ORIGIN OF THE BAYONET
It is sixty years since Sir' Charlos Napier gave' to the bayonet the title of the "Queen of Weapons"; the present war has served only to strengthen its right to the'honour. Bayonnc gave it a tmiue, first manufactured it, aud on a hill behind the town saw its invention and first use. But if Ba.yonne.was its sponsor, necessity was its parent. A company' of Basque smugglers was brought to bay on a hill near to the town. Their ammunition was exhausted; defeat and surrender seemed inevitable. This crisis brought the man. One of the smugglers whipped out a longbandied knife and rammed the handle into the muzzle of hi* useless musket. The idea was instantly caught up and effectively used.. Pell-mell down the liill went the.*smugglers,'and victory followed in tho wake of this first bayonet charge. But tbo French made of their defeat a stepping-stone to- future victories. They wore assured that what Basque smugglers could do (hey could improve, upon. They set to work and. began at this little coast town I manufacture of this weapon of Bayonne.
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Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3152, 2 August 1917, Page 10
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183ORIGIN OF THE BAYONET Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3152, 2 August 1917, Page 10
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