I love bloody combat!
I was born to serve the king!
Saber, vodka, hussar horse,
I have a golden age with you!

Denis Vasilievich Davydov, 1815

There is a truly gigantic number of types and types of sabers, since the saber, in its familiar form, has existed for at least thirteen centuries and has undergone no less changes than the sword. The saber originated from another iconic weapon - the broadsword, a straight blade with a one-sided sharpening, a descendant of the horse sword. Their great-great-grandson saber was actually used by my grandfather, since who doesn’t know about the Kushchev attack in 1942, where the Kuban division showed who a real Cossack was. John Churchill or “Mad Jack” no less worthy in 1941, when landing on the Norwegian island of Vågsøy, played “March of the Cameronians” on his bagpipes and was the first to rush forward with a broadsword in his hand, and in May 1940 he shot a German sergeant with a bow! The Shin-gunto of the Japanese covered itself with indelible shame during the executions of prisoners and the Nanking Massacre, where a quarter of a million Chinese died, and Chinese Tao swords were often the only weapon of the partisans there even after 1945. This was both the swan song of blades and the decline of their combat use; after the War, broadswords, sabers, checkers, and even more so swords, became an attribute of dress uniforms, equipment for historical fencing, status souvenirs and collectibles, as well as toys for mummers “Cossacks”.

Speaking about these weapons, it must be emphasized that although there were infantry and naval broadswords and sabers, these were mainly weapons that came from horsemen. And all efforts to improve and modernize them were aimed, first of all, at equestrian use; the fact that dismounted cavalry often used sabers and broadswords in infantry formation was the exception rather than the rule. The infantry had bayonets, cutlasses, half-sabers, daggers, in general, they had enough arsenal to counteract more of their neighbors, the infantry had sabers and broadswords, but as practice has shown, they were non-functional on foot. And in more ancient times, infantry bristled with spears, axes, swords, and even having shields, it was pointless to attack such an army with a saber. Therefore, sabers and broadswords were used on a par with swords, but only because the army was professional equestrian, where the saber was suitable as an auxiliary weapon. The rider's main weapon was a heavy spear - it did all the work, as well as clubs and other impact-crushing weapons. Once again I am convinced how intelligent my ancestors were and practical people and if something cannot be explained, then you need to look for a logical reason. For example, under the Mongols in Rus', sabers almost disappeared - this means that the Russians fight mainly with knights, against the Romanesque type of straight sword, where the saber will not help, and as the Turks climbed, the saber was again the most popular bladed weapon before Peter.

According to the technology, it is more difficult to make a saber than a sword; such a welded blade is more difficult to manufacture, which is why it appears at the time of more or less high-quality steel. There probably was an iron saber, but there were definitely no bronze ones; there was probably some prototype of a bronze broadsword, although it was more of a one-sided sharpening sword. The first sabers were expensive and decorated with the attributes of a rich warrior, because until the 12th-13th centuries they were made welded, in general, like swords, but they had to work even more. Damascus sabers, as well as expensive ones made of Damascus steel, were considered the best and most expensive.

The oldest broadsword of Kubrat found in the proto-Bulgarian necropolis dates back to the beginning of the 5th century, most of the oldest broadswords were found in the Northern Black Sea region, they were used by the early Avars, Khazars, Alans, and Bulgars.

Broadsword (Hungarian pallos - “sword”, “dagger”) is a contact bladed chopping and piercing weapon with a long straight single-edged blade up to 100 cm long, double-sided (early samples), most often with one-sided or one-and-a-half sharpening, with a complex hilt.

Broadswords are characteristic of the East, Asia, India and the Caucasus, originating from chopping swords, gradually acquiring the traditional curved Asian handle. They have an advantage over the sword in lighter weight and ease of manufacture, they were popular among the Mongols, since the 16th century they have been used as an auxiliary weapon by the Hungarian hussars, then they were armed with cuirassiers - lightweight knights. The Western European broadsword came from a heavy saddle sword, or rather in Russia it is customary to separate the broadsword from the sword, many do not do this, fortunately the first broadswords were called the “Walloon sword”, the width and weight of the broadsword blade are considered greater than that of the classical sword, although early swords could have been heavier and wider than a broadsword. TO 19th century double-sided sharpening was replaced by exclusively one-sided sharpening. At the same time, there was a boarding broadsword called Scallop (Duseggi) with a blade length of up to 80 cm, a width of about 4 cm, the meaning of such a large guard was to hit the jaw, a powerful blade was to cut ropes and cut through doors in the cramped space of a ship.

The broadsword with a rather interesting basket guard spread to Scotland and England, although great success outside these countries, however, he did not have a schiavona and a haudegen (the Italian and German version of the basket sword, respectively). The Highland broadsword turned out to be not the most successful option, although it replaced the Scottish claymore sword, was used as a status weapon for officers and a source of Scottish national pride, and fell out of use during the First World War.

Not least because of the Scottish mercenaries, the broadsword again finds its way into Russia; the earliest surviving Russian broadsword is the broadsword of Prince M.V. Skopin-Shuisky, total length 99 cm, blade length 86 cm, blade width at the heel 4.3 cm. The broadsword was in service with dragoon regiments in the first quarter of the 18th century, and since the 1730s with cuirassier regiments, horse grenadiers, carabineers, hussars and dragoons. Dragoons were armed with broadswords until 1817; for some time horse artillery was armed with them; they were produced both in Russia and purchased in the famous Solingen.

Under Catherine the Great, the broadswords were engraved with the monogram “E II” (Catherine II) under the crown. In the 18th century, the Russian army distinguished between army and guards, soldiers and officers, cuirassiers, dragoons and carabinieri broadswords; What they had in common was a wide, long and heavy blade, but they differed in the shape of the hilt and sheath. In the first third of the 19th century, they were unified Various types broadswords: dragoon model 1806, cuirassier model 1810 and the cuirassier model 1826 that replaced it. Broadswords were used by cavalry guards as ceremonial weapons before the revolution.

The broadsword was repeatedly recognized as a monstrously cruel weapon, it inflicted extremely dangerous wounds, and after the war with Napoleon there was a lot of talk almost about banning broadswords. Currently, broadswords are used as ceremonial weapons in a variety of countries.

The saber in its usual sense appeared in the 7th century among the Turkic peoples as a result of a modification of the broadsword; the first sabers were found in kuruk near the village. Voznesenki (now Zaporozhye). The prototypes of sabers can be traced in Asia and on Far East from the 2nd century BC e.-II century AD, but no one can say exactly what is depicted on the relief or fresco. Some version of the saber or experimental weapons close to it can be traced in China, Japan and Korea, but given their passion for multi-purpose weapons, even in the 5th century. It is not possible to accurately identify the saber from the images. Saber (Hung. szablya from Hung. szabni - “to cut”) is a chopping-cutting bladed weapon with an average length of a curved one-sided blade sharpening of 80-110 cm, with a mass of 0.8-2.6 kg. The saber appeared as an idea to reduce the weight of the blade while maintaining the same chopping abilities, by reducing the contact area, and in general it copes with the task. As a bonus, with a slight bend, it became possible to inflict a cut wound, which significantly increases the chances of quickly incapacitating the enemy due to large blood loss. The saber of Charlemagne (Magyar saber) has survived.

Since the middle of the 7th century, sabers have been known in Altai, in the middle of the 8th century in the Khazar Khaganate and spread among nomads of Eastern Europe, they were short, about 60-80 cm, with a beveled handle. At the end of the 9th - 10th centuries, sabers from the nomadic Magyars came to Rus'; from the 11th century in southern Rus', sabers were used on a par with swords, but in Novgorod and Suzdal they were not widely used due to constant contact with heavy knights, they were opposed only with swords . In the 10th-11th centuries, sabers appeared sporadically in the Arab world; from the 12th century they became more widespread in Iran, Anatolia, Egypt and the Caucasus. Their sabers of this time were similar to the Eastern European ones of the 10th century; in the 13th century, sabers in Islamic countries began to replace swords and broadswords. The Mongols imported their popular sabers throughout the east, to India; in the 15th-16th centuries, two main types of Islamic sabers emerged: narrow and long shamshirs of significant curvature, characteristic of Iran, and shorter and wider kilics of less curvature, characteristic of Turkey. Both options had a straight handle, a cross with a crosshair on the hilt, an average blade length of about 75-110 cm. The Shamshir is so curved that it can only be used to stab, strike with a drawbar or thrust from the saddle. Kilic or kilij, klych went through many changes in the Ottoman Empire, changing decoration, bending and disappeared in the 19th century.

