In the late 19th century, we see the final days of the great European standing armies. War is still considered romantic and honorable. The historic style of battle has been slowly changing with the advent of more modern weapons, but will soon be dramatically altered in the meat grinder of WWI. Due to horrors reported and photographed, the military's public image will loose much of its shine in the early 20th century. Of course war has always been much less than romantic, but the unprecedented number of deaths in the trenches no longer allows the civilian public to keep this pleasant fiction.
But as the 19th century draws to a close no one is aware of these rapidly approaching changes. In 1870 King William of Prussia and his "Iron Chancellor" Bizmarck engage Napoleon III, emperor of France in the Franco-Prussian War. King William has set the standard for the world in military reorganization and education. Birzmarck has made certain that this new army has seen much action in earlier years. This clash of Titans climaxes at Sedan with Napoleon III being captured on the field of battle. The war drags on into the next year, but is useless after the defeat at Sedan. In 1871 Bizmarck uses the impetus from this victory to lash together the various German states into a united German Empire. Thereby creating Imperial Germany and making William, Kaiser (Caesar) and of course assuring his own role as Chancellor of the German Empire.
During these days of martial pride, it was quite popular for children to be outfitted with miniature weapons and uniforms in an effort to emulate their heroes. This trend was occurring throughout the world, but today I want to focus on the toy bayonets of this period that are based on German weapons. GermanyÕs influence was wide spread and reached as far as South America. Some of the toy weapons we discuss here were certainly destined for the South American market, but still are based on German weapons and most likely made in Germany. Imperial German toy and cadet bayonets fall into several categories based on the weapon from which they are derived.
The Type 1 German toy bayonet is quite strange and its "father" bayonet is not easily identified. These bayonets were a recent topic of discussion on the Bayonet Collector's Network (BCN) and at the Great Western show in May 1999. Shortly before the show Jerry Holmes had found one of these odd bayonets and asked for identification help through the BCN. Both Larry Johnson and I had separately come to the same conclusion that these were related to the rare Type 2 and more common Type 3 toy bayonets. Larry and I both had examples of the Type 2 and Type 3 and brought them to the show. We met up with Jerry and compared the bayonets. As luck would have it, I managed to find one of the Type 1 bayonets with scabbard at the show. When all these toy bayonets were compared certain similarities and a shared parentage can be seen. It is evident that the Type 1 bayonets are related to the Type 3 with the Type 2 being a kind of "missing link". Without seeing the Type 2, the relationship between the Type 1 and Type 3 is very difficult to determine.
Since that time I have come to believe that the Type 1 bayonets are based on the M1860 Fusilier seitengewehr. The M1860 has a very distinctive pommel "cap" and an elongated pommel "beak". Also there is a concave section of hilt next to the cross guard. The Type 1 bayonets have all three of these features. The pommel cap and beak are exaggerated significantly. Once these features are compared, the similarities are quite evident. There is one obvious flaw in the comparison. The handle is not made of brass but has wood scales. It is possible that the wood grips are to make it look a bit more like a M1865 or 71 Hirschfanger.
This example has all the features previously mentioned. None of the Type 1 examples I have observed have a mortise slot or functional latching mechanism. The grips are a light color wood and the two rivets have large domes on the obverse side. The fullerless blade has a more rounded tip and is much shorter. All the metal parts are plated. The scabbard is very distinctive. The body is leather with chromed tin fittings.
The second example has the same hilt assembly as the previous example. However, the blade is much longer. Also there is no evidence that this one was ever plated. There is no scabbard present.
The next type of toy bayonet seems to be more closely based on the 65 or 71 Hirschfanger. Please refer to the middle bayonet in Photo 1. There is an evolution in manufacturing that is quite evident. The pommel cap is much less pronounced than in the Type 1 bayonets. Also, the exaggerated beak has been greatly shortened and now much more closely resembles the bird beak of a Hirschfanger. Another change is evident in the shrinking of the concave section of hilt next to the cross guard. While still present, it is greatly reduced. The grips are still made of wood, but of a much darker color. The metal parts were plated. Like the Type 1, no Type 2 bayonets have been observed with a functional mortise slot. The scabbard is steel with a riveted throat spring and an oval frog stud. I believe the scabbard to be South American.
The 71 Hirschfanger was issued to the elite Jaeger units and as such would have been quite popular for children's weapons. I saw one of these bayonets on a Prussian cadet uniform set ca. 1910 that was on display in Dortmund Germany earlier this year. The bayonet was the same, however the scabbard was similar to the scabbard illustrated on Type 1 Example 1.
