The Field Cap 1907 - A prussian hussar

As the title suggests, this article is about a small but very iconic piece of uniform worn by soldiers in the imperial army: the field cap, or rather the “Krätzchen” as this headgear was nicknamed. Firstly, the history and development of the field cap is explained. The article then goes on to look at the special features of the field cap, in particular those of the cavalry and the hussars. There is also a video on this, which also deals with cockades in addition to the field cap, but there is a separate article on this page.

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The field caps 1800-1850

The shape of these field caps had been in use for some time before the beginning of the new uniform. Colloquially, the field cap was also known as the “Krätzchen”. This name for the historical military headgear was of course not official, but it was used very frequently. The official name during the German Empire was: field cap for troopers. This visorless cap was worn by Prussian and German soldiers and was usually seen on enlisted men and non-commissioned officers without a portepee.

The first field caps were introduced in 1808, replacing the camp caps. These were initially grey for the line, but blue for the guard. The caps each had a thumb-wide brim trimmed in the collar colour of the respective regiment. They also had a flap that could be folded down to protect the neck and nape. In 1814 came the A.-K.-O. of 21 April, which authorised a new sample and abolished this flap. The A-.K.-O. of 31.05.1814 added the projection on the lid, which was to be kept in the same colour as the trim. In 1816, the collar of the infantry was generally red in colour, which meant that the trim and forepart of the infantry field caps were also red in colour. However, this did not apply to the cavalry, for whom the foreparts and colours continued to be in different colours. In 1822, the A.-K.-O. of 21.01. introduced blue field caps for the line regiments, replacing the grey ones. The War Decree of the 4th November 1842 stipulated that the black and white cockade was to be affixed to the garrison stripe, with the black, red and gold cockade above it from 21 March 1848. However, this was abolished again for field caps by the war ordinance on 19 April 1850. (cf. on this: Pietsch, Uniformierungsgeschichte, vol. 1, p. 48.)

In the case of the hussars, the field cap was initially grey with a border stripe. The cap peak was also introduced in 1814 and, like the edge stripe, was in the Dolman colour. In 1822, the cap itself was changed so that it was kept in the Dolman colour, while the trim and the front part took on the colour of the collar. There were some regiments that had their collars in the primary colours, so that the brim and cap were kept in white or yellow. In 1832 the trim returned to its previous colour. In the 1840s there were some colour changes in the regiments of the Guard, HR 3, HR 5 and HR 10. 22.12.1853 brought a further change for all caps, because “the edge of all caps, as previously with 2, 9, 12, was provided with yellow or white projections and also around the lid, instead of the coloured one, generally one such, at the same time the trim strip of Regt 4 had been given a brown colour”. (Pietsch, Uniformierungsgeschichte, vol. 2, p. 90)

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The field caps 1850-1907

The A.-K.-O. of 16 March 1867 contains a provision on the size of the cap, which stipulated that the cap should only be 1/2 inch wider than the rim. Further regulations can be found in 1867 in the resolutions of the North German states, which primarily regulated the cockades and their respective use in the various regiments. Here it was already introduced that some states had to wear the Prussian cockade in addition to their own cockade, as the conscripts of these states were recruited into Prussian regiments: Lippe-Detmold (Füs.R. 55), Schaumburg-Lippe (Füs.R. 55), Schwarzburg-Sondersh.(I. 71), Bremen (I. 75), Hamburg (I. II. 76), Lübeck (Füs.R. 76) and Waldeck (Füs.R. 83). On 5.11.1867 the kriegsm. Verordn. determined that the Prussian cockade should always be placed on the trim stripe, the national cockade above it on the cloth.

The introduction of the imperial cockade on 22 March 1897, which was now to be attached to the cloth above the garrison stripe, changed the special regulations again. In addition to the imperial cockade, every serving soldier, whether officer or enlisted man, was only to wear the cockade of the unit in which he was serving, although this will not be discussed in detail here. Non-commissioned officers were allowed to procure a field cap with flexible leather visors, as stipulated in the Kriegsm. There it can also be read that in addition to the field cap, the NCOs were provided with a service cap made of finer cloth with a peak and additionally stiffened. Such a cap was also permitted for foot soldiers outside of service. (On these two sections, see Pietsch, Uniformierungsgeschichte, vol. 1, pp. 49-50).

