BAYONET, a short thrusting weapon, fixed to the muzzle or fore-end of a rifle or musket and carried by troops armed with the latter weapons. The origin of the word is disputed, but there is some authority for the supposition that the name is derived from the town of Bayonne, where the short dagger called bayou nette was first made towards the end of the 15th century. The elder Puysegur, a native of Bayonne, says (in his memoirs, pub lished posthumously in Paris, 1747) that when he was com manding the troops at Ypres in 1647 his musketeers used bayonets consisting of a steel dagger fixed in a wooden haft, which fitted into the muzzle of the musket—in fact plug-bayonets. It has been established from the evidence in courts-martial held on some Eng lish soldiers—not pikemen—at Tangier in 1663-64, for using their "daggers" on their comrades, that the troops in Tangier used, and that these "daggers" were, plug-bayonets. In 1671 plug-bayonets were issued to the French regiment of fusiliers then raised. They were issued to part of an English dragoon regiment in 1672, al though withdrawn in 1674, and to the Royal Fusiliers when raised in 1685. The Foot Guards were armed with them in 1686. The danger incurred by the use of this bayonet (which put a stop to all fire) was felt so early that the younger Puysegur saw a ring bayonet in 1678 which could be fixed without stopping the fire. The English defeat at Killiecrankie in 1689 was due (among other things) to the use of the plug-bayonet ; and shortly after wards the defeated leader, Gen. Mackay, introduced a ring-bay onet of his own invention. A trial with badly fitting socket or zig zag bayonets was made after. the battle of Fleurus, 169o, in the presence of Louis XIV., who refused to adopt them. Shortly after the peace of Ryswick (1697) the English and Germans abol ished the pike and introduced these bayonets, and plates of them are given in Surirey de St. Remy's Memoires d'Artillerie, pub lished in Paris in that year; but owing to a military cabal they were not issued to the French infantry until 1703. Henceforward the bayonet became, with the musket or other firearm, the typical weapon of infantry. This bayonet remained in the British service until 18o5, when Sir John Moore introduced a bayonet fastened to the musket by a spring clip. The triangular bayonet (so called from the cross-section of its blade) was used in the British army until the introduction of the magazine rifle, when it was replaced by the sword-bayonet or dagger-bayonet. Sword bayonets—weapons which could be used as sword or dagger apart from the rifle—had long been in use by special troops such as engineers and rifles, and many ingenious attempts have been made to produce a bayonet fitted for several uses. A long curved sword bayonet with a saw-edged back was formerly used by the Royal Engineers, but all troops came to be supplied with the plain sword bayonet, which was used during the World War.
Racial psychology plays its part in the choice of design. The British race prefers a club to deal with troublesome neighbors, whereas the Latin races "knife" each other. The effect of these inherent characteristics is reflected in the type of bayonet used. The lessons of the World War indicate that some kind of bayonet may still be necessary in order to frighten one's enemy and to give oneself confidence in close fighting, but the occasions when it will be actually driven home will probably be rare. For this reason the new British (1928) pattern is nothing more than a spike, the blade, cruciform in section, being only Bin. long and no thicker than a lead pencil. Handiness with the rifle is aimed at, a feature easier to attain with a short than with a long bayonet. Its powers of penetration are, however, very great and the length is adequate to deal with an enemy in winter clothing. The U.S.A. pattern is that of 1905, i6in. long; the front edge is sharpened throughout its length and the back edge Sin. from the point. The French army has replaced its long cross-section sword-bayonet for a shorter one of 154in. blade, which indicates that its utility in war is not considered so great as before the World War. The German pattern is the same as before the World War; viz., sword-bayonet, 37.9cm. in length and I lb. 4 oz. in weight. The Belgians have now adopted a short model, 92in. long. Tank personnel are armed with a dagger on mobilization. The Italian army uses a dagger-shaped bayonet of I iiin. weighing /2 oz. The Japanese pattern is a straight single-edged weapon, I sin. long, weighing 15+ oz. Bayonet train ing occupies a much larger portion of time in the Japanese army than in others. The army of the Netherlands has a dagger type bayonet 'ft. 6.85in. long, weighing (without scabbard) Jo oz. The Polish army uses various patterns of rifle, French, German and Austrian, consequently the bayonets vary with the rifle. The infantry bayonet of the Swiss army is a 1911 pattern, quadrangu lar dagger type weighing 43og. In the Swiss artillery unmounted N.C.O.s. and gunners and men of mountain batteries carry a sword-bayonet ; the heavy artillery gunners are armed with the 1911 carbine and dagger-bayonet. The Czechoslovakian army is armed with a bayonet for a Mauser rifle, the blade being I 1.8in. long and weighing 141 oz. The army of Yugoslavia uses various types of rifles with bayonets corresponding, whether Austrian, French or old Serbian. A similar situation obtains in the armies of the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania).