Fantastic Swordsman vs WWII infantry enemies

Because troops were very well trained, and generals like Rommel and Guderian were quite tactically brilliant and innovative.

Because they had the strategic and tactical advantage at several points. The Red Army was in no condition to fight the Wehrmacht when Barbarossa was originally scheduled to go. The Wehrmacht would have steamrolled the Red Army all the way past Stalingrad and Moscow.

Also several strategic mistakes as the Battles of Moscow and Stalingrad hampered their efforts. As did Rommel's mistakes at El Alamein and the German refusal to launch an airborne and amphibious invasion of Britain in 1940. The British military on the Home Islands was in tatters and incapable of providing much organized resistance after the Dunkirk Evacuation. The rest of the Empire had been largely cut off or diverted to other fronts such as Southeast Asia (Japanese) or North Africa. Had Hitler launched an amphibious attack on the British Isles in late 1940-early 1941, it's very plausible he would have overrun and taken Britain.

Remember the Americans did not throw their massive (potential at the time) military and industrial weight into the war until after Pearl Harbor. If Britain would have fallen before the Japanese launched the attack on Pearl, we in America would have been in a very tight jam.

Rommel died before the war was over, and even if the troops are so well trained they were mainly equiped with WWI rifles.

^ Ah, okay.

edited 20th Sep '10 8:19:27 PM by Edmania

Remember this is 1940 and 1941 were talking about. The average Wehrmacht soldier then was vastly superior to the Lee-Enfield equipped British tommy or Soviet conscript. The Soviets simply had the reserves to wear down the Wehrmacht. The Brits became heavily dependent on American military power (especially air, naval and vehicular) following 1942.

Basically, the Allies had AMERICA on their side.

Realistically, whoever got America on their side in the World War eras was the victor. Had Germany convinced us to be on their side, they would have won. Same deal with the Japanese. (It would have been better for the Japanese to side with us first and then both of us gang up on Germany. The 2 most powerful navies in the world against an utterly pathetic Kriegsmarine.)

So, if Britain had fallen then, why would America be in trouble?

3 main reasons:

1) No staging area to attack German industry except by carrier based aircraft. Thus is problematic for troop movements and deployments to the European theater. We would have to first attack and then occupy the British Isles for use against any attacks or land campaign against mainland Europe.

2) Assuming all British territory turned Axis that technically would put Axis territory dangerously close to the US. While Canada and Australia were separate nations at the time, should the entire British Commonwealth fall apart it could potentially drag Canada and Austalia into opposing the US which would then put Axis troops literally on America's doorstep. (To say nothing of British assets in the Atlantic and Caribbean such as Bermuda.) We would have had to launch attacks there first if for no other reason than to deny use of their recent changing of hands to Germany.

3) It would significantly bolster German naval and industrial power (to say nothing of manpower owing to gaining India and vast swathes of the Middle East.) from folding in the surviving elements of the Royal Navy and British industry. Additionally they would gain significantly in resources owing to Middle Eastern oil.

edited 20th Sep '10 9:36:57 PM by MajorTom

What measures can be taken against enemy missiles?

Aside from destroying them with your own missiles.

Depends on type and generation. (First, second, modern, etc.)

Infrared missiles (heatseekers) usually have a weakness for flares. (Or the Sun) Some modern infrared missiles however like the Stinger Block II and the AIM-9X Sidewinder will usually see through countermeasures.

Radar guided has a weakness in some models to chaff and ECM measures.

Wire guided has extremely limited maneuverability.

SACLOS such as TV guided, radio guided or laser guided are quite accurate in many regards but are heavily dependent on the radio/TV transmissions being uninterrupted or the laser remaining on target. Many of these types are also vulnerable to ECM.

I have one thing to say... Shockwave

From what I have gathered this guy would not be a good guy to send into an open field battle as he would be too easily targeted by more powerful weapons.

However if he is tactically smart he would lure the enemy into areas like dense thickets, hedgerows, forests, towns and areas with high hills with vallies it could give him the edge to close with the enemy before they can bring their guns to bear.

Power of your military in addition to your timing and how you utilize what you have is the key to pretty much any victory.

I should ask does this guy have any magic like pitching around fire balls or something?

edited 2nd Oct '10 8:15:02 PM by TuefelHundenIV

He does have that kind of magic, but it's less efficient than say, a handgun. Unless you go into specific purposes (like for example, a fireball can burn down an enemy base while a bullet can't do so so easily.)

