A bayonet (from French baïonnette) is a knife, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear.[1] In this regard, it is an ancillary close-quarter combat or last-resort weapon.
However, knife-shaped bayonets—when not fixed to a gun barrel—have long been utilized by soldiers in the field as general purpose cutting implements.
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The origins of the bayonet are hazy, but appear to have begun in 17th century France.[2] The term 'Bayonette' dates back to the end of the 16th century; but it is not clear if the weapon at the time was the specialized instrument that it is today, or simply a type of knife. For example, Cotgrave's 1611 Dictionarie describes the Bayonet as 'a kind of small flat pocket dagger, furnished with knives; or a great knife to hang at the girdle'. Likewise, Pierre Borel wrote in 1655 that a kind of long-knife called a 'bayonette' was made in Bayonne but does not give any further description.[3]
There is a legend that during the mid-17th century irregular military conflicts of rural France, the peasants of the Southern French town of Bayonne, having run out of powder and shot, rammed their long-bladed hunting knives into the muzzles of their primitive muskets to fashion impromptu spears and, by necessity, created an ancillary weapon.
Another possibility is that the bayonet originated as a hunting weapon: early firearms were fairly inaccurate and took a long time to reload; thus a hunter of dangerous animals such as wild boar could easily have been exposed to danger if the hunter's bullet missed the animal.[4][5] The bayonet thus may have emerged to allow a hunter to fend off wild animals in the event of a missed shot. This idea was particularly persistent in Spain where hunting arms were usually equipped with bayonets from the 17th century until the advent of the cartridge era. The weapon was introduced into the French army by General Jean Martinet and was common in most European armies by the 1660s.
The benefit of such a dual-purpose arm contained in one was soon apparent. The early muskets fired at a slow rate (about 2 rounds per minute when loading with loose powder and ball, and no more than 3–4 rounds per minute using paper cartridges), and could be both inaccurate and unreliable depending on quality of manufacture. Bayonets provided a useful addition to the weapons system when an enemy charging to contact could cross the musket's killing ground (a range of approximately 100 yards/meters at the most optimistic) at the expense of perhaps only one or two volleys from their waiting opponents. A 12-18 inch (30–45 cm) bayonet on a 5-foot (around 1.5 metre) tall musket achieved a reach similar to the infantry spear, and later halberd, of earlier times. The bayonet/musket combination was, however, considerably heavier than a polearm of the same length.
Early bayonets were of the "plug" type.[2] The bayonet had a round handle that slid directly into the musket barrel. This naturally prevented the gun from being fired. In 1671, plug bayonets were issued to the French regiment of fusiliers then raised. They were issued to part of an English dragoon regiment raised in 1672 and disbanded in 1674, and to the Royal Fusiliers when raised in 1685. The danger incurred by the use of this bayonet (which put a stop to all fire) was felt so early that the younger Puységur invented a socket bayonet in 1678 that fitted over the muzzle using a circular band of metal, allowing the musket to be loaded and fired. However, it was not widely adopted at the time.
The defeat of forces loyal to William of Orange by Jacobite Highlanders at the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689 was due (among other things) to the use of the plug-bayonet;[2] and shortly afterwards the defeated leader, Hugh Mackay, is believed to have introduced a ring-bayonet of his own invention. Soon "socket" bayonets would incorporate both ring mounts and an offset blade, keeping the bayonet well away from the muzzle blast of the musket barrel.
An unsuccessful trial with socket or zigzag bayonets was made after the battle of Fleurus, 1690, in the presence of Louis XIV, who refused to adopt them, as they had a tendency to fall off the musket. Shortly after the Peace of Ryswick (1697), the English and Germans abolished the pike and introduced ring bayonets; and plates of them are given in Surirey de St. Remy's Mémoires d'Artillerie, published in Paris in that year; but owing to a military cabal they were not issued to the French infantry until 1703, using a spring-loaded locking system to prevent the bayonet from accidentally separating from the musket. Henceforward, the socket bayonet became, with the musket or other firearm, the typical weapon of French infantry.
The socket bayonet had by then been adopted by most European armies. The British socket bayonet had a triangular blade with a flat side towards the muzzle and two fluted sides outermost to a length of 15 inches (38 cm). However it had no lock to keep it fast to the muzzle and was well-documented as falling off in the heat of battle.[2]
The 19th century introduced the concept of the sword bayonet. It was a long-bladed weapon with a single- or double-edged blade that could also be used as a shortsword. Its initial purpose was to ensure that riflemen, when in ranks with musketmen, whose weapons were longer, could form square properly to fend off cavalry attacks, when sword bayonets were fitted. A prime early example of a sword bayonet-fitted rifle would be the British Infantry Rifle of 1800-1840, later known as the "Baker Rifle" (to this day, no matter what length of bayonet, British Rifle Regiments 'Fix Swords').[2] The hilt usually had quillons modified to accommodate the gun barrel, and a hilt mechanism that enabled the bayonet to be attached to a bayonet lug. When dismounted, a sword bayonet could be used in combat as a side arm. When attached to the musket or rifle, it effectively turned almost any long gun into a spear or glaive, suitable not only for thrusting but also for slashing.
While the British Army eventually discarded the sword bayonet, the socket bayonet survived the introduction of the rifled musket into British service in 1854. The new rifled musket copied the French locking ring system.[2] The new bayonet proved its worth in the Battle of Alma and the Battle of Inkerman during the Crimean War, where the Imperial Russian Army learned to fear it as well.[2]
In the United States Navy before the American Civil War, bayonet blades were even affixed to single-shot pistols, although they soon proved useless for anything but cooking. Cutlasses remained the favoured weapon for the navies of the time, though Queen Victoria's Royal Navy gave up the pikes once used to repel attacks by boarders in favor of the cutlass bayonet.
From 1869, some European nations began to develop new multi-purpose sword bayonets suitable for mass production and for use by constabulary (police), pioneer, and engineer troops.[6] The decision to redesign the (dismounted) bayonet into a multi-purpose tool was viewed by some as an acknowledgement of the decline in importance of the fixed bayonet as a weapon in the face of new advances in firearms technology.[7] As a British newspaper put it, "the committee, in recommending this new sword bayonet, appear to have had in view the fact that bayonets will henceforth be less frequently used than in former times as a weapon of offence and defence; they desired, therefore, to substitute an instrument of more general utility."[7]
One of these multipurpose designs was the sawback bayonet, which incorporated saw teeth on the back spine of the bayonet blade.[6] The sawback bayonet was intended for use as a general-purpose utility tool as well as a weapon; the teeth were designed to facilitate the cutting of wood for various defensive works such as barbed-wire posts, as well as for butchering livestock.[1][7][8][9] It was initially adopted by Great Britain in 1869, followed by Switzerland in 1878, and Germany in 1905.[1][7][8][9][10] The sawback proved relatively ineffective as a cutting tool, and was soon outmoded by improvements in military logistics and transportion; most nations dropped the sawback bayonet feature by the turn of the century.[1] The German army discontinued use of the sawback bayonet in 1917 after protests that the saw-toothed blade caused unnecessarily severe wounds when used as a fixed bayonet.[1][9]
The trowel bayonet or spade bayonet was another multipurpose design, intended for use both as an offensive weapon as well as a digging tool for excavating entrenchments.[11][12] From 1870, the U.S. Army issued trowel bayonets to army infantry regiments based on a design by Lieutenant-Colonel Edmund Rice, a U.S. Army officer and Civil War veteran, which were manufactured by Springfield Armory.[13] Besides its utility as both a fixed bayonet and a digging implement, the Rice trowel bayonet could be used to plaster log huts and stone chimneys for winter quarters; sharpened on one edge, it could cut tent poles and pins.[13] Ten thousand were eventually issued, and the design saw service in infantry operations during the 1877 Nez Perce campaign.[14] Rice was given leave in 1877 to demonstrate his trowel bayonet to several nations in Europe.[14] One infantry officer recommended it to the exclusion of all other designs, noting that "the intrenching [sic] tools of an army rarely get up to the front until the exigency for their use has passed."[13] The Rice trowel bayonet was declared obsolete by the U.S. Army in December 1881.[14]
Prior to World War I, bayonet doctrine was largely centered around the concept of 'reach'; that is, a soldier's theoretical ability, by use of an extremely long rifle and fixed bayonet, to bayonet an enemy soldier without having to approach within reach of his opponent's blade.[1][15][16] A combined length of rifle and bayonet longer than that of the enemy infantryman's rifle and attached bayonet, like the infantryman's pike of bygone days, was thought to impart a definite tactical advantage on the battlefield, and military authorities engaged in endless discussions over the supposed advantages of longer rifle/bayonet combinations.[1][16][17][18]
In 1886, the French Army introduced a 52 cm (20 in.)-long quadrangular épée spike for the bayonet of the Lebel Model 1886 rifle, the Épée-Baïonnette Modèle 1886, resulting in a rifle and bayonet with an overall length of six feet (1.83 m). German ordnance authorities responded by introducing a long sword bayonet for the Model 1898 Mauser rifle, which had a 29-inch barrel. The new bayonet, designated the Seitengewehr 98, had a 500mm (19.7-inch) blade.[17] With an overall length of 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m), the German Army's rifle/bayonet combination was second only to the French Lebel for overall bayonet 'reach'.[17]
After the turn of the century, Switzerland, England, and the United States adopted rifles with barrel lengths shorter than that of a rifle, but longer than that of a carbine.[1][19] These new rifles were intended for general use by both the infantry and cavalry.[19] Because of the reduction in the barrel length, the overall "reach" of the new short rifles with attached bayonet was reduced.[1] In the case of England, this occurred when the British Army adopted a shortened Lee-Enfield rifle, the SMLE, in 1904.[1][19] As a consequence, the German M1898 Mauser rifle and attached sword bayonet was a full eight inches longer than the British SMLE and its P1903 bayonet, which used a twelve-inch blade.[1][20] While the British P1903 and its similar predecessor, the P1888, had proved completely satisfactory in service, a storm of criticism soon arose regarding the effective reach of the new short rifles when equipped with fixed bayonet.[1][17][19][21] One military writer of the day warned:
The German soldier has eight inches the better of the argument over the British soldier when it comes to crossing bayonets, and the extra eight inches easily turns the battle in favor of the longer, if both men are of equal skill[17]
In 1905 the German Army adopted a shortened (370mm or 14.6-inch) bayonet, the Seitengewehr 98/06 for engineer and pioneer troops, and in 1908, a short rifle as well, the Karabiner Model 1898AZ, which was produced in limited quantities for the cavalry, artillery, and other specialist troops.[22] However, the long-barreled 98 Mauser rifle remained in service as the primary infantry small arm.[23] Moreover, German military authorities continued to promote the idea of outreaching one's opponent on the battlefield by means of a longer rifle/bayonet combination, a concept prominently featured in its infantry bayonet training doctrines.[18] These included the throw point or extended thrust-and-lunge attack.[24] Using this tactic, the German soldier dropped into a half-crouch, with the rifle and fixed bayonet held close to the body.[24] In this position the soldier next propelled his rifle forward, then dropped the supporting hand while taking a step forward with the right foot, simultaneously thrusting out the right arm full length with the extended rifle held in the grip of the right hand alone.[24] With a maximum 'kill zone' of some eleven feet, the throw point bayonet attack gave an impressive increase in 'reach', and was later adopted by other military forces, including the U.S. Army[24][25]
In response to criticism over the reduced reach of the SMLE rifle and bayonet, British ordnance authorities introduced the P1907 bayonet in 1908, which had a elongated blade of some seventeen inches to compensate for the reduced overall length of the SMLE rifle.[1][16][19][26][27] U.S. authorities in turn adopted a long (16-in. blade) bayonet for the M1903 Springfield short rifle, the M1905 bayonet; later, a long sword bayonet was also provided for the M1917 Enfield rifle.[21]
The experience of World War I saw a complete reversal in opinion on the relative value of long rifles and bayonets in typical combat infantry operations.[20][27][28][29] Whether in the close confines of trench warfare, night time raiding and patrolling, or attacking across open ground, soldiers of both sides soon recognized the inherent limitations of a long and ungainly rifle and bayonet when used as a close-quarters battle weapon.[20][27][28][29] Once Allied soldiers had been trained to expect the throw point or extended thrust-and-lunge attack, the method lost most of its tactical value on the World War I battlefield.[24] It required a strong arm and wrist, was very slow to recover if the initial thrust missed its mark, and was easily parried by a soldier who was trained to expect it, thus exposing the German soldier to a return thrust which he could not easily block or parry.[24][30][31] Instead of longer bayonets, infantry forces on both sides began experimenting with other weapons as auxiliary close-quarter arms, including the trench knife, pistol, hand grenade, and entrenching tool.[28][32]
Soldiers soon began employing the bayonet as a knife as well as an attachment for the rifle, and bayonets were oftened shortened officially or unofficially to make them more versatile and easier to use as tools, or to manuever in close quarters.[1][27][28][29] During World War II, bayonets would be further shortened into knife-sized weapons in order to give them additional utility as usable as fighting or utility knives.[1] The vast majority of modern bayonets introduced since World War II are knife bayonets.[1]
18th and 19th century military tactics included the introduction of tactical doctrines employing a bayonet fixed on the individual infantryman's musket, used in concert with massed troop formations.[2] One of the more notable of these was the concept of the bayonet charge, an attack by a formation of infantrymen with fixed bayonets, usually over short distances, in order to overrun enemy strongpoints, destroy artillery batteries, or break up enemy troop formations.
