You know that the French just love their swords when they have given names for some of the more popular blades in their historical and cultural accounts. One of the best possible examples of this would be Durendal, the longsword of the legendary hero Roland. Said to be indestructible, Durendal has also been valued for its beauty and balance. During the 1st World War, some French soldiers were still supplied with their own swords as part of their standard weaponry. Some of these swords were called estocs (or literally, “tuck” or “tucked swords.”) Patterned after the common longsword, the estoc varies by only one degree. These estoc blades had one single sharp point: and that was the tip of the sword.
Acting more like rapiers or epees or fencing foils, the estoc was a stabbing weapon. Although it was not much use for cutting or slicing through bodies, these blades were prominently carried by French soldiers everywhere they went. The estoc blade was usually made of lightweight but strong materials, so it was no great burden for the soldiers to carry them anywhere. As the fighting continued, World War I France Swords slowly begun to get shorter, and the estoc swords were enhanced to have either one sided blades or two side blades to make them more functional, rather than ceremonial. The hilts too begun to change, paving the way for two-handed estoc swords to come out to better handling.
Eventually, smaller blades begin to get more play as trench warfare reached its height during World War I. Still bearing their estoc blades into combat, French soldiers also started carrying trench knives as added defense.