BAYONET (Fr. baIonnctte, bayonnette. first made in Bayonne, France). A short, dagger-like weapon of 'steel, constructed so that it may be fixed at the end of the rifle-barrel, to which it is attached by a strong spring-clasp, usually se cured to the block of the foresight. When not so fixed it is carried in a leather scabbard suspend ed from the waist-belt on the left side of the body. The first bayonets, used in France in 1671, were known as bayonets-a-manche, and had han dles which fitted into the muzzles of the guns; the socket bayonets, or bayonets-ii-douille, not being introduced until a later date. These lat ter permitted the piece to he fired without remov ing the bayonet. The dagger is said to have been the original bayonet ; the musketeer of that day having utilized his dagger as a defense against charging cavalry by fitting the handle of his dagger into the muzzle of his musket. During the gradual evolution of the modern sword-bay onet, which is now a weapon of offense rather than of defense, many experiments have been made, in the attempt to introduce various forms of intrenching tools—knives, etc., constructed to serve also as bayonet ; but such arrangements are nowhere in general use. The rammers or wiping-rods of the 45-calibre Springfield rifle, still used by many of the State national guards in the United States, have been sharpened at one end and utilized as bayonets.. Many authorities
maintain that the bayonet, together with all other forms of the arnie blanche. have become of very little — if comparatively any— impor tance in modern operations; while others, equally as positive, assert that it still retains decisive value. It is certainly true that long range and rapid-fire rifles, together with smoke less powder, often seal the fate of a battle long before the bayonet can be brought into play; hut there are still campaigns where the soldier armed with the bayonet has a considerable moral superiority over his opponent not so armed. The British-Egyptian campaigns of 1882-84 and 1886, the frontier expeditions in India, and the Boer War of 1899-1902 are cases in point. The best tactician in the world cannot always prevent, even with modern firearms, such things as sur prises; and small bodies of men will still occa sionally, under practically any conditions, be able to get unperceived into close quarters with their enemy. So long as night attacks are pos sible, just so long will the bayonet be of prime importance, for it is undoubtedly and invariably the weapon to be used. See TACTICS, MILITARY: and INFANTRY.