W&T: Bayonets

                                                                    Riley Schafhauser

Bayonets

Ramuloth here, and today I will be talking about bayonets in WW1. A bayonet is a blade that attaches to the bottom of a rifle. It was meant to invigorate the soldier wielding it and invoke terror in the enemy, also allowing a soldier to fight close quarters without needing to take the time to sheathe their gun and draw their sword. During WW1 the Americans and Germans both had their own takes on the bayonet. The Germans were equipped with the Gewehr 98, which was adapted to utilize enemy bayonets, while the Americans wielded the US M1917 Enfield. The first “bayonet” was the plug bayonet which fit into the muzzle of the gun, but unfortunately prevented the gun from firing until the blade was removed. It slowly evolved until it was manufactured with the ability to attach the blade with utmost efficiency in the 1800’s. The creator of the plug bayonet is unknown, but Armand-Marie-Jacques de Chastenet, Marquis of Puységur eventually made the much better socket bayonet. The bayonet was/is believed to have been made in a French town called Bayonne. Bayonets were carried by troops like any other rifle, strapped over their shoulder. Bayonets were used in the beginning of the First World War and over the course of the war, and nobody is sure if it actually made a difference during it. The main importance the bayonet served was being the primary close quarter’s melee weapon a soldier would have. As of today bayonets
have been used for around three hundred years.