Today on Gus’ Gear I will present some of the soft head coverings used during the Great War. I should include German Pickelhauben in this list, but as they are technically helmets, they were covered in a previous installment.
The standard cap worn by the German Infantryman at the beginning of the war was the M1910 Mütze, with red band and piping, indicating the infantry. Two cockades were worn, the top on all would be the red, white, black of the German Reich. On this example the bottom cockade is black, white, black of the Prussian state.
The bright colored band was found to be a highly visible part of the Mütze, so by March of 1915 a camouflage band was issued to cover it. There is a button hole visible in the front of this band to allow the state cockade to show through, but on this example it has been sewn shut.
By 1917, the Einheitsfeldmütze was introduced. It had no branch colored band or piping and could be worn by a soldier in any of the branches of service. The Prussian Mützen had the band and piping of the same green material that was used on the collars of the Bluse and Mantle, the Bavarian Mützen were made of all gray wool.
This is an example of an M1910 Mütze with the black band and red piping of Technical, Artillery or Pioneer troop
This is an example of the white Marine Mütze. It has the red, white, black cockade of the German Reich and Tally (cap band with the name of the ship) of the S.M.S. Lothringen.
This is an example of the white Marine Mütze. It has the red, white, black cockade of the German Reich and Tally (cap band with the name of the ship) of the S.M.S. Lothringen.
This is an example of the dark blue Marine Mütze. It also has the Reichs cockade and a Tally to the 8. II Matrosen Division. This would have been worn by a sailor who was based on land.
This is an Austro-Hungarian feldgrau Feldkappe, with the cockade of Karl which replaced the Franz Josef I cockade in 1917. This cap is a private purchase, for mounted troops, and was worn by Ferdinand Holzner of the K.K. Reit Tirol Kaiserschützen. The Edelweiss bears the dates 1915-1916.
This a black cap of the Austrian K.u.K. Kriegsmarine. It has the FJI cockade of Franz Josef, and was worn by Matrose or basic seaman. The Tally is that of the S.M.S Babenberg, one of three Hapsburg class battleships.
This example is an Italian M1910 hat. This design has remained in use to the present time. The insignia on the front has crossed rifles and 7 for the 7th Infantry Regiment, the red pompom on the side indicates the 1st Battalion.
This is a standard issue Russian field cap, Furashka, with a Romanov other rank’s cockade. It is constructed of wool with a pressed fiber visor.
This is an other rank’s Papaha, a winter cap with fold down flaps for warmth. It is made of artificial sheepskin.
This is an officer’s Papaha, made of real sheepskin, it does not have flaps to cover the ears and has the Romanov cockade worn by officers.
Shown here is a French M1884 other rank’s kepi. The kepi was the standard headgear of the French Metropolitan Soldier at the beginning of the Great War. Well before the war started, it was recognized that the bright red was a visibility problem and a cover was introduced, but few covers were issued or used in the opening months of the war.
This is an M1914 French horizon blue kepi. These became the main type of head gear by the spring of 1915 as the new horizon blue uniforms replaced the Napoleonic style uniforms.
This is a French forage cap, worn at the garrison or off duty. The cap is piped in black for the Engineers
This is a French Marine cap, very similar to all other naval caps with the exception of the pompom on the top, it was a feature that protected the head of the sailor from the low ceilings and door frames. The Hussard was one of seven Spahi class destroyers, launched in 1912 and scrapped in 1922.
This is the standard Canadian field cap worn at the beginning of the war. It is the same as the cap worn by all British Commonwealth forces, constructed of wool with a stiffened wool visor.
This hat is unique to the New Zealand forces. It is commonly referred to as a lemon squeezer due to the shape. It is similar to the American campaign hat, but has a narrower brim. The puggaree (colored hat band) has the colors of the infantry. The badge is of the 1st Canterbury New Zealand Rifles. The puggaree on this example is a reproduction as the original that came with the hat was either a small one or had shrunk to the point that it crushed the crown of the hat.
This is a well worn British side cap. This style of cap and the French forage caps were the basis for the overseas cap that would be adopted by the A.E.F while in Europe.
Here is a British Royal Navy black cap. This style was copied by virtually every other navy in the world. This one bears the Tally of the H.M.S. Vivid, which was not a ship, but a training station at Devonport. The station was closed in 1914. This cap was worn by H.V. Donald.
This is a British Royal Navy white cap that bears the Tally of the H.M.S. Europa, a Diadem class cruiser that served in the Atlantic at the beginning of the war and in 1915 participated in the Dardanelles Campaign. This cap was also part of the H.V. Donald grouping, neither hat is marked but were both in the seaman’s canister bearing his name along with his collar, two ditty bags and his money belt.
This is one of the more common style of cap used by the U.S. Army, often referred to as an overseas cap. These were issued in France after the A.E.F. arrived. It replaced the campaign hat, which was difficult to store while wearing a helmet. Since they were issued over seas, that is how they became called ‘overseas caps.’
This is anM1907 U.S. Army, cold weather hat. It was favored by transport drivers and issued to forces that invaded Russia in 1918. The ear flaps could be folded up and tied when not in use.
This is an M1911 pattern campaign hat that was worn by U.S. soldiers at the beginning of U.S. involvement in the Great War. This example has the maroon and white hat cord of the Medical Corps. Not visible in the photo are the five rows of stitching around the outside edge of the brim that the early hats had. Some M1911 hats had only three rows of stitching on the brim. Those hats with no stitching were post war production.
This is a United States Marine Corps campaign hat. It is the same as the U.S. Army hat but does not have a hat cord. The Eagle, Globe and Anchor was attached through the front grommet in the hat crown. This hat also has the five rows of stitching on the brim edge and the chin strap is run through small cuts in the brim. Campaign hats with an elongated grommet in the brim were made much later.
This is a U.S. Navy flat hat with the Tally of the U.S.S. Idaho which was launched in 1917, but not commissioned until after the Armistice. The WWI hats have a larger diameter top than the later caps and are made of dark blue wool.
This is the classic Dixie cup cap that is still worn today. This example was worn by Casper Henscheid who served on the U.S.S. Western Spirit, which transported nitrogen from Chile to France for the manufacture of explosives. Nitrogen is a polite way to say bat poop.