Help with Helmets!

[Johnno]

A quick perusal of Google provided some insight about when the Germans transitions from Picklehaub to Stahlhelm and the British from the forage cap to the Brodie helmet.
 
In February of 1916, the German Stahlhelm (Steel Helmet) was introduced in small numbers to the front line troops engaged in the battle of Verdun. The resulting reduction in the number of head wounds suffered by the soldiers lead to the general replacement of the pickelhaube within a few months on the entire Western Front.

The first delivery of a protective steel helmet (the Brodie helmet) to the British Army was in 1915. Initially there were far from enough helmets to equip every man, so they were designated as "trench stores", to be kept in the front line and used by each unit that occupied the sector. It was not until the summer of 1916, when the first 1 million helmets had been produced, that they could be generally issued.

When I look online at pictures, there does not seem to be pictures (or paintings) of Brits in forage caps versus Germans in Stahlhelms.

Can anyone think of a battle where these headwear were worn by opposing forces?

I have a fully painted German late war force. I have some unpainted early war British.

Don't really want to collect early AND late war forces for both.

Thanks in advance...

[fred]

I think your problem is that the British adopted steel helmets before the Germans. Maybe some knows of a counter example. But ultimately its not just helmets, weapons and uniforms changed throughout the war too.

I think you have two choices

1) Buy late war British and early war Germans - this is the obviously the best option

2) Sell the unpainted Brits, and buy late war ones

It is one of the key dilemmas of WWI is that there are such differences between early and late war you really need two sets of figures. With WWII at least you can pretty much use the same infantry early and late, and just swap out the tanks.

[Ranthony]

Any scrap between February 1916 and July 1916 you could get away with I should think.

The Germans were producing the Stalhelm in small numbers in February and whilst the British were using the brodie then, it wasn't general issue until late 1916.

The Somme was, I believe the first time where the brodie was issued, one per man.

Others will know better than I but I don't think it'd erk anyone to see your armies fighting at Hulluch.

http://www.worldwar1.com/sfgstal.htm

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30090820

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_attacks_at_Hulluch

Sorry I can't be of more help, not really my period.

Cheers

Ry

[Driscoles]

Thats a dilemma !

Sometimes we have to sacrifice ourselves for the great course. Which is world supremacy through miniatures in large numbers… nah just kidding!

But face it. In a couple of years you will collect early and late war miniatures anyway. Its always like this. So simply start right now.

Buy late war British!

[Baron von Wreckedoften]

In his war memoirs, "Storm of Steel" Ernst Junger remarks on seeing a German soldier in a steel helmet for the first time in August 1916, during part of the Some battle.

The reason for the slow introduction of the Brodie helmet to British and Imperial troops is a little more involved than has been represented here, I believe.  I was told that there were manufacturing problems with the Brodie due to it being produced by "punching" the shape into a single sheet of steel.  Unless you are very careful, what happens is that the deeper the pressing, the more the steel is stretched and the thinner it becomes - usually at the place you want it to be at its strongest, namely the top of the crown.  It took some time for many of the companies manufacturing the helmet to sort this out, during which time helmets had been issued to some units.  Haig and his staff decided to remove the helmets from these units and re-issue them as "trench stores" so that anyone serving in the front line had a helmet.  Eventually the problem was solved (the Germans apparently sorted it out almost immediately) and enetually helmets were issued to every individual in France, but it did lead to another "Haig-hater myth" that he had stopped his men wearing helmets because it "destroyed their offensive spirit".