141-637: The Cape Town Highlanders is a reserve mechanised infantry regiment of the South African Army . Descendants of Scottish immigrants to South Africa raised the Cape Town Highlanders in 1885. On 24 April of the same year, their services were accepted – since then, this date has always been celebrated as the regiment's official birthday. The regiment first saw active duty during the Bechuanaland Campaign that
282-703: A digging tool for excavating entrenchments. In 1870, the US Army issued trowel bayonets to infantry regiments based on a design by Lieutenant-Colonel Edmund Rice , a US Army officer and Civil War veteran, which were manufactured by the Springfield Armory. 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. Ten thousand were eventually issued, and
423-605: A "motor infantry" battalion mounted in Universal Carriers or later in lend-lease halftracks. "Type B" brigades lacked a motor infantry component and were subordinated to infantry formations. The Canadian Army and, subsequently the British Army, used expedients such as the Kangaroo APC , usually for specific operations rather than to create permanent mechanized infantry formations. The first such operation
564-414: A battlefield obstructed by craters , barbed wire , and trenches. Tracked or all-wheel drive vehicles were to be the solution. Following the war, development of mechanized forces was largely theoretical for some time, but many nations began rearming in the 1930s. The British Army had established an Experimental Mechanized Force in 1927, but it failed to pursue that line because of budget constraints and
705-466: A bayonet charge did not necessarily cause substantial casualties through the use of the weapon itself. Detailed battle casualty lists from the 18th century showed that in many battles, less than 2% of all wounds treated were caused by bayonets. Antoine-Henri Jomini , a celebrated military author who served in numerous armies during the Napoleonic period, stated that the majority of bayonet charges in
846-796: A claymore or rifle. Non-commissioned officers are entitled to carry a "swagger stick" as a mark of their important status in the regiment. No officer or NCO may eat before his men have eaten. The Cape Town Highlanders Regiment has the following battle honours on its regimental colours: Bechuanaland 1896–97 , * South Africa 1899–1902 , South West Africa 1915 , Gazala , Alem Hamza, Best Post, Alamein Box, Alamein Defence . Alem el Halfa , Battle of El Alamein , Western Desert 1941–43 , Cassino II, Paliano, Chiusi, Florence, Gothic Line , The Greve, Monte Stanco, Monte Pezza, Sole/Caprara, Po Valley, Italy 1944–45 The South African Union Defence Act of 1914 prohibited
987-420: A comparatively larger proportion of manpower is required to crew and maintain the vehicles. For example, most APCs mount a section of seven or eight infantrymen but have a crew of two. Most IFVs carry only six or seven infantry but require a crew of three. To be effective in the field, mechanized units also require many mechanics , with specialized maintenance and recovery vehicles and equipment. As early as 1915
1128-510: A division of a roughly similar composition to a Soviet mechanized corps, which fought in the Italian Campaign , but it had little scope for mobile operations until near the end of the war. The Romanian Army fielded a mixed assortment of vehicles. These amounted to 126 French-designed Renault UE Chenillettes which were licence-built locally, 34 captured and refurbished Soviet armored tractors , 27 German-made armored half-tracks of
1269-499: A flat milled on one side near the edge and a corresponding flat milled on the opposite side near the false edge." The blade has a new spear point and an improved one-piece moulded plastic grip, making it a more effective fighting knife. It also has saw-teeth on the false edge and the usual hole for use as a wire-cutter. The wire cutting versions of the AK bayonets each have an electrically insulated handle and an electrically insulated part of
1410-404: A functional saw. Generally, an average of 6% of all bayonets were sawbacks for non-commissioned officers. There were some exceptions, such as the kurzes Seitengewehr 1898 model, all of which were of the sawback design and meant for what was considered more prestigious units, such as machine gunners, telegraph troop and colonial troops. The sawback proved relatively ineffective as a cutting tool, and
1551-450: A general working headdress, regardless of the order of dress being worn or whether the wearer is in barracks or in the field, although in the latter case it is sometimes replaced by a bush-hat or helmet. The glengarry is worn for walking out; on ceremonial, mess and social occasions; and after Retreat has been sounded at 18h00. Officers carry an ash-plant walking stick on all occasions except mess and other formal functions; or when armed with
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#17327828826221692-563: A hallmark of modern warfare . The use of bayonet charges 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 reloading. Although 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 unnerved by enemy fire. While
1833-727: A long sword bayonet for the Model 1898 Mauser rifle, which had a 29-inch barrel. The bayonet, the Seitengewehr 98 , had a 50 cm (19.7-inch) blade. 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 'reach'. After 1900, Switzerland, Britain, and the United States adopted rifles with barrel lengths shorter than that of
1974-467: A mechanized infantry element for combined arms teamwork. For example, US armored divisions had a balance of three battalions each of tanks, armored infantry, and self-propelled artillery . The US armored infantry was fully equipped with M2 and M3 halftracks . In the British and Commonwealth armies, "Type A armoured brigades," intended for independent operations or to form part of armored divisions, had
2115-570: A multi-purpose knife and wire-cutter when combined with its scabbard. It can even be used by troops to cut their way free through the relatively thin metal skin of a crashed helicopter or airplane. The current USMC OKC-3S bayonet bears a resemblance to the Marines' iconic Ka-Bar fighting knife with serrations near the handle. The AK-47 was adopted by Communist China as the Type 56 assault rifle and includes an integral folding spike bayonet, similar to
2256-673: A number of Japanese type 30 rifles for the Royal Navy during the preceding years. 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. The experience of World War I reversed opinion on the value of long rifles and bayonets in typical infantry combat operations. Whether in
2397-702: A result of the subsequent abolition of conscription and the transformation of the South African Army, the Cape Town Highlanders Regiment returned to its original form of a volunteer regiment. In 2000 a contingent of the Cape Town Highlanders attended the Queen Mother's 100th birthday and paraded the regiment's Colour on Horse Guards Parade . The Drums and Pipes participated in a special parade centenary for
2538-504: A rifled musket, but longer than that of a carbine. These were intended for general use by infantry and cavalry. The "reach" of the new short rifles with attached bayonets was reduced. Britain introduced the SMLE (Short, Magazine, Lee–Enfield), in 1904. The German M1898 Mauser rifle and attached sword bayonet was 20 cm (eight inches) longer than the SMLE and its P1903 bayonet, which used
2679-493: A second officer to lead the assault team. During the Battle of St. Quentin in late March 1918, A7Vs were accompanied by twenty stormtroopers from Rohr Assault Battalion, but it is unspecified if they were acting as dismounts or were accompanying the tanks on foot. During the battle, tank crews were reported to have dismounted and attacked enemy positions with grenades and flamethrowers on numerous occasions. Another example of
2820-421: A series of small five-man fireteams to attack the weakest point of an enemy's defenses. The Chinese assault team would crawl undetected within grenade range, then launch surprise attacks with fixed bayonets against the defenders in order to breach the defenses by relying on maximum shock and confusion. If the initial shock failed to breach the defenses, additional fireteams would press on behind them and attack
2961-519: A short sword 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. 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." One of these multipurpose designs
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#17327828826223102-520: A strong impression on UN forces that fought in Korea, giving birth to the description of "human wave". The term "human wave" was later used by journalists and military officials to convey the image of the American soldiers being assaulted by overwhelming numbers of Chinese on a broad front, which is inaccurate when compared with the normal Chinese practice of sending successive series of small teams against
3243-475: A sword bayonet-fitted rifle is the Pattern 1800 Infantry Rifle, later known as the " Baker Rifle ". Sword bayonets were used by German Jagers in the 18th century. 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 . A sword bayonet could be used in combat as a sidearm , when detached from the musket or rifle. When
3384-527: A twelve-inch (30 cm) blade. While the British P1903 and its similar predecessor, the P1888, was satisfactory in service, criticism soon arose regarding the shortened reach. 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 favour of
3525-698: A weak point in the line. It was in fact rare for the Chinese to actually use densely concentrated infantry formations to absorb enemy firepower. One use the Germans in World War II made of bayonets was to search for people in hiding. One person hiding in a house in the Netherlands wrote: "The Germans made lots of noise as they came upstairs, and they stabbed their bayonets into the wall. Then what we'd always feared actually happened: A bayonet went through
3666-405: Is a knife , dagger , sword , or spike-shaped melee weapon designed to be mounted on the end of the barrel of a rifle , carbine , musket or similar long firearm , allowing the gun to be used as an improvised spear in close combats . The term is derived from the town of Bayonne in southwestern France , where bayonets were supposedly first used by Basques in the 17th century. From
3807-510: Is generally accepted that single weapons system types are much less effective without the support of the full combined arms team; the pre-World War II notion of "tank fleets" has proven to be as unsound as the World War I idea of unsupported infantry attacks. Though many nations' armored formations included an organic mechanized infantry component at the start of World War II, the proportion of mechanized infantry in such combined arms formations
3948-544: Is highest, after Russian tank and motor infantry units suffered heavy losses fighting Chechen troops in Grozny during the First Chechen War in 1995. Many APCs and IFVs currently under development are intended for rapid deployment by aircraft. New technologies that promise reduction in weight, such as electric drive, may be incorporated. However, facing a similar threat in post-invasion Iraq to that which prompted
4089-493: Is of a wave of soldiers with bayonets fixed, "going over the top" and charging across no man's land into a hail of enemy fire. Although this was the standard method of fighting early in the war, it was rarely successful. British casualties on the first day of the Battle of the Somme were the worst in the history of the British army, with 57,470 British casualties, 19,240 of whom were killed. During World War I, no man's land
4230-411: Is to be used "when the battle have depleted both gunpowder and bullets as well as fighting against bandits, when forces are closing into melee or encountering an ambush" and if one "cannot load the gun within the time it takes to cover two bu (3.2 meters) of ground they are to attach the bayonet and hold it like a spear". Early bayonets were of the "plug" type, where the bayonet was fitted directly into
4371-403: The 15th Alabama Infantry Regiment and other Confederate regiments. Other bayonet charges occurred at Gettysburg, such as that of the 1st Minnesota Infantry Regiment . This was ordered in desperation by General Hancock earlier on July 2 in order to delay a Confederate brigade's advance long enough to bring up reinforcements for the holed Union line on Cemetery Ridge. Still another bayonet charge
Cape Town Highlanders - Misplaced Pages Continue
4512-463: The 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division until the end of the war. The title was changed again, in 1932, to Cape Town Highlanders (Duke of Connaught and Strathearn's Own) . At the outbreak of World War II in 1939 the regiment was again mobilised. However, it did not fight in the first campaign of the South African Army in the war, the Abyssinian campaign of 1940 to 1941. However, in mid-1941,
4653-527: The AKM Type I bayonet (introduced in 1959) was an improvement of the original design. It has a Bowie style (clip-point) blade with saw-teeth along the spine, and can be used as a multi-purpose survival knife and wire-cutter when combined with its steel scabbard. The AK-74 bayonet 6Kh5 (introduced in 1983) represents a further refinement of the AKM bayonet. "It introduced a radical blade cross-section, that has
4794-597: The Battle of Alma and the Battle of Inkerman during the Crimean War , where the Imperial Russian Army learned to fear it. In the 1860s, European nations began to develop new bolt-action breechloading rifles (such as the Chassepot and Snider–Enfield ) and sword bayonets suitable for mass production and used by police, pioneer, and engineer troops. The decision to redesign the bayonet into
4935-639: The British instigated a tracked vehicle that could carry 50 equipped troops under armour but the project got no further than trials before cancellation. Some of the first mechanized infantry were German assault teams mounted on A7V tanks during World War I . The vehicles were extra-large to let them carry sizeable assault teams and would regularly carry infantry on board in addition to their already large crews that were trained as stormtroopers . All machine-gun-armed A7V tanks carried two small flamethrowers for their dismounts to use. A7V tank would often carry
5076-607: The Bulldog APC as "mechanised infantry". This convention is becoming widespread; for example the French Army has " motorisées " units equipped with the wheeled VAB and " mécanisées " units with the tracked AMX-10P . The transport and other logistic requirements have led many armies to adopt wheeled APCs when their existing stocks of tracked APCs require replacement. An example is the Canadian Army, which has used
