Mosin-Nagant M1891 Bayonet
MOSIN-NAGANT M1891 BAYONET. (See also, RIFLE, RUSSIAN FIREARMS) The effectiveness of the Mosin- Nagant's bayonet was highly valued; Imperial Russian Military doctrine at the time required soldiers to always keep them affixed. The theory behind bayonet combat at the time placed a significant emphasis on reach, that being as longer reach constituted an apparent advantage. The standard issue Mosin-Nagant bayonet was designed with this concept in mind, as well as limited by factors, as in all Russian designs, of cost and complexity of production. Unlike American, British, and French bayonets at the time, the design is intrinsically utilitarian: rather than being a cutting blade, it instead tapers to a narrow point. This is effective when lunging, taking paramount advantage of the rifles reach. The base length of the rifle is around 1.2 meters.
The bayonet attaches via a socket onto the end of the barrel and simply twisted on. It has no handle and is in no way designed for use as anything other than a bayonet.
Interview with John Victor
Author: F.W.B. Volunteer
Single sheets. Typewritten transcription. 8 x 11 in.
3/5
The trail was cold. Duke was dying, I remember that, but I also remember it took him a long time to die. He didn't know then. As soon as I reached his workshop, I produced the sample, the blood scraped from the bayonet. He worked quickly, grabbing various vials and tools without looking. The sample of dried blood was separated into a petri-dish. He dripped in this dark viscous liquid, it began to boil. He went on heating, mixing, measuring, distilling, filtering, electrolyzing; I fell asleep.
It was dawn when I awoke. He presented a long syringe filled with a solution, swirling hues of red, green, and black which never mixed. I unfolded the package and dumped it out onto a silver plate. The blackened heart seemed to recoil as the dawn light touched it. I readied the Mosin-Nagant, the bayonet held forward as if cavalry were oncoming. Duke readied the syringe.
The solution flooded into the heart. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the heart began to gently bulge and bubble. Then violently it pulsed and spasmed. From the valves, black tendrils erupted, they crept toward the edge of the plate, recoiling from the cool silver. It rocked like a hatching egg, clattering to the floor along with the silver plate. The tendrils crept out again, sliding with ease through the dirt. One wrapped up around the table leg, coiling around it as it ascended.
Duke cautioned me.
But the swollen heart had escaped the dawn light. It trembled and throbbed as it fattened, rocking the table,
rattling the instruments. It got to the size of a wagon wheel. A crease appeared in its center and slowly opened. There, in the folds, were rows of human teeth. They yawed opened; I plunged the bayonet deep into the gullet.
