Great War Militaria - As the Great War descended into trench warfare, the armies of both sides produced and carried a variety of close-quarters weapons, including useful small weapons that combatants called "trench knives." Dressed in a loose-fitting jacket and Farina-style helmet, this Belgian soldier has a modified Mauser rifle in his mouth. John Adams-Graff Collection
World War I heralded the brutality of modern mass warfare, with more than 17 million dead and 20 million wounded. Joining Germany and Austria as part of the Central Powers or France and England as allies, many countries of the world sent their soldiers to die on the bloody fields of Europe.
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Soldiers on both sides have found many uses for their personal knives, wallowing in endless muddy trenches day after day. Soldiers nicknamed the service weapon "trench knives" because of where they lived. These onions could handle both daily food and cooking tasks. In the case of sudden hand-to-hand combat, which often took place in the confined spaces of trenches, knives served as a secondary weapon along with clubs, pistols, and grenades. For covert missions that involved special teams going into enemy territory, the small knives were able to silently take the life of a sentry without their comrades being alerted to an impending attack.
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When the war began, many German and Austrian soldiers had small hunting knives that were purchased privately. In addition, the German army gave a number
(combat knives) to their soldiers as standard equipment for use as weapons and for less lethal purposes.
Each of these mass knives consisted of a well-forged 6-inch steel blade with a simple metal shaft and a wooden handle wrapped around the base. Each was encased in a black painted steel cage and hung from a leather loop designed to hang from belts or equipment straps. German manufacturers' logos were sometimes applied to the ricochet, as well as the gun's inspection marks.
A typical German trench knife had a 9-groove wooden handle, which made it easier to hold in most situations.
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Individually purchased knives were popular among the military as manufacturers developed different shapes and sizes from different construction materials. Deer, wood, and full metal hilts can be found in straight or curved blades, set in steel or leather. Some commercially available knives had offset handles, slots, and knobs that allowed the owner to attach the knife to an infantry rifle if necessary.
During the long periods of boredom between the horrors of battle, soldiers would sometimes fashion spears or other scraps of iron into devastating knives designed to cut or stab an enemy soldier. These trench-made objects varied in quality and style, depending on the materials available and the talent of the soldiers who made them.
During the war, the soldiers of the German imperialist army had to always have weapons. With the large wallets of officers (and some enlisted men) in mind, knife makers began to produce better and more sophisticated knives. These items may have deer, bone, or carved wooden hilts, blue-paneled blades with engravings and commemorative markings, or many rich decorations to encourage wealthy soldiers to purchase weapons. In addition, sword knots were often added to trench knives to add a little shine to the uniforms of officers or soldiers when they went out.
Soldiers in the United Kingdom went into battle with a set of knives that were either privately purchased, issued, or home-made. A particularly formidable model was the "push dagger," a T-shaped device with a spike or double-edged blade attached to a cross handle that fit in the soldier's palm. With this weapon, Tommy could both punch and stab his opponent.
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French soldiers used several different types of trench knives, from smooth, double-edged models used to stab the enemy, to those made from Lebel's cruciform rifle spears, designed to stab and stab the enemy in battle. . French nails were crude, field-forged weapons with hand-sharpened blades and curved handles fashioned from scrap metal, especially scraps of salvaged wooden wire.
American soldiers of the Expeditionary Force received both privately purchased and airlifted weapons to the battlefields of Europe. Like the warriors of other countries, hunting knives were popular and widely used. The US Army M1917 and M1918 knives were truly formidable weapons with long 3-pronged spikes and a well-crafted wooden handle with prominent nuts that attached a D-shaped guard with a prominent thumb. The design of these knives was intended to cause maximum damage to the enemy soldier. The M1917 is housed in a round green leather holster with a steel thumb, neck, and hook attached at the top for attachment to a thigh area belt. In fact, these knives were of limited use (no cutting or cutting edges) and the design of the knife was somewhat fragile.
In the latter half of 1918, the Trench Mark 1 knife was introduced. This sophisticated weapon was produced by both the Americans and the French with a 6-3/4 inch diameter steel blade and a unique D-shaped segment butt. to "dust and warriors". The handle was inscribed "U.S. 1918" and the contractor's initials were inscribed on the side (or on the ricasso for French-made items). The Mark 1 was covered in blackened steel and was limited to the end of the war in November 1918.
This knife has been used many times, but the massive double-edged blade, deer antlers, and blackened buttoned hilt indicate that it was once a high-quality, private item.
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As more than 32 countries participated in World War I, a wide variety of trench knives were produced and used throughout Europe. With the cessation of hostilities, thousands of exported weapons were returned to the arsenals of their countries. But just twenty years later, many would be in the hands of soldiers again, as the "war to end all wars" was quickly followed by a second and even more devastating global conflict.
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