Bayonet A bayonet ( from French " baïonnette " ) is a knife , sword , or spike - shaped weapon designed to fit in , on , over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle , musket or similar weapon , effectively turning the gun into a spear . In this regard , it is an ancillary close - quarter combat or last - resort weapon . However , knife - shaped bayonets — when not fixed to a gun barrel — have long been utilized by soldiers in the field as general purpose cutting implements . Early history . The bayonet seems to originate in 17th century France . The term " bayonette " dates back to the end of the 16th century , but it is not clear if 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 " was made in Bayonne but does not give any further description . A possibility is that the bayonet originated as a hunting weapon : early firearms were fairly inaccurate and took a long time to reload , thus a hunter of dangerous animals such as wild boar could easily have been exposed to danger if his bullet missed the animal . The bayonet may have emerged to allow a hunter to fend off wild animals in the event of a missed shot . This idea was particularly persistent in Spain where hunting arms were usually equipped with bayonets from the 17th century until the advent of the cartridge era . The weapon was introduced into the French army by General Jean Martinet and was common in most European armies by the 1660s . The benefit of such a dual - purpose arm contained in one was soon apparent . The early muskets fired at a slow rate ( about two rounds per minute when loading with loose powder and ball , and no more than three to four rounds per minute using paper cartridges ) , and could be both inaccurate and unreliable , depending on the quality of manufacture . Bayonets provided a useful addition to the weapons system when an enemy charging to contact could cross the musket ' s killing ground ( a range of approximately 100 yards / meters at the most optimistic ) at the expense of perhaps only one or two volleys from their waiting opponents . A bayonet on a 5 - foot ( around 1 . 5 meters ) tall musket achieved a reach similar to the infantry spear , and later halberd , of earlier times . The bayonet / musket combination was , however , considerably heavier than a polearm of the same length . Early bayonets were of the " plug " type . 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 . In 1671 , plug bayonets were issued to the French regiment of fusilier s then raised . They were issued to part of an English dragoon regiment raised in 1672 and disbanded in 1674 , and to the Royal Fusiliers when raised in 1685 . The danger incurred by the use of this bayonet ( which put a stop to all fire ) was felt so early that the younger Puységur invented a socket bayonet in 1678 that fitted over the muzzle using a circular band of metal , allowing the musket to be loaded and fired . However , it was not widely adopted at the time . 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 ; and shortly afterwards the defeated leader , Hugh Mackay , is believed to have introduced a ring - bayonet of his own invention . Soon " socket " bayonets would incorporate both ring mounts and an offset blade , keeping the bayonet well away from the muzzle blast of the musket barrel . An unsuccessful trial with socket or zigzag bayonets 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 ring bayonets ; and pictures of them are shown in Surirey de St . Remy ' s " Mémoires d ' Artillerie " , published in Paris in that year ; but owing to a military cabal they were not issued to the French infantry until 1703 , using a spring - loaded locking system to prevent the bayonet from accidentally separating from the musket . Henceforward , the socket bayonet became , with the musket or other firearm , the typical weapon of the French infantry . A triangular blade was introduced around 1715 and was stronger than the previous single or double - edged models . The socket bayonet had by then been adopted by most European armies . The British socket bayonet had a triangular blade with a flat side towards the muzzle and two fluted sides outermost to a length of 15 inches ( 38 cm ) . However it had no lock to keep it fast to the muzzle and was well - documented for falling off in the heat of battle . 19th century and the multi - purpose bayonet . The 19th 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 , when in ranks with musketmen , whose weapons were longer , could form square properly to fend off cavalry attacks , when sword bayonets were fitted . A prime early example of a sword bayonet - fitted rifle is the British Infantry Rifle of 1800 - 1840 , later known as the " Baker Rifle " ( to this day , no matter what length of the bayonet , British rifle regiments " fix swords " ) . The hilt usually had quillons was modified to accommodate the gun barrel , and a hilt mechanism that enabled the bayonet to be attached to a bayonet lug . When dismounted , a sword bayonet could be used in combat as a side arm . When attached to the musket or rifle , it effectively turned almost any long gun into a spear or glaive , suitable not only for thrusting but also for slashing . 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 the Battle of Alma and the Battle of Inkerman during the Crimean War , where the Imperial Russian Army learned to fear it . In the United States Navy before the American Civil War , bayonet blades were even affixed to single - shot pistols , although they were soon proved useless for anything but cooking . Cutlass es remained the favoured weapon for the navies of the time , although Queen Victoria ' s Royal Navy gave up the pike once used to repel attacks by boarders in favor of the cutlass bayonet . From 1869 , some European nations began to develop new multi - purpose sword bayonets suitable for mass production and for use by police , pioneer , and engineer troops . The decision to redesign the ( dismounted ) bayonet into a multi - purpose tool 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 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 was complemented with a sawback version , countries such as Belgium in 1868 , Great Britain in 1869 and Switzerland in 1878 ; ( the latter 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 a functional saw . The sawback proved relatively ineffective as a cutting tool , and was soon outmoded by improvements in military logistics and transportion ; most nations dropped the sawback feature by 1900 . 