When, Where and Why was the BAYONET INVENTED?

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When, where and why were bayonets invented? A look at the early history of the bayonet in warfare.
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[@scholagladiatoria]

The first 1,000 people to use the link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare: skl.sh/scholagladiatoria06221

[@julianshepherd2038]

It has been scientifically proven that "they don't like it up em".

[@jhonbus]

Yay, Skillshare is alright, isn't it! Glad you're no longer pretending to play Raid Shadow Legends 😂

[@dusekchristopher6077]

Out of curiosity what is the Pinyin for the name of Chines treatise?

[@jswets5007]

The bayonet was the result of musket troops requesting transfer to pole arm duty, because at that point pikemen and billmen had a far higher battle survival rate. *Disclaimer* Partially or completely fabricated history. 😂

[@KaletheQuick]

I think the question is more appropriately: "When, where, and why did the spear start shooting bullets?"

[@upfromhere9145]

About the time we realised this new fangled string stuff could be tied to both ends of it

[@karlenglewood8940]

around the 13th century, China, because not everyone can be the Poles and use a 20ft lance.

[@michaelgarrow3239]

Exactly!

[@johnguss6087]

😂

[@faramund9865]

No it isn't. Ever heard of pike and shot? The 'spear' and musket lived side by side for a long time. Muskets became more and more, and the pike lost its use. So it is a musket with a blade, not the other way round.

[@dover1024]

Hello, just want to point out that in old Chinese, "賊", or "bandit" in this case, are usually an alternative call of "enemy", instead of the actual bandit.

[@wouter.de.ruiter]

The bayonet was invented by an Irish soldier from Mayo, called Ned, who named it after himself. Unfortunately he had a cold when he explained the name of his invention to his officer....

[@universehopper8032]

Mayoned- M(B)ayoneD(T)

[@ericdpeerik3928]

I think you'll find his name was Beolagh O'nedd, hence his invention was called a B. O'nedd

[@kkupsky6321]

I heard it was an Irish fisherman needing to spear dinner and meant it as bay o’ nets because there was no room for his.

[@BUZZKILLJRJR]

Yup true story..

[@kanrakucheese]

Royal Armouries XIV.13 is dated to 1590 and has a supposedly removable fork “bayonet” (as RA description describes it). Even weirder, it’s a socket bayonet and not a plug bayonet. (On a side note, XIV.13 really seems like something a SoulCalibur character would use. It’s even from exactly the right era!)

[@jeroylenkins1745]

The thing about a modern bayonet charge is how much it is like an old bayonet charge. There are very very few bayonet wounds that happened for the last 120 years or so. Because once one side gets in with a bayonet charge the other side is going to surrender, run off, or not survive the experience. While it is a physical object on modern weapons it very much has a psychological effect on the attacker and defender all out of proportion to the actual effectiveness of the weapon.

[@DH-xw6jp]

It makes sense that people ran from bayonet charges, i think. Only a lunatics would charge into an enemy trench with only a bayonet, and noone wants to fight a lunatic especially if he is armed with a blade!

[@futurerandomness1620]

Nice way to completely ignore the giant box "carefully hidden" under that red sheet in the background. I guess I'll have to wait until the next video for what's in the box!

[@ulfhunden]

In military engineering circles Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban is sometimes credited with the invention/adoption of the bayonet.

[@morriganmhor5078]

Matt, I also came across a mention about Spanish boar hunters using plug daggers/bayonets even before. Don´t you know anything more about it?

[@Seraphus87]

Yeah, I read about this theory as well somewhere.

[@lunacorvus3585]

Sounds interesting, is there any source for that?

[@Buzzcook]

I read the same thing about French boar hunters.

[@mnk9073]

It makes sense in a hunting context, no need to quickly get the bayonet out of the muzzle again and after all "just" clubbing a boar only makes it angrier.

[@dougredshirt3991]

This is the same story I heard also. After all after shooting at a boar, you have no time to reload. You are not going to carry both a boar spear and a firearm. So a nice compromise.

[@MythicFool]

I remember Lloyd made a video about bayonets a few years back (holy hell, eleven years ago now), and he mentioned that: "...shot a couple Frenchmen and then charged, screaming, through the smoke. By and large they then did NOT spend the next several minutes bayonetting Frenchmen. (More's the pity) Instead they would find that the area previously occupied by a lot of Frenchmen...now wasn't. They had all run away.....They were humans, and humans tend not to stick around to be bayonetted."