The design of the saber handle is lighter than that of a sword; it is black, usually wooden, with a metal pommel (knob) equipped with a ring for attaching a lanyard. In the 14th century, yelman on a saber became widespread, after which the saber acquired the properties of a predominantly chopping weapon. At the same time, sabers became the dominant long-bladed weapon in Rus'; they were both locally produced and imported. In the Novgorod lands, however, sabers had not yet replaced swords, but still became widespread. The sabers characteristic of the 14th-15th centuries, which were in circulation in Eastern Europe, including Rus', the Caucasus, have changed slightly compared to the 13th century: the length of the blade remains within 110-120 cm, the curvature increases to 6.5-9 cm, the weight is from 0. 8 to 1.5 kg. From the end of the 15th to the beginning of the 16th centuries, saber production in the Arab world reached such a level that it began to influence Eastern Europe, where imported “oriental” sabers became widespread. Kilichi of the Turkish type were distinguished by massive blades 88-93 cm long, with an elmanya, with a total length of the saber of 96-106 cm, weight up to 2.6 kg.

Hungary and Poland had a great influence on sabers; from the second half of the 16th century, the development of the handle took place there. The difference between these sabers was an open (sometimes half-closed) handle with a pommel beveled forward in the shape of an almond-shaped flat frame. In the 17th century, a hussar saber with a closed hilt appeared from the Hungarian-Polish ones: from the side of the blade, from the end of the crosshair to the knob, there was a finger bow that protected the hand; this bow was sometimes not connected to the pommel of the handle. A ring (paluh) for the thumb was added to the crosshair, which made it possible to quickly change the direction of blows. The Poles simply had a mystical passion for sabers; they had many types and types of sabers, such as hussar, karabela, and kostyushovka.

In the countries of Central and Western Europe sabers were not common until the second half of the 16th century; they received recognition in the 18th-19th centuries, and swords and swords were mainly used. The Landsknechts used the two-handed Grand Messer saber, which appeared in Hungary in the 15th century. For the poor and fencing schools they used a dusak and a lot of different cutlasses. In the 16th-17th centuries, a shortened “half-saber” - hanger - was in use.

In the 17th-18th centuries, under Eastern European influence, sabers spread throughout Europe and became a cavalry weapon; they were used to equip hussars, dragoons and mounted grenadiers. They came from sabers of the Polish-Hungarian type.

The Arabs did not stop using sabers, as did India and the entire Middle East, as well as Turkey, from where they brought sabers to Europe as trophies. They had half-swords, half-sabres seif, and also something like fleece checkers. The scimitar, which appeared in the 16th century, is very famous, but it is constantly confused with kilich (klych, kilij), due to the fact that for some reason filmmakers show Turks and Arabs with an incredible width and convexity of the blade, persistently calling this goalie stick a scimitar. In fact, a scimitar is simply a back-curved long falcata-type knife; at most, it can be assigned the status of a cleaver. According to legend, the Sultan forbade the Janissaries to carry sabers in peacetime, and they came up with combat knives hand-length (scimitar length up to 80 cm, blade 65 cm, weight 800 g). There are a huge number of legends about scimitars, but they did not spread beyond Turkey and nearby countries; the Cossacks rarely used trophies, preferring sabers, swords and broadswords; a Russian soldier beat a Turk with a scimitar successfully and often. There is information about throwing scimitars, but occasionally two-handed swords were also thrown, but a competent soldier does not let go of a weapon even when it is unloaded, for which the sergeant hits hard even in training, so the history of developed scimitar throwing is doubtful. Scimitar from the Persian shamshir is an obsolete generalized European term for various eastern sabers (Middle Eastern, North African, Central Asian), refers to such sabers as: shamshir (Persia), kilij (Turkey and Egypt), nimcha (Morocco), pulwar (Afghanistan) and talwar (India).

Kilij

Pulvar

Talwar

During the Egyptian campaign, the French introduced fashion for Mamluk-type sabers, and the Cossacks, who sported such popular weapon in Paris they only strengthened it. Sabers began to be used everywhere in European armies, regardless of military branches, right up to aviation. Sabers are still used as a ceremonial weapon in many countries.

The most expensive saber in the world belonged to Napoleon - it was sold for $5 million and declared a national treasure of France. In addition, another Napoleon saber is kept in the collection of the State Historical Museum in Moscow; it was presented by Napoleon to Count Shuvalov for saving him from a crowd of angry French in Orgon. Surprisingly, this saber even took part in Civil War, having been stolen from the Shuvalov estate in 1918 and only years later ended up in the Museum of the Red Army and Navy.

The first examples of checkers were used as auxiliary weapons in the 12th-13th centuries, before the disappearance of armor and the need for such weapons, checkers only complemented swords and sabers. But even cuirasses disappear, and in the 19th century the saber replaced the saber, first in the Caucasus and then in Russia, having been borrowed from the Adygs (Circassians) by the Terek and Kuban Cossacks. In the 19th century, the saber was adopted by the Russian Army as the authorized type of bladed weapon for almost all cavalry units.

I. - Blade.

III. - Scabbard.

a) - Combat unit.

b) - Protective part.

1. Blade, 2. Point, 3. Butt (blunt), 4. Full, 5. False blade, 6. Center of impact, 7. Heel, 8. Back, handles, 9. Belly of handle, 10. “Jib” (top hilt), 11. Hole for the lanyard, 12. Mouth of the scabbard, 13. Slot of the first belt belt, 14. Clip, 15. Ring for the second belt belt, 16. Tip of the scabbard.

A saber is an offensive slashing weapon that does not imply defensive techniques and lengthy fencing; a saber is used to deliver quick, powerful slashing blows that are difficult to cover or dodge; a thrust with a saber is possible, but difficult due to balance. For ease of snatching, the sheath of the checker was attached on one or two rings to the waist or shoulder belt with the blade upward, since to perform a slashing blow from top to bottom, it is easier to quickly remove the checker from the sheath from this position. The advantage of the checker is its cheapness and mass availability, as well as the ability to quickly teach a couple of simple and effective strikes to an unprepared recruit. The drill regulations of the Red Army cavalry (248 pages) indicate only three blows (to the right, down to the right and down to the left) and four thrusts (half turn to the right, half turn to the left, down to the right and down to the left).

In Russia, the saber was adopted by all cavalry units, artillery personnel and the officer corps. In 1881, under the leadership of Lieutenant General A.P. Gorlov, an armament reform was carried out with the aim of establishing a uniform model of edged weapons for all branches of the military. After October revolution In 1917, checkers were adopted by the Red Army, except for the Caucasian national units, which still had national-style checkers. The dragoon-type saber was adopted for the command staff; since 1919, the saber has been an award-winning edged weapon. The production of checkers was discontinued in the 1950s due to the disbandment of the cavalry units of the Soviet Army; in the spring of 1998, large-scale production of checkers was resumed for collectors and sales.

This is the long history of broadswords, sabers and checkers outlined very briefly. In the era when the pin cartridge appeared, cold long-bladed weapons lost their many-thousand-year dominance, fortunately or unfortunately, I don’t know. From now on, the one with the most ammo wins in hand-to-hand combat, but that's a completely different story.

(by the way, the location was filmed in the real village of Malinovka, almost all of its residents were involved in the extras).
There are cavalrymen, there are a lot of weapons there... Therefore, I remembered this case (saber/checker). And then I saw obvious “technical” inaccuracies in the film.

Remember, there is such a denouement scene: the red commander Nazar Duma (Vladimir Samoilov) fights with the chieftain Gritian Tavrichesky (Grigory Abrikosov). Everything is fine!
BUT!

They fight with checkers. And a checker is not a weapon for fencing!!! For fencing - saber!

Of course, if you are in a hurry, then you will fight with a grip, but still...
A checker is a one-hit weapon!
And the scabbard - bam! and back into the sheath...

It was this inaccuracy in the film that prompted me to urgently (right in the salon chair, right there) make this entry, which I completed and published only now:

Saber and checker...

I knew with early childhood(for the game too). But I only found out how they differ when I was about thirty. At our work (at PNIIIS) they organized an excursion (more for a trip with children) to the Historical Museum, to the exhibition “History of Weapons” (moreover, personal weapons, not gun-missiles). We went there with Lelik. I don’t know what he remembered then (he was about 10 years old), but I remember this educational visit well. Not everything, of course, but about sabers and checkers - for sure!

Well, based on this purpose of the weapon, it’s clear why “without the hilt and with the blade up”

The hilt is simply not needed (no fencing), but at the same time it greatly interferes with quickly grabbing and snatching (it can hit the belt).

Blade up.
If you take it out to swing the weapon at the top, then it is more convenient to carry it with the blade down (imagine, you snatch a saber weighing on the left and lift it up from the right and back. To strike an enemy you need to make two movements: snatch and lift, then strike from above. When This reverses the orientation of the blade.

Checker - strike in one movement. From the left he grabs it and immediately goes in a large arc from the left behind - to the right and forward. The blade goes without turning over.

Here's the story...

Among various types edged weapons, the saber occupies one of the leading positions. All types of sabers are distinguished by a characteristic curve of the blade. Currently, saber fencing, saber dancing, and simply collecting various types of sabers are very popular. Sabers are unique look edged weapons, they were the ones who were able to last the longest as weapons of some military formations.

