Today in WW II: 5 Jun 1940 100 Wehrmacht divisions with 2000 Panzers plus massive air support attack France at four points, outflanking the static Maginot defenses and overwhelming the pathetic Weygand Line.  More ↓
5 Jun 1941 During the Bombing of Chongqing, 4000 residents hidden in a bomb shelter tunnel are asphyxiated.
5 Jun 1941 German ammunition depot explodes at Smederevo on the outskirts of Belgrade, Serbia, killing 2,500 and injuring more than 4,500.
5 Jun 1944 In the night before D-Day, thousands of US and British paratroopers fly from England to jump over Normandy [5-6 Jun].
5 Jun 1944 In a black Halifax, Team HUGH departed England at 2300 hours, the first Jedburgh team to infiltrate into occupied Europe, landing on French soil early D-Day mcrning.
Visit the Olive-Drab.com World War II Timeline for day-by-day events 1939-1945! See also WW2 Books.

Edged Weapons Internet Resources & Books

Soldier illustrates a bayonet knife attack on the target's subclavian artery. From FM 21-150, Hand-to-Hand Combat, June 1954
Soldier illustrates a bayonet knife attack on the target's subclavian artery. From FM 21-150, Hand-to-Hand Combat, June 1954.

One of the delights of the Internet is the community of forums where you can interact with experts in the field you are interested in. For military knives, try the MilKnives subforum at KnifeForums.com, moderated by Frank Trzaska and others. Frank has been Military Editor for Knife World Publications since 1996 and is webmaster of U. S. Military knives, an outstanding resource in its subject area. The Olive-Drab.com section on Military Edged Weapons has detailed information and photos of U.S. knives and bayonets.

Applegate Kill or Get Killed

Kill or Get Killed by Col. Rex Applegate. This is the best and longest-selling book on close combat in history. Reprinted and in current use by the U.S. Marine Corps as an official training manual, it details methods of self-defense, offensive close combat including knife fighting, combat shooting and crowd-control techniques in riot situations. Colonel Rex Applegate is widely regarded as the father of modern close combat and combat shooting, and this book is considered the standard by which all other books on the subject are judged.

The Source by Peter Robins. The history of the famous collaboration between Eric Anthony Sykes and William Ewart Fairbairn which led to the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife and WW II's most successful close combat systems for both armed and unarmed combat. See also the biography of Col. Rex Applegate, their most famous student, on the American Combatives web site.
Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife, history with photos of many knives in the series and others that are related.
A Cut Above by Patrick E. Clarke is an article in Special Operations Technology magazine (On-line Edition) that describes the latest thinking in U.S. Military fighting and survival knives. It discusses the history of knives and bayonets since World War II and tells what various companies that supply the military are doing.
Collectible Bayonets are shown on this page from Sarco, Inc. with photos and identification information.
These companies manufacture military bayonets and knives for U.S. and other armed services:
A guide to Military Knives, Machetes and Bayonets

Find More Information on the Internet

There are many fine websites that have additional information on this topic, too many to list here and too many to keep up with as they come and go. Use this Google web search form to get an up to date report of what's out there.

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