Brumaire was the second month in the calendar adopted by the first French Republic. It began on the 23rd of October and ended on the 21st of November. The 18th Brumaire of the year VIII of the French Revolution (November the 9th, 1799) witnessed the overthrow of the Directory by Bonaparte. The next day he dispersed at the point of the bayonet the Council of Five Hundred, and was elected consul. Research Brumaire
Sebastien Le Prestr de Vauban was a French soldier and engineer. He was born in 1633 at a Burgundian village, now in the deptarment of Yonne and died in 1707. He was educated at Semur and about 1650 entered the army. In charge of various siege operations during the war with Spain after the peace of 1659 he turned his attention to fortress work. Vauban's fame rests on the work he did for France during the wars carried on by Louis XIV. About forty fortresses were taken under his direction, and it was here that his genius was most fully shown, while he was responsible for the defences of almost every fortress on the French borders, the total number on which he was employed being put at over 160. He also invented the socket bayonet. Research Sebastien Vauban
The AK47 Bayonet is a Sovietbayonet for the AK47 and AK74assault rifles, designed to be a multi-purpose combatknife. The AK47 Bayonet has a 6 inch long clip-point, Bowie-type blade of stainless steel with a hole to allow fitting of the steel sheath to form wire cutters. Research AK47 Bayonet
Arms is a military term referring to weapons. Weapons of offence are divisible into two distinct sections: firearms, and arms used without gunpowder or other explosive substance.
The first arms of offence would probably be wooden clubs, then would follow wooden weapons made more deadly by means of stone or bone, stone axes, slings, bows and arrows with heads of flint or bone, and afterwards various weapons of bronze. Subsequently a variety of arms of iron and steel were introduced, which comprised the sword, javelin, pike, spear or lance, dagger, axe, mace, chariot scythe, etc. with a rude artillery consisting of catapults, ballistae, and battering-rams. Among ancient nations the Egyptians seem to have been most accustomed to the use of the bow, which was the principal weapon of the Egyptian infantry. Peculiar to the Egyptians was a defensive weapon intended to catch and break the sword of the enemy. With the Assyrians the bow was a favourite weapon; but with them lances, spears, and javelins were in more common use than with the Egyptians. Most of the large engines of war, chariots with scythes projecting at each side from the axle, catapults, and ballistae, seem to have been of Assyrian origin. During the historical age of Greece the characteristic weapon was a heavy spear from 21 to 24 feet in length. The sword used by the Greeks was short, and was worn on the right side. The Roman sword was from 22 to 24 inches in length, straight, two-edged, and obtusely pointed, and as by the Greeks was worn on the right side. It was used principally as a stabbing weapon. It was originally of bronze. The most characteristic weapon of the Roman legionary soldier, however, was the pilum, which was a kind of pike or javelin, some 6 feet or more in length. The pilum was sometimes used at close-quarters, but more commonly it was thrown.
The favourite weapons of the ancient Germanic races were the battle-axe, the lance or dart, and the sword. The weapons of the Anglo-Saxons were spears, axes, swords, knives, and maces or clubs. The Normans had similar weapons, and were well furnished with archers and cavalry. The cross-bow was a comparatively late invention introduced by the Normans. Gunpowder was not used in Europe to discharge projectiles until the beginning of the fourteenth century. Cannon are first mentioned in England in 1338, and there seems to be no doubt that they were used by the English at the siege of Cambrai in 1339. The projectiles first used for cannon were of stone. Hand firearms date from the fifteenth century. At first they required two men to serve them, and it was necessary to rest the muzzle on a stand in aiming and firing. The first improvement was the invention of the match-lock, about 1476; this was followed by the wheel-lock, and about the middle of the seventeenth century by the flint-lock, which was in universal use until it was superseded by the percussion-lock, the invention of a Scotch clergyman early in the nineteenth century. The needle-gun dates from 1827. The only important weapon not a fire-arm that has been invented since the introduction of gunpowder is the bayonet, which is believed to have been invented about 1650.
The bow (long-bow) of the English archers was from 5 to 6 feet in length, and the arrow discharged from it was itself a yard long. The long-bow continued in general use in England until the end of the reign of Elizabeth, and even as late as 1627 there was a body of English archers in the pay of Richelieu at the siege of La Rochelle.