What is a saber and how to distinguish it from a sword

Even if you have only seen a dance with sabers, this weapon should be familiar to you from children's games of Cossack Robbers or from films about the first world war. Indeed, the blade of a saber is difficult to confuse with any other weapon.

A saber is a cutting weapon, and many types of sabers allow piercing blows. The handle of the saber is adapted for a one-handed grip, and the blade of the saber is on the convex side. Due to this blade shape, best views sabers not only cut, but also, as it were, cut through an obstacle that is encountered in the path of the blade.

There are many types of sabers, which differ from each other in the following parameters:

• Blade length;
• The shape of the blade bend;
• Various handle shapes.

Any type of saber differs from a sword in the location of the center of gravity. In sabers, it is located at a considerable distance from the handle and is located between the first and second third of the blade (if the tip of the blade is taken as the first part). This feature of the balance of the blade makes a good saber an ideal weapon for delivering slashing blows with a cutting effect. Naturally, delivering this type of strike requires many hours of training on a dummy.

A curved saber significantly increases not only the force of the blow, but also the affected area. Since saber blades must have elasticity and toughness, the production of light sabers became possible only with the development of metallurgy technologies.

The main differences between a saber and a sword are:

• The total weight of the weapon (mostly sabers are lighter, since they were, as a rule, weapons of horsemen);
• The presence of curvature of the blade (although there are sabers with a straight blade, for example a straight broadsword saber);
• Sabers are distinguished from swords by different fencing techniques;
• The saber handles are designed for a one-handed grip (although the famous Japanese katana, although called a sword, is essentially a type of saber);
• The blades of sabers are sharpened only on one side, whereas the blades of swords are usually double-edged.

The first sabers appeared in the east among nomadic peoples around the 6th-7th century, although the first bladed weapon resembling a saber (more like a broadsword with a straight blade) was found already in the 5th century. The combat saber is a direct descendant of the long cavalry sword, which, as a result of evolution, first acquired a one-sided sharpening (broadsword), and then a characteristic curve of the blade (a typical eastern curved saber).

The first types of sabers had a slight curvature, which made it possible to deliver piercing and cutting blows. Since the 14th century, yelman (a thickening at the end of the blade, allowing for stronger and more concentrated blows) appears on sabers. A striking representative of the sabers of this period is the classic Turkish saber. Eastern sabers of that era were distinguished by the incredible quality of the blade and the beauty of the external decoration. All the legends that were brought by the English and French knights after the Crusades relate specifically to this eastern weapon (Turkish saber). The curved saber of the eastern types had a curved hilt, which ended with a characteristic pommel (although the types of hilts could differ significantly from each other). A curved saber with such a blade was not intended for piercing blows.

The difference between the saber, which was used in Europe in the 17th and 19th centuries, was the lesser curvature of the blade. The hilts of sabers of that era were massive enough to reliably protect the hand from damage during fencing. The last sabers that remained in service with European troops in the 19th century were distinguished by even less curvature of the blade, which is perfectly demonstrated by the best blade of this period - the saber.

Variety of saber types

The evolution of sabers with a curved blade began from the time when nomadic tribes began to improve the Roman sword spatu. Several centuries passed before the saber took on the familiar form. Although back in the days ancient egypt there were special types of bladed weapons that resembled sabers.

Models of sabers from antiquity to the beginning of the 20th century:

1. The first weapon, the curved part of the blade of which vaguely resembled combat sabers, was the Egyptian kopesh. Most scholars classify these ancient blades as scimitars (Janissary saber), although kopesh can just as easily be classified as battle sickles. Only elite warriors of the Egyptian army had a curved blade of this weapon, which is explained by the complexity of manufacturing. The kopesh, as a rule, was made of copper or bronze, so several well-preserved copies of this weapon have reached us;
2. One of the first prototypes of sabers is the Turkish scimitar. Although scimitars gained popularity only in the 16th century, at first glance they can be recognized as an improved model of the Greek falcata sword. The handle of the saber was made of bone, devoid of any guard. This Turkish weapon has significant weight, and its specific sharpening (concave, in the shape of a “falcon wing”) made it possible to easily cut off the heads and limbs of the enemy;
3. The best weapon of the heavy cavalry of the 18th century is considered to be the broadsword, which is a kind of hybrid of a saber and a sword. The field of combat use of this weapon is extremely wide. They can deliver both piercing and slashing blows. In addition, the broadsword has a massive hilt, which perfectly protects the warrior’s hand;
4. Cutlass were also extremely popular in the 16th to 18th centuries. They represented simplified models European military sabers. The naval saber was quite short, and the developed guard protected the hand well;
5. Speaking about sabers, one cannot fail to mention the saber. Checkers are the last long-bladed weapon that was in service with the army until the mid-20th century.

Russian saber from the times of Kievan Rus

On the lands Kievan Rus sabers were used along with swords. If swords were dominant in the northern regions, then sabers were actively used by Russian warriors in the southern regions, which were often attacked by steppe nomads. Of course, a sword or an ax is an excellent (and traditional) weapon of Russian knights, but in battles with light steppe cavalry, armed with sabers and dressed in light leather armor, these Russian weapons were ineffective.

Already in the 9th century, the princes began to arm their squads with sabers in order to give the Russian cavalry the opportunity to fight on equal terms with the dexterous steppe inhabitants. Due to the fact that these weapons were very expensive, only princes, governors and their squads were armed with sabers. Seeing the effectiveness of this weapon in skirmishes with the steppes, the princes of the northern lands also armed their warriors with sabers.

Sabers in Rus' of the 9th-12th centuries were quite massive and had a curved handle. Often a lanyard was attached to it, for which a hole was provided in the handle.

Cossack sabers 15-18 centuries

The first mentions of the Cossack army date back to the 15th century. Cossack culture is closely related to weapons, especially sabers. The Cossack saber of the 16th century was either a copy of the Kievan Rus saber, or a Turkish “klych” type saber, which were captured in military campaigns or bought from the Turks or nomadic peoples.

The Persian saber shamshir, which was often made of Damascus or damask steel, was considered the best. Only rich Cossacks could afford such a saber, and even those most often took them in battle. The so-called “Adamashka” was also considered a very valuable saber. This word was used to describe all curved oriental sabers made of Damascus steel.

The saber was considered the main attribute of a free Cossack, so it was carefully kept and passed down from generation to generation. The Cossack saber fighting technique was honed in constant skirmishes with nomads, and later polished in battles with the Polish army.

Apart from the shamshir, most of the Cossack sabers of that time were designed to deliver both chopping and piercing blows. Most saber handles were decorated with images of animals or birds, which served as a kind of amulet for the warrior.

Polish sabers 15-18 centuries

Polish sabers began to gain popularity starting in the 15th century. Before this, Poland was an ardent supporter of the use of heavy swords. Since the main enemy of the Poles is Warband- was defeated, and firearms gained enormous popularity, the use of heavy armor and swords became irrelevant.

The first to use sabers were representatives of the Polish gentry and soldiers of the hussar regiments. The Polish saber (which was almost a complete copy of the Hungarian one) came in handy for the hussar cavalry.

The Hungarian saber in the hands of the Polish nobles turned into an object of "honor". Initially, these weapons were imported from Hungary, but soon began to be manufactured in the Polish state, eventually glorifying the Polish weapons school.

The hussar saber appeared in the 16th century, and became widespread in the 17th; it is the heaviest Polish saber. Its feature is a massive guard, which perfectly protects the hand. The hussar saber was a multifunctional weapon, indispensable for a professional warrior.

Review of French sabers from the Napoleonic Wars

The era of the Napoleonic Wars was marked by radical reforms in military affairs. Naturally, it also affected the edged weapons of the French cavalry. Those sabers that were in service with the cavalry before the reform were too curved, which made it difficult to deliver piercing blows, which were indispensable in close combat.

In 1806, light cavalry sabers were replaced with new models. The guard of the new sabers began to be equipped with two more protective bows on the side, which made it possible to make the protection of the hand more advanced.

As a result of innovations, the French saber received a new, less curved blade, which was perfectly adapted for both piercing and chopping blows. The point was shifted from the line of the butt to increase the piercing qualities. The blade itself was additionally sharpened near the tip on the butt side.

Cutlass

The cutlass appeared in the 16th century, when cruel naval battles have become commonplace. Before their appearance, pirates and sailors used ordinary bladed weapons, but the specifics of naval combat required short and strong weapons. At first, sailors used heavy cutlasses, from which the cutlass evolved.

Since most pirates and sailors were ordinary people, the art of fencing was very far from them. The principle of action of a boarding saber was similar to a simple cleaver, which was familiar to former peasants and townspeople. In order to learn how to wield a cutlass, it was enough to take several lessons, since the entire fighting technique consisted of delivering powerful blows with a wide range of motion.

