Battlefield Military Sabre

I have been studying, and now teaching, C19th Military Sabre for a number of years, and all of the Treatise I can find cover the formal etiquette of salle based sabre techniques, which are good in a one on one scenario like the salle, but being Military Sabre I am looking for works on how the Sabre was practically used on the battlefield.

Once your C19th Officer had been trained back in the Salle how to use his nice new Military Sabre and walked onto a battlefield and saw the line of men charging at him, swords aloft and screaming, I can't imagine the formal en-guarde stance and 'fence' keeping him alive very long, so how was it used practically in a battlefield situation.....

I have been experimenting with a number of ideas relating to using Rapier style passsses forward with the curresponding cuts and pass backs with parries etc to experiment, but what I am looking for is actual historical treatise or evidence of how it was practically used at the time.

Has anyone come across an treatise or evidence on how the Military Sabre was actually used in a Battlefield situation?

The KISS principle applied. I'm sure you noticed that the manuals intended for foot Military Saber lack a lot of the subtle actions shown in dueling texts. The weight of the weapon, the nature of the physical environment, and the typical opponent being faced preclude them.

These texts typically have 5 to 7 parries/blocks. And one of the most popular is the Hanging Guard. The Hanging Guard is particularly effective against downward moving strikes.

Another really huge factor is the nature of the likely opponent. Very seldom would the foot officer be facing a "line of men charging at him, swords aloft." More often he'd be facing either a Cav. charge or a Bayonet Charge. On a Cav. charge you hide or try your best not to get lanced or rode down. On a Bayonet charge you had to deal with a relatively "simple" straight thrust. Relatively simple except that your footwork was likely limited by the realities of the gopher-holed field you were standing in and the fact that bayonet you are parrying has a friend on either side also advancing and thrusting and that *you* have men on either side of you. In this case, you don't volt or inquartatta. You parry. HARD. It's a 20+ pound short spear.

Of course, if you were in a good position, you have buttress works or something to hide behind and make bayonet assaults miserable.

This is the training you should really consider. If you've got enough guys, have one with a saber and *five* with fixed bayonets on bess (simulators of course). 3 per side. The saber guy stands between two bayonetters (his "men") facing the oncoming 3 bayonetters in tight formation.

It ain't purty.

Now, if you're like me, as soon as the oncoming bayonet charge is within a 8 or 10 steps of engagement range, draw your revolver and unload 1 to 3 rounds into your immediate opponent and then blast away at the guys on either side of him. You'll have to be fairly close because this will be off handed. Of course, some seemed to like the idea of having the saber in the left hand or in the sheath. Fire all 6 rounds (or better yet, have a LeMat = 9+1*) then drop the revolver and count on the lanyard to keep track of it for you and draw/transfer the saber.

As I understand it the sword on foot was mostly used as a baton to direct traffic.If things broke down enough for the enemy to get throguh the lines to the officers the first thig that came out was the pistol or pistols. If you ended up having to fight with the sword you wanted to bunch up with some of your troops to use them as your forward guard and cut down anyone who got past them.

You want to get yourself "Sword Fighters of British India" byD A Kinsley. It is a brilliant collection of first hand accounts of military sabre and broadsword fights that shouldm tell you everything you want to know.