With the advent of the socket bayonet, the massed bayonet charge was perfected by British infantry during the European continental wars against France in the 18th Century.[2] The Russian Army used the bayonet frequently during the Napoleonic wars. A Russian tactical precept coined by Russian General Alexander Suvorov was "The Bullet is foolish, the Bayonet wise". Given Russia's often inadequately trained conscript armies and the use of inaccurate smooth-bore muskets, Russian officers preferred to use the bayonet charge in lieu of musket volley fire where possible.
The advent of modern warfare in the 20th century decreased the bayonet's usefulness, and as early as the American Civil War (1861–65) the bayonet was ultimately responsible for less than one percent of battlefield casualties.[33] Modern warfare, however, does still see the use of the bayonet for close-quarter fighting. The use of "cold steel" to force the enemy to retreat was very successful in numerous small unit engagements at short range in the American Civil War, as most troops would retreat when charged while in the process of reloading (which could take up to a minute with loose powder even for trained troops). Though such charges inflicted few casualties, they often decided short engagements, and tactical possession of important defensive ground features. Additionally, bayonet drill could be used to rally men temporarily discomfited by enemy fire.[34]
During the Korean War, Lewis L. Millett led soldiers of the US Army's 27th Infantry Regiment in taking out a machine gun position with bayonets. Millett was awarded the Medal of Honor for this action. This was the last bayonet charge by the US Army.
The British Army performed bayonet charges during the Falklands War (see Battle of Mount Tumbledown), the Second Gulf War, and the war in Afghanistan.[35] In 2004 in Iraq at the Battle of Danny Boy, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders bayonet charged mortar positions filled with over 100 Mahdi Army members. The ensuing hand to hand fighting resulted in an estimate of over 40 insurgents killed and 35 bodies collected (many floated down the river) and 9 prisoners. Sergeant Brian Wood, of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, was awarded the Military Cross for his part in the battle.[36] This engagement brought to notice the tactical use of the weapon for close combat and the sheer psychological effect it can have. Similarly, in 2009, Lieutenant James Adamson, aged 24, of the Royal Regiment of Scotland was awarded the Military Cross for a bayonet charge whilst on a tour of duty in Afghanistan: after shooting one Taliban fighter dead Adamson had run out of ammunition when another enemy appeared. Adamson immediately charged the second Taliban fighter and bayoneted him.[37]
Modern bayonets are often knife-shaped with either a handle and a socket, or are permanently attached to the rifle as with the SKS. Depending on where and when a specific SKS was manufactured, it may have a permanently attached bayonet with a knife-shaped blade (Russian, Romanian, Yugoslavian, early Chinese), or triangular (Albanian and late Chinese) spike bayonet, or no bayonet at all.
Most modern bayonets are attached to a rifle by sliding the bayonet onto a bayonet lug, a rail-like slide on the rifle, with a reciprocating feature in the hilt of the bayonet. Using spring-loaded devices that differ from bayonet to bayonet, the hilt is locked in place on the bayonet lug. Typically, a hole in the guard on the bayonet fits around the barrel of the rifle to keep it in place and not allow wobbling, a serious problem if the bayonet is only attached to the lug. To detach, the user simply pushes a button, usually found at the pommel of the bayonet or just behind the guard on the spine or edge side, not in line with the flat of the blade, to be pushed with the thumb. This button releases the spring locks and allows the bayonet to be removed. On the British Army's SA80 assault rifle the bayonet fits over the barrel, but the blade is offset to still allow the weapon to fire without obstructing the bullet.
In a modern context, bayonets are still used for controlling prisoners and as a "last resort" weapon for close quarters combat e.g. situations where a soldier has run out of ammunition, or if his weapon has jammed or is damaged. In general, bayonets are not fitted to modern weapons except when they are to be used as a primary weapon. This is because the weight of bayonet affixed to a rifle barrel affects the barrel's harmonic vibration or whip, often changing the bullet's point of impact, particularly at longer ranges.
Aside from its use in massed charges, the bayonet remains useful as a substitute utility knife, and some authorities continue to insist that the bayonet serves as a useful training aid in building a soldier's morale. Training in the use of the bayonet has been given precedence long after the combat role of the bayonet declined as it is thought to increase desired aggressiveness in troops.[38] Despite the limitations of the bayonet, many modern assault rifles retain a bayonet lug and the weapon is still issued in many armies.
In armies of the Commonwealth of Nations, in close-order drill the command to fix bayonets is a two-part command. It consists of the preparatory order "Fix" and the execution order "BAYONETS". It is issued only from the Order Arms position. The commands to "Fix" and "Unfix" bayonets are among the only drill commands not executed in a specified cadence.
