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From: madmax@gargoyle.uchicago.edu (Max Abramowitz)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Use of SHOVEL as weapon taught?
Message-ID: <1991Jun27.020627.4441@cbnews.cb.att.com>
Date: 27 Jun 91 02:06:27 GMT
References: <1991Jun25.024419.27437@cbnews.cb.att.com>
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From: madmax@gargoyle.uchicago.edu (Max Abramowitz)
In <1991Jun25.024419.27437@cbnews.cb.att.com>

>[mod.note:  I can't say that it was taught, but I've read numerous
>accounts of German troops fighting with their entrenching tools 
>during WWII.  Sometimes, one edge of the blade was sharpened for this
>purpose. - Bill ]

Perhaps you mean WWI rather than WWII.  In "All Quiet on the Western
Front", the main character (Paul? Its been a long time) often comments
on how the stuff he learned in "boot" camp was of little use in the
trenches.  One thing in particular was the use of bayonets.  In
training, he was told to have a saw tooth edge on the blade, but later
he learned that this made it difficult to pull the blade out of the
body.  He then comments that he preferred his shovel to he bayonet in
hand to hand combat, because it was heavier and more effective. 

[mod.note:  No, I meant WWII. - Bill ]

max abramowitz
madmax@gargoyle.uchicago.edu