User blog:SPARTAN 119/Honda Tadakatsu vs Pier Gerlofs Donia

Honda Tadakatsu, the samurai considered to be one of the greatest in history, who never lost in single combat.

VS

Pier Gerlofs Donia, The gigantic Frisian pirate and rebel who challenged the might of the Habsburg Empire, seven-foot zweihander in hand.

WHO IS DEADLIEST

=Combatants=

Honda Tadakatsu
Honda Tadakatsu was a Japanese general and later daimyo of the late 1500s and early 1600s. Tadakatsu was known as one of the greatest generals of the Tokugawa shogunate, and was well respected by many significant figures of the era, with Oda Nobunaga describing him as the "samurai among samurai". Tadakatsu fought in over 100 battles, but never suffered significant injury, and was never defeated in single combat by another samurai. Tadakatsu fought alongside Oda Nobunaga at the Battle of Nagashino, commanding a unit of musketeers, using the three-ranked formations, with each rank alternating between firing, cleaning the barrel, and reloading, so that there was always one rank firing. This lead to the decisive victory of the allied Tokugawa-Oda forces against Takeda Katsuyori's army. Tadakatsu was famous for his helmet, which was adorned with deer antlers, and his spear, named Tonbo-giri or "The Dragonfly Cutter", as it was said to be so sharp that a dragonfly that landed on the blade would be sliced in two.

Pier Gerlofs Donia
Pier Gerlofs Donia, also known and Grutte Pier (Great Pier) was a Frisian (Northern coast of the Netherlands and Germany) pirate and rebel who became legendary for his size, said to be seven feet tall or greater, and likewise his great strength, said to be able to behead multiple enemies with a single swing of his seven-foot zweihander sword. Pier was a farmer until 1515, until the Black Band, a violent group of Landsknecht in service of the ruling Habsburg dynasty burned his village and raped and murdered his wife. In retaliation, Donia declared a led a Frisian uprising against the Habsburgs, taking to the sea and capturing numerous Habsburg and allied vessels, and captured and razed multiple Habsburg-controlled cities. Peir's actions, however, were not enough to win Frisia its freedom, and Pier retired in 1519, disillusioned with the conflict, and died a year later.

=Weapons=

Katana (Honda)
A katana is the classic samurai sword, made with a combination of hard and soft steel to maximize both strength and flexibility. Katana are known for being of extremely high quality, with a razor sharp edge.

Giant Meat Cleaver (Donia)
Pier Gerlof's Donia is pictured in the image next to his bio armed with a massive meat cleaver-like weapon, with an overall length of about three feet and a blade about a foot wide.

119's Edge
Honda's Katana for its superior quality and sharpness.

Naginata
The Naginata is a Japanese polearm which consists of a long, curved steel blade made in a similar manner to that of a katana, with an overall length of about 1.5-2.5 meters. The weapon could be used both as a slashing and thrusting weapon. For the purposes of this match, Honda's naginata will be the same length as Donia's zweihander.

7-foot Zweihander (Donia)
The zweihander was a German two-handed sword up to two meter in length. The weapon was used like a polearm, designed from fighting cavalry with both slashes easily capable of decapitating a man, as well as thrusting attacks at much greater distances than a standard sword. Donia's zweihander was said to be seven feet long and able to sever multiple heads in a single swing.

119's Edge
Normally, I would give this to the naginata, however, zweihanders were known to cut off pike heads, and, with the immense strength of Pier Gerlofs Donia behind it, the weapon could do a lot of damage.

Tonbo giri (Honda)
Tonbo giri, or "Dragonfly Cutter" was the spear used by Honda Tadakatsu, named for its blade supposedly being so sharp a dragonfly that landed on the blade would be sliced in half. Tonbo-giri was a yari (The pic above is a collection of several yari, similar to Tonbo-giri, a type of spear with a blade about 1-2 feet long on the end. Tonbo-giri was said to be six meters long.

Pike (Donia)
A pike is simply a long spear, up to twenty feet long. The weapon is useful for warding off cavalry when used in formation. When used in combination with archers and handgunners, the weapon brought about the end of the era of the armored knight.

119's Edge
Tadakatsu's Tonbo-giri for its sharper edge (it might not actually cut a landing dragonfly, but he probably did keep it extremely sharp), and its longer blade, giving it a limited slashing ability.

Tanegashima (Honda)
Named for the island on which muskets were first introduced to Japan by the Portuguese, the Tanegashima is a matchlock. Like all matchlock weapons, it proved most effective at relatively close ranges, when fired volleys, with musketeers covered by polearms. Tadakatsu used this tactic to his advantage at the Battle of Nanashino.

Arquebus (Donia)
The arquebus is a simple type of matchlock firearm, a musket fired using a slow-burning cord or "match" the was placed against a touchhole using a spring loaded mechanism activated by a simple trigger. The matchlock was most effective when fired in volleys at relatively close ranges, where it proved effective at piercing even plate armor.

119's Edge
The weapons are basically the same thing, Even =X-Factors= =Notes=
 * Tadakatsu will fight alongside five samurai, and Pier, alongside five Frisian Rebels. The samurai will be armed with katana, naginata, yari, and/or tanegashima muskets, while the Frisians will carry swords of the same length as the katana, five-foot zweihanders, pikes, and/or arquebuses.
 * Both of these warriors were featured on the blog Badass of the Week.