“Montana Peak” Officer’s Campaign Hat

[HatEnjoyer]

I brought out my WWI US 2nd Lt. campaign hat for some cleaning today, and I thought I might as well show it to ya’ll here.

American Doughboys arrived in France wearing these “Montana Peak” style campaign hats, but they soon realized that they were not ideal for use in a trench warfare environment. They became ugly and misshapen when it rained, and the large size of the hat meant that it wasn’t easily stored. These hats were eventually replaced by the trench cap, although some troops, such as railway troops, would continue wearing them to a certain extent.

This specific hat is an officer model, featuring gilt hat cords and a 2nd Lt. rank bar. The chinstrap is dated February 17, 1918, and it’s in overall excellent condition.

 

[Kaiser Wilhelm II]

Campaign hats are something that I never exactly found much interest in personally, and I know little about them, however this seems like a pretty nice piece. Thank you for sharing this. Very Nice.

 

[Zebedeus]

This is gorgeus a wonderful piece. In my humble opinion the campaign hat is one of the most iconic example of the WW1 US troops' headgears.

 

[HatEnjoyer]

Yes, I agree! The American campaign hat (along with the German pickelhaube of course!) is definitely one of my favorite types of headgear from WWI, and I am quite fond of them. In fact, the very first item in my collection was an interwar EM campaign hat with an enamel 26th infantry division badge.