[@Simon_Nonymous]

and this is still the best explanation of the bayonet to this day!

[@rogerlafrance6355]

Called juken-jutsu in Japan and derived from pole arm forms, its hard to know when it started to be seen before Regulation Armies East or West. We know there were things like longbows with sharp pointy things fitted to the ends and pole weapons with removable blades to get the most use out of them.

[@kiwiprouddavids724]

Everything China has is from stolen intellectual property the same thing has probably happened hear China stole the knowledge from others

[@darthhodges]

InRangeTV has a video talking about the hand weapons of WW1 demonstrating how the rifle mounted bayonet was pretty terrible in the trenches. They also show very well how having a reach advantage on someone with a dagger or sharpened shovel is inconsequential if they can close the gap.

[@johnc6809]

Great video. Isn’t it interesting just how these histories unravel? Never quite as simple as most of us would prefer. Good job explaining how many different groups of people, when confronted with the same problem, can come up with the same or very similar solution!

[@motv1nd193]

if human lives aren't simple, then why should a web of intertwined humans be any simplier? that's what is so fascinating about history, it is one story after another and all of them are connected in one way or another

[@BRBMrSoul]

Have to do some research my self, but starting to wonder…was this already a general idea, ie from crossbows?

[@Tomcat_ha]

I always heard that one of the reasons why the yatağan became such a popular sword in the Ottoman army was that they were easy to use as bayonets. I never found anything written on this though.

[@Chuklz70]

Matt could create an entire new playlist on just bayonets❣️

[@malcolmmaciver7000]

Great video- one of the other features of the plug bayonet in the Killikrankie case was the quality of manufacture (I'm sure this was an issue when I served....) there's cases of the plug bayonet simply snapping/breaking when subject to enough force. McBane describes this happening to him at the Battle of Mulroy (1689) though other accounts indicate it as common at Killikrankie as well.

[@gregoryvigneault1824]

I just found on of those SMLE sword bayonets in the cellar and I can say it is an absolutely superb chopping weapon on it's own.

[@Kris_Stiletto]

You are a great source for information on Historical Blades. :-) Right on! I enjoy your Channel. :-) Peace, Stiletto :-)

[@FitnessTips4Ux]

“Fix bayonets!” *me pulling out whetstone and blacksmith hammer* “Ok sir you got it but kinda weird timing don’t you think?”

[@pedroguerrero3862]

This is very interesting video as someone who been interesting in knife and the history of knifes, it would be great to see the evolution of bayonets, how bayonet changed due to environment as well as other factors.

[@JoeMama-vj8es]

Good to see you again enjoying the grape once again. Always a fun vid.

[@raphlvlogs271]

weapons such as swords and crossbows were also invented multiple times independently in history

[@faramund9865]

I thought of something while watching your videos about my grindstone. Something I had tried to find for ages and couldn't find, but now that I looked only for a few seconds, there it was. This happens so often, just so odd.

[@Forscythe80]

Since I was a kid it always irked me the bayonettes I saw in media curved away. I always chalked it up to dodgy props by production companies too cheap to make quality bayonets. It never donned on me that it was so they didn't impale their hands with them while reloading. I assumed people were more careful as I figured I was.... At least I thought that while I was safely not in a line of musketeers receiving fire from the enemy and thus would take a bit more time to watch my hands and so on.

[@DavidSmith-vr1nb]

Never dawned on you, is what I think you meant. Autocorrect problem?

[@midshipman8654]

could a lesser reason be because of eventual warping? like does a triangular spike with a long side do that?

[@DavidSmith-vr1nb]

@@midshipman8654 Not that I'm aware. Steel bent at low temperatures tends to kink in one location, unless you go to a lot of trouble to avoid that.

[@Forscythe80]

@@DavidSmith-vr1nb Autocorrection. Either way, what's the point to your comment other than to be obnoxious?

[@therightarmofthefreeworld4703]

@@Forscythe80 This is an educational video, so it's safe to assume that most viewers are here to learn. Using a word with a completely different meaning could be very confusing and counterproductive for anyone who is reading comments and also trying to improve their standard of English. Highlighting an error is helpful to such people.

[@nomar5spaulding]

Can I just say that at the start of this video, after the title card, you've choose a very fine musket to showcase a bayonet. I used to own one of those and it was a treat.

[@broyhan]

everytime i visit your page there is nothing to buy, but great youtube channel, cheers.

