User blog:SPARTAN 119/KPA Occupation Force (Homefront) VS Republic of Gilead (Handmaid's Tale)

The KPA Occupation Force, the army of an alternate North Korea that (somehow) went from backwater and international pariah to superpower in about 20 years and invaded the Western US.

VS

The Republic of Gilead, the oppressive theocracy that (somehow) managed to take over much of the United States in spite of making an enemy of... pretty much everyone...

WHO IS DEADLIEST!?

KPA Occupation Force
"Greetings foreign comrades, citizens of the new America."

- Kim Jong-un

The Korean People's Army are the main antagonists in the video game Homefront. The KPA are the military forces of the Greater Korean Republic, a country created in 2013 when Kim Jong Un, the son of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, united North and South Korea under the North. The GKR invaded and took control of Japan in 2018, followed by much of the rest of Southeast Asia. In 2027, the GKR invaded an economically weakened United States taking control of the western half of the country and irradiating the Mississippi River to divide the country in half. While they controlled western U.S., the KPA met stiff opposition from American Resistance forces and the remnants of U.S. Army, with U.S. forces winning a major battle in San Francisco, encouraging the European Union to ally with the U.S. The U.S.-occupying KPA are known to use weapons captured from U.S. and (in the case of the Panzerfaust 3) South Korean and/or Japanese arsenals.

Republic of Gilead
"We only wanted to make the world better. Better never means better for everyone. It always means worse for some."

- Commander Fred Waterford

The Republic of Gilead is a theocratic totalitarian state that controls much of the former United States and serves as the main antagonist Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, and the recent television adaptation. The Republic was founded at some point in the early 21st century, during a period of turmoil related to declining birth rates, climate change, and environmental degradation. Gilead’s predecessor organization, a fundamentalist Christian terrorist group known as the Sons of Jacob launched a series of terrorist attacks which killed the US President, the majority of Congress, and the entire Supreme Court, throwing the country into chaos. During this period, the Sons of Jacob infiltrated the remains of the US government, suspending the constitution and gradually instituted societal changes in line with their extremist religious agenda. This eventually culminated in the reduction of women (and blacks in the novel) to second-class citizens, and making homosexuality, abortion, adultery, criticizing the regime, and practice of any religion other than their specific interpretation of Christianity punishable by death or being sent to the concentration camps known as “The Colonies”. Due to the declining birth rates, the Gilead government forced fertile women to act as “Handmaids”, essentially placing them into sexual slavery to bear children for the “Commanders of the Faithful”, the ruling class of Gilead.

The exact area controlled by Gilead is unknown, but it is known that old US military survives in Alaska and Hawaii, as well as in Illinois, where tank battles between US and Gilead military occur in the ruins of Chicago. The US military and anti-Gilead militias also are known to oppose the regime in multiple regions, including the Appalachian Mountains, Florida, and California. The military of Gilead is made up lower ranking soldiers known as “Guardians” and higher-ranking officers of the “Angel” social caste, and are armed with weapons seized from the former US, such as M4 carbines and M60 machine guns. It is implied that the Gilead military is much weaker than the pre-war US military, with US forces having either destroyed much of their equipment (possibly including nuclear weapons, explaining the widespread radioactive contamination), or transported it to Alaska, Hawaii, or Canada during their retreat.

=Weapons=

Beretta Model 92 (KPA)
The Beretta 92 is a series of 9x19 Parabellum firing pistols developed by the Italian company, Beretta. Based around older Beretta pistols, the 92 was first produced in 1975.

The pistol has been modified to accompany larger rounds like the .40 S&W and fire in three round bursts, featured in the Beretta 93R. Dozens of countries have adopted the pistol and have been used by their police departments and armies. The M9 was specifically designed for the United States military and is popularly used because of its lightweight, low recoil, accuracy, and fast rate of fire. The variant used by the KPA has a 15-round magazine. The Beretta has an effective range of 50 meters.

Glock 17 (Gilead)
The Glock handgun series is one of the most modern firearms available on the market to civilians, coming into service in the 1980's. It fires the standard 9x19mm Parabellum round, but can fire other rounds, depending on the variation of the gun. It is widely used by police and paramilitary forces and is popular with noncombatants due to its ease of use and handling. The Glock 17 was the first model introduced in 1982, and featured a 17-round magazine. The weapon has an effective range of up to 50 meters.

119’s Edge
The Republic of Gilead’s Glock 17 for its larger magazine.

M4 Carbine (Both)
The M4 Carbine is a series of firearms based upon the design of the M16 rifle. It was designed to be a light version of the M16A2 with selective fire options. Created in the United States, the M4 was in service since 1997. The weapon is gas-operated, cooled by air, and has a telescoping stock. The carbine was created, like most carbines, to function like a rifle but have a lighter weight and greater portability. The M4 is slightly less accurate and has less stopping power. The carbine will later shift into the standard firearm for the American armed forces. 35 nations have the M4 as part of their arsenal and is widely used by both their armies and special forces. The weapon fires a 5.56mm NATO round from a 30-round magazine, with a cyclic rate of fire of between 700 and 950 RPM in full auto. The weapon has an effective range of up to about 500 meters against a point target.

