Decisive Weapons

The Bayonet - Cold Steel (1x4)

Air date: Oct 09, 1996

This episode focuses on the bayonet, which remained an enduring symbol of British military grit for over 300 years - on home soil, across the Empire and in two world wars. Used by the English against the Scots at Culloden in 1746 with dramatic results, and as recently as the Falklands conflict in 1982, the bayonet has remained a mainstay in the British military arsenal. This bloodiest of weapons is still wielded as part of infantry training and serves as a reminder of the extent to which war boils down to hand-to-hand fighting.