5217-602: The Duke of Connaught and Strathearn's Own Cape Town Highlanders . When the regiment was embodied in the Union Defence Force (UDF) Citizen Force in 1913, the title was changed to 6th Infantry (Duke of Connaught and Strathearn's Own Cape Town Highlanders) . During World War I the Cape Town Highlanders first fought against Germany in German South-West Africa , but was subsequently combined with
5358-668: The Federal Republic of Germany , an approximate analogue, the Marder , appeared only in 1970. Unlike the APC, which was intended merely to transport the infantry from place to place under armor, the IFV had heavy firepower that could support infantry. The Infantry fighting vehicle concept was subsequently copied by almost all countries of the world. The introduction of the BMP-1 prompted
5499-641: The IDF Achzarit , that are converted from obsolete main battle tanks (such as the Soviet T-55 ). Such vehicles are usually expedients, and lack of space prevents the armament of an IFV being carried in addition to an infantry section or squad. In the Russian Army, such vehicles were introduced for fighting in urban areas, where the risk from short range infantry anti-tank weapons, such as the RPG-7 ,
5640-743: The LAV III wheeled IFV in fighting in Afghanistan. The Italian , Spanish and Swedish armies are adopting (and exporting) new indigenous-produced tracked IFVs. The Swedish CV90 IFV in particular has been adopted by several armies. A recent trend seen in the Israel Defense Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is the development and introduction of exceptionally well-armored APCs (HAPC), such as
5781-653: The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment , was awarded the Military Cross for his part in the battle. In 2009, Lieutenant James Adamson of the Royal Regiment of Scotland was awarded the Military Cross for a bayonet charge while in Afghanistan. Adamson had run out of ammunition so he immediately charged a Taliban fighter with his bayonet. Lance Corporal Sean Jones of The Princess of Wales's Regiment
Cape Town Highlanders - Misplaced Pages Continue
5922-649: The Queen Mother ) was appointed colonel-in-chief, and from 1948 until South Africa became a republic in 1961 , the regiment was the Queen's Own Cape Town Highlanders . The first significant post-war action of the Cape Town Highlanders took place in January 1976, during Operation Savannah . This was the first large-scale incursion by the South African Defence Force (SADF) into Angola during
6063-662: The Sd.Kfz. 250 and Sd.Kfz. 251 types, over 200 Czechoslovak Tatra , Praga and Skoda trucks (the Tatra trucks were a model which was specifically built for the Romanian Army) as well as 300 German Horch 901 4x4 field cars. Sd.Kfz. 8 and Sd.Kfz. 9 half-tracks were also acquired, as well as nine vehicles of the Sd.Kfz. 10 type and 100 RSO/01 fully tracked tractors. The Romanians also produced five prototypes of an indigenous artillery tractor. On July 9, 1945, Decree of
6204-662: The Second Sino-Japanese War , the Japanese were able to use bayonet charges effectively against poorly organized and lightly armed Chinese troops. "Banzai charges" became an accepted military tactic where Japanese forces were able to rout larger Chinese forces routinely. In the early stages of the Pacific War (1941–1945), a sudden bayonet charge could overwhelm unprepared enemy soldiers. Such charges became known to Allied forces as "Banzai charges" from
6345-460: The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. At present, almost all infantry units from industrialized nations are provided with some type of motor transport. Infantry units equipped with IFVs rather than lighter vehicles are commonly designated as "heavy", indicating more combat power but also more costly long-range transportation requirements. In Operation Desert Shield , during the buildup phase of
6486-659: The State Defence Committee No. GKO-9488ss, "On the Resupply of Armored and Mechanized Forces of the Red Army" was issued. It ordered the creation of mechanised divisions from many rifle divisions, included in the Armored and Mechanised Troops. In some cases, cavalry divisions and airborne divisions also became mechanised divisions The Soviet motorised rifle troops officially appeared in accordance with
6627-581: The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) . However, it was not until 1671 that General Jean Martinet standardized and issued plug bayonets to the French regiment of fusiliers then raised. They were issued to part of an English dragoon regiment raised in 1672, and to the Royal Fusiliers when raised in 1685. The major problem with plug bayonets was that when attached they made it impossible to fire
6768-760: The Transvaal Scottish Regiment to form the 4th South African Infantry (South African Scottish) Regiment, part of the 1st South African Brigade . (The South African Scottish, like various similar units, was formed by the South African government since a clause in the Defence Act of that time prohibited existing units from serving so far outside the country's borders.) After fighting in the Senussi Campaign in North Africa
6909-729: The United States Army , mechanized infantry is distinguished from motorized infantry in that its vehicles provide a degree of armor protection and armament for use in combat, whereas motorized infantry are provided with "soft-skinned" wheeled vehicles for transportation only. Most APCs and IFVs are fully tracked or are all-wheel drive vehicles ( 6×6 or 8×8 ), for mobility across rough ground. Some militaries distinguish between mechanized and armored (or armoured ) infantry , designating troops carried by APCs as mechanized and those in IFVs as armored. The support weapons for mechanized infantry are also provided with motorized transport, or they are built directly into combat vehicles to keep pace with
7050-474: The knife bayonet type. The development of the bayonet from the 17th century onwards led to the bayonet charge becoming the main infantry tactic throughout the 18th, 19th, and early 20th century. The British Army under Wolesley, the later Duke of Wellington, evolved its tactics to adopt the "Volley and Bayonet Charge" from the earlier "Highland Charge" tactic of Highland regiments under his command. These proto "fire and maneuver" tactics were first introduced to
7191-568: The trench knife , trench club , handgun , hand grenade , and entrenching tool . Soldiers soon began employing the bayonet as a knife as well as an attachment for the rifle, and bayonets were often shortened officially or unofficially to make them more versatile and easier to use as tools, or to maneuver in close quarters. During World War II , bayonets were further shortened into knife-sized weapons in order to give them additional utility as fighting or utility knives . The vast majority of modern bayonets introduced since World War II are of
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#17327828826227332-405: The 16th century, but it is not clear whether bayonets at the time were knives that could be fitted to the ends of firearms, 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
7473-422: The 23-year-long " Border War " in South-West Africa (now Namibia ). During the following years the regiment was mobilised several times, including for Operation Prone and others. The last mobilisation during this period occurred in October 1988. The regiment was mobilised in April 1994 as part of the efforts by the South African National Defence Force to ensure a peaceful first fully democratic election. As
