Seitengewehr 98

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	Weapon: Seitengewehr 98 Type: Sword Bayonet Country of Origin: Germany Year Adopted: 1898 Overall Length (mm): 650.0 Overall Length (in): 25.59 Weight (kg): 0.70 Weight (pounds): 1.54

The Seitengewehr 98 was the standard bayonet adopted by the German Army for use with the Gewehr 98 rifle, introduced in 1898. It featured a long, slender, single-edged blade measuring approximately 500 mm (19.7 in), with a distinctive "pipe back" spine and a hooked quillon that provided both protection and the ability to trap enemy blades. Its overall length gave German infantry a significant reach advantage when combined with the long Gewehr 98 rifle, reflecting the late 19th-century military doctrine that emphasized reach and bayonet fighting in massed infantry engagements.

Production of the Seitengewehr 98 began at multiple state arsenals and private firms in Germany to meet the demand of arming a rapidly expanding army in the years leading up to World War I. Millions were manufactured between 1898 and 1918, with variations in grip materials, scabbards, and markings depending on the manufacturer and year of production. The hooked quillon design, while visually striking, proved somewhat impractical and was often removed in later modifications, resulting in the "altered" models commonly seen in surviving examples today.

The Seitengewehr 98 saw widespread service during World War I, where its long length was found to be cumbersome in the confined spaces of trench warfare. This experience led to the development of shorter, more practical bayonets like the Seitengewehr 84/98. Despite its limitations, the Seitengewehr 98 remains one of the most recognizable German bayonets of the early 20th century, noted for its imposing size and association with Imperial Germany's military tradition. Today, it is highly regarded by collectors as both a functional weapon and a symbol of pre-World War I German martial design.