British Infantry Officers Battle Swords in the 19th C...and up to 1914

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The cut vs thrust debate raged for a century until they attempted to settle it scientifically.
Consulting military doctors it was noted that men arriving in field hospitals with stab wounds most often perished of them while those with cuts could usually be saved. This led to the obvious conclusion that the thrust was deadlier than the cut and swords were designed accordingly.
All in all a classic example of survivor bias, all they proved was that those suffering fatal stab wounds were more likely to live long enough to reach hospital.

Robert