Really bad weapons...

[Adm.Lee]

Originally Posted by perardua

As for bayonets, ... there's a psychological advantage to fitting them (it puts you in a certain frame of mind, and scares the crap out of the enemy), and because they actually have a practical purpose.

One of the most influential books on my gaming style was Paddy Griffith's Forward into battle. The theme of the book was that the more aggression the attacker shows, the more likely the defender will run, rather than defend his position to the last man. Thus, it is usually very helpful to do whatever one can to demoralize a defender, and it is also useful to show them that the attacker is willing to close with them.

Thus, "I'm not just going to kill you, I'm going to come over THERE and kill you!" is scary. "And I'm going to do it with this sharp little piece of steel!" is even more scary.