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A shako is a tall, cylindrical military cap, usually peaked, sometimes tapered at the top. It is usually adorned with some kind of ornamental plate or badge on the front, metallic or otherwise, and often has a feather, plume, or pompon attached at the top.

Contents 1 Origins 2 Final period of extensive wear 3 Modern use 4 Popular culture

The word "shako" originated from the Hungarian name csákós süveg ("peaked cap"), which was a part of the uniform of the Hungarian hussar of the 18th century. Other spellings included chako, schako and tschako.

From 1800 on, the shako became the standard military headdress of most regiments in nearly all armies. It retained this dominant position until the mid-19th century, when spiked helmets began to appear in the armies of various German states, and the more practical kepi replaced it for all but parade wear in the French Army. Following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 military fashions changed and cloth or leather helmets based on the German headdress began to supersede the shako in many armies.

While impressive in appearance, adding to the height of the wearer, the shako was heavy and clumsy in the field, providing little protection against enemy action or the weather. Most models were made of cloth or felt over a leather body and peak. Following the Napoleonic Wars the shako became a showy and impractical headdress, best suited for the parade ground. As an example, the "Regency" officers' shako of the British Army of 1822 was eight and a half inches in height, eleven inches across at the crown, with ornamental gold cords and lace. The headdress was topped by a twelve inch plume and held in place by bronze chin scales. The "Regency" shako was followed in the British Army by a succession of models -"Belltopped", "Albert French" and "Quilted", until the adoption of the Home service helmet in 1877.

In 1914 the shako was still being worn in France (chasseurs à cheval, chasseurs d'Afrique and hussars; Imperial Germany (jägers, landwehr and marines); Austro-Hungary (line infantry and hussars); Russia (generals, staff officers, and infantry, engineers and artillery of the Imperial Guard); Belgium (line infantry, chasseurs a' pied, engineers, fortress artillery and mounted chasseurs); Mexico (federal troops of all branches); Romania (artillery), Italy (horse artillery); and Spain (line infantry, cazadores, engineers, and artillery). The Highland Light Infantry and Scottish Rifles of the British Army retained small shakos for parade dress and the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica indicates that it was planned to reintroduce the shako as parade dress for all English line infantry regiments - a project interrupted by the outbreak of World War I. The Swiss and Dutch armies wore shakos even for field wear until 1916. The Japanese Army had worn the shako as a parade headress until 1905 though a form of kepi had been the normal wear.

During this final period of elaborate and colourful traditional uniforms, the shako varied widely from army to army in height, colour, trim and profile. Amongst the most distinctive were the high Napoleonic shako ("kiver") worn by the Russian Imperial Guard and the low streamlined model ("ros") of the Spanish Army. The Swiss version had black leather peaks at both front and rear - a feature that also appeared in the shako- like headdress worn by British postmen between 1896 and 1910 and New Zealand policemen of the same period.

Most German police forces adopted a version of the Jager shako after World War I, replacing the spiked leather helmet (pickelhaube) that had become identified with the previous Imperial regime. This new headdress survived several political change, being worn by the civilian police forces of the Weimar Republic, Nazi Germany, East Germany and West Germany. It finally disappeared in the 1970s when the various police forces of West Germany adopted a standardised green and grey uniform which included the high fronted peaked cap still worn.

Shakos are still worn as full-dress headgear by cadets of the Valley Forge Military Academy, United States Military Academy, Virginia Military Institute, The Citadel, and New York Military Academy with their Full Dress Grey uniforms.

In Europe the infantry of the French Republican Guard, cadets at Saint-Cyr, cadets at the Belgian Royal Military Academy [1], the Italian Horse Guards Corps and cadets at the Military Academy of Modena, the Danish Guard Hussar Regiment, and the Spanish Royal Guard all have shakos as part of their respective ceremonial uniforms. Various Latin American armies, including those of Venezuela, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Uruguay and Argentina, retain shakos for ceremonial guard or military academy uniforms. In Russia the historic kiver has been reintroduced for wear by the Kremlin Guards for ceremonial occasions. In India, the Madras Sappers, a Regiment (aka Madras Sappers & Miners, Madras Engineer Group) almost 300 years old, also wear dark-blue visorless shakos as part of their ceremonial uniform.

In the United States shakos are frequently worn by civilian marching bands and drum corps.

• A shako is a type of rare, high-level item in the computer game Diablo II: Lord of Destruction.