Bash his head vs Bash him over the head

[learnerAF]

I don't see a difference between the following sentences. I wonder if it's the same case for you.

1) They bashed his head with a blunt object.
2) They bashed him over the head with a blunt object.

 

[jutfrank]

There are differences, yes.

The phrase over the head provides some specificity of the location of the bashing and therefore the direction of the swing used. We can infer from this that the victim was likely in an upright position and the aggressors used an approximately downward force onto an area near to the top of his head.

Sentence 1 has none of this meaning.

 

[emsr2d2]

I'd expect "They bashed his head in ..." in sentence 1.