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Books > Professional & Technical > Other technologies > Military engineering > Ordnance, weapons technology
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The Bayonet (Paperback)
Loot Price: R391
Discovery Miles 3 910
You Save: R41
(9%)
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The Bayonet (Paperback)
Series: Weapon
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List price R432
Loot Price R391
Discovery Miles 3 910
You Save R41 (9%)
Expected to ship within 9 - 15 working days
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Although muskets delivered devastating projectiles at comparatively
long ranges, their slow rate of fire left the soldier very
vulnerable while reloading, and early muskets were useless for
close-quarter fighting. Consequently, European infantry regiments
of the 17th century were composed of both musketeers and pikemen,
who protected the musketeers while loading but also formed the
shock component for close-quarter combat. The development of the
flintlock musket produced a much less cumbersome and faster-firing
firearm. When a short knife was stuck into its muzzle, every
soldier could be armed with a missile weapon as well as one that
could be used for close combat. The only disadvantage was that the
musket could not be loaded or fired while the plug bayonet was in
place. The socket bayonet solved this problem and the
musket/bayonet combination became the universal infantry weapon
from c.1700 to c.1870. The advent of shorter rifled firearms saw
the attachment of short swords to rifle barrels. Their longer
blades still gave the infantryman the 'reach' that contemporaries
believed he needed to fend off cavalry attacks. The perfection of
the small-bore magazine rifle in the 1890s saw the bayonet lose its
tactical importance, becoming smaller and more knife-like, a trend
that continued in the world wars. When assault rifles predominated
from the 1950s onwards, the bayonet became a weapon of last resort.
Its potential usefulness continued to be recognized, but its blade
was often combined with an item with some additional function, most
notably a wire-cutter. Ultimately, for all its fearsome reputation
as a visceral, close-quarter fighting weapon, the bayonet's
greatest impact was actually as a psychological weapon. Featuring
full-colour artwork as well as archive and close-up photographs,
this is the absorbing story of the complementary weapon to every
soldier's firearm from the army of Louis XIV to modern-day forces
in all global theatres of conflict.
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