7614-413: The 4th Infantry Regiment which was unique in that it was the South African Scottish, raised from the Transvaal Scottish and the Cape Town Highlanders, and wearing the Atholl Murray tartan. This regiment's collar badges were identical to those of the Cape Town Highlanders but bore the Latin motto "Mors Lucrum Mihi" (Death is my reward) in place of the usual Cape Town Highlander wording. (Death is my Reward),
7755-399: The Americans were surprised that the Japanese did not employ banzai charges at the Battle of Iwo Jima . The term " human wave attack " was often misused to describe the Chinese short attack —a combination of infiltration and the shock tactics employed by the People's Liberation Army during the Korean War (1950–1953). A typical Chinese short attack was carried out at night by sending
7896-459: The British Army by the 42nd Highlanders (Black Watch) at Fontenoy in 1745 although, they had been used by their antecedents, (The Independent Highland Watch Companies) prior to that. As early as the 19th century, military scholars were already noting that most bayonet charges did not result in close combat . Instead, one side usually fled before actual bayonet fighting ensued. The act of fixing bayonets has been held to be primarily connected to morale,
8037-420: The British Army mounted bayonet charges during the Falklands War , notably the 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment during the Battle of Mount Longdon and the 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards during the final assault of Mount Tumbledown . In 1995, during the Siege of Sarajevo , UN peacekeepers of the French 3rd Marine Infantry Regiment charged Serbian forces at the Battle of Vrbanja bridge . Actions led by
8178-475: The Cape Town Highlanders. The regiment is currently a mechanised infantry regiment in the SANDF and has sent members as part of the peacekeeping contingent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Burundi . It has also taken part in internal deployments in support of the police as well as protecting the border. The weekend of 24 April 2015 saw the 130-year anniversary of the Cape Town Highlanders' creation, marked by regimental celebration dinners,
8319-399: The Directive of the Minister of Defense of the USSR No. org. / 3/62540 of February 27, 1957. This directive ordered part of the mechanized divisions and all rifle units and formations reorganized into 'motorised rifle' in the period 1957 to 1964. Creation of the motorised rifle troops was facilitated by large-scale mechanisation of the whole Soviet Ground Forces . This became possible due to
8460-400: The FALs 22 mm NATO-spec flash hider. Its spear-type blade is offset to the side of the handle to allow the bullet to pass beside the blade. The current British L3A1 socket bayonet is based on the FN FAL Type C socket bayonet with a clip-point blade. It has a hollow handle that fits over the SA80/L85 rifle's muzzle and slots that lined up with those on the flash eliminator. The blade
8601-447: The First Gulf War, the U.S. Army was concerned about the lack of mobility, protection and firepower offered by existing rapid deployment (i.e., airborne) formations; and also about the slowness of deploying regular armored units. The experience led the U.S. Army to form combat brigades based on the Stryker wheeled IFV. In the British Army, "heavy" units equipped with the Warrior IFV are described as "armoured infantry", and units with
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#17327828826228742-513: The German economy could not produce adequate numbers of its half-track APC, barely a quarter or a third of the infantry in Panzer or Panzergrenadier divisions were mechanized, except in a few favored formations. The rest were moved by truck. However, most German reconnaissance units in such formations were also primarily mechanized infantry and could undertake infantry missions when it was needed. The Allies generally used jeeps, armored cars, or light tanks for reconnaissance. The Red Army began
8883-468: The Japanese battle cry. By the end of the war, against well organized and heavily armed Allied forces, a banzai charge inflicted little damage but at high cost. They were sometimes conducted as a last resort by small groups of surviving soldiers when the main battle was already lost. Some Japanese commanders, such as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi , recognized the futility and waste of such attacks and expressly forbade their men from carrying them out. Indeed,
9024-425: The Queen Mother in Edinburgh , and carried on to participate in the Edinburgh Military Tattoo . With the death of the Queen Mother in 2002, the regiment sent a contingent to participate in her funeral procession. The Drums and Pipes have since performed regularly at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo (2002, 2004, 2006, 2009 and 2012). In 2006, they were invited, together with the Queensland Police Pipe Band and 4 bands from
9165-431: The Russians to convert tanks to APCs, the occupying armies have found it necessary to apply extra armor to existing APCs and IFVs, which adds to the overall size and weight. Some of the latest designs (such as the German Puma ) are intended to allow a light, basic model vehicle, which is air-transportable, to be fitted in the field with additional protection, thereby ensuring both strategic flexibility and survivability. In
9306-407: The SKS rifle. Some Type 56s may also use the AKM Type II bayonet. The latest Chinese rifle, the QBZ-95 , has a multi-purpose knife bayonet similar to the US M9. The FN FAL has two types of bayonet. The first is a traditional spear point bayonet. The second is the Type C socket bayonet introduced in the 1960s. It has a hollow handle that fits over the muzzle and slots that lined up with those on
9447-519: The Soviet Armed Forces from the 1980s was the provision of specialized IFVs for use by the Russian Airborne Troops . The first of them was the BMD-1 , which had the same firepower as the BMP-1 but could be carried in or even parachuted from the standard Soviet transport aircraft. That made airborne formations into mechanized infantry at the cost of reducing their "bayonet" strength, as the BMD could carry only three or at most four paratroopers in addition to its three-man crew. They were used in that role in
9588-500: The Soviet Army, a first-line "motor rifle" division from the 1970s onward usually had two regiments equipped with wheeled BTR-60 APCs and one with the tracked BMP-1 IFV. The "light" regiments were intended to make dismounted attacks on the division's flanks, while the BMP-equipped "heavy" regiment remained mounted and supported the division's tank regiment on the main axis of advance. Both types of infantry regiment still were officially titled "motor rifle" units. A line of development in
9729-439: The Soviet Union and its allies in the Warsaw Pact . Armored vehicles meant infantry were capable of overcoming water barriers and having means of protection against Weapons of Mass Destruction . The US Army established the basic configuration of the tracked APC with the M75 and M59 before it adopted the lighter M113 , which could be carried by Lockheed C-130 Hercules and other transport aircraft. The vehicle gave infantry
