In today's modern warfare, a country's military is not only as strong as whatever fighter jet or battleship it can deploy. Their status as a superpower can also be seen in the quality of troops that they have. George S. Patton once said, "War is fought with weapons but they are won by men." And these two units we have in this battle are some of the most dangerous men in the world today.
Most of you have first heard of these badasses while playing the Modern Warfare series in your childhood. Now we are going to pit Staff Sgt. Grigg's and Captain Price's units on a duel to the death.
Special Air Service: Britain's elite special forces, who delivered death in thename of the Union Jack!
vs
United States Marine Corp: America's legendary marine force who moved forward against any enemies of the US of A!
OOORAH GENTS!!! WHO IS DEADLIEST?!
SAS[]
The Special Air Service (SAS) is the primary special forces regiment in the British Army. The SAS is a part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and serves as a universal model for other special forces groups in the world. Formed by David Stirling in 1941 during the chaos and fighting of World War 2 ravaged Egypt, Stirling formed the Special Air Service into a raid group, highly trained and multi-skilled soldiers would move in more mobile units to assault German airfields and forward operating bases. In 1 year, the SAS destroyed more German planes than the RAF did in the whole war. To serve a high demand, the SAS modified a lot of their weaponry and vehicles to suit their demands. During their raids, they quickly road in on jeeps mainly, blew up aircraft, dishes and various other useful technology then left, disappearing into the night, and this made them highly feared and a myth to the German forces. The SAS also saw action in Malta where they held a fort for 4 days to prevent German forces from entering Britain's key oil countries, in West Germany targeting key German infrastructure in the final days of World War 2 and a long after stay after World War 2.
SAS was disbanded in 1945 as the British goverment no longer saw the need for it, but was once again enstablished two years later as tensions between the allies and the Soviet Union began to rise. Since then, SAS has engaged in global conflicts including the Troubles, the Falklands War, the War in Afghanistan, and countless others. In order to join, recruits must undergo the United Kingdom Special Forces Selection program. It consists extreme conditioning, special weapons handling, demolitions, and SERE (Survive, Evade, Resist, Extract) however it has officially been extended by the MOD's word, even without this, SERE is considered to be one the hardest training courses on the planet. They have had the influence on virtually every Army Special Forces unit in the world. Their motto "who dares wins" has been adopted by over 9 Special Forces units. The term means that whoever makes the most daring moves in a battle will win.
Weapons[]
Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife
- A knife used by the British SAS since WWII and purported to be the one drawn in their insignia.
- 7 inches, double-edged straight blade
- Wire handle
C8 Carbine
- 5.56×45mm NATO
- 750–950 RPM
- 900 m/s (3000 ft/s) muzzle velocity
- 440 yards effective range
- 30 round box magazine
L96A1
- 7.62×51mm NATO
- 850 m/s (2,790 ft/s) muzzle velocity
- 870 yard effective range
- 10-round box magazine
- Uses a Schmidt & Bender PM II Scope, which has a 42 mm fogproof, waterproof and anti-reflection lens. The crosshairs are marked with lines.
- Bolt-action
L110A2 Minimi
- 5.56×45mm NATO
- 700–1,150 rounds/min
- 925 m/s (3,035 ft/s) muzzle velocity
- 300m effective range (up to 1,000 m with sight adjustments)
- 100 or 200-round belt, but can also be fed with 30-round STANAG magazines (similar to that used in M4 carbines and C8 carbines, which is helpful in emergency situations).
USMC[]
The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States. The Marine Corps is a component of the United States Department of the Navy, often working closely with naval forces for training, transportation, and logistics; however, the Marine Corps is a separate branch.
Captain Samuel Nicholas formed two battalions of Continental Marines on 10 November 1775 in Philadelphia as naval infantry. Since then, the mission of the Marine Corps has evolved with changing military doctrine and American foreign policy. The Marine Corps has served in every American armed conflict and attained prominence in the 20th century when its theories and practices of amphibious warfare proved prescient and ultimately formed the cornerstone of the Pacific campaign of World War II. By the mid-20th century, the Marine Corps had become the dominant theorist and practitioner of amphibious warfare. Its ability to rapidly respond on short notice to expeditionary crises gives it a strong role in the implementation and execution of American foreign policy.