The field caps from 1907-1919

The pattern of the field cap was retained with the new uniformisation, which was slowly implemented from 1907 onwards. The Prussian Ministry of War issued the samples of the field grey field cap on 19.04.1907 for the infantry and pioneers. For the other branches of the armed forces, the samples were issued when the respective field uniform was introduced. The colours changed, as the base cloth was now field grey. The previous wide range of colours of the various (cavalry) regiments was now reflected in the foreparts and trim stripes. Above all, the traditional colourful uniforms of the cavalry were retained in these caps. The best example of this is actually the field caps of the hussars. So let’s take a look at the previous uniform of Hussars No. 8:

As can be read in the regulations and especially seen in the preserved uniform pieces as well as the drawings, the uniform colour of the 8th Hussars was a dark blue, with white soutaches, lacings and smaller decorations. A closer look at the uniform and some pieces such as the previous field cap, the busby, the coat and the saddle cloth reveals a light blue colour, which can be found on the trim strips, collar patches, kolpak and other highlights, as can also be seen in the picture.

If we now look at the field-grey version of the field cap, which incidentally was not introduced in the Hussars until 1910, as the official bodies were unable to reach agreement so quickly, especially in the cavalry units, we see the following colours: Dark blue as a trim stripe, framed by white piping, just as the cap lid was also kept white. The second piping, which was unique to the hussar regiments, was light blue. If we look at the other hussar regiments, we can see that it was precisely this second piping that generally corresponded to the secondary colours of the earlier uniforms.

A further comparison with the other troop units quickly reveals that the trim stripes and piping here and there allowed a rough orientation. Thus all technical and artillery troops had a black trim stripe framed by red piping, the infantry had a red trim stripe without piping and a red piping on the cap cover. Interestingly, most of the Uhlan regiments, another type of cavalry, had exactly the same colours as the infantry, i.e. red trim and red piping on the cap top. The Jäger regiments had a green band on the field cap, but the basic cloth was green-grey. Within the other regiments, especially the cavalry, there was an extremely wide variation in how the colours of the field cap could appear.

However, the field cap without a visor was not only unattractive, but was also considered impractical, because as early as 1913, the Prussian KM determined that the caps of the enlisted men had to have visors so that the eyes had better protection and the cap fabric could be protected from excessive wear, because the men often had to touch the cap fabric with sweaty hands. The regulations on the new uniform issued by the A.-K.-O. on 21.09.1915 also only allowed privates and commoners to wear a field-grey peak on their own caps, while the standard cap remained without a peak. On 24.04.1917, the Prussian KM further prohibited the procurement of leather visors due to their scarcity; instead, they could only be made from vulcanised fibre, cardboard or other substitute materials. (cf. on this section: Kraus, Uniformierung, vol. 1, pp. 130-131)

The standardised field cap from 1917

The field caps were still coloured, which counteracted the camouflage effect of the other uniforms. So they had to be camouflaged, which was already done in the second year of the war by introducing a cap concealing band, focussing particularly on the front lines. However, as there was a shortage of woven goods, these had to be cut back again. This led to the introduction of the uniform field cap in Prussia on 20 July 1917. The uniform field cap was given a trim stripe and an overlap around the cap lid made uniformly of reseda green or field grey badge cloth. This meant that the cap could also be worn in the field without further or additional camouflage, eliminating the need for the cap band. The samples for this were issued by the Prussian KM on 31 August 1917. However, the old stocks of field caps that had already been produced had to be used up before the new ones could be issued. In addition, the cavalry regiments in particular were very proud of their tradition. They often tried to keep their old pieces at all costs or even acquire them privately in order to show and defend their status as cavalry, even if some of the cavalry regiments later had to give up their horses and were converted into foot cavalry regiments. If this development has not fuelled the cavalry’s sense of tradition even more.

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Conclusion

As we have seen, the original cap model dates back to the beginning of the 19th century. It was introduced in the form in which it was still used in the First World War as early as 1814, followed by changes in the colours, once in the diameter of the cap lid, but was used in this form by the Prussian army throughout the 19th century. When the field grey uniform was introduced, the piping on the trim strip of the hussars’ field caps was extended. Field caps with visors could be purchased privately by the soldiers, but were worn less on duty and more when going out.

Overall, the field caps of the cavalry and especially the hussars were a reminder of their old colourful uniforms, which survived at least until the middle/end of 1917, if not beyond. In addition, this particular form of field cap, however impractical it may have been, is still an iconic piece of clothing that reminds us of the First World War. Especially as we encounter this cap en masse in all kinds of media, such as photographs, pictures, works of art, films, etc. It is inextricably linked to the soldiers of the First World War.