Well think in terms of blast area for his fire ball. He could set tanks on fire, enemy in trenches and bunkers would be very vulnerable to such an attack. Groups of enemies that are too close together would also be vulnerable to this tactic.

He could use it to deny infantry a safe route to pass through doing what is called in modern parlance shaping the battle field using your power and forces to set your enemy up for a more effective attack.

Even tanks and armored vehicles are wary of passing through patch of burning ground because the grease and other fluids that can leak from the undercarriage of the vehicle can catch fire and possibly cause a dangerous vehicle fire.

You should also consider how his other magical abilities other then his physical prowess might be used tactically. I suggest checking some stuff out on a game Called Operation Darkness. A rather interesting concept that uses supernatural elements like Were wolves, zombies, vampires, demons, and other creatures in a WW 2 setting

edited 2nd Oct '10 8:28:38 PM by TuefelHundenIV

Alright, I'll check that out.

Also, how useful are grenades? (In general, not specifically against this person)

Very situational. A single grenade can clear out a small room worth of guys, or it can get thrown back at you and you suffer the casualties. If the enemy sees you (or you see the enemy) throw the grenade, they know of the danger and will react to it if they can. (Either evasion or throwback)

But a word of warning. Grenades are only the most effective in tight spaces where there isn't much room for the enemy to move. In more open terrain or against mechanized forces, grenades lose effectiveness. (In the mid-20th century, anti-tank hand grenades existed but they sucked against WW 2 and later tank designs. They fell out of favor due to technology like the Bazooka and the recoilless rifle.)

Sort of Major Tom. Against the Main battle tanks of World War II yeah they weren't that great but they were still capable of damaging them.

However the light tanks and other armored vehicles were vulnerable to an AT grenade.

Also there are multiple types of grenades like Incendiary, shrapnel, and just straight up High explosive grenades.

My favorite and Bizarre AT Grenade Design

edited 3rd Oct '10 5:40:47 PM by TuefelHundenIV

Well the only nations that used them widespread were Britain (sticky bombs) and the Soviet Union (RPG-43 and others). The US largely relied on 22mm rifle grenades and Bazookas for man-portable anti-tank weaponry. The Germans the Panzershreck and Panzerfaust.

The Japanese owing to the much greater focus on sea combat relied on towed anti-tank guns and artillery. Though the Type 4 70mm rocket launcher (probably reverse engineered from weapons like the Bazooka and Panzershreck) was expected to be fought against should Operation Downfall have gone through. Other than that they had a 20mm anti-tank rifle (which did piddly against Shermans but was useful against early light tanks like the Stuart).

edited 3rd Oct '10 5:50:15 PM by MajorTom

There are number of methods infantry including the fantastic swords could use. There are what one would call a stick charge. Basically a demolition charge attached to a 2 foot stick with a 5-10 second fuse it was placed either over the engine, in the treads, just under the turret, or even down the gun barrel.

Basically if the fantastic swordsman fights smarter not harder he will be one hell of a threat.

edited 3rd Oct '10 6:10:34 PM by TuefelHundenIV

How many advantages does he have if he is able to fly at 38 km/h, jump a few meters up normally, and what causes explosives such as rockets to detonate? If it is possible to catch such rockets, would they explode upon contact or is it possible to throw them back at the enemy?

With a timed fuse, he will have no chance. With a proximity fuse, he is also probably going to have a rocket explode in his face.

As for flying, it's a bit slow. At about 23 mph, it won't be much of a deterrent to saturation fire from artillery or most explosives.

Well, even if it is slow, it's got to have some decent advantages, no?

He can slice open through tanks so there should be some way for him to break into an enemy plane and use that as a weapon himself.

^^ To say nothing about rapid fire autocannon like the Flakvierling 2cm and machine guns like the MG 34 anti-aircraft mount walling his movement off.

edited 11th Oct '10 8:36:44 PM by MajorTom

It certainly adds to maneuverability. But even if he can go to airplane altitudes, he is far too slow to catch them except by sheer luck.

If he can go at 400 km/h flying for 20 seconds, then what?

The consequences are mostly that he will have to pause afterwards to breathe, and that he won't be able to go as fast as before without taking a decent rest first (which is very difficult on the battlefield) in some manner similar to how if you use up all your energy running fast at first you won't be able to last.