The cutlass is a short, but wide and heavy blade. Since different situations arose in a naval battle, a massive boarding saber could not only howl as a weapon, but also be used to cut through doors. In addition, the massive guard perfectly protected the owner’s hand and could be used as a brass knuckle.

A cutlass could even be blunt; the wide blow, combined with the weight and width of the blade, would still inflict fatal wounds. Naturally, good fencers did not use cutlass, since they were practically unsuitable for fencing.

How is a saber different from a checker?

In 1881, all sabers that were in service with the Russian army were replaced with checkers. Since firearms made armor useless, there was no need for heavy saber blades, and an unarmored warrior could be cut in half with a light saber (which is what some highlanders did). Sabers remained in the army only as an element of the dress uniform.

One of the main differences between a checker and a saber is the complete absence of a guard on checkers that protects the hand, since the checker was not used for fencing, but for chopping. If two opponents met in battle, then parrying blows with a saber was out of the question. In battles, the Cossacks deflected and dodged enemy blows, choosing the moment to deliver a quick and clear slashing blow.

The Cossacks got the saber (which translates as a long knife) from the highlanders, who wielded them masterfully and managed to kill a Cossack with one blow while he was taking out a heavy saber.

Officer's dress saber

Officers' dress sabers gained popularity after the First World War. In many countries, many ceremonial elements have appeared; the ceremonial officer's saber is one of them. The officer's dress saber was very popular among the highest ranks of the Wehrmacht. In the Soviet army, instead of a saber, there was an officer's saber.

Since the officer's saber is an element of the ceremonial costume, it has more of a decorative role. In terms of combat qualities, a ceremonial saber is as effective as a blunt training saber. But great importance is attached to the external decoration of the hilt and sheath.

Thanks to military traditions, ceremonial sabers and checkers can be seen at military parades in many countries around the world.

World Saber Championship

For the first time, the World Championship (WCH) in saber (although it began to be called the world championship only in 1937) was held in 1921 in France. The World Saber Championship was declared a European tournament, since the participants were medalists from various European countries.

After 1937, when the World Saber Championship received official world status, it began to be held every year, with the exception of the year in which the Olympic Games fell.

Author of the article:

I am interested in martial arts with weapons and historical fencing. I am writing about weapons and military equipment, because it is interesting and familiar to me. I often learn a lot of new things and want to share these facts with people who are interested in military topics.

Ironically, the cavalry received perfect weapon when it was no longer needed.

A checker is a weapon with a blade of slight curvature and a hilt with a simple guard or without it at all. A distinctive feature is a pendant for wearing in the Caucasian style, with the blade facing backwards
As children, we all played cavalrymen, and you, probably like me, were tormented by various questions. What is the difference between a saber and a checker? Why are they crooked, but swords and broadswords are straight? Why do some carry the blade up and others carry it down? Why do some sheaths have metal tips at the bottom? Why do some checkers have a hilt and others do not? How to chop correctly? Well, the sacramental question - which checker is the best in the world? We tried to answer these children's questions in these materials, which turned out to be not children's questions at all.

Despite the fact that humanity has been hacking at each other for centuries, there has, oddly enough, been virtually no serious research into what an ideal edged weapon should look like. Most works on bladed weapons were nothing more than historical reference books. This probably explains the fact that almost all museum weapons are trash from a military point of view. Perhaps with one exception: the edged weapons of the East still remain best weapon rider This paradox was first noticed by our compatriot and great gunsmith of the last century, Vladimir Grigorievich Fedorov. And he answered most of the questions in his book “Cold Weapons,” published in St. Petersburg in 1905 - just at the end of the era of this legendary type of weapon.

The more tangential the blow is, the smaller the cross-sectional angle of the blade
Less than a percent

In fact, the era of edged weapons ended much earlier - already in the Crimean War of 1853-1856, wounds with edged weapons accounted for only 1.5% -3% of the total. A little later, during the Russian-Turkish campaign, or more precisely, by 1877, when the battle of Plevna took place, this figure had already dropped to 0.99%. And so all over the world, with the exception of expeditionary colonial corps waging war on the native population: British losses from edged weapons in India reached 20%, and in Egypt - up to 15%. Nevertheless, this percentage was not discounted when planning the rearmament of the cavalry by the beginning of the First World War.

Chop or stab

Here we come to the answer to one of the questions. Saber and saber are curved edged weapons designed primarily for cutting. The broadsword is a straight thrusting weapon. The question of what is more effective for cavalry action - chopping or piercing weapons - is one of the main ones that occupied military theorists in the 19th century.

Let us present the main arguments of supporters of piercing weapons - swords and broadswords. The impact energy is proportional to the mass and the square of the speed (mv 2 /2), so the rider simply needs to point the tip at the enemy to inflict a terrible wound on him. At the same time, it is much more difficult to hit an enemy with a blow - a slashing blow delivered a little earlier or later has neither the required accuracy nor strength. In addition, a strike requires two separate movements - a swing and a strike, and a thrust - one. When struck, the rider opens himself, and holding the broadsword for the injection, on the contrary, closes it. The arguments, we note, are very convincing, which is why the European cavalry (especially the heavy ones: cuirassiers and cavalry guards) was mainly armed with broadswords. They were used to arm dragoons and other types of light cavalry, not to mention artillery servants. Since 1711, broadswords have completely replaced sabers in Russia. A special cult of piercing blades existed in France, where they were used as dueling weapons and every self-respecting person was simply obliged to master the techniques of fencing with a sword. From there, fashion spread throughout Europe.

East is a delicate matter

There is only one discrepancy in these harmonious arguments - the cavalry of the East. Mongol-Tatar and Arab horsemen easily dealt with both light cavalry and heavily armored knights with their crooked sabers. Moreover, captured Asian sabers were worth their weight in gold, and not at all for their appearance, but just for fighting qualities. Not a single eastern warrior was seen with any two-handed sword, nor with a captured broadsword. “In the entire East, I don’t know a single people who would have anything similar to broadswords,” wrote the famous Russian military theorist of the 19th century, General Mikhail Ivanovich Dragomirov, “where the enemy did not refuse a dump, but looked for it for use on horseback - chopping weapons have always been preferred to piercing ones.” But the East is the birthplace of cavalry, and over the centuries, eastern sabers have turned into an ideal weapon, where every detail is thought out and tested in practice. Note that the Caucasian highlanders and Russian Cossacks, these born grunts, also always used chopping weapons. Why?

The first argument was the area of ​​damage - for a broadsword it is a line described by the tip, for a saber it is a plane cut by the blade. The second argument is the advantage of the saber at low speed of the rider, when the broadsword becomes practically useless, and the speed of the saber does not decrease much.

Crooked sabers

Fedorov considered his main task not to explain why the East chose the saber, but why it had such characteristics. And first of all, why is it crooked? You can't do without elementary geometry here.

Blade manufacturers are faced with a problem: the narrower the blade and the smaller the sharpening angle, the easier it penetrates the fabric; but blades that are too sharp have high fragility; their blade is easily damaged by a strong blow. However, Fedorov noticed that when striking, it is not so much the sharpening angle of the real blade that is important, but the cross-sectional angle, and the less right angle the blade falls to the body, the smaller the “effective” cross-sectional angle (Fig. 1).

From this it is clear that in order to strike more effectively with a straight blade, it is necessary to strike at an angle. In order to impart such a trajectory to the blade, you should, while lowering your hand, simultaneously pull it towards you - the so-called “pull” blow. The pull provides additional action to the blade - moving across the fabric, it consistently cuts the fibers, like a saw or kitchen knife, which further facilitates the penetration of the blade into the body. But such an action, Fedorov notes, wastes part of the force, which is why the blows cannot be so effective. But the highly curved Mameluke sabers, in which the blade angle reaches 45°, when inflicting a wound are 3-5 times sharper than straight blades with a similar cross-section. Along the way, they cut the fibers and cause longer incised wounds.

Center of gravity

The next secret of eastern blades is the location of the center of gravity behind the butt. To explain it, let's use a carpenter's ax as an example. If the ax is simply mounted on a round stick, it will be extremely inconvenient to work with it - the center of gravity will be in front of the axis passing through the handle. Therefore, the axes are made curved, moving the center of gravity back (Fig. 3). The same with blades - if the center of gravity is behind the axis passing through the handle, the plane of the blade ideally coincides with the direction of the blow (Fig. 2). The main disadvantage of European sabers is the forward curved handle (this is supposedly more convenient for thrusts), which automatically excludes the possibility of correct cutting, writes Fedorov. Note that Caucasian and Cossack checkers have straight handles.

Handles

Another drawback of European sabers is that their handles, as a rule, are covered with various grooves, and even wrapped in wire, again supposedly for ease of holding the weapon. In good oriental blades, the opposite is true: their handles are absolutely smooth - made of horn, ivory, hard wood, often covered with suede for ease of holding. This is understandable - experienced fighters practiced with a saber for several hours a day, and the handles with scars would quickly cut the palm into blood. Fedorov again cites the example of carpenter's axes with their perfectly polished handles.