The Artists' Rifles was a name given to the 28th Battalion of the London regiment, founded as a volunteer corps in 1859 by LordLeighton and other artists, it was originally recruited from artists and sculptures, but through constant contact with regular troops became proficient, excelling at bayonet fighting. A contingent of the Artists' Rifles fought in the South African War. Mobilised on the first day of the Great War, the Artists' Rifles went to France in October 1914 and were at once established by Sir John French as a training corps for officers in the field. In 1915 the regiment was reorganised as an officers' training corps, and the 2nd Battalion was created by special order a school of instruction for officers. This school was the pioneer of officer cadet battalions, and its syllabus was adopted as a model. It supplied over 10,000 officers. In 1917 the 1st Battalion became part of the 63rd (Royal Naval) division. During the Great War eight Victoria Crosses and over 700 Military Crosses were awarded to members of the Artists' Rifles, and about 2000 of its members died on active service. Research Artists Rifles
During the French and Indian War, in June 1758, a British and Provincial force of 15,000 men advanced upon Ticonderoga, then occupied by the French headed by Montcalm with 3600 troops. After some indecision he retired to the site of the fort and threw up earthworks. During their advance the English lost Howe, and the command fell to the incompetent Abercromby. Without support of artillery he attempted to carry the fort by a bayonet charge. He was disastrously repulsed with a loss of 1944 to 277 on the side of the French. He retreated precipitately.
On July the 22nd, 1759, General Amherst appeared before Ticonderoga. He met little opposition and placed his artillery in position. On the night of the 23rd, Bourlamaque retired from the fort with the best troops. The garrison kept up a brisk fire until the night of the 26th, when they abandoned the place and fired a train to the magazine. The fort was blown up and the place fell into English hands.
In the American War of Independence the strategic importance of Ticonderoga was also recognized. A force under Ethan Allen arrived on the shore of Lake Champlain in the early morning of May the 10th, 1775. There were not enough boats to carry over all his forces, and so with only eighty-three men he descended upon the little garrison, who surrendered without a blow. Thus the colonists gained the key to the route to and from Canada, and captured a number of cannon and a considerable quantity of powder and ball, which they much needed.
The Battle of Eutaw Springs took place on September 8th 1781 and was the last serious engagement of the American War of Independence. Shortly after the capture of Ninety-Six, Nathanael Greene moved upon the British so secretly they were not aware of his presence. At Eutaw Springs he came upon them. At 4 am. on September the 8th, Nathanael Greene attacked the British in his usual order. The militia in the first line under Marion and Pickens did gallant service and were supported by the regulars in the second line. A bayonet charge followed, the British were routed and many fell or were made prisoners. A little later the retreating British took shelter in a brick house. Nathanael Greene's artillery was brought to bear upon it in vain. The gunners were shot and the pieces captured. A cavalry charge by ColonelGeorge Washington was repulsed and that officer was taken prisoner. Thus there were two engagements. In the first Nathanael Greene won a brilliant victory, in the second he lost many of his best men. The total American loss was 554, that of the British 1000. Again a tactical defeat proved to the Americans a strategic victory. In the course of the night the British retreated to Charleston in such haste as to leave their wounded. Research Battle of Eutaw Springs
The Battle of the Cowpens occurred on January the 17th, 1781 during the American War of Independence. When Charles Cornwallis marched into North Carolina he sent Tarleton with 1100 men against Morgan. On Tarleton's approach Morgan took his position at the Cowpens upon the slope of a hill. His militia was in front, his regulars on the higher ground and at the top of the slope ColonelGeorge Washington with the cavalry. As the British advanced Pickens' militia delivered a number of deadly volleys and retired behind the lines. The regulars then met the enemy with heavy fire followed by a bayonet charge. At the same time the American cavalry struck their right flank and the militia formed again behind the lines on the left. The British were routed with 230 killed or wounded and 600 taken prisoner. Research Battle of the Cowpens
A bayonet is a short sword attached to the muzzle of a firearm. The bayonet was placed inside the barrel of the muzzle loading muskets of the late 17th century. The sock or ring bayonet, invented 1700, allowed a weapon to be fired without interruption, leading to the demise of the pike. Since the 1700s, bayonets have evolved into a variety of types. During the Great War, the French used a long needle bayonet, the British a sword bayonet, while the Germans adopted a 'pioneer' bayonet with the rear edge formed into a saw. As armies have become more mechanised, bayonets have tended to decrease in length. Although many military leaders have advocated the use of the bayonet, in practice it has been rarely used. Research Bayonet
Abbreviations
Research Brumaire
