Of Horses and Bayonets

Our theme this Saturday comes from the petulant boy-king, of course. Horses we don’t have as many of as we used to of course but, in truth Humvees and armored vehicle really are better. Which we found out back in 1916 when a Cavalry Lieutenant by the name of George S. Patton made the world’s first mechanized charge during the Mexican Punitive Expedition.

But you know, on occasion, the old ways are still the best. Including when we went into Afghanistan, on horseback

And besides everybody knows who comes to the rescue, nobody but the US Cavalry.

Here’s the 7th Cav in action in the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam. No horses on this one but helicopters aren’t a bad substitute.

Notice something else in that clip, Yep they fixed their bayonets for the charge, we’ll get to that but we can’t leave the Cavalry without this.

The bayonet was invented by the French at the Bayonne Armory which is how it got its name. The first ones plugged right into the barrel of the musket which could be a bit unhandy if you had a sudden urge to shoot the weapon. Soon enough they figured out the pattern for the modern lug bayonet. See the thing is a short spear and is pretty handy in close quarters, and it never jams or misfires, or runs out of ammunition. It’s also a fearsome weapon to face, through the Napoleonic wars the British regulars were feared throughout the west for their silent charge with the glittering bayonets

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Here’s how the Marines teach it today.

Horses and Bayonets, yep we still got em O, of course you wouldn’t know what to do with either one.

 

Related articles

• Not to Be a Stickler on Bayonets, But … (blogs.wsj.com)
• Funniest Wingnut ‘Fact-Check’ of the Day: The Military Still Has Horses and Bayonets! (supersaiyan.newsvine.com)
• Bayonets and Horses: Obama Was Wrong on the Detail and the Implication (nationalreview.com)
• What is the Spirit of the Bayonet? TO KILL! Kill with Cold Blue Steel! (thetruthaboutguns.com)