The Problem of Classification

Pick up any book that catalogs bayonets and it immediately becomes obvious that bayonets have different designs, and with those designs different capabilities - the result is different types of weapons. But there is no common definition of these various types. As a starting point we can identify:

(1) plug bayonets - those designed to be inserted in the barrel of the firearm to create a thrusting weapon (the first generation of bayonet design).

(2) socket bayonets - typically a long, thin flat or triangular blade suitable only for thrusting and fitted with a socket to attach to the rifle (the second generation of bayonet design)

(3) knife bayonets - a bayonet in the shape of a knife, single or double edged.

(4) sword bayonets - those bayonets that have a sword or cutlass guard. More difficult examples to categorize are the yataghan blades and other long, straight blades, clearly of too long a length to be a practical knife, but lacking the guards typically found on swords.

(5) entrenching bayonets - bayonets designed to also serve as entreching tools with a spade like blade.

(6) engineer, pioneer, or sapper bayonets - equipped with a saw edge on the back of the blade.

(7) machete or hewing knife bayonets - equipped with a machete blade or some other form of blade intended as a heavy general purpose hewing tool.

(8) spike bayonets - short, often round, bayonets, often designed to attach to the rifle, and suitable only for thrusting.

This list is probably not all inclusive and is certainly subject to argument. But it serves as a starting point for thinking about the differences in how these weapons might be used in combat.

New Book

Paul Kiesling's Bayonets of the World: The Comprehensive Edition has been published in a revised edition by SI Publicaties BV of the Netherlands, available from Amazon. With 670 pages and 1000 plus illutrations, this is catalog of 1071 bayonets. From the standpoint of the student of bayonet fencing, the detailed information on length of each model included is important to the construction of adequate simulators for training. And, if you like bayonets, it is just a great browsing book.

The Catalog

We have started to post a catalog of bayonets on the website. This will be a long, slow process, but as the catalog becomes more extensive we will have a useful reference to typical bayonet and rifle/musket lengths to go with the systems that we are describing for study. A 45, or even 52, inch long wooden bayonet trainer just does not do a good job of simulating bayonet combat with a 58 inch long musket tipped with 16 inches of bayonet.

Two New Books

We will be adding two new books to the resources page of the website:

Robert W. Shuey's Socket Bayonets of the Great Powers: A Collectors Guide - a thorough pictorial guide to socket bayonets from the United States, Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. The book is limited, unfortunately, by the lack of two sets of information important to understanding the combat employment (and simulation) of these weapons - there is no data on either the length or weight of the bayonets pictured.

Lieutenant Colonel (Provisional Army of Vrginia) R. Milton Cary's Skirmishers' Drill and Bayonet Exercise of 1861, published as a facsimile edition. This is a translation of the French Army bayonet technique, originally intended for light infantry (chasseurs-a-pied as opposed to line regiments or grenadiers). It was published for the use of the volunteer and elite militia units of the Southern states at the start of the war of 1861-1865.

Bayonet Trainers

Current bayonet trainers are wooden rifles with a minimal amount of padding at the muzzle end. As a result they are too short for older bayonets, as well as somewhat dangerous for contact work. We have found that moderately stiff circular foam insulation works well as an extension to the rifle. It is flexible, allowing hits, can simulate both sword and regular bayonets, and can be cut to length for the period and weapon with which you are working.

We are currently developing a catalog of typical bayonet lengths, by country and by time period, so that your study of older systems will be more realistic. A musket from the 1800s with a full length sword bayonet is a very different weapon from a modern M-16 with a M-9 bayonet.

Decision Rules for Practical Evaluations

Each skill evaluated is graded on a 4 point scale based on the evaluator's assessment of the test performance: 1 - unsatisfactory, 2 - needs improvement, 3 - proficient, and 4 - expert. Minimum scores for each level are established as follows:

Levels 1 and 2 - the number of items multiplied by 3 reduced by 1 point for each 5 items. This allows for the junior levels to have some areas that need improvement.

Levels 3 and 4 (for systems with more than 4 levels) - the number of items multiplied by 3. This assumes the test taker has a proficient level of performance in all items, or that the number of needs improvement are balanced by an equivalent number of expert performances.

Level 4 (for systems with only 4 levels) and 5 - the number of items multiplied by 3 plus 1 point for each 5 items. This requires a minimum of fully proficient plus some number of expert performances.

Proficient indicates that the test taker can perform the skills correctly and smoothly and that performance would be effective if the training weapon were equipped with a sharp bayonet.

Expert indicates the standard of proficient is met, plus the test taker clearly has full control of the weapon and acts offensivley in keeping with the spirit of the bayonet.

Burton System Evaluation Form

We have completed the practical testing form for Burton's 1853 system for the Bombay Army, and it is posted on our Forms page on the website. In the process we have redesigned the form template to make it easier to use for multiple practical tests, and we have also updated the United States Army 1943 practical form.