Wedge with wedge

Another aspect that European craftsmen completely neglected was the cross-section of the blade. In most European samples it has the shape of a wedge, and in some the butt was even thickened, as, for example, in Russian light cavalry sabers early XIX century. As a result, the further the blade penetrates into the flesh, the greater the resistance. In eastern blades, the greatest thickening of the blade is located closer to the blade, and the entire part of the blade behind this thickening no longer encounters resistance (Fig. 4).

The valleys on the blade do not play the mythical role of blood flow, but increase resistance to bending and reduce the weight of the weapon. On eastern blades, all corners of the fullers are rounded, but on European ones, both the fullers themselves and the butt have sharply defined corners, which, upon impact, somewhat delay the penetration of the blade into the body.

Lightweight arguments

Another stumbling block is the weight of the weapon. Traditionally in Europe it was believed that the heavier the blade, the more effective it is in battle - just remember the legendary two-handed swords. Europeans disparagingly called eastern sabers lightweight. Nevertheless, even here the eastern gunsmiths turned out to be right - after all, the force of the blow, as we have already written, is proportional to the mass and the square of the speed. Therefore, it is much more effective to increase the speed of impact, which is higher for lighter eastern blades. In addition to increasing speed, lighter blades made it possible to perform fencing tricks that combat units with heavy sabers could not even dream of. In particular, participants in the Russian-Caucasian wars noted that while the Russian rider was swinging a heavy saber, the Caucasian warrior managed to strike the elbow area from below and then deliver a fatal blow to the disarmed enemy.

On the eastern saber (a), the center of gravity is behind the axis passing through the handle. On European blades (b), the handle is bent towards the tip, which is better for thrusting, but worsens the balance of the weapon

Center of gravity

Well, the last thing Fedorov pays attention to is the center of gravity. Obviously, he writes, that in order to increase the force of the blow, the part of the blade with which the blow is struck must be heavier than all other parts of the saber, therefore, the center of gravity must be shifted as much as possible towards the tip. The part of the blade adjacent to the handle serves solely to transmit the force of the blow - in an ax this role is played by the ax handle. Therefore, it is not at all necessary to make it the same width and thickness as the rest of the blade. Nevertheless, European blades are made almost the same width along the entire length, sometimes even widening towards the hilt. Eastern curved sabers, on the contrary, widen towards the end, tapering towards the hilt. All this for one purpose - to give the working part of the blade maximum weight and lighten the rest.

By the way, with a piercing weapon the balance should be completely different: the closer the center of gravity is to the hilt, the more effective the thrust. Good example- French swords.

The center of gravity should not be confused with the center of impact, often indicated on eastern blades by a special notch on the butt; in the Russian saber of the 1881 model, the fullers end in this place. When the direction of impact passes through this point, the hand does not receive any shock.

We wanted the best

In 1881, under the leadership of Lieutenant General A.P. Gorlov, a weapons reform was carried out with the aim of establishing a uniform model of edged weapons for all branches of the military. A Caucasian blade was taken as a model for the blade, “which in the East, in Asia Minor, between the Caucasian peoples and our local Cossacks there is highly famous as a weapon that has extraordinary advantages when cutting.” Cavalry, dragoon and infantry sabers, as well as cuirassier broadswords, were then replaced by uniform dragoon and Cossack sabers of the 1881 model. This was the first attempt to scientifically substantiate the choice of edged weapons. This checker had one problem - it was developed for two mutually exclusive purposes: for chopping and thrusting. Fedorov writes: “It must be admitted that our saber of the 1881 model both thrusts and cuts poorly.
Our checker cuts poorly:
- due to slight curvature, in which all the advantages of curved sabers are lost;
- due to improper fit of the handle. To give the saber piercing properties, the middle line of the handle is directed towards the tip - to do this, the handle had to be slightly bent in the direction from the butt to the blade. Which led to the loss of some good cutting properties of the weapon.
Our checker pierces unsatisfactorily:
- to give it chopping properties it is made curved, which delays its penetration;
- due to the significant weight and the distance of the center of gravity from the hilt.”

Weapons of the undersized dragoons

What should the ideal checker be like? Professional grunts - Cossacks and highlanders - have one answer to this question: of course, the famous Caucasian “top”. This is what Caucasian checkers were called in the 19th century because of the often found mark on them with the image of a wolf. However, this weapon is ideal specifically for professionals involved in dressage and practicing with a saber from early childhood for several hours a day. What the Cossacks and highlanders did with their blades was beyond the power of a combat soldier to repeat. They required a simple and reliable weapon, a kind of “Kalashnikov saber machine gun,” with which the soldiers could cut and stab tolerably well. Fedorov divided this problem into four subtasks: choose the correct curvature of the blade and handle attachment, check the position of the center of gravity and the weight of the blade.

1. The curvature of our blade, Fedorov wrote, exactly repeats the curvature of the famous Caucasian tops - ideally suited for both chopping and thrusting. The verdict was this: leave the curvature unchanged.

2. General Gorlov, in order to provide the saber of the 1881 model with better piercing properties, gave the handle a slope from the butt to the blade, directing the middle line of the handle to the tip. It became inconvenient to operate such a weapon. But the checkers of the Caucasian Cossack army of the 1904 model do not have such an inclination. It would be advisable to abandon the tilt in all checkers.

3. In our saber, the center of gravity is located 21 cm from the lower end of the bow, while in all samples of foreign edged weapons it is located at a distance of 9-13 cm from the hilt. If we take such blades in our hands and compare them with our saber, then it will immediately become obvious how much more convenient it is to act first, how light and free they are in the hand. Gorlov adopted the location of the center of gravity the same as in the Caucasian tops, thereby increasing the force of the blow. But let’s not forget, writes Fedorov, that it is easy for the mountaineers to operate with such weapons, since they are accustomed to wielding them from childhood. For combat dragoons with short service periods, this is unattainable. The conclusion is this: the center of gravity needs to be raised closer to the hilt. Moreover, with this arrangement, the tilt of the handle is no longer so important.

4. The blade with the hilt of the Russian saber weighs 1.025 kg. Despite the fact that European models have a similar weight, Fedorov argues that it should be considered significant “for our undersized dragoons.” It is interesting that the saber originally designed by Gorlov had significantly less weight, but during mass production at the Zlatoust Arms Plant, the weight increased by almost 400 g, since the plant could not cope with the quality requirements for blades and sheaths. Therefore, it is necessary to return to the original weight characteristics.

The St. Petersburg Military Historical Artillery Museum houses three samples from that experimental batch of Fedorov. True, which of them was “number six”, no one knows. The far right checker is a soldier's dragoon, an experimental model of the 1900s.

Fedorov's ideal checker

Almost simultaneously with the publication of the book “Edged Weapon” in 1905, Fedorov wrote a report to the artillery committee - “On changes to the 1881 sample checker.” In it, he put forward specific proposals for its improvement.

Based on these proposals, several versions of experimental checkers were made with different positions of the center of gravity and modified curvature of the handle. Soon, prototypes of these checkers were transferred for testing to military units, in particular to the Officer Cavalry School.

Knowing nothing about Fedorov's theoretical considerations, the cavalrymen had to choose the best example through practical testing on vines and stuffed animals of its cutting and piercing qualities.

Blades with a changed center of gravity were presented (20 cm, 17 cm and 15 cm instead of the existing 21.5 cm). At the same time, the blades were lightened by 200 g and shortened from 86 cm to 81 cm. Some of the blades were made with standard handles, some with a corrected slope.

All cavalrymen unanimously approved sample No. 6, with a center of gravity 15 cm from the hilt and a modified handle. Based on this model, 250 blades were made; they were armed with a squadron of the Officer Cavalry School and a squadron of the 17th Nizhyn Regiment. “In view of the declaration of world war, these units set out on a campaign with these weapons. The tests were not completed,” Fedorov wrote later.
When preparing the article, photographs from the book by A.N. were used. Kulinsky “Russian edged weapons”, provided by the Atlant publishing house.

January 2007

Officers, soldiers, Asian...

1826 Soldier's cuirassier broadsword. Total length 1150 mm, blade length 980 mm, blade width 35 mm. In broadswords of early releases, the lower nut on the scabbard was located quite low, and when the upper pass belt broke, the weapon turned over with the hilt down, falling out of the scabbard. Therefore, from the late 1830s, the lower nut on the scabbard was installed closer to the top

1895. Saber of the lower ranks of the Turkmen cavalry division. Total length 940 mm, blade length 810 mm, blade width 34 mm. The hilt consists of a handle with a head and a cross with a crosshair. The handle is formed by two bone cheeks riveted to the shank of the blade. The upper ends of the crosshairs are recessed into the cheeks of the handle, the lower ends fit into the corresponding recesses on the sheath when the weapon is inserted into them. Wooden scabbard covered with leather

1856 Sailors' boarding broadswords. Total length 880 mm, blade length 740 mm, blade width 36 mm. In 1856, the broadsword replaced engineer and naval artillery cutlasses among the lower ranks of the Naval Department. In 1858, assigned to midshipmen and cadets of the Naval Cadet Corps and technical schools of the Naval Department. In 1900, it was removed from service with sailors and left only to naval midshipmen, cadets and students of the Naval Engineering School, whose uniform was part of the uniform until 1917.

