By the Second World War, most nations regarded the bayonet as a weapon of last resort; many soldiers were more likely to use a bayonet to open a tin of rations than to actually fight with it. This was not true for Great Britain, whose armed forces still considered the bayonet as an important weapon, necessary for winning battles. In examining wartime photographs, it is rare to see an American or German soldier with his bayonet fixed to his rifle, but the opposite is true of the British; it is rare to find a photo of a British soldier without his bayonet fixed.
Tactics
The British valued the bayonet for its psychological effects at least as much as for its ability to inflict harm. Use of the bayonet was intended to give soldiers a sense of confidence and aggression. On the receiving end, only a highly-disciplined enemy could withstand a bayonet charge; the weapon was intended as much to drive the enemy from his position as to wound or kill.
The bayonet is the weapon for hand to hand fighting. Men who are confident with the bayonet, and determined to use it, will always win when fighting gets to close quarters. It is often used at night or by patrols and sentries.
Infantry Section Leading (1938)
The use of the bayonet, or the threat of it, will often enable infantry to drive the enemy from his position or cause him to surrender.
Small Arms Training, Volume I, Pamphlet No. 12: Bayonet (1937)
Infantry tactics were based on breaking into small formations, then using terrain to conceal movement. Once contact with the enemy was made, a rifle section would break into two groups, the rifle group and the Bren group (also sometimes called the “assault group” and the “fire group”). They would initiate “fire and maneuver”, taking alternating bounds; one group would move while the other suppressed the enemy with fire. Once close enough, the rifle group would assault the enemy position from the flank, firing from the hip while advancing, then breaking into a bayonet charge. The final charge was not to exceed 20 yards so as not to exhaust the assaulting troops before reaching the objective. Large scale attacks could rely on support from tanks and heavy weapons, but it was still up to the infantry to take objectives with their bayonets.
During night attacks, the intent was to use the bayonet only. While men were trained to scream during a normal bayonet charge, night fighting was to be done as silently as possible to maintain surprise; rifle magazines would be loaded, but with the bolt closed on an empty chamber.
Training
Bayonet training was intended to instill the soldier with confidence and a sense of aggression, as well as to develop teamwork and cooperation within the rifle section. At the outbreak of World War II, bayonet training was based on the official pamphlet published in 1937. Recruits were taught two main positions: the “high port” and the “on guard”. In the high port position, the soldier held his rifle diagonally across his body, the magazine facing forward, with the right hand on the wrist of the stock (“the small of the butt”) and the left hand at the barrel band. This was considered the best position for controlling the weapon while overcoming obstacles; it was essential to keep the rifle muzzle and bayonet pointed up so as not to risk injuring one’s comrades. From the high port, the rifle could be quickly moved into the shoulder ready to fire, or into the on guard position for using the bayonet.
To take the on guard position, the left leg was brought forward and the rifle brought down, muzzle forward, and the butt pressed firmly against the right hip. The rifle could be fired from this position, although accuracy suffered. More importantly, the on guard position prepared the soldier for making a thrust with the bayonet.
Interestingly, the term “thrust” is rarely used in the training manual. The soldier was instructed to “deliver the point” by lunging forward, using one’s body weight to give more impetus to the point. The soldier would then withdraw his weapon straight back. If another target presented itself, the “second point” was made from the withdraw position, meaning the soldier had to be closer to the second target. Should an enemy counterattack with his own bayonet, the British soldier was taught to parry the attack, using his rifle to knock aside his enemy’s weapon. After making the parry, the soldier would immediately make his own thrust, or if too close to make a point, strike with the rifle butt.
Recruits were initially trained in moving back and forth from the high port to the on guard position at a standstill, then practice the positions at the advance, the double, and finally the charge. It was considered essential that the charging men remain in line and reach their objective cohesively. Once the positions were learned, the men were taken to a bayonet training area where “dummies”, made either of large sandbags or fascines of brush and twigs, were suspended from wooden frames. These targets helped the soldiers learn how to thrust deeply and accurately. An additional dummy would often be placed on the ground a few paces behind a suspended dummy; the soldier was taught to keep his feet well away from the ground dummy during the thrust, but then place his left foot on the dummy to assist with the withdraw. Once training with dummies was accomplished on level ground, soldiers moved on to an assault course, where obstacles had to be overcome prior to engaging dummies with the bayonet.
Soldiers were also trained using the bayonet training stick. This was a wooden dowel with a wire ring attached to one end, and a cloth pad on the other; the official manual called for an overall length of 5 feet, 9 inches. The instructor would maneuver the stick and call out instructions; soldiers were to thrust into the ring on command to learn accuracy and adapt to moving targets. Soldiers kept their scabbards on their bayonets for safety, normally held with a piece of string tied from the scabbard boss to the rifle’s foresight protectors. The padded end of the stick represented an enemy’s bayonet; when the instructor pointed the pad at the recruit, the recruit was trained to immediately execute a parry. The depot or training center was expected to have enough training sticks that soldiers could pair off and take turns acting as instructor.
