Your nation's Main Melee Weapon

[Satirius]

Can someone answer this for me? Why use swords in CQB? They take up a good amount of space, force you to disarm yourself (can't wield your main weapon and a sword at the same time unless you are Satirius), and are long. Why not use bayonets, which don't disarm you, and allow you the versatility of a spear (or short sword if you use 18in sword bayonets), a club, and a gun?

because this is NS

we care about trivialities such as sword handling characteristics when most of us rly only RP "we send 1000000000000000000000 soilders wtih assualt rifles and 200000000000000 tanks ur leader is ded give me your passwords"

[Beth Gellert]

In Beddgelert, swords and falx et cetera tend to be ancestral weapons, and are often carried by sentimental citizen-soldiers no doubt in part thanks to various traditions of ancestor worship persisting in the Commonwealth, not to mention the popular endurance of the 'semi-myth' of the Geletian highland charge, which has continued to win just enough unlikely victories to convince many Indian Celts of its almost supernatural power. Erm, and they play their part in the practice of taking and preserving the heads of slain enemies, I suppose.

[Respublika Goroda]

Respublitek Security use steel telescopic batons to subdue violent criminals. Many private security forces also utilize them. Nothing too exciting, we're not trying to stand out or somesuch.

[Imeriata]

Can someone answer this for me? Why use swords in CQB? They take up a good amount of space, force you to disarm yourself (can't wield your main weapon and a sword at the same time unless you are Satirius), and are long. Why not use bayonets, which don't disarm you, and allow you the versatility of a spear (or short sword if you use 18in sword bayonets), a club, and a gun?

The only reason is that they look cool and because your officers can swing them around and feel important while soldiers misconceive it as bravery.

And the very, very rare situation where they actually get a kill.

You can also as a officer use the swords thick edges to hit your own men when they are not fighting as well or bravely as they should!

[Amerikians]

Bayonets are just as cumbersome and annoyingly long. Your rifle can't do things that a nice sharp knife can which is what a sword is at heart. Ceremonial since the conception of gunpowder because people now days are cowards. They don't want to watch the man they just killed die; they don't want to see the light fade from his eyes and know what they just did. So they call the sword redundant and obsolete. Yes it's long, no it doesn't disarm you. People who argue against it are just fans of 'pipping the ace at five hundred yards' like a bloody coward. /semirant

[The Anglo-Saxon Empire]

The only reason is that they look cool and because your officers can swing them around and feel important while soldiers misconceive it as bravery.

And the very, very rare situation where they actually get a kill.

You can also as a officer use the swords thick edges to hit your own men when they are not fighting as well or bravely as they should!

Besides ceremonial or disciplinary uses. A lot of nations in this thread claim to use katanas and other long swords, which do not look fancy or gentlemanly, and are useless in actual combat.

[Imeriata]

Besides ceremonial or disciplinary uses. A lot of nations in this thread claim to use katanas and other long swords, which do not look fancy or gentlemanly, and are useless in actual combat.

Indeed sabres are what you should use if you want to look fancy, especially as Katanas is both overrated and do not look good at all. However you are correct that if you want for whatever reason go for effectiveness rather that look so should you use short swords (Gladius and Greek swords being a personal favourite).

[Soviet Haaregrad]

I'm sure all the various military casualties in various African civil wars who died by machete wounds would agree that cold steel is always useless and can never be used effectively in combat.

[Amerikians]

I'm sure all the various military casualties in various African civil wars who died by machete wounds would agree that cold steel is always useless and can never be used effectively in combat.

Totally useless; yeah.

[The Anglo-Saxon Empire]

I'm sure all the various military casualties in various African civil wars who died by machete wounds would agree that cold steel is always useless and can never be used effectively in combat.

A machete is not a long sword, a katana is a long sword, a sabre is a long sword, a claymore is a long sword, a machete is under 2 feet long.

[Soviet Haaregrad]

I'm sure all the various military casualties in various African civil wars who died by machete wounds would agree that cold steel is always useless and can never be used effectively in combat.

A machete is not a long sword, a katana is a long sword, a sabre is a long sword, a claymore is a long sword, a machete is under 2 feet long.

