Fightin' Scottish.

[TheEarl]

What I found interesting was not the ancetdote, but the article. Fixed bayonets is a desperation manuver on today's battlefield. I wonder if they ran out of Ammuntion or if the commander felt they could more easily break the enemy's morale?

-Colly

Just to extend Og's point: It also probably explains why only three British soldiers were killed. In a town situation, a gunfight will develop into just plain shooting at spaces and hoping someone walks into them, simply because of the amount of debris and buildings in the line of fire. That kind of situation will probably lead to a WW1 style 'whoever has the most guns, wins' situation, resulting in something of a Pyhrric victory. Forcing a close quarters fight will increase the highly trained British troops' advantage over amateur guerrillas and will also reduce the chance of any damage to civilians.

The Earl