[@Pavlos_Charalambous]

the greatest power of bayonets it's the effect they have in human psyche. one of the biggest human fears is been bitten by something that resembles a claw or Sharp teeth moving fast and unpredictable. That's why bayonets and knifes in general are relevant to this day

[@chengkuoklee5734]

The trauma of fangs and claws have been imprinted into our genetic memory. Even if I'm well armoured against blade, I still need a bit time to retune my mind facing swords.

[@danpit2001]

and the courage having your own fang and claw gives you

[@BRBMrSoul]

Funny, new rifle US looking to adopt, no bayonet lug. End of an era perhaps.

[@Pavlos_Charalambous]

@@BRBMrSoul correct me if am wrong but I think us rangers adopted i kinda of sharp flash hider as a replacement for their bayonets

[@OlegLyutov]

yeah, this is why bayonet mount is stupidly regarded as an assault weapon feature, although I've never heard that someone was killed by a bayonet attached to a firearm in civilian setting…

[@CraigLYoung]

Thanks for sharing 👍

[@Simon_Nonymous]

Fab! I could listen to this all night. So a side question Matt and company - when did the socket bayonet evolve into a sword/knife bayonet and why?

[@merrillflint6772]

Breach-loading firearms probably contributed, at least. Now, you don't need to have that "zig-zag" space between the blade and the muzzle line for a ramrod, just enough to keep the blade clear of the barrel for shooting. Stick a handle on it and sharpen the edges and now you have a multipurpose tool/ weapon and that reduces the amount of equipment you have to issue.

[@paultowl1963]

That was very interesting! Thanks!

[@brooklynwolfbear]

Matt: The reason why the military concluded that the bayonet was not very lethal was that the bean counters went to the hospital and compared bullet wounded to bayonet wounded. Bayonet attacks are so vicious and destructive that most victims never lived long enough to make it to the hospital. You also failed to mention the modern bayonet is designed as a multitool; bayonet, wire cutter, fighting knife, survival knife, emergency digging tool for finding buried mines, a pry bar, a can opener, etc etc.

[@BRBMrSoul]

Ya US even made a shovel bayonet at one point iirc

[@StrikeRaptor1000]

@@BRBMrSoul the experimented a Jungle chopping hack blade bayonet in the Philippines

[@hisholinesssriak7618]

The big knife on the end of one's firearm was sarcastically referred to as that little knife from Bayonne, possibly.

[@blakebailey22]

19:00 I was under the impression that artillery was the driving force of the abandonment of pike formations, as they were kind of sitting ducks once artillery got more accurate and more accessible. That along with the increased production of firearms and bayonets

[@Simon_Nonymous]

But if you then consider that the musket armed troops fought in similarly dense formations as pikemen, then....

[@bakters]

Yes, exactly. Artillery also *drastically* changed the economies of war. No matter how well trained and equipped your army could be, it would still suffer heavy losses. All the investment is then lost with very little return. It simply made more economic sense to get more troops. Interestingly, it kinda always worked like that, to a degree at least. So why people didn't go the way of massed armies much earlier? I think it had a lot to do with supply lines. If the population density is low, with poor roads and very difficult logistics, fielding more soldiers is of no use. They will just desert on mass, because you can't feed them. So in the end, they produced more muskets because they could supply bigger armies.

[@markkelly6259]

@@bakters The French at the time of Napoleon did not feed their troops except in France. They relied on foraging when in other countries. This was much cheaper and allowed them to maintain a much larger army by keeping various low level wars going on in Germany and Italy which were not united countries at the time. This was tough on the populations of those areas who were essentially experiencing a continuous version of Sherman's march to the sea when the French army was around.

[@Simon_Nonymous]

@@bakters I think with both muskets and artillery the industry required to produce them in mass form made a difference - the pike man was after all armed with a stick, but guns that shoot and don't blow up are trickier to mass produce. I am sure logisitcs played its part too as you describe.

[@bakters]

@@Simon_Nonymous Sure, a musket is more labor intensive than a pike, but pikemen tended to be armored. A breastplate needed to fit the soldier, or he would not be able to use the pike well. Napoleonic cuirassiers' armor was not fitted well, for example. Add to that a helmet and often complex folds for thigh protection and it's not cheap anymore. Pikemen were paid more than musketeers, probably at least partially in order to cover the expenses of purchasing and maintaining their kit. A musket is built from relatively few pieces, in comparison. None of them needed to be fitted to the soldier.

[@patrickdusablon2789]

With regards to bayonet use in modern use, elements of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders resorted to a bayonet charge in combat near Basrah back in 2004. And as late as 2011, British troops would fix bayonets while patrolling in Afghanistan, and bayonet charges were used to good effect. I'm given to understand that in Iraq, the outnumbered Highlanders really shocked the insurgents with their charge, while in Afghanistan it was done to "boost aggressiveness", and that in some of the really close terrain involved, sometimes a bayonet was as effective as a rifle in some ways.

[@SirBeauJangles]

Top quality mini lecture Matt, thankyou for your diverse range of coverage. Can't help but wonder how many musketeers ended up with bits of face and fingers removed when they fired in panic when the plug bayonet was still in place? Maybe black powder didn't have the OOMPH to blow up a musket? Certainly with nitro powders that'd be a very dangerous omission.

[@santafromexeter5814]

Simple, with a plug bayonet you can't physically load a muzzle loading musket.

[@Eckister]

22:08 you can certainly fire the plug out, so I guess the boyonet would work as well. A mate of mine once forgot to retrieve it after plugging, luckily they went the extra mile and had the people fire into an area, where nobody would be, because they later found the plug lodged in a wooden pole (it went half-way).

[@BRBMrSoul]

Lol wow

[@j.f.fisher5318]

Another great video

[@-RONNIE]

Thanks for a good video 👍🏻

[@APV878]

I didn't know about the Chinese mention in 1606, interesting. Great points and overall interesting and thought provoking. When you mentioned the Pikemen becoming musketeers and the musketeers being their own pikemen/able to defend themselves, and pikemen being phased out in early modern tactics, it made me think about how often this sort of thing happens, being "standardizing" or dare I say simplifying, armies and tactics, and as you know I do a lot of research into the Romans, and this all made me think about the major switch the Romans took from the 3-rank system in the Punic wars to the "Cohort system" where everyone was equipped similarly with sword & shield, &c. Lots to think about. I'm not a fantastic Lexicographer by any stretch, but is it possible that the word "Bayonet" being a "small knife" is an English mis-spelling of "Bayonette" ?

[@eruantien9932]

There's a description in Shizhen Zhao's "Shenqipu" (published in 1598) of a knife that attaches to Ottoman muskets; we have confirmation that his native China is using plug bayonets 8 years later.

[@HughMEvans]

Have to remember as well that in the 1690's, European armies convert from matchlock to flintlock. That means they are no longer dealing with open flame and sparks and can mass shoulder to shoulder, instead of maintaining a safe distance between musketeers. That allows them to form a "living wall" and concentrate both melee and firepower.

[@militariacollectablesbelgium]

As a bayonet collector myself, very interesting video! More bayonet videos please 😅

[@brianknezevich9894]

A minor note: the earlier the firearm, generally speaking, the more they were effected by moisture, so particularly in smaller engagements/encounters, they would be very useful, or simple moral encouragement and deterrent. If you think about being in a small group with any earlier firearm, say on patrol or guard duty in unfriendly territory, that bayonet is quite the reassurance.

[@mathewkelly9968]

28:00 the Japanese weren't the only ones to use the bayonet effectively in ww2 , troops like the Australians and New Zealanders used it to good effect in North Africa . And my Pa served in PNG the bayonet on the end of an SMLE was important there too .

[@CollinKillian]

Effectively used? Nah, if by effective you mean dying then yes bayonets were effectively used..

[@ashleysmith3106]

Coincidental that on the same date Ian did a video on: Revolver with a Bayonet: Luxembourg Model 1884 Gendarmerie Nagant

[@Richman0815]

Thank you for this great an interesting video. Very nice topic. I think the bayonet also caught on because it's a lot cheaper to equip a musketeer with a long, simple knife or dagger than with a full-fledged sword to defend yourself in a group. With the bayonet, the musket became a spear. Although a Spear is less effective against cavalry than a pike. But, so a musketeer does not have to be taught how to fight with a sword. This shortens the training time considerably. The warped on pikes developed in parallel, certainly also for the reasons mentioned in the video. In addition, the Pike, and the cavalary, became obsolete with the introduction of breech-loaders and repeaters.

[@Richman0815]

P.S.: Even in World War II, every German soldier equipped with a K98k was also equipped with a bayonet. Usually in combination with the spade. All German rifles had to be able to accept bayonets. There was even a boyonet for the H&K G3 after the war.

