![]() We just need to tweak it, and change the shovel head more into an axe head. Obviously the tool pictured above centers around the idea of a shovel first and foremost. Well we can certainly adapt this to our needs. These tools vary in form and function (the above image is just one possibility) allowing a variety of purposes: Sure we can leave the axe as a weapon (a last ditch effort), but first and foremost we'll focus on it being a tool.įirst we'll start out with the basis of an entrenching tool. To this end we can make an axe easily work. Knives are typically provided as tools foremost instead of weapons now. Why? Getting into a situation in which your main rifle and sidearm both are no longer viable and effective yet the knife is effective is rare. Kits plus shelter making materials (poncho, tarp, bungee cords, or space blanket) and a hatchet or saw.Ĭombat knives as side arms are falling out of favor across modern militaries. Level 3 Kit (carried in assault pack or ruck) water proof container with more of the materials listed in the level 1 and 2 Later it mentions a hatchet as in the Level 3 Survival Kit: ![]() Let the enemy come till he's almost close enough to touch, then let him have it and jump out and finish him up with The US Army Ranger Handbook also mentions using hatchets as standard issue (tho headlines with a quote from 1759). The main role of an axe during WWII was to cut wood or material for things such as building a fire, building shelters, etc. Googling around, I was easily able to find references to axes as mechanical breaching tools, often used when explosives are overkill, too dangerous to use in enclosed spaces, or collateral material damage is unacceptable (like public spaces or inhabited buildings).įor example, this is from a US military Infantry Rifle Company handbook chapter on urban operations:Įxplosive breaching includes using nonelectrical demolition systems ballistic breaching includes using direct fire weapons and mechanical breaching includes using crowbars, axes, saws, hooligan's tools, and sledgehammers. It can also cause more damage with a glancing blow and can be reversed to cause the same puncture damage with less force due to levering action with the handle. Close Quarters CombatĪn axe also has more reach and requires less dexterity than a knife, which can be useful with less training where visibility is low and corners are common. Urban combat is much more common than it used to be, especially with anti-insurgency suppression and targeted rescue/kill operations.Īn infantry company may all have to perform breaching or they may have a special unit for breaching, but in these scenarios an axe has much more utility and versatility as a tool than a knife. I'm surprised no one has mentioned breaching. So using axe not just as a tool but also as a last-chance melee and throwing weapon looks possible. The spade is well balanced, which allows it to be used as a throwing They mostly used not for entrenching, but for close quarters combat. Soviet Spetsnaz units had advanced training with the MPL-50, which Furthermore, Soviet Army used small sapper shovels: ![]() UPD: As Nex Terren mentioned, an axe, like a shovel, can be used as entrenching tool. But the main soldier's weapon is an automatic rifle, not a knife or axe. I know that in close-quarter combat killing with a knife is usually faster you can kill with a single well-placed jab, and an axe requires space to make a swing. There was a Soviet Union soldier who captured a Nazi tank using an axe during World War II.When you have to drop in forested areas an axe can be much more useful to chop wood, make shelters, including long-lived shooting points, or traversing young forest areas.Traditions (maybe the ancestors of these soldiers were lumberjacks).So, question is: why do they use them instead of combat knives? But unlike modern special forces they don't use combat knives as side-arms, but combat axes. In my alternative history story, taking place at the end of the 20th century, one country has an army with platoons of airborne scouts. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |