Ancillary weapon

An ancillary weapon (also known as a secondary weapon, auxiliary weapon, or backup weapon) is a weapon used to supplement a primary or main weapon in the event it cannot be used or is ineffective in a certain application or situation. Examples of ancillary weapons to main weapons include a melee weapon to a ranged weapon, a sidearm to a service weapon, or a light gun to a heavy cannon.

Ancillary weapons do not have to be actual weapons and may technically include improvised weaponry, especially when no other ancillary weapons are issued or effective. For example, during World War I, utility knives and entrenching shovels were used as ancillary weapons during hand-to-hand combat in trenches, where rifles and fixed bayonets were too long to be used effectively.^[1] By 1915, soldiers on both sides routinely sharpened the edges of entrenching shovels for use as weapons.^[2]