User blog comment:SPARTAN 119/Stormtroopers VS Arditi/@comment-17814994-20170210110728

Elgb's "The War To End All WARS!!!" EDGES!!!

Melee: This got me scratching my head a little. The German trench knife is your common standard 6-inch knife that you'll see in any Eurpoean armies at that time. The Arditi knife however seems to be anything but standard. Italians used whatever bladed weapons they have from bayonets to stilletos. Being able to use any knives that you can get your hands on and still perform your best is an advantage in its own way, and the Arditis were known for their skills melee fighting themselves so they get the edge. EDGE: Arditi

Pistols: I think you had a mistake in your specs about the Beretta, Spartan. All models of the Beretta M1915 has an 8-round magazine (it was the Glisenti Model 1910 which had a 7-round magazine). Still, I have to give the edge to the Luger. The Beretta maybe the more robust and ergonomically designed semi-automatic pistol, it severely lacks firepower with either its .32 ACP or 9mm Glisenti. EDGE: Stormtroopers

Rifles: Both carbines perfroemd great on the battlefield but the Kar carbine fires the larger round with more stopping power. EDGE: Stormtroopers

SMG: This is a tough one. The MP18 defiantely has the larger magazine with the slightly more powerful round. However, its snail drum "side" magazine makes it cumbersome to weild. The Beretta on the other hand has the faster rate of fire and a more compact top magazine that makes it easier to fire especially inside the trenches. Still, its small magazine is still a huge downside. In today's standards, 25-rounds is largely obselete. If you want own your enemies in a machine gun battle you better have more bullets in your magazine. EDGE: Stormtroopers

Special: The Villar Perosa is a monster of a machine gun. It's got tremendous rate of fire that would surely pin down anyone foolish enough to face it as well as rip through light cover even with its puny 9mm. A flamethrower is nifty and all, especially in trench warfare and in taking down cover, but its got a small range and will elave you wide open for the machine gun to hit. EDGE: Arditi

Grenades: Even though the Steilhandgrenade has the bigger bomb, I still have to give the edge to the Thevonet grenade due to versatility. The thevonet is special one that made its landmark in grenade history for being one of the earliest functioning predecessor to the modern flash/stun grenade. The Steil is just a common grenade while the thevonet is a unique piece in that its loud boom leaves your opponents stunned with their ears ringing (made worse in the confines of the trench), and even though it has a smaller detonation it can still kill. EDGE: Arditi

Deadliest Warrior?

I'm gonna give this one to the Stormtroopers. I love the Arditi and all, and I even disagree with Spartan in saying that the Germans were more successful. In fact, the Arditi were made as an improvement to German and Austrian stormtroopers. The Germans were successful but newer defenses and tactics quickly made them obsolete; the Arditi however, adapted to this new tactics and survived even beyond the end of the Great War.

However, even so, the German Stormtroopers have the superior main weapons such as pistols, rifles and submachine guns; weapons that are essential in trench warfare. The Arditi were light shock troops who bring less but wrought more in a fight. They were kinda like skirmishers. The Stormtroopers are the better equipped assault soldiers and their superior weapons will drive through the Arditis when the two finally clash in the trenches.