User blog comment:Goddess of Despair/William the Conqueror vs Hannibal Barca/@comment-5232784-20130410012947

Lets get this party started

1. Armor

The chainmail hauberk loses compared to the Musculata armor in that the latter is plate armor, offering more protection than the chainmail, which is gappy. Yet Both the helmet and chainmail are made of steel, as opposed to Hannibal's bronze armor and brass helmet, neither metal on par with steel. Due to more advanced metallurgy, the chainmail Hauberk and helmet reign supreme

EDGE: William the Conqueror

2. Melee/short range

Both swords are made of steel, with the Norman broadsword being heavier yet longer, and its extra weight increasing the force of its blows. While the Falcata will have some difficulty with the chainmail hauberk armor and helmet of William, the Norman Broadsword will penetrate the bronze musculata and dent the brass-helmelt

EDGE: William the Conqueror

3. Long range

The Crossbow was such a deadly weapon that one of the Popes tried to have it banned from Christian European warfare, with better range and accuracy than the Soliferrum. The later could do more damage to a person, but the Crossbow is far more the deadlier weapon

EDGE: William the Conqueror

4. Special

The Catapult packs quite a wallop, but it cannot be moved with the same speed and agility of an Elephant. Some elephants can dart at 25 mph, and if well trained like a Carthaginian Elepant, will be able to take a heck of a lot of morbid punishment before turning tail and run. With a helmet on its head, it could possibly survive a strike to the head from a Cataplt projectile (though this is speculative, and depending on how powerful the catapult could be, the Elephant might panic or be stunned and collapse). But the elephant will pose an intimidating weapon on the battlefield, and could cause the Conqueror's troops to panic and retreat instead of firing off the catapult, which itself might miss the target (shaky hands makes for shaky aim). And with guys that fire off Soliferrums from the Elephant's back, and you have one intimidating force to be reckoned with. It all depends on whether the catapult hits the elephant first, if it causes enough damage to panic the animal or stun it into submission if it does hit, and if the riders could think ahead enough to have the elephant move left and right to throw off the Catapult's aim, which really works better on unmoving, fortified targets than moving targets.

EDGE: Hannibal

Final: William has the size advantage and metallurgical advantage over Hannibal. His armor and helmets are better, his weapons are better, his crossbow is devistating. The Normans were not that far away from their Viking ancestors, so their brutality should be more potent as well. Hannibal had better tactics, but such tactics might not be good enough when his men start falling down like wheat before the scythe.

The War Elephant, however, could hold the key. While Hannibal's men on horseback and foot will fall down no sweat, the War Elephant could withstand a lot of punishment and stomp Normans into the mud. The Crossbows, with their steel tipped arrows and terrible power, will penetrate the elephant's hide and perhaps even bone, more easily so than a simple bow and arrow, but crossbows have a slower reload time, so the extra power might not count for much. Normans never fought elephants, and most perhaps never saw any. So seeing such a brute would induce a terrible panic on William's men, one that Great Hannibal himself could capitalize on. The Catapult could bring the animal down, but it'd aim and accuracy is not on par with crossbows or arrows, and the elephant can run faster than the catapult can be moved to compensate and fire, and then emn will be edgy fighting such a monster. Perhaps they might think it is some monster from te book of revelation, unleashing hell on earth for the Tribulation period.

Honestly, I think William and his men will turn and flee before the elephant, abandoning the catapult and leaving William with little choice but to retreat.

Lets not forget that Normans had mounted knights, and without being accustomed to elephants, horses panic: while the horses of Hannibal will charge into battle, William's horses will panic and flee before the Pachyderm.

Hannibal is tghe deadliest warrior

HANNIBAL HAMBURGERS WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR