Item:
ONSV23NAS65

Original U.S. WWI Named 27th Infantry Division, Field Artillery M1917 Doughboy Helmet - Complete, Size 7 ⅛

Item Description

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice example of a U.S. M1917 "Doughboy" helmet, which features original period OD Green paint and retains much of the original textured paint.

This shell is stamped ZA 59 indicating it was produced in the United States, and can be seen on the underside of the skirt towards the front. The solid rivets on the chin strap bales is another method of identifying the helmet as being American made. The liner is solid and in great condition with minor wear present but the chinstrap is incomplete and cracked. The liner still retains the original top felt pad as well as a partial paper label.

The best features of the helmet is the 27th Infantry Division insignia on the front and the last name TIERNEY etched into the textured paint on the back of the shell. Nicknamed the Empire Division for its connection to New York (the unit's motto is "Empire"), the 27th Infantry Division formed in 1912 as a result of a reorganization of the New York National Guard. The insignia is round with a black background and red symbols. The letters N, Y, and D—for New York Division—merge to form one graphic. The paint is retained quite well.

Private Thomas Tierney enlisted on August 28, 1916 with the New York National Guard and during the course of the war he served with the 3rd Field Artillery with Battery C until May 22, 1917 and the 1st Field Artillery With Battery B up to his discharge on April 1, 1919, both being Brigade Field Artillery Regiments. He served overseas from June 30, 1918 to March 13, 1919.

This is a wonderful example of a complete M1917 doughboy helmet. Comes more than ready for display.

The 27th Division
Following the declaration of war on the Central Powers by the United States, the division was called into federal service on 15 July 1917, and hastily recruited New Yorkers to increase its numbers.

The division was one of only three divisions formed from units entirely from a single state's National Guard; the other two being Illinois and Pennsylvania. However, not all New Yorkers served in the 27th. Its initial strength was 991 officers and 27,114 enlisted men. The division's initial organization of three brigades with three infantry regiments each was carried over from the 6th Division

Prior to its departing to training, the division participated in a large send-off parade in New York City along 5th Avenue on 30 August 1917. The 7th Infantry Regiment was the first to leave for training on 11 September 1917, by train. The training was conducted at a purpose-built temporary facility at Camp Wadsworth, Spartanburg, South Carolina. Nearby hotels such as the Cleveland Hotel became centers for social life. The camp also housed seven YMCA Huts and a Knights of Columbus Hall. While the 27th had African-American service-men they were not permitted to enter the service organization clubs on base, which were segregated, until a black soldier's club was built in early 1918.

In the spring of 1918, the division began its movement toward embarkation camps, and shipped out on 20 April 1918. The division's advance detachment left Hoboken on 2 May and arrived at Brest, France, 10 May 1918. Late in June the last units of the Twenty-Seventh Division had arrived safely overseas.

From the arrival of the first troops to the Western Front until 24 July, the division spent its time undertaking its final stages of training under British mentors in Picardy and Flanders. On 25 July, the 27th Division, excluding its artillery brigade and ammunition train, occupied the Dickebusch Lake and Scherpenberg sectors in Flanders.

In just over a month, this operation merged into the Ypres-Lys action, and then, from 19 August to 3 September, the 27th was on its own.

It was decided by Field marshal Douglas Haig that the Fourth Army's Australian Corps would lead the Battle of St. Quentin Canal . However, due to the Corps depleted nature, which was a result of fighting almost continuously, it would be reinforced by the 27th and 30th divisions, which resulted in II Corps being temporarily reassigned under Australian command. This great Somme "push", which lasted from 24 September to 1 October, saw the 27th engaged in severe fighting along the Saint Quentin Canal Tunnel—one of the out-lying strong points of the Hindenburg Line. At the conclusion of the first phase of the battle, and following heavy losses, the 27th was placed into reserve for rest and recuperation. Six days later, the division was sent back into the line, moving steadily toward Busigny whilst chasing the retreating Germans. These operations were supported by Australian Artillery until 9 October, when British artillery units began supporting the division's operations. As a result of these offensives by the Australian, British and US forces, the Hindenburg's Main Line was penetrated.

The 52d Field Artillery Brigade and the 102nd Ammunition Train of the New York Division had not gone with the rest of the Twenty-seventh Division to the British front in Flanders. They had moved up on 28 October, to support the Seventy-Ninth Division in the Argonne.

Meanwhile, the Twenty-Seventh Division units which had seen heavy action in Flanders, had moved back to an area near the French seaport of Brest.

Major Operations:
- Meuse-Argonne (only the artillery), Ypres-Lys, Somme Offensive.
- Initially stationed in the East Poperinghe Line.
- Battle of Dickebusche Lake, Summer 1918
- Battle of Vierstraat Ridge, Summer 1918
- Struggled to break the German defensive Hindenburg Line, September 1918.
- Second battle of the Somme, 25 September 1918
- Selle River, November 1918

The 27th did break the Hindenburg line during the Battle of the Somme and forced a German retreat from their defensive line and forced the Germans to a final confrontation. After a final confrontation with the retreating Germans at the Selle River the Armistice ended the fighting and the division was sent home in February 1919, to be mustered out several months later. The division had sustained a total of 8,334 (KIA: 1,442; WIA: 6,892) casualties when it was inactivated in April 1919.

History of the M1917 Helmet:
The M1917 was the US Army's first modern combat helmet, used from 1917 and during the 1920s, before being replaced by the M1917A1. The M1917A1 helmet was an updated version of the M1917 and initially used refurbished WW1 shells.

The M1917 is a near identical version of the British MkI steel helmet, and it is important to note that when the US joined the Great War in 1917 they were initially issued with a supply of around 400,000 British made Mk.Is, before production began state side. The M1917 differed slightly in its lining detail, and exhibited US manufacture markings.

M1917 helmet liners typically show a paper label at the crown and the dome rivet head. The liner is set up as on the British versions, with an oilcloth band and net configuration, attached to a leather strap, riveted to the shell. The chinstrap is leather with a steel buckle.

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