Saw bayonets were made for field engineers, but got used as pretty horrible weapons in the trenches.
-Expert
Facts[]
- Fact 1: As trench warfare began to overtake Napoleonic tactics, bayonets evolved into multipurpose tools. One evolution was this sawback blade, designed to cut barbed wire and small trees.
- Fact 2: Sawback bayonets were rarely issued outside of combat engineers, but were often seen as a status symbol by troops and frequently scavenged after battle.
- Fact 3: Seen by Britain as a horrific wounding weapon and largely avoided, the sawback bayonet was widely used by German forces in WWI.
- Fact 4: This bayonet, originally issued during WWI, was found by American forces during WWII and sent home as a souvenir.
- Fact 5: A maker's mark on the blade of this bayonet shows the sigil of Kaiser Wilhelm II and a 1916 manufacturing date.