9870-424: The US Army in December 1881. Prior to World War I, bayonet doctrine was largely founded upon the concept of "reach"; that is, a soldier's theoretical ability, by use of an extremely long rifle and fixed bayonet, to stab an enemy soldier without having to approach within reach of his opponent's blade. A combined length of rifle and bayonet longer than that of the enemy infantryman's rifle and attached bayonet, like
10011-407: The Union Government having allowed the Imperial Authorities to recruit men in South Africa for this force.....as it is certainly not raised under the Defence Act of the Union of South Africa, and this being the case, the Union Government can grant no commissions. Any such commissions will be of temporary nature and will lapse at the conclusion of hostilities. As such, the below colours were awarded to
10152-1070: The Unit, but because of the unit being an "Imperial Unit" at the stage of award, the right to bear the colours lapsed at the end of hostilities. The fifteen "missing" battle honours awarded for service in France and Flanders to the 4th South African Infantry (South African Scottish) battalion include some of the most famous in South Africa's military history: Egypt 1916 , Somme 1916 , Delville Wood , Arras 1917 , Ypres 1917 , Menin Road , Messines 1918 , Hindenburg Line , Cambrai 1918 , Pursuit to Mons, France and Flanders 1918 , Le Transloy , Scarpe 1917 , Kemmel, Lys 11 Field Postal Unit Mechanised infantry Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also armoured corps ). As defined by
10293-432: The World War I battlefield. 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. Instead of longer bayonets, infantry forces on both sides began experimenting with other weapons as auxiliary close-quarter arms, including
10434-514: The attack as "the most complete bayonet charge by American troops since Cold Harbor ". The location subsequently became known as Bayonet Hill. This was the last bayonet charge by the US Army. Millett was awarded the Medal of Honor . On 23 October 1962, during the Sino-Indian War , 20 Indian soldiers led by Joginder Singh fixed bayonets and charged a force of 200 Chinese soldiers. While
10575-512: The barrel of the musket. This allowed light infantry to be converted to heavy infantry and hold off cavalry charges. The bayonet had a round handle that slid directly into the musket barrel. This naturally prevented the gun from being fired. The first known mention of the use of bayonets in European warfare was in the memoirs of Jacques de Chastenet, Vicomte de Puységur. He described the French using crude 1-foot (0.30 m) plug bayonets during
10716-409: The battlefields quickly enough to maintain the pressure on the regrouping enemy forces. It was widely acknowledged that cavalry was too vulnerable to be used on most European battlefields, but many armies continued to deploy them. Motorized infantry could maintain rapid movement, but their trucks required either a good road network or firm open terrain, such as desert . They were unable to traverse
10857-427: The bayonet serves as a useful training aid in building morale and increasing desired aggressiveness in troops. Today's bayonets often double as multi-purpose utility knives, bottle openers or other tools. Issuing one modern multi-purpose bayonet/knife is also more cost effective than issuing separate specialty bayonets, and field/combat knives. The original AK-47 has an adequate but unremarkable bayonet. However,
10998-437: The bayonet was attached to the musket or rifle, it effectively turned all long guns into a spear or glaive , which made it suitable for both thrusting and cutting attacks. 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. The new bayonet proved its worth at
11139-728: The brigade was shipped to France , where it took part in many battles between 1916 and 1918, including the famous Battle of Delville Wood . During its time on the Western Front , the South African Brigade and its Scottish heritage 4th Battalion, first served a lengthy stint with the British 9th (Scottish) Division , and following the Brigade's decimation in March 1918, was reconstituted and incorporated in September into
11280-633: The charge would prove futile for Singh and his men, it initially threw the Chinese off guard and forced a retreat despite outnumbering them 10 to 1. On 8 May 1970, National Guardsmen attacked student demonstrators with bayonets at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. The demonstrators were protesting the war in Vietnam and Cambodia, and the killing of four students at Kent State University. Eleven were injured, some seriously. In 1982,
11421-412: 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. 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
11562-634: The deployment of South African troops beyond the borders of the South Africa and its immediate neighbouring territories. To send troops to Europe to support the Commonwealth in World War I, Generals Botha and Smuts created the South African Overseas Expeditionary Force . However, because of the limitations of the Defence Act, they issued a General Order (Order 672 of 1915) which stated that The South African Overseas Expeditionary Force will be Imperial and have
11703-475: The design saw service during the 1877 Nez Perce campaign . Rice was given leave in 1877 to demonstrate his trowel bayonet to several nations in Europe. One infantry officer recommended it to the exclusion of all other designs, noting that "the entrenching [ sic ] tools of an army rarely get up to the front until the exigency for their use has passed." The Rice trowel bayonet was declared obsolete by
11844-549: The development of similar vehicles in Western armies, such as the West German Marder and American M2 Bradley . Many IFVs were also equipped with firing ports from which their infantry could fire their weapons from inside, but they were generally not successful and have been dropped from modern IFVs. Soviet organization led to different tactics between the "light" and the "heavy" varieties of mechanized infantry. In
11985-426: The early 17th to the early 20th century, it was an infantry melee weapon used for both offensive and defensive tactics , usually when charging in mass formations or human wave attacks . Today, it is mostly considered an ancillary weapon , usually of last resort, and is rarely used (if wielded at all), although it is still displayed routinely for ceremonial purposes. The term bayonette itself dates back to
12126-524: The equipment and doctrine for mechanized infantry. With the exception of airborne formations , the Red Army mechanized all its infantry formations. Initially, wheeled APCs, like the BTR-152 , were used, some of which lacked overhead protection and were therefore vulnerable to artillery fire. It still gave the Soviet Army greater strategic flexibility because of the large land area and the long borders of
12267-765: The exercising of the unit's right to the Freedom of the City in Cape Town, as well as a medal and church parade. Until 1967 the Regiment served as a de facto guard of honour battalion as well as in imitation of the Foot Guards of the British Army and the current Balaklava Company, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland . During WW1 the Union Defence Force established
12408-478: The exploitation phase of offensives, as part of the prewar Soviet concept of deep operations . The Soviet Army also created several cavalry mechanized groups in which tanks, mechanized infantry and horsed cavalry were mixed. They were also used in the exploitation and pursuit phases of offensives. Red Army mechanized infantry were generally carried on tanks or trucks, with only a few dedicated lend-lease half-track APCs. The New Zealand Army ultimately fielded
