Chapter 686: 1885 National Defense Military Helmet
In March, Ernst inspected the Guards Division, whose main task was to be responsible for the defense of the Central Province and the First Town City. It was also the most inspected East African army.
This time when we visited the Guards Division, we could see that the most obvious change in the division was that it was equipped with helmets, which was the first time in the East African army.
Therefore, the commander of the 101st Guards Division, Leidlist, specifically introduced to Ernst the origin and characteristics of this military helmet.
“Your Highness, this helmet is also known as the 1885 model. It is a Wehrmacht helmet designed to deal with the potential dangers posed to soldiers by stray bullets and shrapnel in positional warfare in a battlefield environment.
The visor adopts the traditional German design, making the whole helmet look similar to the traditional German military helmet - the spiked helmet.
Ernst naturally knew what a spiked helmet was. The spiked helmet was a feature of the entire German army. A German Imperial proclamation in 1871 stipulated that all German troops must wear it, including police and firefighters.
The most important feature of the spiked helmet is the conspicuous "nail" on it. Regarding the pointed top of the spiked helmet, the most common saying is that it was used by ancient European armies such as the Teutonic Knights to wear and hang ornaments to distinguish between their branches of military service.
There is also a saying that cavalry troops can use it as a support for wearing feathers and horsehair. Secondly, adding a pointed top can effectively deflect slashing attacks on the head, because in cavalry combat at the time, saber-slashing was a common tactic.
German military and political figures such as William II, Otto von Bismarck and Paul von Hindenburg all liked to pose for photos wearing spiked helmets.
According to Ernst, the spiked helmet does have its aesthetic value. At least when used in European armies, it greatly improved the appearance of the German army, making it look very gorgeous and majestic.
Of course, some people hold different opinions. For example, the famous German poet Heinrich Heine thought the spiked helmet was very exaggerated and superficial. He wrote a satirical poem comparing the spiked helmet to a lightning rod: "Yes, yes, I like this helmet. It shows the highest wisdom! The inspiration of the king! I am only afraid that when the storm comes, the romantic crown will attract lightning!"
Of course, Ernst did not comment on this. Such trivial issues did not need to be discussed. As a pragmatist, Ernst believed that the primary function of a helmet was to provide protection for soldiers on the battlefield.
However, the spiked helmets could not do this. In the past, it was not until the outbreak of World War I that German frontline soldiers were horrified to discover that the spiked helmets provided them with almost no protection.
In the brutal trench warfare, leather helmets offered no protection against shell splinters and shrapnel, and worse, the gleaming spikes made for ideal targets for snipers.
So in order to deal with this, in September 1915, the German military finally had to issue an order: the new helmets would no longer have spikes!
Next, starting in 1916, the German army officially replaced the spiked helmets with the new German steel helmets. Although the new steel helmets did not look impressive, they could provide better head protection from shell fragments. This change alone reduced the death rate from head injuries among German soldiers on the front line by 70%.
So the spike helmet looks good but is not practical. This is related to the material it is made of. Early spike helmets used leather as the main raw material, and leather naturally cannot withstand stray bullet fragments. Later, the spike helmet was replaced with tin alloy due to raw material problems, but as you can imagine, the hardness of tin is not ideal.
Sure enough, Ledlis made a special explanation on this point: "The biggest difference between our steel helmets and the spiked helmets in the German region is that they are made of steel as the main raw material, which is quite hard. Although they are not as comfortable as spiked helmets and their appearance is uglier, they are more practical."
However, Ernst holds a different view. People of this era like flashy things. After all, unlike in the previous life, material resources are not as abundant. The aesthetic of this era likes colorful, bright and beautiful things.
For example, the "flowery clothes" of the Far Eastern Empire seem old-fashioned in the 21st century, but were a source of show-off in the old society.
Ernst said: "Don't belittle yourself. Among the same type of military helmets, I think our 1885 National Defense Army Steel Helmet is the best looking. Don't compare it with the spiked helmet. The ornamental value of the spiked helmet is greater than its practical value. Our first goal is to achieve practical value. Moreover, war is about performance, not decoration."
Because the East African 1885 helmet used the shape of a spiked helmet as a reference, it did not deform as a whole, and its appearance is basically the same as the M35 helmet equipped by the German army during World War II.
This is naturally influenced by Ernst's aesthetic taste, so Ledlis's complaints are a denial of Ernst's aesthetic taste.
Ernst certainly would not make things difficult for him because of such a small matter, and Ledlis's words probably represented the views of most East African soldiers of that era.
However, Ernst believes that as time goes by, more and more people will accept the style of the 1885 National Defense Military Helmet. After all, it has been tested in the past.
“To increase its comfort, we use a cotton and linen blended textile for the lining, which is durable and more comfortable. The materials are all domestically produced in East Africa, including sisal and cotton from East Africa’s southern cotton plantations (Matabele Province).”
The advantages of sisal are durability and good water absorption. When combined with woven fabrics made of cotton, it also has the characteristics of softness.
However, when Ledlis said this, he was actually very dissatisfied with the comfort of the 1885 National Defense Army helmet. After all, compared with the spiked 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 was very poor.
In this kind of 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 in the plateau area, it may be more adaptable because the climate there is cooler.
Moreover, the fierce wars experienced by the East African Defense Force over the past decade did not reflect the advantages of the steel helmet. After all, the East African Army had basically never experienced trench warfare like World War I. The only actual combat was the last East-Portuguese War. However, the firepower of the Portuguese colonial army was very weak at that time. Not to mention artillery, even rifles could not support all the troops, and the number of machine guns was also very scarce.
"The design and production of the 1885 National Defense Military Helmet actually reflects the improvement of our military's conditions. Without the explosion of steel production capacity in East Africa, our army would not be able to equip itself with this helmet that uses steel as the main raw material. The same is true for the increase in cotton and sisal production in East Africa," said Ledlis.
Cotton is easy to deal with, but the supply of sisal to the military 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, and is also used in more high-end product areas such as East African currency, commodities, special ropes, etc., 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. If it were ten years ago, East Africa would not have had the foundation to equip itself with steel helmets. It also includes the improvement of East Africa's scientific and technological means such as steel smelting technology and forging technology.
However, the current 1885 type National Defense Military Steel Helmet also has many shortcomings, and the reason is still technical deficiencies, 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)
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