1827 Soldier's cavalry saber. Total length 1020 mm, blade length 880 mm, blade width 36 mm. “The saber in an iron scabbard adopted by us for light cavalry does not satisfy its purpose: it is brittle, heavy, the blade is easily dulled in the metal sheath, hanging low. It pulls back the rider's waist, hits the horse's legs at fast gaits, and makes noise that drowns out the command; in addition, the noise from the saber does not allow hidden movements, so it will always prematurely announce to the enemy the approach of cavalry (to avoid which sabers are often wrapped in straw).” (Military collection. 1868 No. 9)

1827 Cossack Guards Officer's Saber. In 1909, all Cossacks were allowed to serve with “grandfather’s weapons,” that is, with edged weapons inherited from their ancestors. This decision especially affected the armament of the Guards Cossack regiments.

1904 Cossack saber of the lower ranks. Checker of the lower ranks: length 920 mm, blade length 740 mm, blade width 35 mm. In 1904, the question arose about introducing a single sample of checkers for lower ranks and officers of the Cossack troops. It was decided that “the officers of the Caucasian Cossack army now have good blades leave checkers and daggers unchanged; again, the blades acquired by officers must be of the same type as will be approved for the lower ranks of these troops and in the decoration of scabbards and handles... officers should not be embarrassed” (V.G. Fedorov, “Edged Weapons”). The Asian-style saber was also worn by officers of the army dragoon regiments.

1834 Asian-style military checkers. Total length 1000 mm, blade length 880 mm, blade width 34 mm. Asian officer's sword, model 1834. differed from the soldier's in that it had arbitrary decorations on the handles and sheaths. “Officers... began to trim their checkers in silver in the Caucasian manner, the regiment commander Bezobrazov allowed them to be worn not on a uniform braided sword belt, but on a black Kabardian belt with a silver set... Bezobrazov... ordered a model checker, which he intended to send to the sovereign...” (Potto V. History of the 44th Dragoon Nizhny Novgorod... Regiment, 1984)

http://www.popmech.ru/article/1132-idealnaya-shashka/

What is the difference between a checker and a saber

In our countries, perhaps, only art connoisseurs, fencing athletes and collectors of antiquities are familiar with the topic of edged weapons. The average person can hardly show off deep knowledge in this area, for example, tell right away how a checker differs from a saber. But curiosity and interest are important here, and knowledge on this issue can be obtained without difficulty.

Saber is a type of bladed weapon for piercing and chopping purposes, invented in the 7th century. Checker appeared in the 12th century and is also a bladed weapon, whose purpose is no longer so much piercing as chopping. Why is that?
The saber blade is curved, and the checker blade is almost straight. The saber has a clear edge, but the checker does not. That is why the saber also cuts, but it is also more difficult to learn how to use it. In addition, the length of the checker does not exceed a meter, and the saber can be longer. Checkers do not make such an elegant impression; they were invented precisely in order to deliver short, accurate and powerful blows in battle. The production of a checker was cheaper than the production of a saber. The saber is always equipped with a guard on the handle; checkers do not have a guard.

In general, learning to wield a saber is easier than learning to wield a saber. This is also due to the fact that a checker and a saber have differently located centers of gravity, although their weight is almost the same, which is especially interesting.

Thus, TheDifference.ru notes the following differences between a checker and a saber:

1. The checker appeared 5 centuries later than the saber;
2. The checker cuts and stabs, and the saber cuts and stabs;
3. The checker does not have a curved blade, unlike the saber;
4. The checker does not have a handle with a guard, but the saber has just one;
5. Checkers have always been cheaper and easier to use;
6. The saber is longer than the checker;
7. The centers of gravity of the checker and saber do not coincide. More details: http://thedifference.ru/otlichie-shashki-ot-sabli/

Some modern Cossacks claim that the “Cossack” saber has incomparably better fighting qualities than a saber, and even more so a broadsword. Although the Cossacks owe their glory to the saber.

During the reign of Ivan IV in the Prut campaign of 1711, the Persian campaign of 1722 - 1723, the Russian-Turkish wars, in the seven-year war (1756 - 1763) against the aggressive Prussian kingdom. Then the Cossacks first appeared in the center of Western Europe. The crowning glory of the Russian army's victories in this war was the capture of the capital of Prussia, Berlin. Cossack regiments on the night of September 9-10, 1760 after the destruction of twenty thousand strong near Potsdam German army were the first to enter Berlin.

In June 1812, the Cossacks were the first to meet the French invaders with gunfire and heroically fought against Napoleon's army until they were completely defeated. After the capture of Paris in 1814, one of the first to enter the city was the Life Guards Cossack Regiment, which was the convoy of Emperor Alexander I. The main deadly weapons in the hands of the Cossacks were the pike and saber.

The saber was used, like the pike, in motion; struck and left. An example can be found in the memoirs of General Marbot, when he described the battle near Polotsk: “Mr. Fontaine’s legs became entangled in the stirrups. He tried to free himself with the help of several huntsmen who came to his aid, when suddenly the damned Cossack officer, galloping past this group, deftly leaned in the saddle and dealt Fontaine a terrible blow with a saber, knocked out his eye, touched his other eye and cut his nose!

A.K. Denisov describes a clash between a Tatar warrior, a mullah, “as can be seen from his attire,” armed with a pike (dart), and a Cossack officer F.P. Denisov, the narrator’s uncle: “Without leaving Denisov in sight, the mullah galloped a little forward and set off towards him. Then Denisov, having parried the dart with his saber, raised it from below slightly higher than himself and with one swing cut down the Tatar to death.” That is, masterly possession of a saber is described, when a parrying blow turns into a striking one.

BROADLASH, SABER, CHECKER.

Often, at first glance, it is difficult to distinguish a broadsword from a saber, a saber from a saber, or a saber from a broadsword.

SWORD

Broadsword (Hungarian - pallos; backsword, broadsword) is a piercing and chopping bladed weapon with a complex hilt, with a handle and a straight or slightly curved blade, wide towards the end, one-and-a-half sharpened (less often double-edged). Often combines the qualities of a sword and a saber. The hilt of a broadsword consists of a handle with a head and a guard (usually including a cup and protective bows). Western European broadswords usually have an asymmetrical hilt with highly developed hand protection in the form of a cross or a bowl with a whole system of arches. The length of the blade is from 60 to 85 cm. The appearance of the broadsword as a military weapon dates back to the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th centuries, when regular cavalry units appeared in Western Europe. Since the 18th century armed with heavy cavalry. The blade of a broadsword is much wider and heavier than that of a sword.

In England it is a broadsword - a basket sword, in Italy it is a spada schiavona - a Slavic sword, and in German countries in the period from the 16th to the 19th centuries, it had several names - reiterschwert - a horseman's sword; kurassierdegen, dragonerdegen, kavalleriedegen - cuirassier sword, dragoon sword and simply cavalry sword.

Western European broadswords usually have an asymmetrical hilt with highly developed hand protection in the form of a cross or a bowl with a whole system of arches. The length of the blade is from 60 to 85 cm. The appearance of the broadsword as a military weapon dates back to the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th centuries, when regular cavalry units appeared in Western Europe. Since the 18th century armed with heavy cavalry.

European cavalry (especially heavy ones: cuirassiers and cavalry guards) always gravitated towards piercing weapons and were mainly armed with broadswords.

The impact energy of two oncoming horse lavas is quite high, so the rider simply needs to point the tip at the enemy to inflict a terrible wound on him. At the same time, it is much more difficult to hit an enemy with a blow - a slashing blow delivered a little earlier or later has neither the required accuracy nor strength. In addition, a strike requires two separate movements - a swing and a strike, while a thrust requires one. When struck, the rider opens himself, and holding the broadsword for the injection, on the contrary, closes himself.

The broadsword has been known in Russia since the 16th century. Since 1711, broadswords have completely replaced sabers in Russia (this is in the regular army, and Russian Cossacks, Caucasian highlanders, Tatars, Bashkirs and Kalmyks have always used chopping weapons). These weapons were produced not only in Russia, but also imported from abroad, mainly from Germany. The opinion that the cuirassiers, these “knights of the 19th century,” had very heavy broadswords is not entirely accurate. The Russian broadsword of the 19th century, as a rule, was even lighter than a cavalry saber.

A special cult of piercing blades existed in France, where they were used as dueling weapons and every self-respecting person was simply obliged to master the techniques of fencing with a sword.

SABER

A saber is a very diverse weapon; there is a truly gigantic number of types and types of sabers, since the saber, in its familiar form, has existed for at least thirteen centuries and has undergone no less changes than the sword.

