When did swords leave the battlefield?

Question: When did swords leave the battlefield!?

When did militarys start using guns/cannons as they're main offense!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

The battlefield began to change due to the development of new weapons, chief of which are rifles and artillery!. These new weapons increased the killing range, and by that began the end of the use of swords or other edged weapons!.

In the long sweep of military history, many experts say that the single greatest instrument of death on the battlefield has been some type of edged-weapon, sword, knife, pike, axe, arrow head, javelin, etc!. Combat was at close range!.

When the 19th c!. began, Napoleon made artillery a major lethal weapon in his battles, one of his most significant military innovations, Field guns became more important than horse cavalry, and the infantry line using smooth bore muskets in combat!.

In the Civil War the first repeating rifles using cartridges appeared, and as the killing range of guns and the rates of fire increased--together with advances in rifled cannons firing cartridge ammo--these became the great killers!.

By the 20th c the machine gun and the development of rapid firing guns capable of indirect fire (shooting and hitting targets beyond a line of sight), together with motorized armored vehicles to carry these weapons, edged weapons became ceremonial instruments!. badges of rank rather than weapons!. !. Bayonets became universal in all armies, but are of limited usefulness due to the low incidences of hand combat, which when it does occur a pistol is much superior as a weapon!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Officers continued to carry swords through the US Civil War!. In fact, the French Infantry officers at the start of the First World War were still carrying swords (but keep in mind, the French infantry were still wearing bright uniforms, As well, another tradition which had died for battlefiled use about the same time)!. Pistols made much more effective close quarters weapons and extended the range of an officer considerably!. However, it should be noted that obsolecent weapons such as tomohawks (and bayonets, for that matter), are coming back into vogue on the close, urban battlefields of the last few years!. I wonder if the sword might not be far behind!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

In an odd sence they did not! Guns became a primary weapon for Western Armies by around 1600 and for those nations truly into waging war upon one another, mainly Britain and France and Spain, the gun was common by 1500!.
HOWEVER - - - - after the guns are fired and the fight becomes a close up mele the sword was still needed right on up to around 1800!. Until there was a practical pistol, actually a revolver capable of spitting out five to eight shots before a reload, close contact fighting required a blade!.
That Said - - - - dragging around a sword was a pain in the ^ss so by the American Revolution the solution became the BAYONET - - - - attaching a blade to a rifle, and the BAYONET was important in warfare right up to WWI and many a soldier bemoaned not having bayonets in WWII!.!.!.!.

Just to pick on the FRENCH - - - but initially the BAYONET plugged into the barrel!. The BRITISH quickly figured out the perfect arrangement of a blade atop the barrel, a blade doubling as a sighting device!. Plus rifles with bayonets atop the barrel simply looked cool!!

Oh and cannons got the nod before rifles - - - -

Though not quite a sword, a knife with at least a 5 inch to as much as a 10 inch blade, was popular in the jungle combat of Vietnam !!

And yes the Japanese found the sword practical for their gung-ho style of fighting during World War Two!.

Peace////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Swords were gone as a primary weapon before the American Revolution!. They still saw some use, especially by officers and mounted cavalry through the Civil War and even later!. The Japanese used swords right up through WW2!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I believe that the transition happened over time between the napoleonic wars and our civil war 1800 to 1860's!. Swords really dropped out of favor when repeatng weapons became common!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

not sure officially but im sure somewhere around the rev!. war yearsWww@QuestionHome@Com