The history of the bayonet in the Russian army dates back to Peter I, when the introduction in 1709 of the bayonet instead of baguettes made the gun quite suitable for action in battle with fire, butt and bayonet. Now there was no need to separate the bayonet before each new shot and loading the gun. Combining a bayonet with a gun significantly increased the offensive power of the Russian infantry. Unlike the Western European armies, which used the bayonet as a defensive weapon, in the Russian army it was used as an offensive weapon. A powerful bayonet strike became an integral part of the tactics of the Russian army.
The tactics of skillfully combining fire with a bayonet strike reached its peak in the Russian army during the military leadership of A. V. Suvorov. "The bullet is a fool, the bayonet is great"; "The bullet will cheat, but the bayonet will not cheat"; "Take care of the bullet in the barrel: three will jump, kill the first, shoot the second, and the third with a bayonet!" - these sayings of the most talented Russian commander have long become popular proverbs. They are often repeated, proving that Suvorov preferred the bayonet to the bullet.
Indeed, he purposefully taught his soldiers to wield a "cold gun", but along with this, in the glorious history of the Russian army, Suvorov's demand for our soldiers to master the "art of solid shooting" is also captured. In his Science of Victory, the commander wrote: "Take care of the bullet in the muzzle, shoot hard at the target for firing … To save the bullets of each shot, everyone must aim at his opponent in order to kill him … We shoot whole …" Practicing a swift bayonet strike, Suvorov considered that the success of the attack directly depends on the marksmanship. "Infantry fires open victory," he said. One of the Russian officers, participants of the Suvorov campaign in Italy in 1798-1799, describes how Russian selected riflemen - huntsmen, combining fire with a bayonet strike, put Napoleon's troops to flight: “The French riflemen were more than three times against us, and their bullets became rush between us like a gadfly in the summertime. The hunters waited and, letting the enemy a hundred and fifty paces, let their destructive fire. Not a single bullet went to the wind: the enemy's chain was apparently strained, it stopped … Aiming battalion fire from our line tore out of the dense ranks enemy every second by dozens, and … Sabaneev, noticing that the enemy's riflemen had separated quite far from their columns, moved the remaining two platoons of hunters into the chain and, bringing the company of rangers closer, ordered the first knee of the jaeger campaign to be beaten on the drum. thrown hitting the enemy, and the bayonet brave Russian work began to boil; after four minutes the French were rushing headlong back … "This is how Suvorov's miracle heroes acted in the fields of Europe, under the harsh walls of Ishmael, on the snowy peaks of the Alps. And the glory of the Russian bullet joined the glory of the Russian bayonet.
It was to this circumstance that the closest attention was paid in the Red Army both in the pre-war period and during the Great Patriotic War. As one of the Soviet military leaders of that era, the head of the training and drill administration of the Red Army Main Directorate L. Malinovsky wrote in the early 1930s: “There are sufficient grounds for this both in the nature of the battle and in the nature of the bulk of our Red Army soldier. In this case, the main place should be given to the educational value of this branch of combat training.
The experience of the war says that even up to the present time, bayonet fighting and, in any case, readiness for it, are still very often the decisive and final element of an attack. The same experience testifies to the significance of losses in hand-to-hand combat both as a result of a bayonet attack and as a result of the inability to use a bayonet.
The conduct of a night battle, the actions of scouts, hand-to-hand combat, which often involves an attack, a combination of a grenade strike and a cold weapon - all this creates an environment that requires proper peacetime training for any army that wants to ensure victory in a battle and achieve it not large, but small blood."
The combat regulations of the Red Army infantry unambiguously demanded: "The ultimate combat mission of the infantry in an offensive battle is to smash the enemy in hand-to-hand combat." At the same time, the priority setting for the appropriate combat training of the Red Army was expressed very figuratively: “We must firmly instill in everyone that during the attack they go forward in order to kill. Every attacker must choose a victim in the ranks of the enemy and kill it. on the way, should not be left unattended, be it running, walking, standing, sitting or lying. Shoot and hit everyone so that he never gets up again! This can only be achieved by someone who will be consistently and appropriately for this. Only a strong, dexterous and well-trained (to automatism) fighter who knows how to correctly combine the action of fire and a bayonet (shovel, pickaxe, ax, leg, fist) will be able to kill and win on his own. - death. Now there is no co the opinion is that in many attacks, and in night ones it is obligatory, our opponents will seek victory in a bayonet strike, and therefore we must be able to resist this strike with our more crushing blow."
