S.98/05 Seitengewehr und Koppelschuh
(M.98/05 Bayonet and Bayonet Frog)—An enormous variety of bayonets are known to have been used by the German Army during the Great War. The M98/05 “Butcher” pattern Seitengewehr quickly replaced the earlier S.98 “feather’ or “quillback” bayonet as that model was fragile and broke easily in use. In 1917 the high command sent down an order that all Front line troops would carry the Butcher bayonet, as it was “the” bayonet of the fighting soldier.
Each Seitengewehr must be complete with its appropriate scabbard and frog. The Seitengewehr scabbard should be either blued or painted (black or feldgrau) and both scabbard and blade will have no rust spots upon it. The Koppelschuh should be made of brown or black, rough-side out leather with white linen thread.
| **The “Sawtooth” pattern Butcher Bayonet should not be worn, as its use was unofficially banned during the war. The French and Americans tended to execute on the spot any German soldier captured carrying a “Sawtooth” pattern bayonet, as it was believed those bayonets would cause a wound that would not heal. |
Other Bayonets such as the “Feather-Needle-Quillback, ersatz models and modified captured varieties will be covered in the appendices.
Bayonet Knot
(Troddel)—Knotted around the bayonet frog, the Troddel has its origins in the saber knot, which was used to keep the saber attached to the Soldat’s hand in combat. By the time of WWI, the Troddel had merely become a part of the complex system of insignia that the German Army used for unit identification.
Gefreiten (pl.) and Musketiere (pl.) should take care to wear only the Troddel signifying their Kompagnie (see chart). Unteroffiziere (pl.) and Sergeanten (pl.) should wear the Unteroffiziere Troddel, which is made-up of black and white threads for Prussian, blue and white for Bavarians, etc.
