The Prussian Model 1905 Officer's Helmet for Jäger zu Pferde Regiments Nr. 1 through 6 represents one of the most elegant executions of the late Imperial Pickelhaube. These highly specialized cavalry units evolved from message carrying detachments created in 1895 in the Prussian Army to relieve the regimental staffs of cavalry regiments from orderly duties and carrying field dispatches. These small specialist units later evolved into becoming the Mounted Rifles (Jäger zu Pferde), light cavalry units used primarily for reconnaissance and security tasks.
In the Prussian Army, the first regiment, Königs-Jäger zu Pferde Nr. 1, was established in 1901. On August 9, 1905, Kaiser Wilhelm II, in his capacity as King of Prussia, appointed himself as regimental commander, whereupon it received the official designation Regiment Königs-Jäger zu Pferde Nr. 1, and the royal monogram with crown was applied to the shoulder strap and cartridge box. It was followed in 1905 by Nr. 2 and 3, in 1906 Nr. 4, in 1908 Nr. 5 and in 1910 Nr. 6. Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde Nr. 6 was a cavalry unit of the Prussian Army stationed in Erfurt. By Supreme Cabinet Order of March 21, 1910, the establishment of a Jäger zu Pferde Regiment with number 6 was ordered for October 1, 1910. The barracks were handed over to the first commander of the regiment, Lieutenant Colonel von Arnim, on September 28, 1910. The soldiers and their approximately 1000 horses arrived in the following days, and the regiment was ceremoniously welcomed in the city on October 24.
The officers' helmets of these regiments display characteristic differences in their appointments. Regiments 1 through 4 wore helmets trimmed with silver furniture, apart from having gilt or brass chinscales and a silver eagle plate. Regiments 5 and 6 were identical apart from having black chinscales. The regulations for the wearing of these helmets prescribed that officers of regiments 1 through 7 wore nickel fittings and trim. Officers wore helmets modeled after cuirassiers, but these were supposed to be blackened. This regulation was largely ignored by officers. Many contemporary photos show officers of the Jäger zu Pferde, sometimes even the Kaiser himself, with nickel-plated helmets.
Officers could privately purchase fine quality lightweight helmets made of polished nickel for alternative undress wear, known as Extra Helm. The helmet shell was made of nickel-plated steel, representing the most elegant late execution of the Model 1905. The silver-plated fittings included the dragoon eagle plate, spike base, and fluted spike. The interior featured a light brown leather sweatband and yellow silk ribbed lining. The front visor was lined with dark green leather, the neck guard with velvet lining. Various manufacturers produced these helmets, including firms such as C.E. Juncker, Damaschke, and Otto Nachtigall.
In 1910, the Koller (tunic) for existing regiments was abolished and replaced by tunics. For the newly established regiments Nr. 8 to 13 in 1913, a grey-green uniform was issued based on the dragoon pattern. However, officers of these new regiments wore the cuirassier helmet. Beginning in 1916, the Pickelhaube was slowly replaced by a new German steel helmet, the Stahlhelm, intended to offer greater head protection from shell fragments. During the trench warfare of World War I, the cavalry generally lost its significance and was mostly employed as infantry.
After the adoption of the Stahlhelm, the Pickelhaube was reduced to limited ceremonial wear by senior officers away from the war zones, plus the Leibgendarmerie S.M. des Kaisers whose role as an Imperial/Royal escort led them to retain peacetime full dress throughout the war. With the collapse of the German Empire in 1918, the Pickelhaube ceased to be part of the military uniform. In the Reichswehr, no distinction was made between individual troop types such as Hussars, Dragoons, Cuirassiers or Jäger zu Pferde; the tradition of the regiments of the old army passed to the cavalry regiments of the Reichswehr not by troop type but by regional considerations, and was completely obscured with the establishment of the Wehrmacht in 1935.
