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After some volleys were exchanged, officers would then use their judgement to determine the best time to charge the enemy with the fixed bayonet. After the thunder and casualties of close-range musket fire, the sight of a well-formed infantry unit approaching with bayonets fixed was often too much and a unit would flee the battlefield.
The Battle of the Golden Spurs had been seen as the first example of the gradual "Infantry Revolution" in Medieval warfare across Europe during the 14th century. [20] The Charge of the Light Brigade, a charge of British light cavalry against a larger Russian force, was made famous because of Lord Tennyson's poetic retelling of the events.
The bayonet charge was a common tactic used during the Napoleonic wars. Despite its effectiveness, a bayonet charge did not necessarily cause substantial casualties through the use of the weapon itself. Detailed battle casualty lists from the 18th century showed that in many battles, less than 2% of all wounds treated were caused by bayonets. [44]
The defense of Little Round Top with a bayonet charge by the 20th Maine, ordered by Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain and possibly led down the slope by Lieutenant Holman S. Melcher, was one of the most fabled episodes in the Civil War and propelled Chamberlain into prominence after the war. [73] [fn 4]
The Hessians then took a defensive position behind some barrels but threw down their arms and surrendered when the French prepared a bayonet charge. [57] With the capture of Redoubts Nos. 9 and 10, Washington was able to have his artillery shell the town from three directions and the allies moved some of their artillery into the redoubts.
The opening fire came between 2 and 2:30 pm from the British grenadiers. Poor's men held their fire, and the terrain made the British shooting largely ineffective. When Major Acland led the British grenadiers in a bayonet charge, the Americans finally began shooting at close range. Acland fell, shot in both legs, and many of the grenadiers also ...
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By 18:00, with ammunition exhausted, the last of Danjou's men, numbering only five, including Lt. Maudet, desperately mounted a bayonet charge. [1]: 90 Two men fell outright, and the rest were surrounded. [1]: 91 One of them, Victor Catteau, had leapt in front of Maudet in an effort to protect him, and died in the Mexican barrage.