M249 SAW (KPA)
The Fabrique Nationale Minimi short for "Mini Mitrailleuse" (French: mini machine gun), is a Belgian 5.56mm NATO light machine gun designed as a squad-level fire support weapon. A variant of the weapon is used by the United States Armed Forces under the designation M249 Squad Automatic Weapon. The weapon has a rate of fire of 700-1150 rounds per minute depending on model and a range of up to about a kilometer. The weapon is fed from 200-round linked ammuntion belts or, in an emergency, 30-round STANAG magazine. The weapon has a maximum range of 1000 meters.

M60E4 (Gilead)
The M60 machine gun is a belt-fed light machine gun introduced to the U.S. military in the late 1950's. It saw extensive use in the Vietnam War as a squad-support weapon. It fires the damaging 7.62x51mm NATO round at a rate of fire of 500-650 rounds per minute. The M60E4 is the latest model of the weapon, with internal modifications that increase the weapons reliability and decrease the likelihood of jams, which were more common in older models. The weapon is typically fires from a 100 or 200-round belt, though multiple belts can be linked together to create a longer belt if needed. The weapon has a maximum range of up to 1100 meters.

119’s Edge
The M249 SAW has a higher rate of fire and potentially a larger magazine, however, the M60 fires a more powerful round and has a slightly longer effective range. Also, while the M60E4 has improved on some of the jamming issues, there remain some issues, like the complicated procedure for changing the barrel, which requires the soldier to get out of prone position. Edge: ‘’’Even’’’.

Panzerfaust 3 (KPA)
The Panzerfaust 3 is a modern German-made rocket launcher that entered service with the Bundeswehr in 1992, not the be confused with the WWII-era Panzerfaust. The weapon has a range of 920 meters, at which point it will self destruct, though the effective range is typically much shorter ranges, about 300 meters or less. The Panzerfaust 3 can use a variety of warheads, including hollow charge, tandem charge, and anti-bunker warheads.

AT-4 (Gilead)
In the protest scene of episode 3, the word “clear” (likely referring to a backblast) is yelled by a group of Gilead soldiers, and then two rockets fly in and impact in the streets. It is likely that these are AT-4s given that the series takes place in an alternate (point of divergence no later than 2014) 2018 (according to the map in the second season) and Gilead uses ex-US hardware. The AT4 is a Swedish-made 84mm disposable anti-tank rocket launcher made by Saab Bofors Dynamics. The AT4 used by the U.S. and other military forces. The weapon is equipped with a HEAT shaped charge warhead. A variant called the AT4 CS, capable of being fired confined areas such as the interior of a structure without causing injury or death due to the backblast, also exists. The AT4 has an effective range of 300 meters against a point target.

119’s Edge
The ‘’’KPA Occupation Force’s’’’ Panzerfaust 3 as it can be reloaded, unlike the AT4.

Vehicle Armaments
Both the KPA Occupation Force and the Republic of Gilead make use of ex-US military Humvees, however, they differ in armament.

GAU-19 (KPA)
The GAU-19 is three-barreled .50 BMG electrically operated Gatling gun similar to an oversized version of the M134 Minigun. The variant mounted on Humvees is set to fire at a rate of 1300 rounds per minute. The GAU-19 has an effective range of 1800 meters, but can be fired at much longer distances- up to about 6000 meters, albeit with severe decreases in accuracy. With its high-caliber round and high rate of fire, the weapon is effective at damaging or destroying light vehicles, boats, and helicopters, as well as unfortified structures.

Browning M2 (Gilead)
The M2 Machine Gun, Browning .50 Caliber Machine Gun, is a heavy machine gun designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. It is very similar in design to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning Machine Gun, which was chambered for the .30-06 cartridge. The M2 uses the much larger and much more powerful .50 BMG cartridge, which was developed alongside and takes its name from the gun itself (BMG standing for Browning Machine Gun). The M2 has been referred to as "Ma Deuce", or "the fifty" in reference to its caliber. The design has had many specific designations; the official designation for the current infantry type is Browning Machine Gun, Cal. .50, M2, HB, Flexible. It is effective against infantry, unarmored or lightly armored vehicles and boats, light fortifications and low-flying aircraft. The weapon has an effective range of 1800 meters, firing at a rate of fire of 450-635 rounds per minute.

119’s Edge
The ‘’’KPA Occupation Force’s’’’ GAU-19 for its far superior rate of fire.

=X-Factors=

Explanations
Both factions fought against a weakened US, and managed to take over at least part of the country. Both factions, however, face significant resistance from the remnants of the US military, civilian militias and, at least in the case of Gilead, NATO allies such as Canada and the United Kingdom, who are implied to have forces supporting the free US government. The KPA, however, have faced a more formidable military challenge, having conquered South Korea and Japan in addition to the western US. In terms of combat training, the KPA may have a slight edge as it is implied that, while some are ex-US Army many of Gilead’s “Guardian of the Faithful” were not professional soldiers, but rather former PMCs or militia, and in some cases, teenage boys recruited at ages as young as 15. This means they will probably be less well trained and armed. In terms of logistics, Gilead has shut down almost all non-military industrial production. While this would not directly impact supplies of weapons, it would eventually cause them to take a hit as, for instance, with only a few steel mills making just enough steel for present weapons needs, that reduces the amount of steel available if an increase in production is needed. Finally, in terms of fanaticism, both are even, as Gilead view themselves as chosen by God, who speaks through their leaders, and the KPA literally view Kim Jong-un as a god.