"British and bayonets circa 1914" Topic

In 1914 the French infantry were supposed to have bayonet fixed during battle because their role was to charge.

The German infantry were only supposed to fix bayonets during the immediate advance to close contact, and even then only the front ranks.

What bayonet doctrine did the British have? I don't mean "I suppose it would have made sense to" this or that, I mean, what was the demonstrable practice. Thanks for any information on that basis!

The short answer is 'it all depends' link

Since the site is about to close for maintainence I'm taking the lazy way out link A Google search for 'British Infantry Mons' with period 'action' photographs showing infantry both with and without fixed bayonets …..

Here's the Lancs Fusiliers at drill. link

As you probably know, a fixed bayonette affects the fall of shot when shooting, so the tommies, being above average shooters, probably waited until that 'whites of their eyes' moment to 'fix', probably under instructions form the platoon sergeant. I couldn't see them having fixed bayonettes as a general rule.

My Grandfather served in WWI and I have his copy of the Musketry Regulations Part 1 1909 (Reprinted 1914)
There are 2 references to the bayonet, paragraph 115 which describes cleaning the bayonet after firing with fixed bayonets and paragraph 158 describing the effects of firing with fixed bayonets.
So I would assume that they were on occasion expected to fix bayonets but as JARROVIAN said the British emphasis was on accuracy and rate of fire, so it probably didn't happen that often in the field.

Here is a link to British WWI infantry training manuals PDF's
link

As in earlier and later wars, doctrine was to march and engage in musketry with bayonets unfixed until it was absolutely necessary for close combat.

The act of fixing bayonets was and is also seen as a signal of intent; time to put your 'War Face' on and galvanise the unit for close combat. The psychology of the act of fixing bayonets is something that appears in personal accounts right up to the current wars in the Middle East.

It is not the case that the French believed the infantry role was to charge. Like the other major nations, they believed that infantry should be capable of engaging in close assault tactics when supported onto the defender by suppressing fire and movement. There are plenty of photos of French infantry in firing lines without bayonets fixed.

The French and German armies also placed great emphasis on musketry – the use of massed rifle fire. This coordination of fire was crucial and was not the same as marksmanship, i.e. the ability to hit a target with aimed fire.

Robert

While having a fixed bayonet will change the point of impact, as long as it's a solid lockup the change should be consistent.

I know that Moisin rifles tend to shoot to point of aim with the bayonet fixed (and several inches higher without the bayonet), but I suspect that most other nations would not set their sights like that.