They don't like it up 'em
Bayonet fetishization in the British Army during the First World War
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12914932 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Paul E Hodges (Birkbeck, University of London, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2008 |
| Volume | 1 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 123-138 |
| Publication date | 2008-03-14 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of War and Culture Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1752-6272 • E-ISSN: 1752-6280 |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1386/jwcs.1.2.123_1 |
| OpenAlex | W1995336927 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 3 |
The bayonet was widely fetishized in the British Army in the First World War era, both from above and from below. A vibrant, rich and quickly transmitted culture grew around this, which had real effects on the battlefields of the war. Supreme confidence was placed in British masculinity, a masculinity that depended on the effective and brutal use of this weapon. Training frequently focused on it. Both this confidence and training focus were misplaced, as in fact the bayonet was not a particularly useful or effective weapon. The combination of this strong fetishization of the weapon and its ineffectiveness had a tendency to encourage atrocity and prisoner killing, in which some soldiers indulged keenly, as the main opponents on whom the bayonet could be used successfully were those who were unarmed or wounded
Ancient history · Criminology · First world war · Masculinity · Political science · Sociology · World War II · Gender Studies · Gender, Security, and Conflict · History · Law · Military History and Strategy · World Wars: History, Literature, and Impact
| Citations per year | 0.29 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2012 - 2020 (9) |
| Highly cited | No |