Weapons[]
Ka-Bar knife
- The legendary knife invented and first used by the Marines.
- 7 inches single-edged blade with clip point. Some has a serrated edge for sawing wood (and flesh).
- Leather handle
M4A1 Carbine
- 5.56×45mm NATO
- 700–950 RPM
- 2,970 ft/s (910 m/s) muzzle velocity
- 550 yd
- 30 round box magazine
M9A1 Beretta
- 9mm
- 381 m/s
- 50m effective range, 100m maximum range
- 15-17-round detachable box magazine
SR-25
- 7.62×51mm NATO
- 2,571 feet per second muzzle velocity
- 900 yard range
- 10 to 20-round box magazine
- Uses a Leopold Mark 4 Scope, which has a 30mm water, fog and shockproof lens. The crosshairs are marked with dots.
- Semi-automatic
M249 SAW
- 5.56×45mm NATO
- 650-850 RPM
- 915 m/s (3,000 ft/s) muzzle velocity
- 700 m effective range, 3,600 m maximum range
- 200-round belt
X-Factors[]
Training
Okay there is no doubt that both military units have some of the harshest training in the world. The USMC training is considered by many US Militarymen to be the most difficult physically and mentally. It lasts for over 70 training days in a period a little longer than 12 weeks consisting of drill exercises and "daily dozens" (a dozen of repitions for each calisthenics). It is so hard that marine corp training is said to have given birth to the term "surviving the cut". The Special Air Service training on the other hand, is downright hellish. Lasting over 5 weeks for selection, it usually starts with 200 recruits. Candidates must run over an increasingly long distance, against harsh weather, with each course increasingly going uphill. They are then forced to survive jungle training, evasion and by the last part, interogation resistance training. It is so difficult in fact, that there is a 92% dropout rate, sometimes even a washout 100% dropout occuring.
Missions
The Marine's core usage has been lost over the years. They were concieved to be a seaborn/naval type of unit, functioning as a sort of infantry in assistance to the navy. However the USMC soon became somewhat of a secondary "army" or infantry regiment, as they start to also conduct similar functions to the US Army, such as being a reactionary force, occupational force and expeditionary force. This has gotten them into conflict with other military branches, to the point that they are the least supplied to all other combat units. They do have their own elite Tier 2 special forces, from the Marine Raiders in WWII, to the now modern Marine Force Recon and MARSOC. These units are given more dangerous missions such as special recon, counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency.
The Special Air Service are of a higher caliber though, being automatic Tier 1 from the start. Ever since its inception in WWII, they are tasked to go behind enemy lines with little to no support to cause chaos. But most importantly is that the British military uses them in many ways that the US Military usually give to separate units. The SAS conducts direct action or light react missions like the Army Rangers (Malayan Emergency and Raid on Pebble Island). They conduct counter-terrorism and recon like many Marine and Infantry units (Iranian Embassy Hostage Crisis). They also conduct counter-insurgency and guerilla warfare in the same vein as the Green Berets (Battle of Yirbat and Kosovo War). Some are said to even take the task of intelligence gathering and even assassinations (See Operation Gaff and Operation Flavius). They were so good in fact that other countries model and crosstrain their own Spec Ops with the SAS.
Experience and Lineage
It can be argued that the United States Marines are one of the oldest unit besudes the common infantry in the US Military, having existed since the Revolutionary War. They have fought through many wars wherever the US needed them, from the Civil War, Battle of Gangwha in Korea, Spanish-American War, and many Banana Wars and Chinese Wars. They were ingrained to legendary status during WWI when the Germans descirbed them as being "stormtrooper-like" units. They only became more and more famous in fighting the Pacific War, Korean War, Vietnam War and the War Against Terrorism.
The SAS also had a long lineage but they have only lasted at least more than half a century. They had a rocky start during the North African Campaign, with many missions that failed and many comrades killed. It wasn't until Paddy Mayne came about and restructured the SAS where the unit we all know was finally born. They fought in alot of wars that concerned not only British but also International Affairs like the Malayan Emergency, Yemen War, the Troubles, Falklands War and many more.
