Bayonet

The US Marine Corps' OKC-3S Bayonet

An assault rifle as they are used by the Swiss army, with a bayonet

A bayonet (from French baïonnette) is a knife- or dagger-shaped weapon. It is designed to be attached to a rifle barrel or similar weapon. This will turn the gun into a spear. It is a close-combat or last-resort weapon.

Bayonet charge

18th and 19th century military tactics included the use of a bayonet fixed on the infantryman's musket. These were used with massed troop formations. One of the more notable of these was the bayonet charge. This was an attack by a formation of infantrymen with fixed bayonets, usually over short distances. It was to overrun enemy strong points, capture artillery batteries, or break up enemy troop formations.

With the use of the bayonet, the pike was no longer used because infantry could now defend themselves from cavalry without sacrificing firepower per man. The Russian Army used the bayonet frequently during the Napoleonic wars. A Russian saying coined by Russian General Alexander Suvorov was "The bullet is foolish, the bayonet wise". Given Russia's often poorly trained armies and inaccurate smoothbore muskets, Russian officers preferred to use the bayonet charge instead of musket volley fire where possible.

Bayonet Media

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  British infantryman in 1941 with a Pattern 1907 bayonet affixed to his rifle

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  Depiction of a Chinese muzzle-loading musket with a plug bayonet attached from 1606. The weapon's instructional manual and specifications is shown above.

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  Depiction of an early 18th-century Russian infantryman installing a plug bayonet.

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  Socket of a bayonet, showing triangular cross-section and fluted sides

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  Early 19th-century offset spiked socket bayonet

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  Chassepot bolt-action rifle and sword bayonet.

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  Bayonet assembly system of the Chassepot

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  British Pattern 1875 Snider saw-backed bayonet (with scabbard) for the artillery carbine

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  U.S. Bayonet Model 1873 trowel bayonet

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  German soldiers at bayonet practice in 1914