All sabres are swords but not all swords are sabres. With a completely different look and wholly different purpose, military sabres and military swords are two completely different entities, and should be treated as such by a collector. No matter which type of military swords you are interested in, chances are you will happen across a sabre at some point in time, which will ultimately make an exquisite piece in any collection. Military swords generally reached their popularity in the Middle Ages and renaissance periods, just before they were abandoned in favor of guns and other projectile arms. Thanks to recent developments in armor around that time, new and more proficient designs for military swords came frequently and rapidly. At that time, swords began to grow larger in size in favor of heavier swinging force and longer reach to combat heavily armored soldiers and far reaching spearmen. During the sixteenth century however, military swords began to decrease in size as their usefulness slowly began to dwindle as a result of increase use of the bow and arrow, crossbow and projectile weapons.
As the modern era began to approach, military swords began to be replaced by gunpowder powered weapons, so the large size of a sword was rendered completely useless. Instead, people began switching to much smaller military swords such as the rapier, which could still be carried around on one’s hip and used if the need for a duel ever arose. Furthermore, the backsword was also developed around this time which would eventually turn into the modern military swords known as sabres. While rapiers were generally worn by the common man, sabres were the preferred military swords of the time. In Europe, they first saw heavy use by Napoleon’s army during the Napoleonic Wars during the early nineteenth century. Their curved blade and handy hand guard made them an excellent weapon for close quarters fighting before the invention of a reliable handgun. In America, the sabre was one of the most favored military swords during the Civil War and until the end of the 1800s. With the advancement of handgun technology and revolvers, however, the sabre gradually lost steam as an effective military weapon. Today, sabres are still used as military swords. While it is simply suicide to use one in battle today, they are kept around for decorative ceremonies and are frequently used by the United States Marine Corps during ceremonial purposes. Derivatives of the sabre are also used for modern Olympic fencing matches. Visit Maty’s site at: http://www.militaryezyinfo.com for other articles about Military Swords. Visit Mary’s main Article Directory for other related articles.
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