In 18th century military wars in Europe, were swords any longer used?

[Anonymous]

In 18th century military wars in Europe, were swords any longer used?

[BCA6010]

Yes, swords were commonly carried by officers and cavalrymen up until early world war one, and I assume in naval forces as well. Their effectiveness in warfare during that time is pretty debatable, as a cavalry charge was easy to repel if it could be seen moving into position, and a bayoneted rifle has a significant advantage over a sword in melee combat in field formation fighting. It's worth mentioning that cavalry/mounted rifles towards the latter half of the 19th century were effectively regular infantry on horseback who could therefore deploy somewhere more quickly than men on foot, and revolvers that could be operated one-handed from the saddle such as the Schofield No.3 favored by the USA and Russia in the late 1800s further negated the value or need for swords in combat.

[NamerOfStars]

Yes. Not on the same scale that they were before, of course, but take a look at a Brown Bess- that bayonet's not just for show.

[purplepoppy]

Yes mostly by officers

[Agape93]

Yeah just not widespread