An edged weapon,[1] or bladed weapon,Шаблон:Cn is a melee weapon with a cutting edge.[2]Шаблон:Bsn Bladed weapons include swords, daggers, knives, and bayonets. Edged weapons are used to cut, hack, or slash; some edged weapons (such as many kinds of swords) may also permit thrusting and stabbing. Edged weapons contrast with blunt weapons such as maces, and with thrusting weapons such as spears.
Edged weapons and blades, as well as other cold weapons, are associated with the premodern age but continue to be used in modern armies. Combat knives and knife bayonets are used for close combat or stealth operations and are issued as a secondary or sidearm.[3] Modern bayonets are often intended to be used in a dual role as both a combat knife and knife bayonet.[4] Improvised edged weapons were extensively used in trench warfare of the First World War; for example, an entrenching tool might be modified to take an edge and be used as a melee weapon.[5][6]
↑Peterson, Harold L., Daggers and Fighting Knives of the Western World, Courier Dover Publications, Шаблон:ISBN, Шаблон:ISBN (2001), p. 80: "Right at the outset trench knives were introduced by both sides during World War I, so that the common soldier was once again equipped with a knife designed primarily for combat."
↑Brayley, Martin, Bayonets: An Illustrated History, Iola, WI: Krause Publications, Шаблон:ISBN, Шаблон:ISBN (2004), pp. 9-10, 83-85
↑Beith, Ian H. (Capt.), Modern Battle Tactics: Address Delivered April 9, 1917, National Service (June 1917), pp. 325, 328