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 a digging tool for excavating entrenchments . From 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 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 intrenching 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 the US Army in December 1881 . The " reach " controversy . Prior to World War I , bayonet doctrine was largely centered around 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 the infantryman ' s pike of bygone days , was thought to impart a definite tactical advantage on the battlefield , and military authorities engaged in endless discussions over the supposed advantages of longer rifle / bayonet combinations . In 1886 , the French Army introduced a 52 cm ( 20 in . ) - long 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 . 83 m ) . German ordnance authorities responded by introducing a long sword bayonet for the Model 1898 Mauser rifle , which had a 29 - inch barrel . The new bayonet , designated 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 bayonet ' reach ' . After 1900 , Switzerland , Britain , and the United States adopted rifles with barrel lengths shorter than that of a rifle , but longer than that of a carbine . These new rifles were intended for general use by both the infantry and cavalry . Due to the reduction in barrel length , the overall " reach " of the new short rifles with attached bayonet was reduced . In the case of Britain , this occurred when the British Army adopted a shortened Lee - Enfield rifle , the SMLE , in 1904 . As a consequence , the German M1898 Mauser rifle and attached sword bayonet was a full eight inches longer than the British SMLE and its P1903 bayonet , which used a twelve - inch blade . While the British P1903 and its similar predecessor , the P1888 , had proved completely satisfactory in service , a storm of criticism soon arose regarding the effective reach of the new short rifles when equipped with a fixed bayonet . 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 the longer , if both men are of equal skill . " In 1905 the German Army adopted a shortened ( 37 cm or 14 . 6 - inch ) bayonet , the " Seitengewehr 98 / 06 " 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 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 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 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 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 . 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 saw a complete reversal in opinion on the relative value of long rifles and bayonets in typical infantry combat operations . Whether in 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 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 the trench knife , pistol , 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 oftened 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 the knife type . The bayonet charge . 18th and 19th century military tactics included the introduction of tactical doctrines using a bayonet fixed on the infantryman ' s musket , used with massed troop formations . One of the more notable of these was the " bayonet charge " , an attack by a formation of infantrymen with fixed bayonets , usually over short distances , to overrun enemy strong points , capture artillery batteries , or break up enemy troop formations . With the advent of the socket bayonet , the massed bayonet charge was perfected by British infantry during the European continental wars against France in the 18th century . The Russian Army used the bayonet frequently during the Napoleonic wars . A Russian tactical precept coined by Russian General Alexander Suvorov was " The bullet is foolish , the bayonet wise " . Given Russia ' s often inadequately trained conscript armies and use of inaccurate smooth - bore muskets , Russian officers preferred to use the bayonet charge instead of musket volley fire where possible . Despite their effectiveness , a bayonet charge did not necessarily cause a lot of casualties through the use of the weapon itself . Casualty lists from several battles in the 18th century showed that in many of them less than 2 % of all wounds treated were caused by bayonets . Antoine - Henri Jomini , a celebrated military author of the Napoleon ic period who served in numerous armies during that period , stated that the majority of bayonet charges in 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 skirmishes in broken terrain . In an age where virtually all combatants have discarded most forms of body armour , bayonet combats would have been particularly horrific affairs when the individual combatants did not have any room to dodge or parry , and hence explains why one side would almost always flee before the two met . Nevertheless , the bayonet was an immensely useful weapon for capturing ground from the enemy . The advent of modern warfare in the 20th century decreased the bayonet ' s usefulness , and as early as the American Civil War ( 1861 – 65 ) the bayonet was ultimately responsible for less than 1 % of battlefield casualties . Modern warfare , however , does still see the use of the bayonet for close - quarter fighting . The use of " cold steel " 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 ( which could take up to a minute with loose powder even for trained troops ) . 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 discomfited by enemy fire . During the Korean War , the French Battalion and Turkish Brigade conducted bayonet charges against their enemy . United States Army officer Lewis L . Millett led soldiers of the US Army ' s 27th Infantry Regiment in taking out a machine gun position with bayonets , and received the Medal of Honor for the action . This was the last bayonet charge by the US Army . In 1995 , during the Siege of Sarajevo , French Marine infantrymen from the 3rd RIMA carried out a bayonet charge against the Serbian forces to regain the Vrbanja bridge . Had they failed to do so , the Serbs could have taken the city . The British Army mounted bayonet charges during the Falklands War ( see Battle of Mount Tumbledown ) , the Second Gulf War , and the war in Afghanistan . In 2004 in Iraq at the Battle of Danny Boy , the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders bayonet - charged mortar positions filled with over 100 Mahdi Army members . The ensuing hand - to - hand fighting resulted in an estimate of over 40 insurgents killed