Simple Design
The German army developed more types of bayonet than all other
armies combined. They produced special adaptors so that captured
enemy bayonets could be fitted to the common Gewehr 98 rifle.
In essence a bayonet is simply a simply a blade that is attached to
the barrel of a rifle for use in close combat.
Most bayonets were of simple design, of
the knife variety, although variations
existed. For example the French devised
a needle blade for use on Lebel rifles.
Notoriously, the German army produced a 'saw-back' blade that, as
its name suggests, gave the appearance of a saw with its double row
of teeth on the back edge.
Produced chiefly for use by engineering units for specific tasks, the
saw-back blade proved a blessing for Allied propaganda purposes.
Keen to represent the Germans as ruthless, blood-thirsty 'Huns', the
popular press widely propagated the notion that this type of bayonet
had been specifically developed as a refinement of German brutality
for use in close combat.
Although it could doubtless be put to such use, it was actually
designed to be used as a saw when the need arose.