Crimean War helmet
Robert Attard takes a look at a Russian helmet from the Crimean War
Robert Attard takes a look at a Russian helmet from the Crimean War. After close examination, our writer draws the conclusion that this was a war trophy from the Battle of Inkerman.
The helmet stands almost 14in with a body made from strips of boiled leather, hand stitched to form a tall dome, with separate heavier pieces being used for the brim and peak. Great care was taken to strengthen the leather corpus of the helmet; the peak has a recessed border and stitching reinforces the sides.
Heavy embossed brass ornaments decorate the helmet. A tall spike fashioned in the shape of a flaming torch screws onto a brass cruciform base rivetted onto the helmet body. A large embossed helmet plate featuring a twin headed eagle and an image of a mounted warrior slaying a dragon attaches to the front of the helmet.
The helmet plate is made in two pieces; a small shield clips onto the helmet plate. Removing the small shield revealed signs of an earlier regimental number. Lamellar brass
chin-scales are attached to the sides of the helmet. The helmet is solid but shows signs of heavy wear.
With time, the weight of the heavy brass regalia has taken its toll. The heavy finial deformed the helmet’s dome and the leather peak collapsed under the weight of the helmet, cracking it. Similar damage has been noticed on many 19th century helmets; including helmets from the Crimean War. The helmet has been heavily restored. Sadly, the interior has been gutted. The original cloth and leather lining has been removed and a metal plate was inserted to limit further damage from the weight of the cruciform base. The helmet has a patina which is typical of 19th century helmets
Russian Model 1844 helmet
Undoubtedly, this is an Other Rank’s Russian Model 1844 Picklehaube, which dates to the Crimean War era. The helmet resembles the Prussian Model 1842 Picklehaube, otherwise known as the father of all picklehaubes.
In the 1840s the armies of
Europe looked up to Prussia’s state-ofthe-art Army. Prussian uniforms and accoutrements inspired all the armies of Europe. In October 1842 Prussia introduced its first Picklehaubes and many armies followed suit. Less than two years later, in May 1844, the Russian Army introduced its own version of the Picklehaube, the helmet which became known as the Model 1844 and was put in service in the Crimean War.
The design of the Russian Picklehaube draws heavily from that of the tall Prussian Model 1842 Picklehaube.
The heavy leather skull and use of brass mounts is common to the two helmet types. Distinguishing features of the Russian version are the flame shaped spiked finial reminiscent of the Asian Kulah Khudd helmet, and, of course, the distinctive Russian helmet plate featuring the Romanov twin headed eagle and effigy of Saint George and the Dragon. The shape of the Russian helmet plate was inspired from that of French helmets of the Napoleonic Wars.
The Model 1844 Helmet was totally impractical for the battlefield of the Crimean War. It was heavy and did not offer a comfortable fit especially when worn over a long period of time. The helmet was anachronistic because it was not a ballistic helmet and offered virtually no protection from shrapnel and projectiles. Nonetheless, the Russian Model 1844 could still offer some decent protection from sword cuts and bayonet thrusts explaining why it was widely used on the Crimean War battlefields. Captain Vanson’s 1856 sketches of Russian officers and men attest that, despite its many shortcomings, the Model 1844 helmet was used on active service explaining why so many specimens were captured as war trophies.
An old war trophy
Press reports from the Crimean War reveal that captured Russian Model 1844 helmets were taken as war trophies by British and French veterans who fought at Inkerman, Balaclava, Alma, Sevastopol and other famous battles of the Crimean
War. The Illustrated London News and other Victorian papers from the Crimean War era contain illustrations of panoplies of captured Russian helmets. The Russian Model 1844 helmet takes pride of place besides captured muskets, kettle drums and Russian cannon, of course.
Interestingly, helmets from the 26th Infantry Regiment, a regiment that fought in Balaclava were extremely popular with Victorian war trophy hunters and are to be found in many British military museums. The vast collection of the Musee de l’ Armee includes a documented Russian Model 1844 helmet of the 25th infantry Regiment captured in the battle of Sevastopol A particularly interesting example, that is quasi-identical to the helmet in this article, is kept at the PittRivers Museum, Oxford. The helmet in Oxford (bearing Inventory Number Funding Collection 1884.32.19) is said to have been gifted to the museum by General Pitt Rivers, a veteran of the Crimean War.
I have reasons to believe that the heavily restored helmet here is linked to the battle of Inkerman. The helmet bears the helmet plate of the prestigious 11th Infantry Division, an infantry regiment of the Russian Imperial Army garrisoned at Lutsk. On 5 November 1854, the 11th Infantry Division formed part of the Russian Army that attacked the Allies at Inkerman. The Russian attack was repelled at a huge cost to the armies of France and Britain, dashing their hopes for a quick victory. The battle of Inkerman was a soldier’s battle fought by infantrymen in brutal hand-to-hand combat. This helmet may have been there. ■