A Weapon of Last Resort

While Hollywood may depict pre-modern conflict with one-on-one, heroic sword fights, the weapon that dominated the battlefield from the ancient until the modern era was the spear. Spears are a ranged weapon that have a much greater reach than a sword. The extended reach given by the spear allows an individual to keep their body as far as possible from harm. The Ancient Greek city states such as Athens and Sparta arranged men in massive, tightly packed rectangles where each would carry a long spear in one hand and a body-lengthed shield in the other. As weapons such as longbows and crossbows began to appear on the battlefield, spears were no longer the dominant ranged weapon they once were, yet they maintained their dominance when foot soldiers would clash. The spear was also instrumental in defending against cavalry charges as it is near impossible to coax a horse into running into a wall of spears. As firearms became adopted into wide use by armed forces all over the world, spears once again resisted obsolescence. This time, spears returned to battle as bayonets which have undergone many changes since the arrival of firearms.

An array of bayonets from the KLMA Collection

In the image shown, we have several bayonets displayed. The ones with triangular shaped blades are known as socket bayonets. These bayonets were fixed to the ends of muskets with a socket that fit around the barrel of the firearm, allowing for the musket to still be fired even with the bayonet attached. By using these bayonets, many European armies began to do away with pikemen as they became an obsolete method. Socket bayonets were used for a number of years before being replaced by the sword bayonet, versions of which can be seen below. Sword bayonets are single or double bladed and can function as short swords if need be. Sword bayonets were used during the First World War by soldiers charging a trench or attempting to repel an attack. Sword bayonets were also used throughout the Second World War in theatres where close combat was more frequent such as in the Pacific. Following the end of World War Two, bayonets started to become obsolete as combat became dominated by aircraft, tanks, and other technologies.

While bayonets may not be the weapon they once were, they are still used today as part of formal dress when regiments participate in ceremonial duties and they function as a weapon of last resort.

Written by Kane Patterson

As part of our Collection Care, these bayonets were cleaned to remove debris and any visible rust, treated to protect against future deterioration, photographed, catalogued digitally and then stored by affixing to coroplast boards with cotton twill tape and then stored within archival safe boxing. Each item is individually numbered and provided a unique location code for identification purposes. Research about the object itself, its use and its donor is completed to add context to the file.