The Red Army men were taught that their bayonet was an offensive weapon, and the essence of bayonet combat was interpreted as follows: "The experience of the war showed that many soldiers were killed or wounded only due to the inability to properly use their weapons, especially the bayonet. Bayonet fighting is a decisive factor in any attack. It must be preceded by shooting to the last opportunity. The bayonet is the main weapon of night combat."
The Red Army men were taught that in hand-to-hand combat the retreating enemy should be pressed with a bayonet and hand grenades to the very line indicated in the order; chase the one running with fast, well-aimed and calm fire. The steadfast Red Army soldier, never losing his offensive spirit, will become the master of the combat situation, the entire battlefield.
In Soviet soldiers, the confidence was brought up that the ability to wield a weapon would give the soldier not only a sense of personal superiority in the fight, but also the calmness necessary for battle. "Only such a soldier will be able to fight with full spirit and will not be nervous while waiting for the decisive moment of battle, but, despite any obstacles, will go forward and win."
In combat training classes, it was emphasized that the complete confidence of a soldier in his weapons can only be achieved through constant and systematic training. Soviet commanders, not without reason, believed that half an hour of daily practice in inflicting various strikes, as well as in action with a bayonet in conditions close to a real battle, was able to make all actions of a Red Army soldier with a bayonet automatic.
However, the automatism of actions did not deny the individual abilities of the fighter, but, on the contrary, was supplemented by their development. The commanders were required that each Red Army soldier learn to think and act independently, so that he does not have a break in time between thought and action. “To achieve this, the fighters must exercise their minds and eyes when conducting practical exercises and, as far as possible, without commands. The commander must train the soldiers to hit with a training stick, strike at various targets: stuffed animals, a moving target as soon as it stops, etc. During this period of training, students should work in pairs and act on the principle of "teacher and student", "alternately".
At the same time, the speed of movement of the fighters, their ingenuity was developed by carrying out various physical exercises and quick games, in which the speed of thinking and instantaneous reaction of the muscles were required. Boxing and sambo played an essential role in the development of a fighter's individual qualities and went hand in hand with training in bayonet fighting.
One of the Soviet theorists of bayonet combat G. Kalachev pointed out that a real bayonet attack requires courage, the correct direction of force and speed in the presence of a state of extreme nervous excitement and significant physical fatigue. In view of this, it is necessary to develop the soldiers physically and to maintain their development at the highest possible height. In order to make the punch stronger and gradually strengthen the leg muscles, all trainees should practice from the very beginning of the training, make attacks at short distances, jump into and out of trenches."
All fighting techniques with a carbine (thrust, bounces, butt strikes) were performed from the "Prepare for battle" position. This position was the most convenient for attack and defense in hand-to-hand combat.
The following bayonet fighting techniques were practiced in the Red Army.
An injection
The thrust was the main technique in bayonet combat. Aiming directly at the enemy with a rifle with a bayonet threatening his throat, and hitting an open place in his body were the main moment of bayonet combat. To make the injection, it was required to send the rifle (carbine) with both hands forward (directing the tip of the bayonet to the target) and, fully straightening the left hand, advance the rifle (carbine) with your right hand along the palm of your left hand until the magazine box lies on your palm. At the same time, it was necessary to sharply straighten the right leg and, feeding the body forward, deliver a thrust with a lunge with the left leg. After that, immediately pull out the bayonet and again assume the "Prepare for battle" position.
Depending on the situation, the injection could be delivered without deception and with deception of the enemy. When the enemy's weapon did not interfere with the injection, then it was necessary to stab directly (the injection without deception). If the enemy was covered with his weapon, then, by sending a bayonet directly, it was necessary to create a thrust threat (deception), and when the enemy tried to repulse, quickly transfer his bayonet to the other side of the enemy's weapon and inflict a thrust on him. It was always necessary to keep the enemy under attack, since a fighter who failed to deliver a sensitive blow to an open area of the enemy's body for even one-fifth of a second risked death himself.
