Imperial German M16 helmet, Soviet Red Army use 1920s. After the German army withdrew from the Eastern front in 1918, stockpiles of helmets were left behind in Ukraine, Belarus and other parts of the former Russian Empire. The helmets were later seized by the Red Army. During the 1920s the fledging Red Army faced a helmet shortage. At the time the Red Army made due with old Imperial French Adrian helmets, and Russian M17s. Still there were not enough helmets and German M16s and M18s were utilized to cover the short fall. These German helmet were reconditioned by the Soviets, most were bush painted moss green or black over the old Imperial German paint. A red star of various designs was then hand rendered to the front of the helmet. The liners were either the old German version if still usable or a Russian M17 liner. In the case of this restoration the client wanted to show a mix of German and Russian components. The liner is a Russian M17 with a corrugated strip of tin added for stability, held into the helmet with the old WWI German split pins. The chinstrap is still the Imperial German model 1891. The red star outlined with lamp yellow paint is one of many types used by the Red Army in the 1920s. The helmet has been distressed to show light to moderate wear, from training exercises, storage wear.