The military has and always will have a love affair with the bayonet. The sun glinting off a sea of bayonets as an army advances to combat has fervently stirred the martial spirit in soldiers and generals. The French call this phenomenon the "Spirit of the Bayonet," and it has become a code of conduct as well as a weapon. The bayonet represents the raw courage needed by a soldier to advance and kill his adversary at close quarters.

The proper use of the bayonet signified an offensive mentality and a desire to win. It made the soldier reflect on the real task at hand and many armies, up to the 1970s, spent countless hours drilling and training their soldiers on the proper use and techniques of killing with the bayonet.

Although the bayonet is still a standard piece of military equipment (recruits receive an hour or two of training), its use in the United States had been greatly limited by safety factors. It is considered a weapon and as such is kept under lock and key with the rifles. The only time the bayonet sees the light of day is during the occasional inspection and during drill or ceremonies.

The soldiers rarely, if ever, conduct bayonet training. It is considered too risky, and generally acknowledged to rank somewhere behind painting rocks on the list of important things to do in the military.

Even if the generals did want a sea of gleaming bayonets, it would take several days of hard polishing and sharpening to put the shine and edge back on America's bayonets. If there is a "Spirit of the Bayonet" left in the American military, it is the ghost of a weapon that has long since lost its usefulness.

Battle Briefs

The US Marine Air Wing
The Spirit of the Bayonet
The Browning M2 Heavy Machine Gun
The Battle of Trebia (218BC: Hannibal)