Chapter 686 Type 1885 National Defense Military Helmet
In March, Ernst inspected the Guards Division. The main task of the Guards Division is to be responsible for the defense of the Central Province and the first town and city. It is also the East African army that inspects the most.
This time when we visit the Guards Division, we can see that the most intuitive change of the division is that it is equipped with helmets, which is the first time in the East African army.
So the commander of the 101st Guards Division, Ledlist, deliberately introduced the origin and characteristics of this military helmet to Ernst.
“Your Royal Highness, this helmet, also known as the 1885 type, is a national defense military helmet designed to deal with the potential dangers caused by stray bullets and shrapnel to military personnel in battlefield environments during field battles.
The visor adopts a traditional German design, making the entire helmet body look similar to the spiked helmet, a traditional military helmet in the German region. The overall look is somewhat similar. "
Ernst naturally knew what a spiked helmet was. Spiked helmets were a feature of the entire German army. A German Imperial Proclamation in 1871 stipulated that all German troops must wear them, including police and firefighters.
The most important feature of the spiked helmet is the conspicuous "nail" on it. Regarding the spire on the spiked helmet, the main theory is that it was used by the ancient Teutonic Knights and other European armies to wear hanging ornaments to distinguish the arms.
It is also said that cavalry troops can use it as a stand for wearing feathers and horsehair. Secondly, adding a spire can effectively deflect the stabbing aimed at the head, because in cavalry combat at that time, saber-striking was a routine tactic.
Wilhelm II, Otto von Bismarck and Paul von Hindenburg and other German military and political figures all liked to pose for photos wearing spiked helmets.
Let Ernst see it, the aesthetics of the spiked helmet are there. At least when placed in the European army, it greatly improved the "appearance" level of the German army. It looked very gorgeous and majestic.
Of course, some people hold different opinions. For example, the famous German poet Heinrich Heine believed that spiked helmets were very exaggerated and superficial. He wrote a satirical poem comparing spiked helmets to lightning rods: "Yes, yes, I I like this helmet, it shows the highest wisdom! The inspiration of the king! I’m just afraid that when the storm hits, that romantic crown will attract lightning!”
Of course, Ernst did not comment on this. Such trivial issues do not need to be discussed. As a pragmatist, Ernst believed that the first role of the helmet was to provide protection for soldiers on the battlefield.
In the brutal trench warfare, leather helmets offered no protection against shell splinters and shrapnel, and to make matters worse, the gleaming spikes made them ideal targets for snipers.
So in order to deal with this, in September 1915, the German military had to finally issue an order: the new helmets no longer have spikes!
This is something that spiked helmets cannot do. In previous lives, it was not until the outbreak of World War I that German frontline soldiers were horrified to discover that the protection provided by spiked helmets was almost zero.
Next, starting in 1916, the German army began to officially replace the spike helmet with the new German steel helmet. Although the new steel helmet did not look impressive, it could provide better head protection from shell fragments. With this change, This reduced the head injury mortality rate of frontline German soldiers by 70%.
Sure enough, Lederis made a special explanation on this point: "The biggest difference between our steel helmets and the spiked helmets in Germany is that steel is used as the main raw material, and the hardness is quite high, although it is not as comfortable to wear as the spiked helmets, and the appearance is relatively In addition to being ugly, it is more practical." But Ernst held a different view. People in this era like flashy things. After all, they are not as abundant in materials as in previous generations. The aesthetics of this era like to be colorful and bright.
For example, the "flowery clothes" of the Far Eastern Empire are very old-fashioned in the 21st century, but in the old society, they were a means of showing off.
So Ernst said: "Don't be presumptuous. Among military helmets of the same type, I think our 1885 National Defense Army steel helmet is the best-looking. Don't compare it with spiked helmets. The ornamental value of spiked helmets is greater than Actual combat value, and our first goal is to achieve actual combat value, and fighting is about performance, never decoration."
Because the shape of the East African 1885 steel helmet uses the shape of a spiked helmet as a reference, it is not out of shape on the whole. The shape is basically similar to the M35 helmet equipped by the German army during World War II.
This naturally has the influence of Ernst's aesthetics, so Ledlis's complaints are a denial of Ernst's aesthetics.
Of course, Ernst would not wear small shoes for him because of this trivial matter, and Lederis's words probably represent the views of most East African soldiers in this era.
However, Ernst believes that as time goes by, more and more people will accept the style of the 1885 Wehrmacht helmet. After all, it has been tested in previous lives.
“In order to increase its comfort, we use cotton and linen mixed textiles in the lining, which is durable and more comfortable. The materials are all domestically produced in East Africa, including sisal and cotton from the southern cotton plantations in East Africa (Matabele Province). "
The advantages of sisal are that it is durable, has good water absorption, and is soft when combined with the braid made of cotton.
However, Lederis said that he was actually very dissatisfied with the comfort of the 1885-type defense military helmet. After all, compared with the spike helmet or the military cap of the previous East African army, the weight of the steel helmet alone made people feel uncomfortable, and its breathability very bad.
In the weather in East Africa, wearing a helmet is actually not comfortable, especially in the central province where the defense area is relatively humid and hot. If it is a plateau area, it may be more suitable, where the climate is cooler.
Moreover, the intense wars that the East African National Defense Force has experienced for more than ten years cannot reflect the advantages of steel helmets. After all, the East African Army has basically never experienced trench warfare like World War I. The only actual combat was the last East-Portuguese War, but the Portuguese colonial army at that time The firepower is very weak. Not to mention artillery, even rifles cannot match all the troops, and the number of machine guns is also very rare.
"The design and production of the 1885-type national defense military helmet actually reflects the improvement of our military's conditions. Without the explosion of steel production capacity in East Africa, our military would not be able to equip such helmets that use steel as the main raw material. In fact, including East Africa, The same goes for cotton and sisal production," Lederis said.
Cotton is okay, but sisal is supplied to the army. This is indeed the result of the continuous expansion of sisal cultivation in East Africa over the years.
Because East African sisal is an important export product, or it is used in relatively high-end products such as East African currency, commodities, and special ropes, it is a high-quality cash crop that is in short supply even now.
The explosion of steel production capacity is the main reason why the East African army is equipped with steel helmets. Ten years ago, East Africa had no basis for equipping steel helmets. This also includes the improvement of scientific and technological means such as steel smelting technology and forging technology in East Africa.
However, the current 1885-type national defense military helmets also have many shortcomings, and the reason is that the technology is not up to standard, so the yield rate is not high and the output is relatively limited. It is currently only equipped in the Guards Division.
(End of this chapter)