While copies of the official training manuals were distributed to battalion and company headquarters and Regimental depots, a number of officers also purchased their own copies. Additionally, it was common for officers to supplement their personal libraries with unofficial pamphlets, often produced by the military-focused publishing house of Gale and Polden in Aldershot.
One such unofficial pamphlet, “Bayonet Battle Training”, was very critical of traditional methods. According to the author, C. J. Twine, a number of Regimental depots treated bayonet training as just another form of drill, with the emphasis on executing the high port, on guard, and point in a precise, methodical manner. This style of training was counter-productive, as it reduced aggression and flexibility; worse, it gave a thoroughly unrealistic expectation of battlefield conditions and enemy actions. Twine’s pamphlet focused on the training stick and prescribed several variants on the standard exercises; the stick itself was longer at six feet. While suspended dummies were useful for initial training, Twine stated the best use of dummies was to place a number of them in realistic locations on the assault course to simulate enemy in cover, such as behind walls, in slit trenches, and under trees. Rather than simply observe their men, N.C.O.’s were to accompany them on the assault course and support them with machine carbine fire. Twine concluded his pamphlet with the statement, “Train as you expect and intend to fight.”
The War Office must also have had concerns about the conduct of bayonet training, as the 1937 manual was superseded by a significantly updated version in 1942. Rather than focusing on the high port position, the new manual stated that the rifle should be carried in whatever manner was most comfortable and effective for the situation; in close order, however, the muzzle still needed to point up for safety. The updated manual also stated that the basic techniques were just a starting point, and the individual soldier was encouraged to develop his own fighting style based on his own physique. The 1942 manual recommended moving suspended dummies to the rifle range, so firing from the hip could be practiced prior to delivering the point. Even the illustrations showed a more realistic approach; while the 1937 manual portrayed a soldier in shirtsleeve order, the 1942 manual showed the soldier in battle order, that is, wearing battledress, full webbing, and steel helmet.
Weapons
Great Britain entered the Second World War with the No. 1 Mk III* version of the Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Rifle, the same rifle used in the First World War, which was issued with the 1907 Pattern bayonet. As the rifle was significantly shorter than its predecessor and many of its contemporaries, it had been considered essential to make up that length with the bayonet. Sometimes called a “sword bayonet”, this impressive weapon had a 17-inch blade and a traditional knife hilt, for an overall length of nearly 22 inches. In actual experience, however, the troops considered the 1907 Pattern bayonet too long, heavy, and unwieldy.
A new weapon, the Rifle No. 4 Mk 1, was adopted in 1939, the same year Britain declared war on Germany. Time was needed to put the new rifle into production, however, and it was not until 1942 that it started to be issued in large numbers. The rifle itself was very similar to its predecessor, but took advantage of updated manufacturing techniques; the accompanying bayonet was also designed specifically for ease of mass production. The No. 4 bayonet consisted of a simple spike rather than a traditional blade; it attached to the rifle barrel by a locking socket, with no handle. The spike was nearly eight inches long, with an overall bayonet length of nearly ten inches. The new bayonet was certainly lighter and handier than the weapon it replaced. Unfortunately, however, it lost much of its psychological value; the sword bayonet was impressive and intimidating, while the spike bayonet was far less likely to instill fear and despondency in the enemy. It certainly failed to inspire confidence in British troops, who derisively called it a “pig-sticker”.
Sources
Infantry Section Leading (1938)
His Majesty’s Stationary Office
Infantry Training
Part VIII. – Fieldcraft, Battle Drill, Section and Platoon Tactics (1944)
His Majesty’s Stationary Office
Infantry Training: Training and War (1937)
Reprinted 1939
His Majesty’s Stationary Office
Small Arms Training, Volume I, Pamphlet No. 12: Bayonet (1937)
Reprinted 1941
His Majesty’s Stationary Office
Small Arms Training, Volume I, Pamphlet No. 12: Bayonet (1942)
His Majesty’s Stationary Office
Royal Marines Applied Physical Training Handbook (1945)
Including Bayonet Fighting and Close Combat
Reprinted by The Naval & Military Press Ltd.
Twine, C.J.
Bayonet Battle Training
Originally published by Gale & Polden
Reprinted by The Naval & Military Press Ltd.
Bull, Stephen and Rottman, Gordon L.
Infantry Tactics of the Second World War
Osprey Publishing, Ltd., 2008
Pegler, Martin
The Lee-Enfield Rifle
Osprey Publishing, Ltd., 2012
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