A machete is not a sword, you are correct. Machetes do however come in lengths from 14-32".
Ultimately, I agree with you that longer swords, especially anything that's two-handed would be very unwieldy and represent more of a burden then their very rare opportunities for use make up for. However shorter blades, similar in length to machetes, especially if they can also function as a bayonet as well, would be worthwhile and useful.

[Imeriata]

Our Officers do it for shits and giggles so I didn't count that

It is especially popular to bend the blade and whip it into a privates bottom in order to penetrate the layers of poplin

Of course that count as beating the lesser classes is a excellent way of making them both respect and obey those superior to them both in rank and on the social scale!

[Soviet Haaregrad]

Our Officers do it for shits and giggles so I didn't count that

It is especially popular to bend the blade and whip it into a privates bottom in order to penetrate the layers of poplin

Of course that count as beating the lesser classes is a excellent way of making them both respect and obey those superior to them both in rank and on the social scale!

Also an excellent way to get your officers fragged in the shower.

[Saurisia]

Of course that count as beating the lesser classes is a excellent way of making them both respect and obey those superior to them both in rank and on the social scale!

Also an excellent way to get your officers fragged in the shower.

Wouldn't that just make the officers' treatment of the subordinates worse? Besides, don't Nick's and Imer's armies enforce discipline?

[Imeriata]

Also an excellent way to get your officers fragged in the shower.

Humbug! which proper gentleman should enter the shower when it was used? that would simply be barbaric!
Besides, if the men could not handle the beatings then shouldn't they have joined the army in the first place

Wouldn't that just make the officers' treatment of the subordinates worse? Besides, don't Nick's and Imer's armies enforce discipline?

Indeed it would and indeed we do!

[Leafo]

Just like a teaser but longer
we use tuned Telescope-Electric cattle prods between 100 and 350 cm with just 750000-1250000 Volts
keep your enemy at distance shok him then get out your knive out and kill him to be shure -easy effective and cheep

[Soviet Haaregrad]

Wouldn't that just make the officers' treatment of the subordinates worse? Besides, don't Nick's and Imer's armies enforce discipline?

I believe in a situation like that it would be the sort of thing that at least one higher up would have to at least consider the idea of maybe reassessing the way discipline is handled. If it happens once or twice, of course they'll just tighten discipline, if it happens 5 times in the past two weeks and 20 in the past two months, at that point at least one higher up would have to consider the possibility that it's not a discipline issue, and then that can look into a bigger change to address the root issues behind the problem.
Or they can not do anything and end up like the Russian army with an absurdly high rate of suicides in new recruits. No morale, no effective fighting force.

[Star Trek America]

The man has a point. Anyway. In addition to Bayonets I'm looking into traditional Egyptian-esque blades; Officers only of course.

[Imeriata]

I believe in a situation like that it would be the sort of thing that at least one higher up would have to at least consider the idea of maybe reassessing the way discipline is handled. If it happens once or twice, of course they'll just tighten discipline, if it happens 5 times in the past two weeks and 20 in the past two months, at that point at least one higher up would have to consider the possibility that it's not a discipline issue, and then that can look into a bigger change to address the root issues behind the problem.
Or they can not do anything and end up like the Russian army with an absurdly high rate of suicides in new recruits. No morale, no effective fighting force.

Of course it would not, it is how we have always done to maintain discipline, if the soldiers do not act properly or good enough so are they beaten or flogged until they do, it is not only a great motivator but it does also build character!

The Russian army is like so because the beatings are administered by higher conscript classes, not proper officers.

Beatings by officers is the historic way to stop soldiers from fragging officers, as evidenced by Fredrick the Great, Suvorov, and other great Generals.

Indeed, as it is only recently soldiers have started whining when you give them a proper trashing!

[The Sentenial Empire]

Along with their SUS-6A multi-tool spade, the soldiers each get an IBI2 Combat knife/bayonette/ utility tool, as well as one more weapon if they're active duty (weapon must be checked for usability) The most commonly chosen as an amnedanian made tomohawk.

[Xenohumanity]

Our typical XenoMarine will often elect to wield a Xeno-Tech Anti-Armor Chainsword in battle, often citing 'how freakin' awesome it is to cut a mech in half with a mother-frakking chainsaw sword' when asked about it.

A prime example