Officers Swords

[pzrwest]

If this is the wrong section for this I apologise.
Did German officers and senior nco's wear their swords in the field in the trenches? I have seen pics of British officers going "over the top" with their pistol in one hand and their swagger stick in the other. Are their pics of German officers and nco's with their swords drawn in the trenches or going "over the top" or were they just for parade use etc.?

[ROBB]

Cavalry did . And early on in the war the German ground officers did ( infantry artillery etc ) , but I suspect later there was no need , just my thoughts Rob

[pzrwest]

Thank you ROBB for the info.... forgot about the cavalry units, and I guess when it got into trench warfare it would be awkward to use a sword

[90th Light]

In 1914, British snipers/ sharp-shooters were ordered to pick off any German clearly carrying a sword especially infantry. By 1915, any battle wise German officer or senor NCO had ditched them. However, the Germans certainly took them to the front in 1914 when they mobilised,

Chris

[james m]

By WW II the only edged weapons still in common use in battle were bayonets and the various varieties of fighting knifes. Nobody in their right mind wanted to be burdened with 2+ pounds of useless metal. That's one of the reasons why when a WW II dress dagger or sword is described as "taken off a dead German Officer" we find this so humorous.
Jim