Produced by Brian Coe, David E. Brown, and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
file was produced from images generously made available
by The Internet Archive)
BAYONET TRAINING
MANUAL
USED BY THE BRITISH FORCES
_Reprinted from
INFANTRY JOURNAL
May, 1917_
[Illustration]
NEW YORK
D. VAN NOSTRAND COMPANY
MILITARY PUBLISHERS
25 PARK PLACE
1917
COPYRIGHT, 1917
U. S. INFANTRY ASSOCIATION
PREFACE.
Training in the use of the bayonet is receiving much attention from all
the combatant nations in Europe. The aim of the instruction is twofold:
1. To develop great alertness of mind, readiness of muscle, and habit
of quick obedience to command.
2. To develop fighting spirit.
Physical drill and bayonet training go hand in hand and their drill
periods follow each other. The physical drill consists of calisthenic
exercises for fifteen or twenty minutes, followed by some game or
exercise requiring great quickness of movement. To accomplish the aims
of this training, especially the first named above, it is necessary to
execute with snap the movements in the physical drill.
The following is from the latest British Training Manual (1916), which
is based on their experience, and the forces are now being trained in
accordance therewith.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I INTRODUCTORY 1
II PRELIMINARY BAYONET LESSONS 9
III THE TACTICAL APPLICATION OF THE BAYONET 35
IV TACTICAL PRINCIPLES TO BE OBSERVED
DURING BAYONET TRAINING 45
V GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR BAYONET
TRAINING PRACTICE 53
VI PROGRESSIVE PROGRAM OF INSTRUCTION 57
VII A GUIDE FOR THE TRAINED SOLDIER’S
DAILY PRACTICE 65
BAYONET TRAINING.
CHAPTER I
To attack with the bayonet effectively requires _good direction,
strength and quickness_ during a state of wild excitement and probably
physical exhaustion. The limit of the range of a bayonet is about five
feet (measured from the opponent’s eyes), but more often the killing
is at close quarters, at a range of two feet or less, when troops are
struggling _corps à corps_ in trenches or darkness.
The bayonet is essentially an offensive weapon--go straight at an
opponent with the point threatening his throat and deliver a thrust
wherever an opening presents itself. If no opening is obvious, then
create one by beating off the opponent’s weapon or making a “feint
thrust” in order to make him uncover himself.
Hand-to-hand fighting with the bayonet is individual, which means that
a man must think and act for himself and rely on his own resources
and skill; but, as in games, he must play as one of a team and not
for himself alone. _In a bayonet assault all ranks go forward to kill
or be killed, and only those who have developed skill and strength by
constant training will be able to kill._
The spirit of the bayonet must be inculcated into all ranks, so that
they go forward with that aggressive determination and confidence
of superiority, born of continual practice, without which a bayonet
assault will not be effective.
The technical points of bayonet fighting are extremely few and simple:
the essence of bayonet training, and continuity of practice.
An important point to be kept in mind in bayonet training is the
development of the individual by teaching him to think and act for
himself. The simplest means of attaining this is to make men use their
brains and eyes to the fullest extent by carrying out the practices,
so far as possible, without words of command. This procedure develops
individuality and confidence. Alertness and rapidity are qualities to
be developed also.
As technique of bayonet fighting is so simple, long detail is quite
unnecessary and makes the work monotonous. All instructions should
be carried out on common-sense lines. It should seldom be necessary
to give the detail of a “thrust” or “parry” more than two or three
times, after which the classes should acquire the correct positions by
practice. For this reason, a drill should rarely last more than thirty
minutes. It should be remembered that nothing kills interest so easily
as monotony.
The spirit of the bayonet is to be inculcated by describing the special
features of bayonet and hand-to-hand fighting. The men must learn to
practise bayonet fighting in the spirit and with the enthusiasm which
animate them when training for their games, and to look upon their
instructor as a trainer and helper.
Interest in the work is to be created by explaining the reasons for the
various positions, the method of handling the rifle and bayonet, and
the uses of the thrusts. Questions should be put to the men to find out
whether they understand these reasons. When men realize the object of
their work, they naturally take a greater interest in it.
Progression in bayonet training is regulated by obtaining: first,
correct positions and good direction; then, quickness. Strength is the
outcome of continual practice.
In order to encourage dash and gradually to strengthen the leg muscles,
from the commencement of their training, classes should be frequently
practised in charging short distances.
[Illustration]
All company officers and noncommissioned officers should be taught how
to instruct in bayonet fighting, in order that they may be able to
teach their men in this very important part of a soldier’s training. It
should have place in all training schedules, and in all rest periods in
war time.
Sacks for dummies should be filled with vertical layers of straw
and thin sods, leaves, shavings, etc., in such a way as to give the
greatest resistance without injury to the bayonet. A realistic effect,
necessitating a strong withdrawal, as if gripped by a bone, is obtained
by inserting pieces of hard wood, 1/4 inch thick (pieces of crating
or boxes), between the stuffing and the sack on the side facing the
attacker, and the grain must be vertical.
These sack dummies can be made to stand on end by fixing a wooden cross
or star (two or three pieces of wood about two inches broad and 3/4
inch thick nailed across one another) in the base of the sack before
filling it. They can also be placed with good effect on rough tripods
or tied to improvised stools. Dummy sacks should be suspended from
gallows and weighted or tethered to the ground from the bottom corners.
By the use of a little ingenuity an officer can readily represent the
torso of an opponent in positions simulating actual conditions.
_The greatest care should be taken that the object representing the
opponent and its support should be incapable of injuring the bayonet or
butt. Only light sticks (the parrying stick here referred to is shown
in plates) must be used for parrying practice._
_The chief causes of injury to the bayonet are: insufficient
instruction in the bayonet training lessons; failure to withdraw the
bayonet clear of the dummy before advancing; and placing the dummies on
hard, unprepared ground._
For practising direction, there must always be an aiming mark on the
dummy. Cardboard discs for this purpose are desirable. By continually
changing the position of the mark, the “life” of the dummies is
considerably prolonged.
In the absence of discs, five or six spots or numbers can be painted on
the dummies as marks.