12549-399: The formation than the lighter motorized infantry formation, in which vehicles were considered "battle taxis" due to poor protection. The earliest experiment was the short-lived Soviet Light Motor Rifle Division in 1987, which consisted of wheeled BTR platforms for its primary armament. In the 1990s, the United States explored Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) formation and doctrines, which
12690-501: The increase in the production of armored personnel carriers , self-propelled guns and so on. For example, in the period before the formation and in the initial period of the formation of the motorized rifle troops : One or two motorised rifle regiments were also present in each tank division, and many tank regiments included one motorised rifle battalion. After 1945, the Soviet Armed Forces and NATO further developed
12831-463: The infantryman's pike of bygone days, was thought to impart a tactical advantage on the battlefield. In 1886, the French army introduced a 52-centimetre-long (20.5 in) 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 (1.8 m). Germany responded by introducing
12972-407: The late Cold War and early 21st century, various countries developed medium infantry forces armed with armored vehicles, which typically consisted of wheeled armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, and assault guns. Medium mechanized forces are characterized by having more strategic air and road mobility than heavier, tank-based armored forces while offering better armor protection for
13113-548: The longer, if both men are of equal skill." In 1905, the German Army adopted a shortened 37-centimetre-long (14.5 in) bayonet, the Seitengewehr 98/05 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. However, the long-barreled 98 Mauser rifle remained in service as
13254-431: The loyalists before they had time to fix bayonets. Shortly thereafter, the defeated leader, Hugh Mackay , is believed to have introduced a socket bayonet of his own invention. Soon "socket" bayonets would incorporate both socket mounts and an offset blade that fit around the musket's barrel, which allowed the musket to be fired and reloaded while the bayonet was attached. An unsuccessful trial with socket or zigzag bayonets
13395-431: The making of a clear signal to friend and foe of a willingness to kill at close quarters. The bayonet charge was above all a tool of shock. While charges were reasonably common in 18th and 19th century warfare, actual combat between formations with their bayonets was so rare as to be effectively nonexistent. Usually, a charge would only happen after a long exchange of gunfire, and one side would break and run before contact
13536-637: The mechanized infantry in combat. For units equipped with most types of APC or any type of IFV, fire support weapons, such as machine guns , autocannons , small-bore direct-fire howitzers , and anti-tank guided missiles are often mounted directly on the infantry's own transport vehicles. Compared with "light" truck-mobile infantry, mechanized infantry can maintain rapid tactical movement and, if mounted in IFVs, have more integral firepower. They require more combat supplies ( ammunition and especially fuel ) and ordnance supplies (spare vehicle components), and
13677-428: The musket, requiring soldiers to wait until the last possible moment before a melee to fix the bayonet. 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. The Highlanders closed to 50 yd (46 m), fired a single volley, dropped their muskets, and using axes and swords quickly overwhelmed
13818-489: The musket. A triangular blade was introduced around 1715 and was stronger than the previous single or double-edged model. The 18th century introduced the concept of the sword bayonet , 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 could form an infantry square properly to fend off cavalry attacks when in ranks with musketmen, whose weapons were longer. A prime early example of
13959-404: The muzzle and two fluted sides outermost to a length of 15 inches (38 cm). It had no lock to keep it fast to the muzzle, and was well-documented for falling off in the heat of battle. By the mid-18th century, socket bayonets had been adopted by most European armies. In 1703, the French infantry adopted a spring-loaded locking system that prevented the bayonet from accidentally separating from
14100-752: The new Royal Regiment of Scotland to perform at Balmoral Castle for the Royal Family. The Band has also participated in the Basel Tattoo , The Berlin Military Tattoo, Jinhae (South Korea) and at the Cape Town Tattoo, held in the Castle of Good Hope . In August 2019, it was announced that 52 South African Army Reserve units would have their names changed to reflect the diverse military history of South Africa. The Cape Town Highlanders
14241-569: The offensive with tank-heavy formations during the Six-Day War , the Israel Defense Forces found in the Yom Kippur War of 1973 that a doctrine that relied primarily on tanks and aircraft had proven inadequate. As a makeshift remedy, paratroopers were provided with motorized transport and used as mechanized infantry in coordination with the armor. Bayonet A bayonet (from Old French bayonette , now spelt baïonnette )
14382-405: The open resulted with one side fleeing before any contact was made. Combat with bayonets did occur, but mostly on a small scale when units of opposing sides encountered each other in a confined environment, such as during the storming of fortifications or during ambush skirmishes in broken terrain. In an age of fire by massed volley , when compared to random unseen bullets, the threat of the bayonet
14523-593: The other infantry and support units, this gave both armies highly mobile combined-arms formations. The German doctrine was to use them to exploit breakthroughs in Blitzkrieg offensives, whereas the French envisaged them being used to shift reserves rapidly in a defensive battle. As World War II progressed, most major armies integrated tanks or assault guns with mechanized infantry, as well as other supporting arms, such as artillery and combat engineers , as combined arms units. Allied armored formations included
14664-463: The overall Battle of Gettysburg was won by the Union armies due to a combination of terrain and massed artillery fire, a decisive point on the second day of the battle hinged on a bayonet charge at Little Round Top when Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain 's 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment , running short of musket ammunition, charged downhill, surprising and capturing many of the surviving soldiers of
14805-417: The primary infantry small arm. 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. These included the throw point or extended thrust-and-lunge attack. Using this tactic, the German soldier dropped into a half-crouch, with
14946-618: The prior need to garrison the frontiers of the British Empire . Although some proponents of mobile warfare, such as J. F. C. Fuller , advocated building "tank fleets", other, such as Heinz Guderian in Germany, Adna R. Chaffee Jr. in the United States, and Mikhail Tukhachevsky in the Soviet Union , recognized that tank units required close support from infantry and other arms and that such supporting arms needed to maintain
