nwg

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Interesting or not ?.

I like Haythornthwaite as an writer ('my favorite author in this field); but I'd have to disagree with his theory on bayonet charges. Most of he's sources seem to be English ones and ,as such, they focus mainly around the peninsular war where melee combat seems to be mostly restricted to pickets and patrols .Bayonet charges on this front were more of a morale shattering/ boosting tool. To that degree his theory is correct. But when one looks at other fronts (specifically the "Second Polish War) one comes across many examples of fierce bayonet battles in which hundreds, even thousands were lost, such as the battles of Borodino, Malayorslavets and Eylau for example.

I guess this could be attributed to the composition of the forces. The Russians were especially renowned for their steadfastness and when this ground against the bloodthirsty aggressiveness of say, a Polish soldier, neither side was willing to give up. When one of them finally did, it was not uncommon for one force to chase down the other and slaughter them.