@ImportViking You're more right than you know. When muskets were first introduced (Don't say "guns." At the time a "gun" was specific to cannon. Technically it still is today, but common usage has changed to include hand weapons.) musketeers were interspaced with pike men when in formation. Battle tactics of the day were essentially large groups of people with pointy things running at each other. A spear or a pike was a way to keep yourself as far away as possible from the guys running at you, often with swords.
So the tactic was for a couple of pikemen to stand on either side of the long range musketeer (Not rifleman. This is long before rifling became a thing.) for the close in combat.
Then some smartass thought "Hey! If we strap a long knife on a musket it's almost as good as a pike! Then we either eliminate the pikemen or double our musketeers!"
While I'm no fan of being in combat at all, being a soldier back in those days must have been miserable.
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@ImportViking You're more right than you know. When muskets were first introduced (Don't say "guns." At the time a "gun" was specific to cannon. Technically it still is today, but common usage has changed to include hand weapons.) musketeers were interspaced with pike men when in formation. Battle tactics of the day were essentially large groups of people with pointy things running at each other. A spear or a pike was a way to keep yourself as far away as possible from the guys running at you, often with swords.
So the tactic was for a couple of pikemen to stand on either side of the long range musketeer (Not rifleman. This is long before rifling became a thing.) for the close in combat.
Then some smartass thought "Hey! If we strap a long knife on a musket it's almost as good as a pike! Then we either eliminate the pikemen or double our musketeers!"
While I'm no fan of being in combat at all, being a soldier back in those days must have been miserable.