Logistics
Both units came from two great Western powers. The British Special Air Service are armed with the state of the art weaponry and other utilities their country can give. Although there is no denying that the British military is slightly behind when it comes to weapons development. Some of their weapons besides the Arctice Warfare Sniper, are considered not that good. And they have to rely on what weapons other countries can develop. The USMC are lucky to be under the roof of the most powerful nation in the world. There is no doubt that whatever high tech weapons the US can develop or get their hands of, the USMC are sure to have it. The only problem however is that they are always the last unit or military branch to be armed. The motto of the USMC is always "to do more with less" since it is the Army and the Navy that the US Military always supplies first, and the marines are given handouts.
Notes[]
- Battle takes place in a small island that is surrounded by jungle and one airfield in the middle. The objective: capture the airfield and kill everyone that gets in your way.
- All other military nuances like radio, body armor or sights are already available in the sim.
- There will be 15 SAS operatives and 15 Marine Force Recon operatives.
Battle[]
There is a legend concerning an alleged cover up of a military disaster by the US and the UK Government. Throughout the years these superpwoers have tried to suppress any and all damning operations that would turn their people against them, or make them fools in the international community. There is a reason why MK Ultra and Operation Flavius is only being talked about decades after they have happened.
But this alleged military blunder on the other hand, was so tragic, dumb and humiliating that both sides decided to just bury it on the ground. Only a few military buffs and conspiracy theories have a clue about this disaster, and sleuths have been trying to find this missing operation for decades. Until now... It happened during the intense standoff in the West Philippine Sea by the Chinese Military and those of a few South East Asian countries. As countries try in vain to claim as much terrirtory as they can, the superpowers in their own devilish purposes, intervened.
Both the US and the UK have allies in this ongoing dispute, and they decided to assist their Asian friends covertly.
Fifteen members of the Marine Force Recon has been assigned to take a strategic island in the West Philippine Sea during the intensifying standoff between China, Vietnam and the Philippines, all of whom have made claims on many small pocket islands there. The Marines were on the race to take as many strategic islands as they can before the Chinese Marines can take them for themselves.
An AC-130 transported them to their destination and they parachuted into the island. Unknown to them however, were 15 members of the Special Air Service who arrived there first and have already set up an outpost. They arrived in that island with the use of helicopters from a warship of unknown designation. They were the first to spot these suspicious commandos parachuting unto the island. They then went in to investigate the incursion.
When the US Marines landed, they immediately went to recon the whole area. It didn’t take long for them to spot members of the British SAS who were running to their direction. Both parties didn’t recognize each other, only that they were just warned of Chinese soldiers that maybe landing in the island. As they came face to face, the two groups instantly thought of each other as such.
There were only survivor testimonies of what had transpired next, with each group blaming the other as to who fired first.
Both groups initially went for their rifles and during the exchange the British SAS, who were trained specifically for headshots, claimed first blood. Four Marines instantly fell during the first fire, each of them with well placed shot to the forehead or the face.
Battlefield investigators suggest that a couple of those who died haven’t even been able draw their weapons yet when they got shot, but this is disputed upon by the other party.
The Marines also managed to get some bullseyes during the exchange. The British SAS took some losses, with the Marines’ M4 carbines taking out three casualties.
One of the Brits died outright with a shot to the temple, while two of them lay bleeding to death with shots to the throat and chest. Both sides took cover behind a few sparse coconut trees and large rocks scattered all over the area. They continued pouring intense fire at each other.
But then the British SAS started throwing grenades at the Marines, which exploded and killed two in a mangled horrid fashion, creating a large red smoke of blood.
The explosion was loud and large enough to engulf the center of the battlefield. It threw flaming debris and it filled the area with smoke. For the SAS, this gave them the opportunity to use the cover of the smoke to go in. The Marines, were still stunned and reeling from that grenade in their covers, but they immediately got their bearings together and decided to fall back as they felt the enemy closing in. One Marine who tried to limp away from the area, was shot several times in the back by burst from a C8 Carbine. Another Marine tried to help him fallen comrade but he too was shot in the leg. Before he can be finished by the SAS, he pulled out his M9A1 pistol and shot one of the oncoming Brits in the face. He managed to get a carbine lying on the ground and poured wildly at the Brits. He held them of for a few seconds, before his magazine went empty and the rest of the SAS shoot him simultaneously with their rifles.
