A Rare Early German WW1 'Butcher' Bayonet S98/05 o.S. (ohne Sage} with Steel Scabbard By Fichtel and Sachs

WW1 issue date and Imperial German inspection stamped and dated 1916
Designed to fit the Mauser Gew 98 rifle. The Seitengewehr 98/05 was introduced into the the Prussian army in late 1905, as a replacement for the 98/02 for engineers and pioneer troops, as the 98/02 was deemed too long and heavy for its intended purpose. Initial production was in two versions, the first plain backed, and the second with 29 double teeth. The earliest scabbard was leather with steel throat and chape mounts, later changed to all steel that was better for trench warfare combat. T
he bayonet as typical of German blades did not have more than a vestigial muzzle ring, relying on the length of the hilt mounting to fix the blade to its rifle. The plain back version was identified as the S98/05 or S98/05 o.S. (ohne Sage - without saw) and the saw back as the S98/05 S or m.S. (mit Sage - with saw).

The Western Front became so fixed primarily because of a lopsided revolution in military tactics and technology. Simply put, advances in offensive warfare had not developed at the same rate as those in defensive warfare. In the early years of World War I, a force could protect itself with barbed wire, stationary machine guns, and rapid-fire artillery, but it could attack only with infantry armed with bolt-action rifles. This lack of parity between an attacker and a defender meant that new offensives rarely succeeded and almost always resulted in enormous casualties. The war in the west therefore settled into a prolonged stretch of trench warfare in which neither side could gain a clear advantage.

Code: 25999