Topic: Cold Steel
The Bayonet has its Occasional Uses
"The Sword in the Scabbard," by Michael Joseph, 1942
"I dare say the bayonet has its occasional uses, but I am prepared to wager that in this war not one infantryman in a thousand ever has a chance to use it. But the Army still swears by the bayonet. The bayonet legend is upheld by newspaper men who never miss an opportunity of referring to positions captured 'at the point of the bayonet.' In case there should be any doubt as to the functions of the obsolescent weapon, the B.B.C. naively refers to 'hand-to-hand bayonet fighting.' Our troops are still taught that the Germans ‘hate cold steel.' No doubt they do, but I somehow don't think we shall win the war by insistence of the vital importance of the bayonet in modern warfare. Bows and arrows were good weapons once."
Follow 