The bravery of the fallen Marine did give his brothers some time to put distance between them and the SAS. They were now in the beach as the British SAS continued their chase. Now the yanks were trapped, they can’t just swim back to friendly lines. So they decided to make their last stand there in the beach. They propped their SAW machine gun in the sand, installed marksmen with SR-25 sniper rifles, and surrounded their flanks with carbines and pistols.
They lack the tactical expertise and training of their opponent, but they believe that the beach was their element. They were Marines, whose forefathers fought and bled in the same sandy beach in the Pacific War. Their highly-trained opponents are probably going to win this fight, but they would have to earn this victory first.
The SAS saw the Marines huddled in the sand, and as they took positions, the Marines let up with their whole arsenal. They threw focused fire with their carbines, machine gun, sniper rifles and grenade. The onslaught ripped through the SAS’s line like a blow torch to an ice cube. Three SAS members fell, two of them completely ripped in half, and another who fell smoking to the ground with missing limbs and a caved in chest. The SAS opened up with their Minimi and a machine gun duel commenced. The Minimi had the farther accurate range and rate of fire though, and it destroyed the machine gun position of the Marines, killing two of them in a fountain of flesh and guts.
With their machine gun out of the way, the Marine snipers filled in the gaps. They poured highly concentrated fire on the SAS with their SR-25s. The SAS machine gun position was mauled by the marksmen, one instantly got shot in the throat. The SAS snipers aimed their weapons to try and silence the Marine snipers, but their L96A1 was too slow against the faster American rifles. The Marines shot one SAS sniper in the bridge of the nose, instantly killing him. The other SAS sniper tried to retaliate but missed. And as he chambered the bolt and aimed his scope, a Marine sniper was onto him and shot a bullet that went inside his sniper scope. The bullet didn’t exactly penetrate but autopsy report suggested that the force actually pushed the scope right inside the SAS’s eye socket, putting him out of action.
But then out of nowhere, the rest of the British forces suddenly appeared on the American’s right flank while they were still busy fighting off their snipers. As quick as flash, the SAS entered the Marine’s territory. The Americans were still quick to respond though, and a close-range firefight ensued. One Brit shot an American with his carbine. The rest of the yanks retaliated by pouring fire everywhere which went astray but manage to catch one SAS in temple.
As acrid gun smoke filled the beach, the SAS pulled their pistols and fighting knives for better close quarters fighting. One Marine got a whole clip of Sig Sauer bullets right in the face. Another rifle butted a SAS in the face, but all it did was give him a crooked bleeding nose that made him super pissed. The SAS then quickly and brurally knifed the Marine in the neck. One of the surviving Marines made a desperate charge at the enemy, plugging his Ka-Bar knife multiple times in the gut of a British SAS. But another SAS avenged his friend by plunging his fighting knife over the Marine’s left eye, killing him.
The sole surviving Marine dived into the water, tears flowing in hsi eyes as he attempt to escape this carnage. He'll have to swim nack to America if he needs to. But a SAS aimed his pistol as he swam and shot him multiple times in the back. One bullet struck him fatally on the back of the head, and his body sank into the water as bubbles of blood spewed and the water ran red.
The surviving British SAS kneeled and sat on the beach, breathing heavily from being tired from the carnage and their adrenaline starting to subside. It was only by then they noticed the flags and the insignia of the Marines, and they knew that they fucked up. They fought the wrong enemy and lost alot of good men in the process. There was no battle cries, no celebrations, no raising their arms or weapons in triumph. There was no victory in that small cursed island.
Winner: Special Air Service
Expert’s Opinion[]
Both military units are tied in most weapons edges, but experts believe that what really sealed the victory for the SAS is their better training, tactics and experience in more dangerous missions. The USMC, even if they have specialized units of their own, were a standard military unit compared to the British SAS who are highly-trained special forces.