The first argument for the advantage of a saber over a broadsword was the area of ​​destruction - for a broadsword this is a line described by the tip, for a saber it is a plane cut by the blade. The second argument is the advantage of the saber at low speed of the rider, when the broadsword becomes practically useless, and the speed of the saber does not decrease much. The third argument was that the curved blade was lighter, but at the same time caused deeper wounds due to the bending of the blade.

Saber (Hungarian - czablya, from szabni - to cut; sabre) - chopping, chopping-cutting or piercing-slashing-cutting (depending on the degree of curvature of the blade and the design of its end) edged weapon with a curved blade, which has a blade on the convex side , and the butt is on a concave one. Suspended from the belt with the blade down.

The weight and balance of different sabers varied noticeably and could be approximately similar to checkers parameters, or they could differ. Varieties of sabers differ in size, radius of curvature of the blade, and the design of the hilt (handle). A characteristic difference from other long-bladed weapons with a handle is that the center of gravity is located at a considerable distance from the hilt (usually at the level of the border of the first and second third from the tip of the blade), which causes an additional cutting action during chopping blows. The combination of the curvature of the blade with a significant distance from the center of gravity from the hilt increases the force of the blow and the area of ​​the affected space. The hilt has a handle with a lanyard and a cross with a crosshair (oriental sabers) or another guard (European sabers).

The saber appeared in the East and became widespread among the nomads of Eastern Europe and Central Asia in the 7th - 8th centuries. Mongol and Arab horsemen successfully fought with their crooked sabers against both light cavalry and heavily armored knights. Moreover, captured Asian sabers were worth their weight in gold, and not at all for their appearance, but precisely for their fighting qualities. Not a single eastern warrior was seen with either a two-handed sword or a captured broadsword. “In the entire East, I don’t know a single people who would have anything similar to broadswords,” wrote the famous Russian military theorist of the 19th century, General Mikhail Ivanovich Dragomirov, “where the enemy did not refuse a dump, but looked for it for use on horseback - cutting weapons have always been preferred to piercing ones.”

In the XIV century. an elman appears on the saber (a thickening of the saber blade in the upper part of the blade, it could have been sharpened). The saber acquired the properties of a predominantly cutting weapon. The most characteristic sabers of this type were Turkish and Persian.

In European armies of the 18th - 19th centuries. sabers had blades of medium curvature (4.5 - 6.5 cm), hilts with bulky guards in the form of 1 - 3 arches or cup-shaped, scabbards from the 19th century. usually metal. The total length reached 1.1 m, blade length 90 cm, weight without sheath up to 1.1 kg, weight with metal sheath up to 2.3 kg. IN late XIX V. the curvature decreases to 3.5 - 4 cm and the saber again acquires piercing and chopping properties.

Due to the guard, the balance moved closer to the handle, due to the elmani - vice versa.

In Rus', the saber has been known since the 9th century; in the Novgorod land, the saber came into use later - from about the 13th century, and from the 14th century. became the dominant type of weapon (in Western Europe - from the end of the 16th century). In the XV - XVII centuries. Warriors of the Russian local cavalry, archers, and Cossacks were armed with sabers. Since the 18th century In European and Russian armies, the saber was in service with light cavalry personnel and officers in other branches of the military. In 1881, in the Russian army, the saber was replaced by a saber and was preserved only in the guard, as a ceremonial weapon, as well as among some categories of officers for wearing outside the ranks.

But in fact, the era of edged weapons ended much earlier - already in the Crimean War of 1853-1856, wounds with edged weapons accounted for only 1.5% -3% of the total. A little later, during the Russian-Turkish campaign, or more precisely, by 1877, when the battle of Plevna took place, this figure had already dropped to 0.99%. And so all over the world, with the exception of expeditionary colonial corps waging war on the native population: British losses from edged weapons in India reached 20%, and in Egypt - up to 15%. Nevertheless, this percentage was not discounted when planning the rearmament of the cavalry by the beginning of the First World War.

CHECKER

Checkers are more similar to each other. A checker is essentially a hybrid of a knife and a saber, the result of the desire to achieve maximum benefit from the blade in close combat. Shashka (Kabardian-Circassian - sa "shkho - (lit.) long knife) - a cutting-stabbing bladed weapon with a handle. With a single-edge (rarely one-and-a-half) sharpening. The blade can be curved, slightly curved, or can be straight. The total length is 95-110 cm, the length of the blades is 77-87 cm. Its peculiarity is the absence of a copper bow, which protects the hand. Initially, the Russian irregular cavalry was armed with a Caucasian type saber, which had a blade of slight curvature and a hilt consisting of one handle with a bifurcated head, without any protective devices. Such a typically Caucasian hilt can generally be considered one of the main distinctive features checkers as a type of bladed weapon.

Checkers appeared in the regular Russian army in 1834 (in the Nizhny Novgorod dragoon regiment)

Russian army samples of checkers (for example: dragoon model 1881) differed from the Caucasian type checkers in the design of the hilt and scabbard. The blades of the first army sabers had an average curvature, and their shape was close to that of a saber. In 1881, an armaments reform was carried out, the purpose of which was to establish a single model of edged weapons for all branches of the military. A Caucasian blade known as a “top” was taken as a model for the blade. The hilt was initially supposed to be of a single model, with protection by the front arch, but then it was decided to leave traditional hilts consisting of one handle for Cossack checkers. As a result, dragoon (officer and soldier) and Cossack (officer and soldier) sabers were adopted into service with the Russian army. The artillerymen received a shortened version of the dragoon saber. Characteristic difference saber checkers always had a wooden scabbard covered with leather, with a ring (less often with two rings) for the belt's passing belts on the convex side (that is, it was hung in Caucasian style with the blade backwards), while the saber's rings were always on the concave side scabbard, in the XIX - early XX century, as a rule, steel. In addition, a saber was often worn on a shoulder belt, and a saber on a waist belt.

Historically, the saber was indeed first a knife - among the Russians in the 16th century, such a podsaadashny, “pinned” knife was common, which had a number of features that made it similar to the saber. It is noteworthy that initially the checker was used as an auxiliary weapon (always came after the saber), before the disappearance of armor and the need for such weapons, checkers only complemented swords and sabers. But even cuirasses disappear, and in the 19th century, the saber is the “main belt” bladed weapon, and this puts forward different requirements for it than for a knife. With distribution firearms and with the fall out of the use of armor, the saber replaced the saber, first in the Caucasus, and then in Russia, while the saber itself underwent significant changes: it became longer and more massive, and received a bend.

MAIN DIFFERENCES

So, if we take as a basis some average samples of a broadsword, a saber and a checker, the following conclusions follow:

The broadsword is a weapon ideal for piercing blows with the possibility of slashing. This is a weapon with a long straight (or slightly curved) blade. The center of gravity is shifted as far as possible to the hilt, for virtuoso fencing and precise thrusting. Maximum protection for the hand, the hilt of the broadsword consists of a handle with a head and a guard.

A saber is a piercing-cutting weapon. The center of gravity is located at a considerable distance from the hilt. Mandatory protection for the hand, the hilt has a handle with a lanyard and a cross with a crosshair (oriental sabers) or another guard (European sabers).

Often, in European sabers, to enhance the piercing properties, the middle line of the handle is directed towards the tip - the handle is slightly bent in the direction from the butt to the blade.

Checker - The weapon is ideal for slashing blows with the possibility of piercing. The center of gravity is shifted to the tip as much as possible. Hence the difference in techniques: with a saber they do not so much “feint” from the hand, but deliver powerful, strong blows “from the body”, which are extremely problematic to parry. With the help of a checker it was possible to deliver a good blow, reinforced by the inertia of the rider’s movement, which could “ruin” the adversary “to the saddle.” Moreover, it is extremely difficult to dodge or protect yourself from such a blow. Therefore, in the 19th century there was a saying: “They cut with sabers, but they cut with checkers.”

It is extremely inconvenient to deliver precise piercing blows with a saber due to the peculiarities of balancing, the lack of a rest for the hand and the weakly defined tip, which is often not sharpened at all.

The saber, as a rule, is noticeably lighter and slightly shorter than most sabers. It differs from a saber in that it has a slightly straighter blade. The hilt consists of one handle with a bifurcated head (there have been quite a few versions of the origin of this bifurcating head, including the use of a checker as a stand for a gun when shooting from the knee), without any protective devices.

The main difference from the saber is that the saber has a less curved blade (or even straight), does not have an elmani feather on the blade and is always hung vertically, with the blade up. Always without a guard (with rare exceptions, for example, the “dragoon saber”, which is essentially a saber suspended from the top by the blade).