[@neilfulcher9298]

In a modern army the bayonet is a weapon of intent. It tells your enemy to what extent you are prepared to take the fight! "If I have to I'll come over there and ram this into your chest". As you have mentioned it converts a lethal weapon into a less lethal weapon for use in crowd control, or to panic an inexperienced enemy into fleeing. I read somewhere that the eventual tactic the British army used to combat a highland charge was to fight in lines each soldier attacking the enemy to one side of them, rather than in front of them. This exploits the fact that they had raised their sword arm exposing their chest. This is why the British infantryman always stood in the same order, the knew the guy to their left and right, and depended on them the way they depended on him. In the end a soldier fights for his comrades not his Country.

[@johnguss6087]

That’s an interesting point. I must have missed it the first time I watched this. Can you fire/launch a socket bayonet using a gunpowder charge? If so, what would its effective range be? Is there any documentation regarding this nonstandard use? Of course you’d be disarming yourself in a desperation maneuver, but I don’t imagine it would arise all that often. This strikes me as the kind of thing that might happen towards the end of an engagement. I’m the first to admit that I don’t know a great deal about the warfare of this period. This topic would make an interesting follow up video.

[@davidfletcher6703]

I'd like to know your take on the gun-axe

[@redscale82]

I have read somewhere the plug bayonet first was used by hunters to protect themselves from wild animals if they didn’t had the time to reload or was out of bullets or black powder. Anyway for some time ago I got my hands on a socket bayonet with a front sigh. Basically some materia had been removed so it have a triangular shape on the top of the socket.

[@dizzt19]

On a slightly related note, I just saw an exhibit of pistol-swords, axes and all kinds of silly pistol combinations - that could be a fun video :)

[@c.taylorharris7881]

Wanted to point out that the socket bayonet matches the standardization of “true” flintlocks. Being able to shoot twice as fast and not having to worry about burning yourself with an ember attached to your gun (while playing stabby stabby) allowed the higher ups to conclude that it was finally time to retire the pikes.

[@peepshow090]

I used to see so many old bayonets used as fire pokers back when coal fires were the way everyone heated their home 🏡 I had a relative who had one on the hearthstone stood up in an old brass shell case, he was a ww1 veteran and he didn't have a very high opinion of the army that he said ran away from the Germans at Dunkirk 😂

[@andreweden9405]

Awesome, as always! Matt, could you please do a video about knives in North America prior to the period of the Bowie knife? Of course, you could always talk about this period in other places as well, such as Australia, South Africa, et al. It just seems that the North American history is a little richer when it comes to bladed weapons because you had the adoption of European-introduced weapons such as iron/steel headed tomahawks, and knives, by Native Americans at a very early date. This, of course, is to say nothing of the Native American adoption of firearms. Also, as you probably already know, the cutlers and bladesmiths of Sheffield, England absolutely dominated this market, even more so than they did during the period of the Bowie. Otherwise, could you please do a video about the use of tactical knives and tomahawks in the modern day military context? Thank you for the content!

[@jrhamilton4448]

There are numerous examples of infantry using the bayonet against other infantry units in order to rout their forces or defend from a close quarters attack which ultimately leads to hand to hand fighting where this type of weapon is very useful.

[@SsspraakForsskkarring]

A Mick qoute, nice👌😊

[@shatnermohanty6678]

Could the Elephant Tusk Sword featured in Forged in Fire be classified as the first example of a Bayonet ? Basically it had the same function 🤔

[@thomasrehbinder7722]

Swedish socket bayonets, introduced in the 1690's, were secured by wingnuts. Also Sweden kept their pikes until the 1720's

[@maximilianolimamoreira5002]

yeah, and the United Irishmen used pikes in 1798, despite it not being a standard issue weapon

[@SkorupaPancNaSkorCzl]

I heard the theory that the first users were hunters. In the case of an attack by an injured animal attaching bayonet took less time than reloading the weapon (muzzleloader).

[@brittakriep2938]

In case of boar hunt, in Germany up to 1860s dog packs ( of Saurüden - Deutsche Dogge/ Great Danes) had been used and boarspears. For the reason of growing boar numbers in Germany for about 20 years causing problems. A hunter told me, there is a small Comeback of boarspear ( Saufeder).

[@BRBMrSoul]

Some military commander was on the trip, or heard of it and realized be brilliant for his troops…ya…I could see that being the path they took, like nearly common thing just dismissed for years until someone in military actually saw its effectiveness.

[@midshipman8654]

Ive seen a american civil war era muzzleloader with a very interesting socket bayonet that used spring tension and leverage to put it on/off and it was very firm without any free moving parts. the gun had a metal part on the barrel that gradually increased in thickness until a sudden depression which would hold the metal bar of the bayonet firmly.

