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although machine guns and heavy artillery dominated the world during world war i, cold weapons were still important melee weapons. due to the size of the trenches, it was not suitable to hold rifles with bayonets. submachine guns and pistols were of course better, but the quantity of these equipment was less than 100%. with one person in hand, frontline soldiers need cold weapons suitable for close combat.

soldier holding mace

at that time, soldiers often used some homemade equipment, such as maces studded with nails, or went into battle directly with axes and machetes. after realizing the problem, european and american countries successively developed their own trench knives, also known as trench knives. today, let’s introduce some of them.

machete

at that time, the united kingdom was a well-established superpower and had considerable experience in trench knives. in terms of standard equipment, the british army and the commonwealth army had long been equipped with machetes named bill. the shape of the knife was similar to that of the firewood in southern my country. similar to knives, this shape also appeared in south asia. it may have been introduced to the british army from armies such as the indian army. the french army also had equipment and was used more during world war i.

bowie knife produced in world war i

britain produced a large number of standard trench knives during the war. these knives were mostly based on bowie knives used for hunting. they were similar to the fighting knives equipped by soldiers today. however, at that time, their functions were relatively simple and there were no auxiliary functions such as sawing. the blade length is generally within 30 cm and comes with a sheath.

Nahkampfmesser

germany also made a trench knife called the nahkampfmesser during world war i. in fact, it was more like a dagger and was also called a boot knife. it is probably because people thought that its size could easily fit into a boot, just like in the movie. let's take it out unexpectedly like that.

Nahkampfmesser

the nahkampfmesser's blade is about 15 centimeters long and has a thick handle. the blade is sharp and suitable for thrusting and cutting. it is not as good as the bill and bowie knives mentioned above for cutting. the blades are mostly single-edged, and occasionally double-edged. this trench knife was used until world war ii.

M1917

the united states was a latecomer in world war i. it joined the war late and developed the trench knife even later. the earliest m1917 "knuckle duster" is a weapon similar to a three-edged thorn. the shape of its three sides is not suitable for cutting and chopping. it is mainly thrust and has a guard like a western sword. the design of this kind of trench knife is unreasonable, and there seems to be problems with the quality. it stands to reason that the triangular shape should at least have the characteristics of sturdiness, but it broke a lot during use, which may be a problem with the production process.

Mark 1

later, the united states redesigned the mark 1 trench knife. this knife is much better. it is like a double-edged dagger, which can meet the needs of stabbing and cutting. the handle is integrated with a finger tiger, which can be used to hit the enemy. . however, the mark 1 was only put into use in 1918 and did not play a role on the front line.

M1886

the french army was the first to use trench knives modified from m1886 bayonets. this kind of knife is in the shape of a triangular knife and comes with a cylindrical scabbard. in fact, this kind of trench knife is the prototype of the american m1917. they are not suitable for chopping or cutting. .

Nail

france later designed a new trench knife called nail to replace the m1886. this knife was actually made of a steel bar, with the front end flattened to form a thrusting blade, and the rear bent into a simple grip. it is hard to imagine that this seemingly simple equipment was actually the standard equipment of the french army at that time. at that time, there was a shortage of war supplies in france, and there was also a huge gap in workers and processing equipment. this gave nail room to survive. it is said that one m1886 material can make three nails. many nails are not produced by military factories, but by tableware factories.

M1916

perhaps thinking that the nail was too embarrassing, france then designed the m1916, a double-edged dagger similar to the german nahkampfmesser, equipped with a metal scabbard.

in fact, there were many trench warfare cold weapons used by the army during the same period. the finger tiger, meteor hammer, etc. were also very commonly used equipment. other countries, such as turkey and the austro-hungarian empire, imitated them to meet the needs of the army. although the trench knife is a product of a specific period, it is designed to improve soldiers' close combat capabilities, and has the same function as today's fighting knives.