and 35 bodies collected ( many floated down the river ) and nine prisoners . Sergeant Brian Wood , of the Princess of Wales ' s Royal Regiment , was awarded the Military Cross for his part in the battle . This engagement brought to notice the tactical use of the weapon for close combat and the sheer psychological effect it can have . British forces in Afghanistan have used bayonets many times . In 2009 , Lieutenant James Adamson , aged 24 , of the Royal Regiment of Scotland was awarded the Military Cross for a bayonet charge whilst on a tour of duty in Afghanistan : after shooting one Taliban fighter dead Adamson had run out of ammunition when another enemy appeared . He immediately charged the second Taliban fighter and bayoneted him . In September 2012 , Lance Corporal Sean Jones of The Princess of Wales ' s Regiment was awarded the Military Cross for his role in a bayonet charge which took place in October 2011 . Contemporary versions . Today the bayonet is rarely used in one - to - one combat . Despite its limitations , many modern assault rifle s ( including bullpup designs ) retain a bayonet lug and the bayonet is still issued by many armies . Also , the bayonet is still used for controlling prisoners and as a weapon of " last resort " . In addition , some authorities have concluded that the bayonet serves as a useful training aid in building morale and increasing desired aggressiveness in troops . Today ' s bayonets are often multi - purpose knives such as the American M7 which is also an effective fighting knife or the Soviet AKM bayonet which was also a ground breaking survival knife that can be used as a wire - cutter when combined with its scabbard . Some bayonets can also be used as utility knives , bottle openers or throwing knives . Also , issuing one modern multi - purpose bayonet / knife is obviously more cost effective than issuing separate specialty bayonets , field knives and combat knives . Union of Soviet Socialist Republics . The original AK - 47 has an adequate but unremarkable bayonet . However , the AKM Type I bayonet ( introduced in 1959 ) was a revolutionary design . It has a Bowie style ( clip - point ) blade with saw - teeth along the spine , and can be used as a multi - purpose knife and wire - cutter when combined with its steel scabbard . This design was copied by other nations and formed the basis of the US M9 bayonet . The AK - 74 bayonet ( introduced in 1983 ) represents a further refinement of the AKM bayonet . " It introduced a radical blade cross - section , that has 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 . United States . 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 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 . People ' s Republic of China . The AK - 47 assault rifle was copied by China as the Type 56 assault rifle and include an integral folding spike bayonet , similar to the SKS rifle . Some Type 56s may also use the AKM Type II bayonet . The latest Chinese rifle , the QBZ - 95 , has the multi - purpose knife bayonet similar to the US M9 . Belgium . The FN FAL has two types of bayonets . 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 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 . United Kingdom . 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 rifles muzzle and slots that lined up with those on the flash eliminator . The blade is offset to the side of the handle to allow the bullet to pass beside the blade . It can also be used as a multi - purpose knife and wire - cutter when combined with its scabbard . The scabbard also has a sharpening stone and folding saw blade . Germany . The H & K G3 rifle uses two types of bayonets , both of which mount above the G3s barrel . The first is the standard G3 bayonet which has a blade similar to the American M7 . The second is an EICKHORN KCB - 70 type multi - purpose knife bayonet , featuring a clip - point with saw - back , a wire - cutter scabbard and a distinctive squared handgrip . Austria . The Steyr AUG uses two types of bayonet . The first and most common is an EICKHORN KCB - 70 type multi - purpose bayonet with an M16 bayonet type interface . The second are the Glock " Feldmesser 78 " ( Field Knife 78 ) and the " Feldmesser 81 " ( Survival Knife 81 ) , which can also be used as a bayonet , by engaging a socket in the pommel ( covered by a plastic cap ) into a bayonet adapter that can be fitted to the AUG rifle . These bayonets are noteworthy , as they were meant to be used primarily as field or survival knives and use as a bayonet was a secondary consideration . They can also be used as throwing knives and have a built - in bottle opener in the crossguard . France . The French use a more traditional spear point bayonet ; the current FAMAS bayonet is nearly identical to that of the M1949 / 56 bayonet . Linguistic impact . The push - twist motion of fastening the older type of bayonet has given a name to : In chess , an aggressive variation of the King ' s Indian Defence is known as the ' Bayonet Attack ' . The bayonet has become a symbol of military power . The term " at the point of a bayonet " refers to using military force or action to accomplish , maintain , or defend something ( cf . Bayonet Constitution ) . Undertaking a task ' with fixed bayonets ' has this connotation of no room for compromise and is a phrase used particularly in politics . Badges and insignias . The Australian Army ' Rising Sun ' badge features a semicircle of bayonets . The Australian Army Infantry Combat Badge ( ICB ) takes the form of a vertically mounted Australian Army SLR ( 7 . 62mm self - loading rifle FN FAL ) bayonet surrounded by an oval - shaped laurel wreath . The US Army Combat Action Badge , awarded to personnel who have come under fire since 2001 and who are not eligible for the Combat Infantryman Badge , has a bayonet as its central motif . The shoulder sleeve insignia for the 10th Mountain Division in the US Army features crossed bayonets . The US Army ' s 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team ' s shoulder patch features a bayonet wrapped in a wing , symbolizing their airborne status . The brigade regularly deploys in task forces under the name " Bayonet " . The insignia of the British Army ' s School of Infantry is an SA80 bayonet against a red shield . It is worn as a Tactical recognition flash ( TRF ) by instructors at the Infantry Training Centre Catterick , the Infantry Battle School , Brecon and the Support Weapons School in Warminster .