Bayonet facts for kids

The US Marine Corps' OKC-3S Bayonet

An assault rifle used by the Swiss army, with a bayonet attached.

A bayonet is a special type of knife or dagger. It is made to be attached to the end of a rifle. This turns the rifle into a kind of spear. Bayonets are used for fighting up close, especially if a soldier runs out of bullets. The word "bayonet" comes from the French word baïonnette.

What is a Bayonet Charge?

In the 1700s and 1800s, armies often used bayonets in a special attack called a bayonet charge. This was when many infantry soldiers, with bayonets fixed to their muskets, would run towards the enemy. They usually charged over short distances. The goal was to quickly take over enemy positions, capture cannons, or break up enemy groups.

Using bayonets meant that soldiers could defend themselves from cavalry (soldiers on horseback). Before bayonets, soldiers often used long spears called pikes for defense. But with bayonets, infantry could fight off cavalry without losing their ability to shoot.

The Russian Army used bayonet charges very often during the Napoleonic Wars. A famous Russian general, Alexander Suvorov, once said, "The bullet is foolish, the bayonet wise." This was because Russian armies sometimes had less training and their muskets were not very accurate. So, Russian officers often preferred to use bayonet charges instead of just shooting their guns.

Images for kids

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  British infantryman in 1941 with a Pattern 1907 bayonet affixed to his rifle

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  Depiction of a Chinese muzzle-loading musket with a plug bayonet attached from 1606. The weapon's instructional manual and specifications is shown above.

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  17th-century plug bayonet

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  Socket of a bayonet, showing triangular cross-section and fluted sides

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  Early 19th-century offset spiked socket bayonet

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  Chassepot bolt-action rifle and sword bayonet.

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  Bayonet assembly system of the Chassepot

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  British Pattern 1875 Snider saw-backed bayonet (with scabbard) for artillery carbine

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  U.S. Bayonet Model 1873 trowel

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  US military bayonets; from the top down, they are the M1905, the M1, M1905E1 Bowie Point Bayonet (a cut down version of the M1905), and the M4 Bayonet for the M1 Carbine.

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  A bayonet charge during the Battle of Großbeeren (1813)

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  A bayonet charge during the American Civil War

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  French infantry bayonet charge, carrying 1886 Lebel rifles, in 1913

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  A stretch of no man's land in Flanders Fields, France, 1919

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  A life-size diorama at the US Army Infantry Museum, Fort Benning, Georgia, depicting Millett's charge up Hill 180 during the Korean War that resulted in his receipt of the Medal of Honor.

See also

In Spanish: Bayoneta para niños