The third type has been the topic of much discussion over the years. Please refer to the bottom bayonet in Photo 1. Jerry Janzen included this bayonet in his classic text. He listed it in the German section as a "Model 1871 - Child's Bayonet". In his last edition, the corrections in the back indicate that this one may be made in Belgium. We know that these bayonets were definitely used in South America since caches of the scabbards have been found there. The manufacturing evolution continues to be evident in this model. The pommel cap has almost disappeared now. The beak has become more rounded. However the similarities are still visible. This bayonet features a cast brass hilt with 11 horizontal grooves. There is a functional latching mechanism and a sturdy muzzle ring. I have no doubt that this bayonet fits on a small gun. The blade is fullerless with a rounded tip. It is very well made. The scabbard is blued steel. There is a throat spring riveted into place and an oval frog stud. The parentage of the bayonet is certainly not clear. It is possible that it is based on the S71, but the grooves are not similar. Another possibility is that it is based on one of the brass gripped South American bayonets of the period. A third possibility is that it is based on the Schaumberg-Lippesche Hirschfanger M1861. This bayonet is very similar to the Type 3 toys. However, this is not likely since the M61 bayonets were limited to a very small German state.
While the Type 1, 2 and 3 bayonets are each different, it is apparent that they were all made by the same factory. I suspect that they were made by a Solingen firm, but that is purely an educated guess at this point. Hopefully a catalog listing of these bayonets will turn up eventually.
The fourth type bayonet is entirely different. It is clearly based on the S71. The S71 with its long straight blade and ribbed brass hilt was in use for over 40 years. With such a long life, it is inevitable that toys would be based on it.
This faithful little copy of the S71 is intended for use as a toy side arm only. It does not have provisions for fitting to a toy rifle. The hilt is one piece of solid, cast brass. 14 diagonal grooves and a simulated spring are cast into the obverse face of the hilt. The reverse side is smooth. The cross guard is cast iron and includes the muzzle ring. There is a missing washer that originally fit between the cross guard and the blade. The blade is straight with a single fuller on each side. The tip is very blunted. The scabbard is tin with a black painted body and a throat painted in gold. The chape is a separate piece of tin and is brazed into place. The whole set is cheaply made and it is a great wonder that any of these survived.
This example is nearly identical to the previous model. However, this one has a much longer blade. The scabbard has a gold painted chape and the tip is plugged with solder. Also, this scabbard has an elaborate pressed tin frog stud painted gold. The frog is of thin leather. The front faces of the leather have a black patent finish. It is complete with a miniature troddel with a gold thread body.
The fifth type toy bayonet is based on the S98 bayonet. There are a wide variety of toys loosely based on the S98 bayonets. I will show you three examples.
This example has no provisions for fitting to a toy gun. The handle is made of one piece of wood. There are nine slightly diagonal grooves. The pommel and cross guard are chrome plated brass. The blade is fullerless and edgeless with a rounded tip. The scabbard has a leather body and chrome plated brass fittings stapled in place.
The second example is designed to fit on a toy gun. This one is very well made. The wood scales have 6 diagonal grooves and are riveted in place. The pommel is made of sheet metal and riveted around the grip scales. The mortise slot uses only spring tension to attach to the bayonet lug. The blade is fullerless and edgeless with a rounded tip. The scabbard has a wooden body and is covered in black cloth made to simulate leather. The metal throat and chape are riveted in place. It is complete with a miniature frog and troddel. The troddel has a black over red body.
The third example is the only German toy bayonet I have examined that is maker marked and dated. The steel hilt is made in two parts and riveted together. The pommel and 10 diagonal grooves are cast into each piece. On the obverse side of the hilt the patriotic inscription "MIT GOTT FUR KONIG U VATERLAND" is molded. Below that DRGM, the mark of the famous Deutsche Maschinenfabrik A-G of Duisburg, is stamped. The reverse side of the grip has an emblem molded. It consists of a German style cross with a crown / W /1914. The cross guard has reflexed quillons with no muzzle ring. Due to the style of cross guard it is tempting to consider this a side arm only and not a bayonet. However there is a definite outline of a latching mechanism molded into the hilt. The flexible, steel blade is fullerless and edgeless with a rounded tip. The ricasso is stamped "GARANTIERT SOLINGER STAHL" The scabbard is very similar to Example 2. This bayonet is complete with a small frog also very similar to Example 2.
Germany has a rich military history and this is reflected in the diverse and interesting variety of its toy bayonets. I am sure there are many more types and examples that could be discussed. It is my hope that this article will be a starting point for further discussions. Other countries have a wide variety of these toys as well and I hope to write similar articles on toy bayonets from other countries in the future.