Among German military equipment, the most impressive is undoubtedly the Prussian helmet. Its elaborate and extravagant design, however, lacks any practical utility.

The most striking feature of the equipment of the German army is undoubtedly the splendid and exaggerated Prussian helmets.

Regardless of their effectiveness in actual combat, Germany has always been one step ahead in military aesthetics.

Especially during World War II, German military helmets were highly praised, but the development of German military helmets was not without setbacks.

Before World War II, the Prussian military helmets used by Germany were criticized, despite their splendor, they lacked practicality.

So why did Germany choose such a helmet?

In fact, before the end of the Franco-Prussian War, Germany had not established a decent military system, so its combat equipment was in chaos, a situation that continued until 1871.

However, there was one exception, and that was the spiked helmet for the army.

This helmet was designed by King William of Prussia for his infantry in 1842, with a unique leather design, adorned with splendor but lacking in practicality.

The design flaws of this helmet were exposed in World War I because of its exaggerated height and excessive decoration, which not only hindered soldiers' movement but also made it easy to fall off, burdening soldiers unnecessarily.

To address the issue of practicality, the German army made a series of adjustments to the helmet, such as the M1856, M1860, and M1867, gradually reducing the height of the helmet and simplifying the decoration.

However, even after adjustments, these helmets still could not escape the fate of being ornate but impractical.

The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 revealed the flaw that metal badges could not provide effective protection.

After that, Germany introduced a series of new helmets, but apart from changes in decoration, the improvements were not significant, and they still retained the characteristics of the Prussian helmet, resulting in heavy casualties among German soldiers in combat.

The Prussian helmet not only performed poorly in actual combat but also had problems in design and material.

The leather material used in it could not provide effective protection on the battlefield, and the metal badges became a fatal weakness, attracting enemy fire.

What's even more absurd is that these helmets used brass as the main material, and brass was already scarce within the German army, making it seem ornate but impractical on helmets.

Therefore, from both practicality and resource utilization perspectives, the Prussian helmet seemed outdated.

After the Prussian helmet was phased out, Germany urgently needed a new helmet.

A German designer created a steel helmet with a distinctive appearance called the "Stahlhelm."

Although this helmet was radically different in appearance from the Prussian helmet, its performance in actual combat was not ideal, being too heavy, inconvenient to carry, and obstructing vision.

It wasn't until 1915 that German military doctors designed the M1916 steel helmet, which had a modern overall design, eliminating the pointed top and decorations traditionally found on helmets, greatly enhancing soldiers' combat effectiveness.

This helmet not only performed excellently in terms of ballistic protection but also looked more modern, becoming the mainstream helmet in the later stages of World War I.

Germany continued to improve helmet designs after World War I, and the style of the M1916 steel helmet persisted until the end of World War II.

Whether the Prussian helmet or the M1916 steel helmet, these two German helmets left a deep impression with their unique designs, but from a practical standpoint, the former's splendor paled in comparison to the latter's utility.