[@daemonharper3928]

I for one find a bayonet on a rifle very intimidating. And like all hand weapons, the better trained practitioner wins the vast majority of the time.

[@Aerostarm]

I really like your videos and think they are some of the best on youtube for education on historical warfare but i think you need to condense your videos into less frequent uploads and more concise videos with less rambling

[@WillyG27]

Ray Winston in love honour and obey, ‘Fix bayonet’s!’ Best example ever 😂

[@Subtleknife12367]

I did a parade in Germany where the CO was adamant that we have bayonets for the parade. The only reason for this was he wanted to order "fix bayonets" before marching towards the Germans.

[@brittakriep2938]

So if you are british, your unit had not been ,rifles' ( light infantry), here the call is ,fix sword' because bayonnets of Baker rifles had been sword bayonnets ( military Hirschfänger).

[@davidbradley6040]

Bayonet started out as a Hunter's weapon.The earliest version I traced was a French hunters plug bayonet with a brass blade

[@OlegLyutov]

I wonder if fairbairn sykes dagger handle (one with the palm swell shifted towards the guard) is inspired by a plug bayonet…

[@marcushavland9316]

Off topic, but super exciting! They found HMS Gloucester! It's probably full of various stabby, cutty and shooty things.

[@paulhenderson5399]

I believe (though I could be wrong) that Killiecrankie 27 July 1689 was the first recorded time plug bayonets were used in large numbers by the British Army.

[@brandonly27]

The bayonet may not have caused a lot of casualties, but it gave the user more confidence in his hand-to-hand combat ability, whether or not it was founded.

[@ABaumstumpf]

There is a german manuscript on the development of Handguns from 1890, talking about a letter dating to 1575 that is talking about a golden dagger which is called bajonnet, (german dictionary from 1611/55 mentions bayonets as small knives) . Mentions that blades/knives belong to frontloaders can be found in the middle of the 17th century,. There are several mentions of attaching blades to firearms predating 1606, but none call them bayonet.

[@santafromexeter5814]

I have always thought that, in the UK at least, the gradual phasing out of the pike coincided with the introduction of rifled muskets. These were (fairly) accurate at a longer distance than their smooth bore predecessors, meaning that the musketeer could now manage more effective 'closing shots' than previously. The plug bayonet was a weapon of last resort against the foot. By this time (late 17th C) cavalry were much less likely to charge the flanks of the infantry and sweep up the battlefield as in the mid-17th C. Incidentally, on the subject of Killiecrankie, you don't just 'pull out' a Lochaber axe, it's a 2 handed staff weapon longer than a pollaxe 🙂

[@davehopkin9502]

No the first general issue rifled musket was the 1853 Enfield, yes rifled muckets had been used since the 1770s by small numbers of specialist troops, the vast bulk of the army had smoothbore muskets, the Pike sub units had vanished by 1700s long before the general issue of rifled muskets. Cavalry were just as likely to charge Infantry, though with diminishing return, I refer you to the Battle of Minden or Rossbach in the 7 years war or even Seydlitz death charge in the 1870 Franco Prussian war - there are even cases in early WW1

[@squatch2461]

Very interesting, but what's under the red cloth?

[@philw8049]

Man that yatagan (spl?) looked like an incredibly utilitarian tool.

[@cahallo5964]

I don't think so, at least in my country which gave yatagán to everybody higher ranked than a subofficer, everybody's utilities's knife were their own corvo (the local knife), some didn't even carry theirs to battle unless commanded to attach it to their rifles for a charge. That might be an isolated ocurrance tho. I couldn't tell.

[@itsapittie]

Surprisingly, Easy Company of the 27th Infantry, U. S. Army, mounted two separate successful bayonet charges against Chinese forces in January and February 1951. As far as I know, neither side was equipped with a significant number of automatic or semiautomatic firearms with detachable box magazines which may have made it practical to close the distance quickly and use the bayonet to effect at close quarters. It's hard to imagine any scenario today in which a bayonet would be of any use on the battlefield and in fact the U. S. Army's selected new rifle doesn't even have a provision for mounting one (unless something changes before it becomes general issue).

[@raphlvlogs271]

can you wear a large spear/ pike over your shoulder with a sling like that of a rifle or musket sling and operate a firearm at the same time?