The mastery of the injection technique was carried out in the following sequence: first, the injection was practiced without a scarecrow; then a prick in a scarecrow; injection with a step forward and lunge; injection in motion, walking and running; an injection on a group of scarecrows with a change in the direction of movement; at the end, the injection was practiced on stuffed animals in a variety of settings (in trenches, trenches, in the forest, etc.).
In the study of the injection and during training, the main attention was paid to the development of accuracy and strength of the injection. In the process of learning bayonet fighting, the Red Army men memorized the saying of the Russian General Dragomirov on this matter: “… it can lead to the loss of life."
Butt blows
Butt blows were used when meeting the enemy closely, when it was impossible to inflict an injection. Butt blows could be applied from the side, forward, backward and from above. To strike with the butt from the side, it was required, simultaneously with the lunge with the right leg forward and the movement of the right hand from bottom to top, to inflict a strong blow with an acute angle of the butt into the head of the enemy.
It was convenient to use a blow from the side after hitting to the left. To strike forward, it was required to push the butt down with the right hand and, intercepting in the right hand above the upper false ring, take the rifle (carbine) back, swing, and then, with a lunge with the left leg, strike with the back of the butt.
To strike with the butt back, it was necessary to turn on the heels of both legs to the right in a circle (the legs at the knees did not unbend), at the same time to swing, for which to take the rifle (carbine) as far back as possible, turning the magazine box up. After that, with a lunge with the right foot, it was necessary to strike with the back of the butt in the face of the enemy.
To strike with the butt from above, it was necessary to toss the rifle (carbine), turning it up with the magazine box, grab it on the fly with the left hand from above at the upper false ring, and with the right from below at the lower false ring and lunge with the right leg to strike a strong blow from above with an acute angle of the butt.
Butt blows were required to be applied accurately, quickly and strongly. The training in strikes was carried out on the ball of a training stick or on stuffed animals of the "sheaf" type.
Bounces
Rebounds were used when defending against a thrust of the enemy and during an attack, when the enemy's weapon interfered with the thrust. After repulsing the enemy's weapon, it was necessary to immediately inflict a bayonet thrust or butt blow. The rebounds were made to the right, left and down to the right. Fighting to the right was carried out when the enemy threatened with an injection into the upper right part of the body. In this case, with a quick movement of the left hand to the right and somewhat forward, it was necessary to make a short and sharp blow with the forearm on the enemy's weapon and immediately inflict a thrust.
To beat back down to the right (when the enemy was thrust into the lower part of the body), it was necessary to hit the enemy's weapon with a quick movement of the left hand in a semicircle to the left and down to the right.
The rebounds were made with one hand, quickly and with a small sweep, without turning the body. The sweeping repulse was disadvantageous because the soldier, opening himself, gave the enemy the opportunity to strike.
At first, only the technique of beating was studied, then beating to the right when pricked with a training stick and beating with a subsequent injection into a scarecrow. Then the training was carried out in a varied and complicated environment in combination with injections and butt blows.
Fighting with carbines with a soft tip
For the education of the Red Army men such qualities as swiftness and decisiveness in actions, endurance, persistence and perseverance in achieving victory, the "battle" of two soldiers was of great importance. In the process of these "battles" there was also an improvement in the technique of performing combat techniques. Therefore, it was required that the fighters should practice as often as possible in training paired "fights" on carbines (wooden sticks) with a soft tip.
For a successful battle with the "enemy" it was necessary to remember that only active actions can ensure the success of the battle. In a fight with the "enemy" the fighter had to be courageous and decisive, strive to be the first to attack the "enemy". It was emphasized that only activity in battle will lead to victory, and passive actions are doomed to failure.
If the "enemy" attacked well and defended poorly, then it was necessary not to give him the opportunity to go on the attack, but to attack him himself. If the "enemy" defended better than attacked, then he had to be summoned to active actions (deliberately opening his body for a prick), and when he tried to inflict a prick, he should repulse the attack and inflict a return thrust on him. When conducting a battle with two "opponents" it was necessary to strive for a fight with them one by one. It was required not to allow the "enemy" to attack from behind, and for this to use the available cover, which made it difficult for the "enemy" to attack simultaneously from several sides.
And at present, the training of soldiers of the Russian Armed Forces in bayonet and hand-to-hand combat has not lost its relevance at all, since the old principle: "In peacetime you need to teach what you have to do in war" cannot and should not be forgotten. Confident possession of your weapon is part of the psychological training of a fighter.