15087-861: The regiment allowed the UN peacekeepers to retreat from a threatened position. Two fatalities and seventeen wounded resulted. During the Second Gulf War and the war in Afghanistan , British Army units mounted several bayonet charges. In 2004, at the Battle of Danny Boy in Iraq, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders charged mortar positions of the Mahdi Army . The ensuing hand-to-hand fighting resulted in an estimate of over 40 insurgents killed and 35 bodies collected and nine prisoners. Sergeant Brian Wood, of
15228-436: The regiment is one of only three in the world (all of them South African) to have not only the usual two Alamein battle honours – "Alamein Defence" and "El Alamein" – but a third, "Alamein Box", which resulted from a separate action during the initial defence. This action played a significant role in halting Rommel 's advance on the tired and depleted British Eighth Army . During the regiment's subsequent deployment to Italy ,
15369-535: The regiment was briefly sent to Egypt to escort thousands of Italian prisoners of war to internment camps in South Africa; it returned to Egypt in late June of the same year to join the newly arrived South African 1st Infantry Division in the Western Desert. The Cape Town Highlanders fought in all of the major battles of the Western Desert campaign , including the Battle of El Alamein . Indeed,
15510-687: The regiment was temporarily combined with South Africa's senior Scottish unit, the First City Regiment , to form the First City/Cape Town Highlanders. This combined unit fought from Battle of Monte Cassino to the Alps , culminating in the heroic capture at bayonet -point of the strategic peak of Monte Sole as part of the South African 6th Armoured Division . In 1947, Queen Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth
15651-447: The rifle and fixed bayonet held close to the body. 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 to full length with the extended rifle held in the grip of the right hand alone. With a maximum 'kill zone' of some eleven feet, the throw point bayonet attack gave an impressive increase in 'reach', and
15792-616: The same mobility as tanks but with much less effective armor protection (it still had nuclear, biological, and chemical protection). In the Vietnam War , the M113 was often fitted with extra armament and used as an ad hoc infantry fighting vehicle. Early operations by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam using the vehicle showed that troops were far more effective while they were mounted in
15933-402: The same pace as the tanks. As the Germans rearmed in the 1930s, they equipped some infantry units in their new Panzer divisions with the half-track Sd.Kfz. 251 , which could keep up with tanks on most terrain. The French Army also created "light mechanized" ( légère mécanisée ) divisions in which some of the infantry units possessed small tracked carriers. Together with the motorization of
16074-415: The same point until a breach was created. Once penetration was achieved, the bulk of the Chinese forces would move into the enemy rear and attack from behind. Due to primitive communication systems and tight political controls within the Chinese army, short attacks were often repeated until either the defenses were penetrated or the attackers were completely annihilated. This persistent attack pattern left
16215-562: The scabbard, so it can be used to cut an electrified wire. The American M16 rifle used the M7 bayonet which is based on earlier designs such as the M4 , M5 and M6 models, all of which are direct descendants of the M3 Fighting Knife and have a spear-point blade with a half sharpened secondary edge. The newer M9 has a clip-point blade with saw-teeth along the spine, and can be used as
16356-468: The sea of projectiles, explosions, and flames. A bayonet charge through no man's land often resulted in the total annihilation of entire battalions. The advent of modern warfare in the 20th century made bayonet charges dubious affairs. During the Siege of Port Arthur (1904–1905), the Japanese used human wave attacks against Russian artillery and machine guns, suffering massive casualties. However, during
16497-547: The status of regular British Troops. "Status" was meant to imply administrative purposes, as Britain was paying for the maintenance of the force in the field for the sake of local political sensitivities. On 8 June 1916 the Adjutant General's office at Defence Headquarters issued a note stating: ....the force is raised locally for the purpose of assisting the Imperial Authorities...and it amounts to
16638-620: The thin wallpaper above the closet, exposing the three people who were hiding there. 'Raus!' cried the Germans. 'Out!'". During the Korean War, the French Battalion and Turkish Brigade used bayonet charges against enemy combatants. In 1951, United States Army officer Lewis L. Millett led soldiers of the US Army's 27th Infantry Regiment in capturing a machine gun position with bayonets. Historian S. L. A. Marshall described
16779-500: The use of such a method of fighting is the capture of Villers-Bretonneux , in which A7Vs would suppress the defenders with machine gun fire and assault teams would dismount and attack them with grenades. The British heavy tank design was given an extended hull to cross wide German trenches . This Mark V** had space for fourteen troops. The Mark IX tank based on the Mark V was designed solely for carrying troops with space for 30 but
16920-492: The vehicles than when they dismounted. American doctrine subsequently emphasized mounted tactics. The Americans ultimately deployed a mechanized brigade and ten mechanized battalions to Vietnam. The motorized rifle troops of the Soviet Armed Forces were the world's first infantry units that adopted a new class of combat vehicles in 1966 – Infantry fighting vehicles . BMP-1 began entering service in 1966. In
17061-500: The war ended before the order was complete and they could be used. Towards the end of World War I , all the armies involved were faced with the problem of maintaining the momentum of an attack. Tanks, artillery, or infiltration tactics could all be used to break through an enemy defense, but almost all offensives launched in 1918 ground to a halt after a few days. The following infantry quickly became exhausted, and artillery, supplies and fresh formations could not be brought forward over
17202-608: The war while still in the process of reorganizing its armored and mechanized formations, most of which were destroyed during the first months of the German Invasion of the Soviet Union. About a year later, the Soviets recreated division-sized mechanized infantry units, termed mechanized corps , usually with one tank brigade and three mechanized infantry brigades, with motorized supporting arms. They were generally used in
17343-474: Was Operation Totalize in the Battle of Normandy , which failed to achieve its ultimate objectives but showed that mechanized infantry could incur far fewer casualties than dismounted troops in set-piece operations. The German Army, having introduced mechanized infantry in its Panzer divisions, later named them Panzergrenadier units. In the middle of the war, it created entire mechanized infantry divisions and named Panzergrenadier divisions. Because
