User blog comment:Tybaltcapulet/Italo Balbo vs Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen/@comment-379205-20190201235302

'''119's "Live to Fly, Do or Die!" Edges'''

Fighters: Italian military equipment in the Second World War was lacking in comparison to both the Allies and the other Axis nations. Now if you used something more modern in the Italian arsenal, such as the Macchi C.200, it might be a fairer fight, but as is, the Falco is outclassed by the Me-109 in terms of top speed, range, and service ceiling. While some Falchi may have more guns, but that's not going to help much when a Messerschmitt is diving down on you from above your service ceiling at about 100 mph faster than your top speed. Edge: Richthofen

Bombers: The Stuka was notorious for having a relatively slow top speed and being easy prey for fighters, being effectively obsolete by 1943. The Stuka could bomb more accurately, sure, but with its limited bombload, it will do less damage. The Sparviero is better protected against fighters with its multiple guns, is faster than the Stuka, carries a heavier bombload. 50 Sparviero bombers are going to do a lot of damage to the incoming German ground forces, assuming enough get through. Edge: Balbo

Ground Forces: While not specified in the match, they are mentioned in the scenario, and while many may not mention them, I will take them into account. I am going to assume the ground force will consist of typical 1942-era Wehrmacht hardware, including Panzer IIIs and IVs, half tracks, infantry etc. Like with their aircraft, the Germans had superior equipment than what the Italians could muster, with the Italians being particular outgunned in the tank department- Italian armor was underarmored and undergunned on a level comparable to the notoriously outgunned Japanese tanks. Edge: Richthofen.

Forces: The Luftwaffe takes the advantage easily. While they were outgunned by the growing numbers of Allied aircraft later in the war, the Luftwaffe nonetheless had better aircraft and better trained pilots than the Italians, who were, like the army, often equipped with obsolete hardware due to lack of funding. Edge: Richthofen

X-Factors: In terms of training, Richthofen easily beats Italo given his more extensive training than Balbo's "crash course". As for combat experience, both fought in WWI, but Balbo was an infantry officer, while Richthofen, while initially a cavalryman, later became a pilot and had much more experience with aircraft by the time the war broke out. In terms of tactics, Richthofen takes an edge because of his greater experience and his use of tactics such as dive bombing, while the Italians were generally less effective than their other Axis counterparts. Part of this can be attributed to their poor logistic- sure the Luftwaffe was outnumbered and suffering the from a shortage of supplies by the middle of the war, as tends to happen when you try and fight most of the world! The Italians, on the other hand, were rather poor-off from the get-go due to lack of funding- Italy was by far the poorest of the three Axis powers, and the least industrially developed. Overall: Edge: Richthofen

Winner: Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen takes this victory with relative ease thanks to the superior firepower of his fighters, which will allow him to clear the skies over the oilfield and attack the Italian defenders. The Italian ground troops defending, outclassed by the Germans at the best of times, will be doubly screwed with German air superiority. Add to that Richthofen sweeping the X-Factors and this will be an easy victory for the Luftwaffe.