Breaking

  Is it possible to break a steel sabre on your knee?

 There is an interesting and emotional scene at the end of Born for the Sabre docudrama: the protagonist, Blazej Wronowski, Polish nobleman is breaking the steel blade of a sabre on his knee.

 It seems that this is the biggest blunder of Zrodzeni do szabli, remarkably nicely filmed and well directed Polish dramatised TV film. Let me explain why I think so. At the moment I don't have at my disposal any technical calculations to prove the physical impossibility for a human being to perform such a feat, but we know from the historical records how such things were actually performed.

  „A New York Times article on the “Degradation of Dreyfus” on Jan. 6, 1895, reveals the answer: “To prepare for stripping the prisoner of his insignia of rank, the prison tailor yesterday removed all the buttons and stripes from Dreyfus’ tunic, the red stripes from his trousers and the regimental number and braid from his collar and cap. These were all replaced with a single stitch so that they could be torn away readily. The condemned man’s sword was also filed almost in two, in order that it might be easily broken. The Adjutant’s quick movement and apparent effort in breaking the sword was consequently mere pretense, as only a mere touch was necessary.”” [1]

  Another good example is the degradation ceremony (cashiering) of officers who participated in the Decembrist revolt (1825).

A. Dolinin [2]

  In this Russian text Dolinin quotes from the Jakusin's memoir [3]: „...I was the first on whom the  execution (of the degradation ceremony) started. The sword, that should have been broken above me, was inappropriately filed; the soldier hit my head with full force, but it didn't break; I fell. „If you repeat this again, you will definitely kill me” - I told him.” [4]

  From the above sources it is absolutely clear that only after having filed -- almost completely -- the blades those sword were broken. But when the filing was not performed carefully enough, swords were broken only after several attempts, and by applying considerable force.

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1. Source.
2. Александр Долинин: Комментарий к роману Владимира Набокова «Дар». 2018. ...........(A. Dolinin: Commentaries to Vladimir Nabokov's novel The Gift.) Dolinin is a historian of Russian literature.
3. Some sources say Jakusin, some say Jakubovich was the officer.
4. During his military service in Caucasus he had a serious head injury.