User blog comment:Leolab/Irving Morrell (TL-191) v Welkin Gunther (Valkyria Chronicles)/@comment-379205-20160829235654

119's "Call of Divergence: Alternate Warfare" Edges


 * Basic Infantry Weapons: The Springfield M1903 on Morrel's side had a longer effective range, however, basic infantry combat (disregarding snipers) often takes place at 200 meters or less, and rarely exceeds 400 meters. At that range, the faster rate of fire of the Gallian Model A semi-automatic, detachable mag-equipped rifle will have the advantage at in a firefight, providing greater suppressing fire and allowing greater volume of fire, not to mention letting a Gallian soldier get off a second shot faster. The grenades are both stick grenades, similar enough to be comparable in combat. Thus, for this engagement, the edge goes to Welkin Gunther's Gallian Militia.


 * Anti-Tank Weapons: The Confederate Anti-Barrel Rocket or "Stovepipe" rocket may not have the mass of the Anti-Tank Lance's warhead, but there are other factors that must be compared. Namely, the obscene size of the thing, literally ten feet long and weighing over 39 pounds. This makes it exceedingly unwieldy, making it difficult to get it through narrow passages and doorways. This will also make it more difficult for the soldier to move quickly. Also, the Stovepipe can be aimed from the shoulder, unlike the Lance, which can only be shot from the hip. However, the range and firepower of the lance must be taken into account, so for this match, I'm calling it Even.


 * Assault Soldier Weapons: The Gallian SMG has a slightly longer range, but as has been said extensively in the post below, range is not the most important factor in what is essentially a close-range "bullet hose". The Thompson has a longer range and a more powerful round, not to mention a large magazine, particularly puzzling since normally the upside of 9mm is you can fit more rounds in a smaller magazine. And then there is the ergonomics of that thing... It looks like you took a cross between an MP-40 and an STG-44 and duct taped the barrel of a water-cooled machine gun on it! Although to be fair to the Japanese designers, Bethesda made the same mistake with Fallout 4's assault rifle: You don't need a water cooling shroud on an assault rifle! In any case, the winner in this case is Irving Morrel's Thompson.


 * Light Tanks: The Mark II.V Barrel (which I also envisioned as looking like a Stuart with a bigger gun, BTW), was a stopgap measure to engage the Confederate Barrels with their heavier armor and 75mm main gun until the Mark III could be produced. This means its armor is light, but we can't really know how much armor the Shamrock has, presumably because in-game player vehicle are usually tougher than the enemy (As usual plot armor beats actual armor), but based on the similar sizes and lighter weight of the Shamrock compared to the M5 Stuart, the closes real-world analogue to the Mark II.V, the Shamrock probably has lighter armor. As for the armament, the Shamrock packs a more powerful 75mm cannon, albeit with a short barrel, meaning a lower muzzle velocity, while the Mark II.V has a longer gun with a higher muzzle velocity, meaning it would fire a smaller round, but might pack more of a punch against armor. Finally the Stuart, and presumably the Mark II.V would have a slightly higher top speed- 50 kph for the Shamrock vs 58 kph for the Stuart/Mark II.V. Finally, the Mark II.V has more machine guns, giving it greater anti-personnel firepower. For this reason, I give the edge to the Mark II.V Barrel used by Irving Morrel


 * Heavy Tanks: The Mark III Barrel (which I envisioned as looking more like an M-26 Pershing) and Edelweiss both are heavily armored, with sloped armor. On the other hand, if you look at the engine power (based on the wiki), the Edelweiss is going to be faster with its 800 horsepower engine and high power to weight ratio, vs the 500 horspower engines of both the T-34 and Pershing, so regardless of which it more resembles, it's going to be faster. As for armament, the Edelweiss has more specialist rounds, like the ISARA smoke round, however, the Mark III packs equally impressive weapons in the form of a heavier 90mm gun, capable of firing infantry-decimating canister rounds, as well as standard AP and HE, as well as more machine guns. In the end, the Edelweiss is a good tanks, comparable to a Panther, however, in the end, when the Panther met the Pershing (or the T-34) at the end of the war, it met its match. And in the clash of Edelweiss and the Mark III barrel, the same thing will happen. Winner: Mark III Barrel.


 * X-Factors: In terms of X-factors, Morrel takes the edge in terms of combat experience, proving an effective barrel commander in both the First and Second Great War, and a career soldier. While Welkin was an effective tactician, he was a member of a militia unit forced into service, who succeeded against all odds, in spite of minimal training. Another thing one must consider is that the Gallian light blue uniforms may be more conspicuous in most environments (i.e. forest, city, pretty much anywhere except maybe snow), and most obscenely conspicuous, the red stripes on their sleeves. Worst yet is Alicia's "sniper magnet" red bandana thing over her hair. Morrel's uniforms are not true camo, but the olive drab will probably blend in better than blue or red!


 * Overall Winner: Irving Morrell takes this for his superior combat experience and training, as well as his heavier tanks, particularly the Mark III Barrel, as well as the conspicuousness of some of the Gallian's uniforms.