User blog:Elgb333/WWII Siege Battle: Yakov Pavlov vs Harrison Summers



A tribute to that Magnificent Bastard whose book of battles I have read. Today on Deadliest Fiction we'll be taking you back to the era of WWII but this time things are gonna be different. We'll now be pitting two of the most iconic war heroes in the Second World War in a classic siege battle.

Yakov Pavlov: Red Army soldier who fought a legendary last stand in Stalingrad against the whole German Army

vs

Harrison Summers: U.S. Airborne who single-handedly "Ramboed" his way to capture a mighty German fortress

Who is DEADLIEST?!!

Yakov Pavlov
Born in 1917 to a peasant family in the small village of Krestovaya in northwestern Russia (present-day Novgorod Oblast), Pavlov joined the Red Army in 1938. During World War II, he fought on the Southwestern, Stalingrad, 3rd Ukrainian and 2nd Belorussian fronts. Pavlov was a commander of a machine gun unit, an artilleryman, and a commander of a reconnaissance unit with the rank of Senior Sergeant.

During the Battle of Stalingrad, on the night of September 27, 1942, Pavlov's platoon recaptured a four-story residential building, seized by the German Army and defended it against continual attack by the Germans until relieved by advancing Soviet forces two months later. Vasily Chuikov, commanding general of the Soviet forces in Stalingrad, later joked that the Germans lost more men trying to take Pavlov's house than they did taking Paris. The building and its defense went down in history as "Pavlov's House" (Дом Павлова) For his actions in Stalingrad, he was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union, the Order of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, two Orders of the Red Star and numerous other medals.

Weapons
Rifle= Mosin Nagant The Mosin–Nagant (Russian: Винтовка Мосина, ISO 9: Vintovka Mosina) is a bolt-action, internal magazine-fed, military rifle invented under the government commission by Russian and Belgian inventors, and used by the armed forces of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and various other nations. It is one of the longest serving bolt action rifles in history, being issued until the 1940s (and up to the 1960s in third world client nations of the USSR).


 * Bolt-action
 * 7.62×54mmR (865 m/s)
 * 5-round stripper clip
 * 500 meter range

The PPSh-41 (Pistolet-Pulemyot Shpagina; Russian: Пистолет-пулемёт Шпагина; "Shpagin machine pistol") is a Soviet submachine gun designed by Georgi Shpagin as an inexpensive, simplified alternative to the PPD-40. With over 6,000,000 made it was the most mass produced weapon during World War II.
 * -|SMG= PPSh-41


 * 7.62×25mm Tokarev (488 m/s)
 * 71-round magazine
 * 125-150 meter effective range
 * 900 rpm

The Degtyaryov machine gun or DP is a light machine gun firing the 7.62×54mmR cartridge that was used primarily by the Soviet Union starting in 1928. The DP machine gun was supplemented in the 1950s by the more modern RPD machine gun and entirely replaced in Soviet service by the general purpose PK machine gun in the 1960s. Due to its weight and bulk, the weapon can only be fired from the hip or in a prone position.
 * -|LMG= Degtyaryov machine gun


 * 7.62×54mmR (840 m/s)
 * 47-round pan magazine
 * 550 rpm

The PTRD-41 was an anti-tank rifle produced and used from early 1941 by the Soviet Red Army during World War II. It was a single-shot weapon which fired a 14.5×114mm round. Although unable to penetrate the frontal armor of German tanks, it could penetrate the thinner sides of early-war German tanks as well as thinly armored self-propelled guns.
 * -|Special= PTRD


 * Single-shot
 * 14.5×114mm (1,114 m/s)
 * 300 meter effective range

Harrison Summers
Harrison C. Summers (July 12, 1918 – August 3, 1983) was a United States Army soldier and a decorated war veteran. He served with the 1st Battalion, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division in World War II. On June 6, 1944, Summers landed as part of the first night drop of troops during the American airborne landings in Normandy. His unit had captured Saint-Germain-de-Varreville, France, near Exit 4 off Utah Beach. Summers and 15 soldiers were ordered by 1st Battalion commander, Lt Col. Patrick Cassidy, to capture a building complex nearby designated "WXYZ" on the field order map.

The buildings turned out to be a well-defended series of barracks for 100 or more German soldiers. Summers led the attack, charging inside with his Thompson submachine gun. He had ordered the others to follow, however only Private William Burt and Private John Camien followed him while the other soldiers stayed behind. He and the two others cleared out the buildings. Five hours later, the position was clear, and Summers personally killed more than 30 German soldiers. Summers received an honorable discharge on November 30, 1945, as a 1st Lieutenant. Summers was twice nominated for the Medal of Honor for his efforts that day, however was instead awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. He is also the basis for the main character of the Brothers in Arms series Matthew Baker.

Weapons
Rifle= M1 Garand The "Gun That Won WWII" for the Americans. The M1 Garand was the standard issue servie rifle of the United States Armed Forces from 1936 until 1957. It is an air-cooled, gas-powered semi-automatic rifle, the first of its kind. It was a signifigant combat innovation because of its ability to rapidly fire powerful cartridges.


 * Semi-auto
 * .30-06 Springfield (853 m/s)
 * 8-round en bloc clip
 * 402 meter range
 * 50 rpm

The Thompson is an American submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1919, too later for service in World War I as it was originally intended. The M1A1, standardized in October 1942 as the United States Submachine Gun, Cal. .45, M1A1, could be produced in half the time of the M1928A1, and at a much lower cost. The main difference between the M1 and M1A1 was the design that eliminated unnecessary parts and a 30-round magazine.
 * -|SMG= M1A1 Thompson


 * .45 ACP (285 m/s)
 * 30-round magazine
 * 150 meter range
 * 700 rpm

The Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) was a family of United States automatic rifles (or machine rifles) and light machine guns used by the United States and numerous other countries during the 20th century. Although it lacks the magazine size and rate of fire of typical machine guns of its days, it is unique in that it can be carried and fired from the shoulder.
 * -|LMG= Browning Automatic Rifle


 * 30-06 Springfield (860 m/s)
 * 20-round magazine
 * 500-650 rpm

The term "Bazooka" refers to a series of shoulder mounted rocket launchers used by the US military during and after the Second World War. The first bazooka, the M1, was first deployed in 1942. The bazooka had difficulty, however, penetrating the armor of heavy German tanks such as the Panther and Tiger. The later M9 and M9A1 model partially rectified this, but they were still most effective against the side or rear armor, and best used defensively, not for hunting tanks offensively.
 * -|Special= M1 Bazooka


 * Single-shot
 * 57mm
 * 140 meter range

X-Factors
Experience

It'll be tricky to decide which of these two warriors have more experience, since their military careers besides their accomplishments aren't as fleshed out as other war heroes of the era. Yakov Pavlov's last stand in Pavlov's House is one of the most famous and perfect textbook example of a successful last stand in history. However, his career after Stalingrad is at best, very few and far between. He is said to be present during the Battle of Berlin but we don't know if he actually fought in it or not. Harrison Summers on the other hand, also doesn't have any other detailed accounts of his exploits besides Operation XYZ, but his name did appear on the list of those who fought during the Battle of Normandy, Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge.

Tactics

Both of these warriors led their men with both bravery and cunning. However, there's a different to how these two men accomplished their goals. Pavlov was thrown into the heart of the Battle of Stalingrad with only a few men and a few resources. However, he did have time on his hands to strategize a plan for his squad to survive the onlsaught of the German Army. He had time to fortify his house and fight against an ever increasing numner of German soldiers and armored vehicles. Summers on the other hand did not have the luxury. Like Pavlov he too was thrown straight into the meat grinder, but he managed to survive through the use of his cunning. He was up against a well-defended German fortress, and since he didn't have time to prepare, he had to improvise and think of a plan on the fly. And in the end he managed to secure the impassable German barracks with only two men.

Physicality

As seen in his last defense, Pavlov was one hell of a strong man. Although he only had little supplies of food, he still sacrificed it in order to feed those poor souls also trapped with him inside, and this did not affect his fighting spirit at all during the battle. Summers himself is a well-fed and well-supplied soldier, but he still showed his physical superiority as he turns himself into John Friggin Rambo, went upclose and personal with the enemy and mowing them down like paper. That's the reason how he managed to kill over 30 men during his fight.