Victoria Cross awards involving hand-to-hand combat

[admin]

Unfortunately, many of the descriptions of VC awards are a bit vague. Many of them imply hand-to-hand combat (as opposed to shooting or other kinds of danger), but do not describe it explicitly. Here is an example, where one man killed three, but it is not stated whether he did so with bullet, bayonet or both:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Vickery
Another:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mackenzie_(VC)

Some however do explicitly describe hand-to-hand combat:

A pretty late - 1889 - (and very cool!) example:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Crimmin

Another late one from 1900:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_John_Melliss

The Indian Mutiny of 1857 resulted in a lot of VC's and many of these involved hand-to-hand encounters, such as:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Murphy_(VC)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Pearson_(soldier)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_McQuirt

[admin]

More examples from the Mutiny - the first one is particularly grim!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Addison_(VC)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Robertson_Aikman
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus_Anson
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Anderson_(VC)

[admin]

Some descriptions are not only vague, but also confusing.
For example:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine_Bambrick

If he was a private in the Rifles in 1858 then he was armed with an 1853 pattern Enfield Musket and a spike bayonet. If he 'cut down' an opponent then presumably he either did it with something besides his bayonet, or in fact he stabbed his opponent (or shot them!).

[Jonathan]

Matt,
Thanks for providing all this good reading on such a slow day!

The Gazette (London, Edinburgh & Belfast) is available online at http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk/ . In the advanced search allows you to narrow things down quite a bit which makes finding VC entries much easier (and other gallantry awards). Additionally, one can find numerous casualty returns. For example, searching the London Gazette for the term "sword" between 1 January 1857 and 31 December 1860 turns up 164 results, most of which describe injuries received during the campaigns of the Mutiny. If one wishes to see if the sword was still a viable sidearm in the mid-19th century, the Gazette can provide almost all the evidence one needs!

Jonathan

[admin]

Thanks Jonathan. I'll get onto that.

More clear examples from the Mutiny:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Blair_(VC)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aylmer_Spicer_Cameron
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Carlin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Bell_Chicken
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Flinn
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Gill_(VC)

[Jonathan]

Matt,
Is it possible that as a rifleman he was armed instead with a P1856 sword bayonet?

Jonathan

[admin]

In this example, a tulwar was used to devastating effect by a British infantryman against Indian rebels:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Grant_(VC)

[admin]

Matt,
Is it possible that as a rifleman he was armed instead with a P1856 sword bayonet?
Jonathan

I don't honestly know. I thought that they were generally only issued to NCOs, but maybe riflemen carried two-band Enfields (like Rifle Volunteers and Marines) and this reduced rifle length was compensated with the long sword bayonet (as I believe it was with Sergeant's carbines). If so, it solves the problem of the wording nicely.

[admin]

Another example of a tulwar being used against its former owner! -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Hartigan

[admin]

This seems to confirm that the Riflemen in India during the Mutiny were indeed armed with sword bayonets! -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same_(John)_Shaw

Parrying a tulwar with the rifle:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Hill_(VC)

This one is an interesting example in that there is no explicit mention of hand-to-hand fighting in the text, but the associated painting of the event certainly shows it! However, this painting is likely to have quite some artistic licence to it, and I don't think he would have been dressed like that (later helmet?):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Alexander_Kerr



One of the most famous hand-to-hand encounters of the Victorian period, whereby McBean cut down 11 enemy soldiers with his sword:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_McBean
http://mcbainofmcbain.com/military-hero ... r-general/

Other examples:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanson_Cha ... or_Jarrett
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Taylor_Reade
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Richardson_(VC)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Roberts,_1st_Earl_Roberts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Roddy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Smith_(private)

[admin]

Here is a nice detailed account:

Lieut. Watson, on 14 Nov., with his own squadron, and that under Captain, then Lieut. Probyn, came upon a body of the rebel cavalry. The Ressaldar in command of them – a fine specimen of the Hindustani Mussalman – and backed up by some half-dozen equally brave men, rode out to the front. Lieutenant Watson singled out this fine-looking fellow and attacked him. The Ressaldar presented his pistol at Lieut. Watson's breast at a yard's distance and fired, but most providentially without effect; the ball must have by accident previously fallen out. Lieutenant Watson ran the man through with his sword and dismounted him; but the native officer, nothing daunted, drew his tulwar, and with his sowars renewed his attack upon Lieutenant Watson, who bravely defended himself until his own men joined in the melee, and utterly routed the party. In this rencontre Lieutenant Watson received a blow on the head from a tulwar, another on the left arm, which severed his chain gauntlet glove, a tulwar cut on his right arm, which fortunately only divided the sleeve of his jacket, but disabled the arm for some time; a bullet also passed through his coat, and he received a blow on his leg which lamed him for some days afterwards.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Watson_(VC)

[admin]

Sergeant John Murray VC, fighting Maoris:

For his distinguished conduct during the engagement at Tauranga, on the 21st of June, when the Enemy's position was being stormed, in running up to a Rifle Pit containing from eight to ten of the enemy, and, without any assistance, killing or wounding every one of them. He is stated to have afterwards proceeded up the works, fighting desperately, and still continuing to bayonet the Enemy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Murray_(VC)

And another similar:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Augustus_Smith

[admin]

An example from Afghanistan in 1880:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cook_(VC)

And another from 1879:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Ric ... k_Hamilton



In this one from 1879 it is hard to tell exactly what happened, but whether he used sword or revolver, the enemy were close enough to result in him being wounded by a Khyber knife:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Pemberton_Leach

Similar also is this example, which resulted in several sword wounds:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euston_Henry_Sartorius

[AnnDempsey]

I like to have training for every school to have a student learn about hand to hand combat.



“Take things as they are. Punch with defense sap gloves when you have to punch. Kick when you have to kick.”