German soldiers wearing plated body armor man a Maxim MG 08 machine-gun post. Late war period (1917/18), location unknown.
The heavy losses suffered during the battles of 1915/16 led the German Command to order the development of ‘Grabenpanzer’ with the first examples making their appearance in late 1916.
The soldier on the right is also wearing a ‘Stirnpanzer’ on his helmet. The ‘Stirnpanzer’ consisted of a steel plate designed to offer extra protection to the soldier’s forehead, especially against sniper fire. It was close to 1 cm thick and weighted 1,2 Kg. The extra weight to the front of the head caused considerable discomfort and strain to the neck. It was not well liked by the soldiers who tended to ‘lose it’ in the field. Only a (comparatively) small number (50,000) were manufactured.
Concerning the use of body armor in the field, General Ludendorff wrote: “(…) The armor is not generally intended for operations, but it will prove valuable for sentries, listening posts, garrisons of shell holes, gun teams of machine guns scattered over the ground, etc., especially as a protection for the back. I request that the armor be issued to units destined for threatened sectors of the line, so that they can become familiar with its use before they go into the line.”(1)
Note: The trench’s poor state and the soldiers’ exposed position point to this being a posed photo shot for propaganda purposes in a rear area.
Original’s source unknown
(1)Rashford D. ; “Helmets and Body Armor in Modern Warfare”, Yale University Press, 1920.