entered the trench warfare phase, the number of casualties on all sides suffering from severe head wounds (often caused by shrapnel) increased dramatically. The French were the first to see a real need for more effective protection — in late 1915 they began to issue Adrian helmets to their troops. The British and Commonwealth troops followed with the Brodie helmet, which was also later worn by US forces, and the Germans with the Stahlhelm.