17484-505: Was a medium mechanized infantry formation with all-wheeled platforms centered around Stryker armored personnel carrier. In the early 21st century, China reformed its ground forces with the concept called Medium Combined Arms Brigade (CA-BDE), armed with Type 08 universal wheeled platform. A similar trend of adopting the medium mechanized forces was observed in European countries, including the Italian, Polish, and French armed forces. It
17625-615: Was actually made. Sir Charles Oman, nearing the end of his history of the Peninsular War (1807–1814) in which he had closely studied hundreds of battles and combats, only discovered a single example of, in his words, "one of the rarest things in the Peninsular War, a real hand-to-hand fight with the white weapon." Infantry melees were much more common in close country – towns, villages, earthworks and other terrain which reduced visibility to such ranges that hand-to-hand fighting
17766-408: Was awarded the Military Cross for his role in a 2011 bayonet charge. Today, the bayonet is rarely used in one-to-one combat. Despite its limitations, many modern assault rifles (including bullpup designs) retain a bayonet lug and the bayonet is issued by many armies. The bayonet is used for controlling prisoners, or as a weapon of last resort. In addition, some authorities have concluded that
17907-464: Was complemented with a sawback version, for example in Belgium in 1868, Great Britain in 1869 and Switzerland in 1878 (Switzerland introduced their last model in 1914). The original sawback bayonets were typically of the heavy sword-type, they were issued to engineers, with to some extent the bayonet aspect being secondary to the "tool" aspect. Later German sawbacks were more of a rank indicator than
18048-399: Was conducted late in the evening on July 2 by the 137th New York Infantry Regiment defending the extreme right flank of the Union line on Culp's Hill. The charge of several companies managed to temporarily stall the advance of the 10th Virginia Infantry Regiment long enough for the 14th Brooklyn to move in on the 137th's right and repel the attack. The popular image of World War I combat
18189-662: Was due to be known as the Gonnema Regiment, and along with units undergoing name changes had 3 years from the announcement in August 2019 to design and implement new regimental insignia. In an announcement by the SANDF's Directorate Defence Corporate Communication in June 2022 regarding name changes of South African Army Reserve units in Cape Town, it was confirmed that the unit has not officially changed its name and remains known as
18330-538: Was fought in the Northern Cape between 1896 and 1897. At the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Boer War the regiment was again mobilised for active duty. During the war the regiment or elements thereof took part in several actions, including the relief of Kimberley . The Duke of Connaught and Strathearn became colonel-in-chief of the regiment in 1906, and the regiment's name was thus changed to
18471-485: Was increased by most armies as the war progressed. The lesson was re-learned, first by the Pakistani Army in the 1965 war with India , where Pakistan fielded two different types of armored divisions: one which was almost exclusively armor (the 1st), while another was more balanced (the 6th). The latter division showed itself to be far more combat-capable than the former. Having achieved spectacular successes in
18612-415: Was issued with a roughly 57.6 cm (22.7 in) long plug bayonet, giving it an overall length of 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) with the bayonet attached. It was labelled as a "gun-blade" ( simplified Chinese : 铳刀 ; traditional Chinese : 銃刀 ; pinyin : Chòngdāo ) with it being described as a "short sword that can be inserted into the barrel and secured by twisting it slightly" that it
18753-554: Was later adopted by other military forces, including the U.S. Army. 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 an elongated blade of some seventeen inches to compensate for the reduced overall length of the SMLE rifle. The 1907 bayonet was essentially a copy of the Japanese Type 30 bayonet, Britain having purchased
18894-509: Was made after the Battle of Fleurus in 1690, in the presence of King 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 socket bayonets. The British socket bayonet had a spike with a triangular cross-section rather than a flat blade, with a flat side towards
19035-537: Was made in Bayonne but does not give any further description. There are some accounts that place the invention of the bayonet in either France or Germany as early as 1570. The first recorded instance of a bayonet proper is found in the Chinese military treatise, Binglu [ zh ] published in 1606. It was in the form of the Son-and-mother gun [ zh ] , a breech-loading musket that
19176-508: Was much more tangible and immediate – guaranteed to lead to a personal gruesome conclusion if both sides persisted. All this encouraged men to flee before the lines met. Thus, the bayonet was an immensely useful weapon for capturing ground from the enemy, despite seldom actually being used to inflict wounds. During the American Civil War (1861–1865) the bayonet was found to be responsible for less than 1% of battlefield casualties,
19317-423: Was often hundreds of yards across. The area was usually devastated by the warfare and riddled with craters from artillery and mortar shells, and sometimes contaminated by chemical weapons . Heavily defended by machine guns , mortars , artillery , and riflemen on both sides, it was often covered with barbed wire and land mines , and littered with the rotting corpses of those who were not able to make it across
19458-437: Was soon outmoded by improvements in military logistics and transportation; most nations dropped the sawback feature by the early 20th century. The German army discontinued use of the sawback bayonet in 1917 after protests that the serrated blade caused unnecessarily severe wounds when used as a fixed bayonet. The trowel or spade bayonet was another multipurpose design, intended for use both as an offensive weapon as well as
19599-449: Was the 'sawback' bayonet, which incorporated saw teeth on the spine of the blade. The sawback bayonet was intended for use as a general-purpose utility tool as well as a weapon; the teeth were meant to facilitate the cutting of wood for various defensive works such as barbed-wire posts, as well as for butchering livestock. It was initially adopted by the German states in 1865; until the middle of WWI approximately 5% of every bayonet style
19740-538: Was the family motto of the first Officer Commanding SA Scottish, a Lieutenant-Colonel F.A. Jones. The unit wears black instead of brown boots as a mark of mourning for a Scottish soldier, Major-General Sir John Moore , Commander of the Highland Brigade Two types of headgear, the khaki Balmoral bonnet and the Glengarry , which is blue with red-and-white dicing. The Balmoral is worn during daytime as
19881-399: Was unavoidable. These melees, however, were not bayonet charges per se, as they were not executed or defended against by regular bodies of orderly infantry; rather, they were a chaotic series of individual combats where musket butts and fists were used alongside bayonets, swords, and polearms. The bayonet charge was a common tactic used during the Napoleonic wars . Despite its effectiveness,
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