A rare WW1 French Army Colonial M1886 'Pain de Sucre’ pith helmet, marked to the 176th Regiment (Corps Expéditionnaire d’Orient)
With cork construction covered in taupe cotton cloth - small dented patch on the rear where the cork shell is damaged
"176" faintly visible on the front - the 6 is clearly visible
Liner fully present and with customary green interior lining
size quite small eg 53
Chinstrap not present.
In generally nice condition - some old stains on the cloth, especially around the liner fixings.
These helmets were used from the 1880s, all the way into the early 1920s.
The 176th regiment was created in 1915 as part of the 3rd Brigade d'Orient, later joining the 2nd Division du Corps Expéditionnaire d’Orient, they fought in the Dardanelles in 1915, landing in Sedd-Ul-Bahr. Later they fought in Greece, Albania, Serbia before fighting the Bolsheviks in Kherson during the Russian Civil War, after which they were disbanded.