In the Rifle Regiments of the British Army, using a practice harkening back to the days when their flintlock rifles carried sword bayonets, the command is "Fix....SWORDS!". Bayonets are also fixed on the command, "Prepare to Assault", which is given towards the end of a section or fire team attack. The bayonet in the Canadian Forces is fitted on the front of the Tactical Vest for easy access.
The current British bayonet has a hollow handle so it can fit over the flash eliminator and the blade is offset to the right of the handle.
The modern sawback U.S. M9 bayonet, officially adopted in 1984, is issued with a special sheath designed to double as a wire cutter, developed by Phrobis III. Some production runs of the M9 have a fuller and some do not, depending upon which contractor manufactured that batch and what the military specs were at the time. The M9 bayonet partially replaced, but is used in addition to, the older M7 bayonet, introduced 1964. Many troops have retained the M7, since the M9 has a reputation for breakage due to a combination of its thin blade and varying quality among the various contractors used.
As of 2002, the U.S. Marine Corps is also issuing small quantities of new bayonets of a different design from the M9, with an 8-inch Bowie knife-style blade and no fuller, manufactured by the Ontario Knife Company of New York. This new bayonet, the OKC-3S, is cosmetically similar to the Marines' famed Ka-Bar fighting knife. The weapon upgrade is part of a push begun four years ago by then-Commandant Gen. James L. Jones to expand and toughen hand-to-hand combat training for Marines, including more training in the martial arts and knife fighting. The new bayonet — with a 8-inch (20 cm) long, 13⁄8 in (3.49 cm) wide, .2-inch (0.51 cm) thick steel blade, and weighing 1.25 pounds (0.57 kg) with its sheath — is slightly longer, thicker, and heavier than the current M9. A sharper point and serrations near the handle help penetrate body armor that many modern adversaries wear. In one demonstration, a prototype was able to pierce a punching bag covered with aircraft aluminium and a ballistic vest. Also, the handle is more oval than round to prevent repetitive-stress injuries during training.
In United States Marine Corps drill and ceremonies, the command "FIX... BAYONETS!" is executed in four movements from the order arms position. In the United States Army, the movement is also executed from order arms; there are no specified movements, but the bayonet is to be attached quickly and quietly.
In 2010, the U.S. Army began a shift away from bayonet assault training and instead focused on training with pugil sticks. An Army spokesperson announced that the reason for the change was that the "last time the U.S. had a bayonet assault was in 1951".[39][40][41] In the U.S. Marine Corps, recruits at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego still get their first instruction in using the bayonet as a lethal weapon on their 10th day. The essence of bayonet fighting as taught in the Corps is to spring forward from a modified crouch and thrust the blade into the enemy. Recruits are taught how to use a bayonet to push aside an enemy's weapon.
As the AK-47 assault rifle was copied by PRC as the Type 56 assault rifle, the Type 56 rifles and its variants has a detachable knife bayonet. The bayonet was used for close quarters combat as a weapon. The successed variant Type 81 has an advanced knife bayonet which can be used as a dagger and a bottle opener. Until now, the latest Chinese rifle QBZ-03 still has the knife bayonet.
The push-twist motion of fastening the older type of bayonet has given name to:
The bayonet has become a symbol of military power. The term "at the point of a bayonet" refers to using military force or action to accomplish, maintain, or defend something (cf. Bayonet Constitution). Undertaking a task 'with fixed bayonets' has this connotation of no room for compromise and is a phrase used particularly in politics.
The Australian Army 'Rising Sun' badge features a semicircle of bayonets. The Australian Army Infantry Combat Badge (ICB) takes the form of a vertically mounted Australian Army SLR (7.62mm self-loading rifle FN FAL) bayonet surrounded by an oval-shaped laurel wreath.[42] The U.S. Army Combat Action Badge, awarded to personnel who have come under fire since 2001 and who are not eligible for the Combat Infantryman Badge, has a bayonet as its central motif.
The shoulder sleeve insignia for the 10th Mountain Division in the U.S. Army features crossed bayonets. The US Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team's shoulder patch features a bayonet wrapped in a wing, symbolizing their airborne status. The brigade regularly deploys in task forces under the name "Bayonet". The insignia of the British Army's School of Infantry is an SA80 bayonet against a red shield. It is worn as a TRF by instructors at the Infantry Training Centre Catterick, the Infantry Battle School, Brecon and the Support Weapons School in Warminster.
Hunting weapons, Howard L Blackmore, 2000, Dover Publications
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.