User blog comment:Goddess of Despair/Season 6 Battle 5 Hessians vs Landsknecht/@comment-4392864-20130913232854/@comment-4661256-20130916015158

El Alamein's Final Polite Rebuttal of Final Politeness:

Dear Mr. Alockwood1,

While I appreciate the effort and time you put into this vote, especially with two warriors you didn't know much about, there are several historical inaccuracies that I would like to point out in order to help you to revise your vote.

Firstly, I believe you are overstating the usefulness of a matchlock musket, especially when compared to a flintlock. The larger round of a matchlock will prove to be negligible, because all muskets shoot really big rounds (standard bore for a musket is .69 in.), so regardless of which musket shoots you, you'll go down and stay down. But the flintlock fires from a farther distance, with more accuracy, and can be reloaded faster, while it is less prone to misfiring and doesn't require a bulky stand to be fired. Besides, the flintlock can penetrate plate armor, which will be more important because that's what the Landsknecht is wearing, rendering that heavy armor useless and detrimental, because it will slow them down without protecting them.

Secondly, as I stated in my rebuttal to Undead RVD,  the Hessian's weapons are better suited to the situation- a squad-on-squad battle in a town in 18th century Virginia. This is because "[t] he Zweihander is so large that it will be useless for fighting inside of houses and alleyways, leaving the Landsknecht with only the Katzbalger for close combat, which the Hessians can counter with their longsword." As you see, the tight, confined spaces of urban combat, along with the higher fatigue rate presented by heavy (and useless) armor and an oversized sword will be a detriment, and not a supplement, to the Landsknecht's fighting abilities.

I hope that this has helped you understand the weapons better, and perhaps you would be able to revise your vote accordingly. For more information, please see my vote above.

Have a great day!

Sincerely, (and politely),

El Alamein