Trench dagger
| Trench dagger | |
|---|---|
|
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| Information | |
| Weapon type: | knife |
| Designations: | Grave dagger grave knife knuckle knife |
| Use: | military weapon |
| Creation time: | circa 1914 |
| Working time: | until now |
| Region of origin / author: |
Germany |
| Distribution: | Europe |
| Overall length: | approx. 20 cm |
| Blade length: | from approx. 10 cm |
| Handle: | Wood, metal, plastic, in the picture above also made as brass knuckles . |
| Particularities: | There were no guidelines from the German side, so many soldiers obtained their own weapons. |
| Lists on the subject | |
The trench dagger is a variant of the combat knife developed during the First World War , mostly with a hand guard so that it can also be used as a brass knuckle.
In the material connection of the grave dagger communicating with the war of position on the western front and the resulting grave fighting .
Historical background
The ideas for waging the First World War were based on the German side essentially on invading France with a surprising and quickly carried crescent-shaped attack via neutral Belgium and thus ensuring a quick end to the hostile clashes on the western front. After that, Russia could be thrown down on a second front ( Eastern Front ) (so-called Schlieffen Plan ). However, due to a further development of the Schlieffen Plan, the German armies did not advance as far as the Channel coast, but swiveled east of Paris in a southerly direction. There the German armies encountered bitter resistance from the Entente . As a result, the war of movement led to a positional war ( Marne battle 1914, Verdun ).
In the trench warfare it became clear that the equipment and armament of the soldier did not meet the requirements of this special fighting style. So the length of the rifle and the bayonet was still based on the basic idea of the greatest possible range in bayonet fencing, which was already illusory at the time. In the confines of the trenches, shelters and shell holes, such weapons were more of a hindrance and also endangered their own comrades.
Birth of the trench dagger
Out of necessity, improvised auxiliary weapons were developed and used by the soldiers themselves (e.g. trench club, morning star , sharpened feldspade ). In the area of stabbing weapons, existing and privately procured daggers and knives could be used. But makeshift weapons were also manufactured in field blacksmiths and workshops on and behind the front. For example, the knife-like shortening of the bayonets offered itself here.
This approach also had an impact on the troops' official equipment. In accordance with requirements, on May 8, 1915, the Prussian War Ministry issued the number 47184/15 by decree that six dagger-like knives should initially be given to the infantry units of the Western Front.
However, this number could not meet the needs of the German troops at the front. Therefore, the allocation was initially increased to twelve and then to 24 trench daggers. The corresponding instructions are dated February 29 and June 26, 1916. On March 20, 1917, the War Department ordered the companies to be equipped with 40 daggers as standard. This affected the infantry , the engineers , the miners and the mine throwers on the western front. In the area of the Eastern Front, the infantry and mortar companies were to obtain 24 daggers each and the engineer companies 36 daggers.
War participant PC Ettighofer recalls in his autobiographical book Ghosts on the Dead Man :
“I still fondly remember this last Christmas of the War, because every regiment member received a sharp, well-honed dagger as a tie for the festival of peace on earth, presumably in the wise foresight of the things that awaited us. We "front pigs" thought the whole thing was a wonderful joke and were still happy about the daggers. "
It was noteworthy (by German standards) that no uniform guidelines for the manufacture of trench daggers were issued. The offices used the local knife factories for the procurement. Initially, the trench daggers were marked with an acceptance mark as a sign of the transfer of ownership to the state; this procedure was no longer carried out uniformly in the later course of the war.
As a result, there is a large number of removed trench daggers (official introduction by the state) and models procured by soldiers themselves or specially made.
Well-known trench daggers
The German Imperium
France
Italy
Austria-Hungary
United States of America
literature
- Eugen von Halász: German Combat Knife Volume I. Military Publishing House Klaus D. Patzwall, Norderstedt 1996, ISBN 3-931533-33-6 .
- Eugen von Halász: German Combat Knife Volume II. Military Publishing House Klaus D. Patzwall, Melbeck 2009, ISBN 978-3-931533-35-9 .
- Wolfgang Peter-Michel: Trench Daggers: Military combat knives of the First World War . BoD, Norderstedt 2011, ISBN 978-3-8423-7719-6 .
Web links
- Technical terms of edged weapons from Gerhard Seifert (PDF; 1.26 MB)