The ability to strike first is one of the main advantages of a checker. The checker was worn with the blade up, thanks to which this weapon could be instantly removed from its sheath and in one movement, directly from the sheath, deal a full-fledged, disintegrating blow to the enemy. A checker that does not have a cross is quickly and reliably removed. Often the handle was positioned almost at chest level. The checker was pushed out with a straightened palm, then a confident grip of the handle with a full hand was used. When removed, the checker itself falls into the palm, while the saber is taken out with the hand overlapping. Moreover, a checker hanging on one side can be removed with both the left and right hand and immediately struck, which gives the effect of surprise. Convenient for unexpected attacks and self-defense.

Before us is a fairly typical example of a saber action (according to ethnographic records of the 19th century):

“...After some time, Pachabgozhev returned. The young man followed his wife and, hiding behind one half of the gate, as soon as Pachabgozhev appeared in it, rushed at him, but, missing, instead of Pachabgozhev, he hit the other half of the gate and cut it in two, like fresh, just squeezed cheese. Pachabgozhev, quickly turning around with the saber already snatched, cut the young man in half from the shoulder. Then, calmly wiping off the saber and putting it in its sheath, he put the horse in the stable...”

The saber, a traditional weapon of light irregular cavalry, was designed for a fleeting battle, practically for the first and only preemptive strike. The very form of the weapon suggested a battle pattern for its owner - a strike, a strike and a rebound in case of resistance. The skill of the attack, the accuracy and speed of the strike are extremely highly developed, but if it is still not crowned with success, then that’s the end of the attacker. It is unlikely to be possible to effectively defend yourself with a checker or carry out complex fencing feints, voltes and floss. Sometimes in the military manuals of Russia and the USSR until 1941, a description of combat techniques was given, based on saber fencing; but in relation to a checker, these possibilities are very limited.

The cavalry attack in those decades was scattered and fleeting. One hit. With a swing, with a quickdraw, at full gallop. And then - at full speed. And you still won’t have to fencing with the enemy, even if this blow did not reach the target (missing in those conditions with a saber or broadsword is certainly no more difficult than with a saber): he is already far away, you have already been separated by the flow of the battle...

Built on constant contact with enemy weapons, the European school (more precisely, schools, for there are many of them) in checker fencing has very limited applicability (due to the center of gravity shifted to the tip), although a fighter with a checker can compensate for this with active movements and deceptive techniques . For war and most battles, the damaging properties and protection of the hand holding the weapon are important, at least from accidental and aimless blows to the hand, which is protected at best by a glove. In terms of fencing, a fighter with a saber requires greater mobility than a saber fencer, who can afford to “knock” with the enemy without risking being left without fingers.

Some modern Cossacks claim that the “Cossack” saber has incomparably better fighting qualities than a saber, and even more so a broadsword. But the checker and the saber often had similar, and often identical, blades. Many checkers were made directly on imported European saber blades; sometimes the old handle and guard were removed from an old saber and a Caucasian checker blade was installed. Sometimes they made their own blades. Due to the absence of a guard, the balance moved closer to the tip.

In 1881, under the leadership of Lieutenant General A.P. Gorlov, an armament reform was carried out with the aim of establishing a uniform model of edged weapons for all branches of the military. A Caucasian blade was taken as a model for the blade, “which in the East, in Asia Minor, between the Caucasian peoples and our local Cossacks there is highly famous as a weapon that has extraordinary advantages when cutting.” Cavalry, dragoon and infantry sabers, as well as cuirassier broadswords, were then replaced by uniform dragoon and Cossack sabers of the 1881 model. This was the first attempt to scientifically substantiate the choice of edged weapons. This checker had one problem - it was developed for two mutually exclusive purposes: for chopping and thrusting.

The new weapon almost immediately came under a barrage of criticism. As a result of the reform in 1881 Russian army received a strange hybrid of a broadsword and a saber. Essentially, it was an attempt to create a weapon that would allow both thrust and slashing to be used in combat. However, according to contemporaries, nothing good came of this. Our compatriot and great gunsmith of the last century, Vladimir Grigorievich Fedorov, writes: “It must be admitted that our saber of the 1881 model both stabs and cuts poorly.

Our checker cuts poorly:

Due to the slight curvature, in which all the advantages of curved sabers are lost;

Due to improper fit of the handle. To give the saber piercing properties, the middle line of the handle is directed towards the tip - to do this, the handle had to be slightly bent in the direction from the butt to the blade. Which led to the loss of some good cutting properties of the weapon.

Our checker pierces unsatisfactorily:

To give it chopping properties, it is made curved, which delays its penetration;

Due to the significant weight and the distance of the center of gravity from the hilt.”

Almost simultaneously with the publication of the book “Edged Weapons” in 1905, Fedorov wrote a report to the artillery committee - “On changes to the 1881 sample checker.” In it, he put forward specific proposals for its improvement.

Based on these proposals, several versions of experimental checkers were made with different positions of the center of gravity and modified curvature of the handle. Soon, prototypes of these checkers were transferred for testing to military units, in particular to the Officer Cavalry School.

Knowing nothing about Fedorov's theoretical considerations, the cavalrymen had to choose the best example through practical testing on vines and stuffed animals of its cutting and piercing qualities.

Blades with a changed center of gravity were presented (20 cm, 17 cm and 15 cm instead of the existing 21.5 cm). At the same time, the blades were lightened by 200 g and shortened from 86 cm to 81 cm. Some of the blades were made with standard handles, some with a corrected slope.

All cavalrymen unanimously approved sample No. 6, with a center of gravity 15 cm from the hilt and a modified handle.

Another advantage of the checker was its relative cheapness, in contrast to the saber, which made it possible to make this weapon widespread. This was also facilitated by the ease of using checkers in battle. The usual technique of wielding a saber consisted of a good knowledge of a couple of simple but effective blows, which was very convenient for quickly training new recruits.

In the drill manual of the Red Army cavalry, out of 248 pages, only four pages are devoted to cutting and thrusting techniques, half as many as to saluting techniques with a saber. Budennovites were given only three blows (to the right, down to the right and down to the left) and four injections (half a turn to the right, half a turn to the left, down to the right and down to the left).

Drill regulations Soviet army 1951 prescribed only a few strokes. From left to right: cutting down to the right, cutting to the right and thrusting with a saber half-turn to the right

To deliver blows, thrusts and repulses (defense), the rider had to stand on the stirrups and place the emphasis on his knees. It was possible to chop down an equestrian enemy with only one move using the command “Right - CUT!” 8-10 steps before the enemy, the right hand with the saber was retracted to the left shoulder, after which with a quick movement of the hand while turning the body in the direction of the blow, a blow should be struck at shoulder height from left to right. To introduce army order, so that the blow was performed uniformly, all left-handers were retrained to use the right hand, and not only in the Russian and Red armies.

The other two strikes (down to the right and down to the left) were intended to defeat an enemy on foot. To do this, it was necessary to move the body to the right (left) forward 8-10 steps before the infantryman and at the same time raise the hand with the saber up above the head, and then deliver a strong blow, describing a circle with the saber.

To apply a thrust, it was necessary to extend the right hand with the saber in the direction of the enemy, turning the hand slightly to the left; the blade of the blade should be facing up to the right, and the tip should be at the point of injection. After applying the injection, moving the hand downward required releasing the blade.

All of the above is relevant only to conscript soldiers, who, over several years of service in the army, could only be taught to stay in the saddle and tolerably perform a couple of statutory blows. Cheap steel checkers were intended for them, designed for several successful blows, with hilts that allowed them to protect the hand, but did not allow them not only to throw the blade from hand to hand, but also to perform basic fencing techniques. It was not these cavalrymen that all of Europe feared like fire.

The signature blows of the Cossacks and Caucasians were delivered from the bottom up, for example, to the elbow of an attacking enemy. This was also facilitated by the special design of the harness of Cossack horses: for example, the stirrups were tied with a belt under the horse’s body, allowing the rider to hang sideways almost to the ground. When a horse lava approached, the infantryman was instructed to raise his rifle above his head with both hands, protecting himself from a statutory blow from above. The Cossack simulated the beginning of such a blow, then abruptly hung from his horse and, with a strong blow from his sword from below, literally broke the soldier into two parts. This technique alone is enough to fear the Cossacks like the plague.

There is one remarkable place in the novel “Quiet Don”, where the usual Cossack possession of a saber with both hands is described: “He led his horse towards the chosen enemy, as usual, going in from the left to chop with his right; The one who was supposed to collide with Gregory also strove in the same way. And so, when about a dozen fathoms remained before the enemy and he was already hanging to his side, raising his saber, Grigory made a sharp but gentle turn from the right, throwing the saber into his left hand. The discouraged enemy changes position, it is uncomfortable for him to cut from right to left, over the horse’s head, he loses confidence, death breathes in his face... Grigory destroys him with a terrible blow with a pull.” By the way, real prototype Grigory Melekhov, a Cossack from the village of Veshenskaya, Kharlampy Ermakov, was a desperate swordsman who wielded a saber perfectly with both hands. The horse was controlled by his legs alone, crashing into the ranks of enemies with two checkers in each hand, wielding them right and left.

Unknown Rus'