Headgear in the First World War

As a modeller of First World War scenes, you may have wondered whether French soldiers sported the képi (cylindrical peaked) hat or casque (the characteristic French helmet). The brief answer is that in 1914, the majority of infantry sported the képi. This was an improvement on the massive shako and the bicorne hat - massive headgear which made it impossoble to move without being seen. There were exceptions; mounted troops wore helmets as protection if they fell off their horses. See below.

Our thanks are due to Raymond Péchot, Péchot's grandson for allowing us to reproduce this photograph. All rights reserved. The képi is much in evidence in this picture of a naval gun taken in 1886. The officers and other ranks standing around the 240mm gun belong to the Gunners/Artillerie. They are wearing this form of peaked cap so typical of the French military. Other personnel come from the Marine Service. Prosper Péchot, see below, can be seen, mounted, at the centre of the picture. He is wearing the Artillerie version of the képi. The story behind the picture is interesting. The Marines in the picture are moving a large naval gun as part of an exercise performed every year in the 1880s. As the reach of the French Navy increased, so they wanted to be sure that they could land a force de frappe bristling with guns on any beach in the world. As guns got larger, however, they realised that muscle power alone was not enough to drag a naval gun up the hill at Fontainebleau. In 1885, they turned to Péchot to solve the problem which he duly did, with his system of portable railway. Equipment was all ready for the annual exercise in July 1886. The chocks in front of the nearer bogie hint at just how steep the gradient was. You will be relieved to know that the detachment reached their objective in good time for lunch! This would have been impossible without the Péchot system. The képi survived to the time of the First World War. An advertisement appearing in the magazine ‘Illustration’ - author's collection - in June 1916 shows officers of the French and British Army are shown mostly in peaked caps, though there are two ceremonial helmets to be seen.

Other illustrations from the same magazine show how the képi was a notice-board for regiment and rank. The barrel of the hat displays a useful code of identification. They had all earned citations (cit). Here is a lieutenant of the 4th Colonial Infantry,

a lieutenant of the 13th Infantry (headgear worn rather cheekily in the photo,

a lieutenant if the 9th Engineers

and a Captain in the 66th Infantry.

All illustrations are from the author's collection. Once the First World War started, even Top Brass began to notice various new aspects of the fighting. Losses among the infantry were horrendous. While waiting for the breakthrough (which never happened on the Western Front)the mounted regiments were also put into the trenches. It was noticed that though they suffered losses, these were not as tragic. In a Report of 17th February 1915, High Command noted: The overwhelming majority of our casualties sustained head wounds. In the majority of cases, they would have been protected by a metal helmet. This headgear would have, in the first case, protected them against shell-bursts and flying shrapnel which do not have great penetrating power. They would also have stopped the dangers of ricochet from spent bullets. Statistics bear out these observations. Our cavalry suffered far less than the Infantry. (Note: when fighting in the trenches, the cavalry kept their traditional helmets. The Infantry also tried by various shifts to protect their heads. Some attached their mess –tins to the top of their hats. A patriotic industrialist devised a calotte, a metal skull-cap to be worn under the képi. The design was trialled at the defence laboratory at Bourges. Unfortunately, a one-size-fits-all skullcap did not fit everyone but where they could be worn, they were effective against 60% of shrapnel and spent bullets. 700,000 of these calottes were distributed and research on a better design went ahead.

The result of this research was the casque or helmet, an improved version of the one already worn by mounted regiments. The design originated from the Crimean War, the so-called pot-hat of the sappers of Sebastopol, which was in turn taken from the head protection worn by light cavalry. The colour chosen was gun-metal grey, reminiscent of military equipment, especially the 75mm gun. A grade of steel which provided protection from flying bullets was chosen. It and the integrated visor/rim was punched from a single piece of metal. The crest of the cavalry helmet was reduced to a discreet ridge. This gave the helmet extra rigidity but also featured perforations for the better circulation of air. For comfort it was lined with an inner helmet of leather, a suede leather chin-strap held it in place. It was carefully designed not to interfere with movement, even under fire, the whole weighing well under 700 grams.

A single design of casque was worn by the humblest to the most senior when in the field. Members of the various branches of the army carried a different device on the helmet. The infantry – as in the illustration - were distinguished by a stylised grenade, the Chasseurs, a hunting horn, Colonial troops an anchor, the Sappers a stylised breast-plate and helmet and the Artillery the crossed cannon device. Personally, I find the insignia both familiar and a little disturbing. In the British Army, the Sappers wear the grenade insignia. I also find the crossed cannons of the Artillery just a little reminiscent of the Confederate insignia and the fasces. But that is personal. My personal picture of Prosper Péchot’s benevolent face never includes that particular casque; indeed, he would never have worn it. Tradition was not dead. The képi, affectionately rather than respectfully known as the pioupiou, continued to be worn. It appeared straight and solemn on parade but when marching or off-duty, quite possibly at a jaunty angle as modelled by the cheeky young Lieutenant Blanc.

As a quick postscript, the système Péchot featured in the photograph above became very familiar to the casque-bearers of the Great War. From light, prefabricated track supporting a few specialist bogie-wagons, it evolved into THOUSANDS of kilometres of permanent way carrying munitions, engineering stores, food, water and forage for animals forward to the Front and spent ammunition to be recycled and the wounded back to base. Thanks are due to the Péchot family for allowing me to reproduce pictures from their family archive. Other illustrations are from the author's collection. Copyright Further Reading: WJK Davies - Light Railways In the First World War (out of print); Dr Christian Cénac - 60 centimetres pour ravitailler les Armées francaises pendant la premiere guerr mondiale (out of print) Sarah Wright - Colonel Péchot: Tracks To The Trenches Birse Press 2014