Video: Why did German soldiers wear horned helmets?
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
For most of the twentieth century, Germany was considered an aggressive military power, and the image of a German soldier was hard to imagine without a helmet with horns. These steel helmets became a real symbol of evil, and those who wear them are still associated with Nazism. Why horns are needed on a purely military subject - further in the review.
The First World War began in 1914 rather dynamically. The generals maneuvered troops, made transitions from place to place. But by the end of the year, the positions of the belligerents had been established, the soldiers "buried themselves in the ground."
With the outbreak of the trench war, it became apparent that a lot of the existing equipment needed to be revised and changed. The biggest complaints from the military of all countries were caused by hats. In battles, only the soldier's uncovered head was now visible. The German army at that time wore "pickelhelm" helmets made of leather, while the French and British had only caps at all.
Soon, all the opposing powers developed metal protective helmets. They did not save from point-blank shots, but they could stop shell fragments, shrapnel, and ricochet a bullet. So, the Entente got the helmets of Adrian and Brody.
In 1915, Germany had its own version of the steel helmet. It was developed by Dr. Friedrich Schwerd from the University of Hanover. The first samples were received by soldiers of assault units, snipers, sappers, observers. The following year, the helmet was mass-produced and named the Stahlhelm M16 (“Steel Helmet, Model 1916”).
Dr. Schwerd provided "horns" on the sides of the helmet, in which there were through holes for ventilation. But this is not their main purpose. They are needed to attach additional armor - a protective steel plate. She was very heavy, so she was worn only in trenches. It was believed that 6 mm was enough to stop a bullet fired at point-blank range.
When the helmet got to the front, it turned out that the whole idea was not worth a damn. The helmet saved well from shrapnel, flying debris, from small-caliber bullets at the end. A direct hit from a rifle also did not pierce the plate, but here the man could no longer stand: the soldier literally broke his neck. For this reason, no one wanted to wear armor plates, but it was no longer possible to remove the horns from the helmet. Helmets with a characteristic appearance were produced for many years.
The enemy soldiers even ridiculed the Germans. They shouted that they had spent too much time at the front. During this time, the wives gave them horns, and they have already sprouted through the helmet.
The recognizable German steel helmet became one of the symbols of German militarism and Nazism for a long time. Over the years, the helmet with horns even influenced the appearance of one of the famous Hollywood movie villains - Darth Vader. How did the actors who played in the first episodes of the cult movie saga change? "Star Wars" - later in the review.
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