As WW I loomed on the horizon, no army had as much faith in the spirit of the bayonet as France. The concept was “attaque à outrance” - the idea that massed French infantry could conquer an objective at the point of their bayonets though sheer élan. They were mistaken. The French even nicknamed their bayonet “Rosalie” after a song of the era. The Germans called the French bayonets “knitting needles.”
These are two Model 1886 Lebel bayonets. The French called this style an épée bayonet, after the épée sword used in fencing, because of the cruciform cross section of the blade. Both bayonets have 20 ½ inch (52.7 cm) long blades, but they can be found in various lengths as the blades were often repointed when the tip broke off in field use. The French also modified many of these bayonets in 1935 by shortening them.
Originally the bayonets had a nickel-silver handle and a hooked quillion. By 1916, with the need to conserve nickel for the war effort, the handles were made of brass. About the same time they were manufactured without the quillion, I assume because the French discovered the quillions were more apt to get caught on equipment straps than catch the downward thrust of an enemy bayonet.
There are other variations, but basically:
from 1886 till 1916: Nickel steel handle, hooked quillion, a bit over 25 inches long overall.
1916 - 1935: Same as above but without the quillion and with a brass handle. Many older bayonets had the quillions removed.
1935 through WWII: same as above, but shortened to 18 inches. Many older bayonets were also shortened.
Also after 1935, some bayonets were made with blued steel handles.
Bayonets that had tips broken off were often re-sharpened, so that some bayonets are neither the long or the short length.
Information credit: Chrisnp, Collectors Weekly
Color photo credit: Chrisnp, Collectors weekly
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