[@HATECELL]

I wonder whether folding bayonets were used in muzzleloading times. The only rifle I can think of right now that has one is the SKS, but that one came out waaay later

[@manchagojohnsonmanchago6367]

Folding bayonets on civilian weapons in the 18th and 19th century

[@VernonKun]

I did no research on the subject, but I would like to throw in some thoughts in the transfer from pikes to bayonets. I guess the early muskets had to be developed to be less bulky in order to be an acceptable melee weapon, and at that point the invention of bayonets would be automatic regardless of cultures. And then muskets will have to exist in adequate numbers in order to replace pikes completely, seeing that pikes would be a lot cheaper than muskets in 1600s.

[@penhullwolf5070]

A pointy stick that goes Bang? What's not to like?

[@BRBMrSoul]

I love how spears, pikes, bayonets etc we’re effective against Calvary not just because good at giving infantry the reach over a mounted combantent but because horses are smart enough to ditch their own charge(even their rider) to save their own lives when see a spear wall etc. Hence the invention of horse blinders. For real, use em in racing still today for closely same reason, prevent horse from spooking. And ya I agree, bayonet alone is not enough to stop a horse without additional tactics(like a square formation), now when an opposing infantry regiment ran out of ammo and their nutter commander said charge? Gonna be happy have bayonets.

[@seanpoore2428]

I'm curious why a billhook type attachment wasn't ever tried on Bayonetta as far as I kbow

[@BCSchmerker]

+scholagladiatoria *Nation-states implemented bayonets as various blades.* Plug bayonets, an invention in the Ming-era Celestial Empire (CHN), was adopted in parallel in Europe; tricorn spearheads were adapted to tubular tangs in the early Baroque. Sword and knife bayonets were adopted in sequence, as warfare adapted to more constrained merges. Sent from alcatel® 9032Z # QP1A.190711.020

[@clayashford9334]

I think we should expect bayonets to be developed independently in different regions around the same time. The technology and style of warfare being similar creates similar pressures for development. We see the same thing with the development of volley fire in Japan first and then independently in Europe shortly after. I will also add that it is this development of volley fire in addition to bayonets and I’m sure other developments like the wider availability of firearms and field artillery that brought an end to pike and shot warfare around the middle of the 17th century. The ability of troops with firearms to defend themselves was important but I would argue that it was the ability for increased fire power from volley fire and artillery that that decreased both the necessity and viability of pikes. Ultimately I think you’re right about the bayonet’s roll in these developments this is just my period of interest and I wanted to add some context. Also as a side note in conjunction with these tactical and technological developments, there was a parallel development in recruitment occurring in Europe as states shifted from mercenary armies to internally recruited professional armies. TLDR Volley Fire (and I’m sure other developments) evolved along side plug bayonets to bring an end to pike and shot warfare.

[@RonJohn63]

Before watching this, the adage "necessity is the mother of invention" springs to mind: When? The first time that musketeers needed pikes. Why? Up close fighting, melee after discharging their weapons, and to defend against cavalry. Industrial and metallurgical realities certainly also played a part.

[@Kanner111]

A great video, my only takeaway is that gosh it's nice to know the name of the person (or at least the company) who invented a thing. I'm a little leery of the idea of convergent evolution simply because stuff that seems very difficult - e.g calculus - is verifiably something that was independently invented in a couple of places, while 'obvious' ideas that are ubiquitous in the modern world, like pockets and shoulder stocks for rifles, took hundreds if not thousands of years to be invented. In this particular instance, it seems very credible that multiple people could have looked at a rifle barrel (a big hole) and come up with the idea of jamming a little spike in the top. But also? That is a really crummy pike. It is not going to save you from a lancer, it is probably pretty bad for the barrel, and a hundred years of using muskets etc and not coming up with this supposedly obvious idea is a pretty long time, given the allegedly ruthlessly practical evolution of warfare. So there's also a lot of reasons to just dismiss the idea of munting a perfectly good rifle by sticking a little dagger down the end. The socket bayonet idea, however, that lets you keep a spear form weapon AND shoot it AND even reload it, if you're not clumsy - that absolutely changed warfare like nothing else until the machine gun. So the real genius here is taking the bad idea - transform your musket into the world's shortest, heaviest spear! - and actually making it work well enough that, whatever drawbacks remain (e.g you don't want a heavy-ass bit of metal weighing down the end of your barrel when you're trying to aim) it's now good enough that you really wouldn't NOT do it. And that's an interesting thing in a world that values original ideas over putting in the actual work to make them viable.

