Grenadier Headwear

[♔ brucedickenson♔]

Hey guys, just a quick one, I was wondering if the plates from grenadiers and assorted other elite infantry was designed to stop a musket ball as well as look good?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[VonEwald]

No, definetively not, it's thin stamped brass. AFAIK the russian Pavlov grenadiers were allowed to continue using their mitrè caps (with the tall brass fronts) due to bravery at one of the early battles in the period, and those caps were kept in use up until 1917, complete with century old bullet holes. Let's hope they were cleaned before reissue.

[♔ brucedickenson♔]

Ah,.. cheers, i had no idea how thick these things were..

If you have a pic of russian ww1 infantry with this headwear I would love to see

[EmperorBatman999]

No, definetively not, it's thin stamped brass. AFAIK the russian Pavlov grenadiers were allowed to continue using their mitrè caps (with the tall brass fronts) due to bravery at one of the early battles in the period, and those caps were kept in use up until 1917, complete with century old bullet holes. Let's hope they were cleaned before reissue.

Wow, that's a long time.

"Welcome to the Pavlovsk grenadiers! Our regiment has a fine history and here's your goofy mitre cap that was first worn into battle over 200 yeas ago! Good luck trying not be a big target for Fritz!"
The Russian Empire was very strange at this time, like a man going mad before his death. I've heard of them bringing full marching bands straight into battle.

OT: No, those were just decorations.

[Didz]

Hey guys, just a quick one, I was wondering if the plates from grenadiers and assorted other elite infantry was designed to stop a musket ball as well as look good?

Nope! However, I have read that the French were very keen on wearing their greatcoats in battle, even in Spain, simply because the extra thickness of cloth was capable or stopping spent musketballs from penetration at long ranges. Likewise the Prussian habit of wearing their greatcoats rolled over their shoulders was said to provide some protection from sword cuts to the shoulders.

[Swerg]

Wow, that's a long time.

"Welcome to the Pavlovsk grenadiers! Our regiment has a fine history and here's your goofy mitre cap that was first worn into battle over 200 yeas ago! Good luck trying not be a big target for Fritz!"
The Russian Empire was very strange at this time, like a man going mad before his death. I've heard of them bringing full marching bands straight into battle.

OT: No, those were just decorations.

The marching bands were more a matter of commander than army. I've seen accounts of the same thing happening with the Germans. Old generals trying to fight the Crimean War, forgetting that the slaughter in that conflict was just as bad as WWI when people tried to use Napoleonic tactics in a war where most men had rifled weapons.

As to the shako decorations, as was said, they generally weren't made to stop bullets. Further, they frequently weren't worn into battle. As far as I know, the Russians were the ONLY country who routinely had their soldiers wear their shako ornaments on campaign. Nobody else bothered with them except on parade since they were such a pain to keep clean, especially on the march.

[Jihada]

I've seen some pictures of the French Guard wearing bicornes at Waterloo and greatcoats. Apparently the bearskins were in their backpacks ready for the triumphal march into Brussels.
http://www.piers-christian.co.uk/old...ding-361-p.asp

[EmperorBatman999]

Nope! However, I have read that the French were very keen on wearing their greatcoats in battle, even in Spain, simply because the extra thickness of cloth was capable or stopping spent musketballs from penetration at long ranges. Likewise the Prussian habit of wearing their greatcoats rolled over their shoulders was said to provide some protection from sword cuts to the shoulders.

Wow, this thread gave me two wow moments. It must've been hot in Spain, I mean, some film makers go there to shoot Westerns.

[ranoncles]

Wow, this thread gave me two wow moments. It must've been hot in Spain, I mean, some film makers go there to shoot Westerns.

Spain isn't always hot . It is also very mountaineous so you have rather cool areas too. And besides, the desert is also considered very hot but at night temperature often drops below zero degrees....Same for Spain...During the North African campaing of WWII, Monty is often depicted wearing a shawl and pullover while Rommel wears a leather greatcoat!

Wearing greatcoats in general usually had a practical reason. The uniform issued to the rank and file was of poor quality and would wear rapidly (and lose its colour due to inferior ink). To keep them in reasonable shape (especially for victory parades and to impress the ladies and the sergeants) and to escape a lot of cleaning and polishing, troops would prefer the greatcoats, thus sparing the uniform coat for the more important moments.

[VonEwald]

EmperorBatman:
Sorry to disappoint you, I should have made clear that it was only for parades. You can also find similar pictures from at least one of the Prussian Guard Regiments (the post-1806 prussian army was heavily inspired by the russian) up until around 1900.