At the outbreak of World War I, steel helmets were not provided to the troops. Soldiers of most nations went into battle wearing cloth, felt, or leather headgear that offered no protection from modern weapons.
The huge number of lethal head wounds that modern artillery weapons inflicted led to the introduction of the first modern steel helmets in the summer of 1915.
Brodie Helmets began to be introduced to British and Canadian troops in late 1915 The Brodie helmet was a steel designed and patented in London in 1915 by John Leopold Brodie. It was adopted by all British and Commonwealth Troops and by the United States when it entered the war in 1917.