[@nicholas3354]

"Bayonnette : f. A kind of small flat pocket-dagger furnished with knives ; or a great knife to hang at the girdle like a dagger." -Cotgrave's "A Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues"

[@gnfnrf]

Is there any plan to having this video on the origins of the bayonet, as we seem to be reaching the death of the bayonet? The NGSW/Spear/M5 doesn't appear to come with any way to mount a bayonet at all.

[@mikaluostarinen4858]

Maybe they'll fix a split, sharpened tube to the suppressor with a hose clamp. Or something more refined.

[@danpit2001]

not to mention the psychological effect of having a bayonet fixed , it puts your mind at ease knowing you have a "last resort"

[@nullifye7816]

yeah even just playing mount and blade or verdun, if i dont have my bayonet fixed i very much feel like i have my dick swinging in the breeze

[@tbert9739]

i wonder if perhaps Bayonet as a pocket knife became a very common use phrase, and it just evolved because soldiers would carry their bayonets on their belt or in a pouch, thereby making it a pocket knife or bayonet?

[@everythingisinfinite4602]

What about the spring loaded switch blade bayonet

[@QuentinStephens]

My French is very rusty but isn't the -et / -ette suffix often a diminutive in French? That would fit with bayonet being a small knife from Bayonne

[@stormiewutzke4190]

I was noticing when you were swinging that thing how much punch one of those would have had.

[@niallpringle4638]

The Catholic/Irish forces at the Battle of the Boyne only had plug bayonets while the Dutch forces had the more modern socket bayonets. One of the reasons for their defeat.

[@camillephilippon9594]

The technique of shoving one's pig sticker knife or thin sword blade in the barrel to have a makeshift spear is documented very early with musketeers. What happened in Bayonne: during a fight the partisans were out of bullets and powder, they won with a makeshift lance charge. The weapon was never made in Bayonne, only the story gave the object its name. It was implemented in the "Régiment Royal artillerie" later, ending the role of infantry spearmen in the french army. To this day, french soldiers are still trained in jukendo and tankendo and other form of CQB combat. The last bayonet charge of the french army was in 1995 during a fight in Sarajevo, Bosnia to save french soldiers taken hostage after a serbian attack.

[@stephengent9974]

Firearms were used decisively in Europe at the battle of Marignano in Italy , between the French and Spanish. In Japan the first decisive battle was in 1545. However Japan rapidly adopted firearms and was producing more than anyone else in that period. I have read accounts that the bayonet was developed from the hunting practices of the French, who attached knives to gun barrels for hunting boar. It was subsequently used by the military. The Chinese were never backward in going forward, and easily pre-dated many of our own achievements, like gunpowder for example. I am not surprised that they have the first record of bayonet use. The bayonet has become a multi use tool / weapon. I had a vietnam era American bayonet that paired with the scabbard could be used as wire cutters

[@cahallo5964]

22:30 could you truly fire a Bayonet? that sounds so extremely cool I wanna see that

[@HATECELL]

I wouldn't be surprised if that happened on occasion. I heard of soldiers accidentally firing their ramrods so I'm sure somebody did this with a plug bayonet

[@cahallo5964]

@@HATECELL I wish I had the equipment to replicate that it sounds hillarious

[@nickh5081]

I like the "Bayo-morning star" hanging on the wall behind him... or is it a "Bayo-flail"?

[@cwmyr]

Philippine and Borneo blowguns (Sumpitan) especially those of the Dayak (sipet) have bayonets. I wonder when they started to do that.

[@TheAtomicCross]

The standard of all warfare up until the early 20th century was 'pointy end goes in the other man'. Adding a pointy end to a firearm was an inevitability, rather than some brilliant and isolated idea by one person.

[@jeffprice6421]

I sort of expected there to be some sort of "rifle-pike" that was first used in a battle at Bayon or something...

[@Qaos]

Are there documented cases o' people stabbing with their bayonet then shooting the firearm it's attached to at point-blank range? It seems like it would be a very lethal combination, but I've no idea if it was actually done.

[@flyboymike111357]

The Brits are the only ones still using a socket bayonet, which is weird, because with modern rifles going back to long handguards, silencers with flashiders on the end, and the weight of all other accessories a rifle needs, I can't think of a better way to mount a bayonet on a US Army rifle. Some of the mechanisms I've seen on the market are large and heavy. And just fixing a switchblade to the handguard would probably be to fragile, and you'd need quite a long one to clear the silencer. If you're going to have a flashider on the end of your silencer anyway, a socket bayonet could be used there just as easily as if it went right over a flashider directly attached to the muzzle.