Hand-to-hand Combat in World War I as the Royal Hungarian Defence Forces’ Soldiers saw it

Abstract

World War I. showed so much bloodshed that had never been seenbefore. On the contrary of the high effectiveness of firepower, combatantshad to fight face-to-face many times. Frequently, they could not use theirfirearms efficiently for various reasons. In many situations, this led tohand-to-hand combat that resembled the struggling of long gone ages. In theera of our topic opinions on hand-to-hand combat were controversial. On onehand, Hand-to-hand combat was emphasized by the training methods of theAustro-Hungarian Monarchy. On the other hand, armed forces of othercountries did not find it so vital. In my opinion, the strife of the RoyalHungarian Defence Forces in World War I. has its own value nowadays aswell. Firepower has been increasing and the other factors that forcedsoldiers to fight in close combat have not disappeared either.