Depending on the advantage they are used against the enemy in one way or another. Manila for example, was the naval staging area for the planned invasion of Japan in Operation: Downfall. I believe it was also used for B-29 runs on Okinawa.
Cherbourg and Antwerp ferried troops, supplies and equipment (such as Sherman and Pershing tanks) across from England.
Sounds like a Crazy Awesome action videogame. Make Dragon MECHA-HITLER the final boss.
I second the flame-thrower. We used them to great effect to clear out brush, burn out a bunker or two, and pretty much wreck people's days. Shot thickened fuel at this guy, and he'll have burning fuel clinging to his armor, getting in the joints, and basically trying to make him into some canned beef jerky.
Blast pressure waves from an explosion will overpressure eardrums, rupture internal organs and collapse lungs. Even if you avoid getting totally killed from a bomb blast, the pressure wave may leave you unable to breathe for awhile as all the air in your lungs was forced out of you.
I guess he'd have a fun time for a bit skewering soldiers, but as forces caught onto the problem, would figure out a way to seriously slow him down. Much like the first T-34 tank did to German forces...
Also, if he drops into water that is over his head, is the armor heavy enough that he'll simply sink?
Happiness is zero-gee with a sinus cold.He's strong enough to swim out, so no.
Also, the main problem I can think of in flamethrowers is how they are rather short ranged (though I guess that is kind of ironic, given how this guy is using a sword) and it isn't as if this person is the only threat that the enemy has, since he also has an skilled army himself with reasonable gear.
If people learned from their mistakes, there wouldn't be this thing called bad habits.Flamethrowers are used to cover an area in burning pain. The Germans liked to add Tar to their flame thrower fuel mix for that nice I can't get it off effect.
All they have to do is slow him down just enough and smack him with their big stuff knock him off his feet and hed probably be toast.
Who watches the watchmen?I don't really consider 30 meters to be very long ranged, but okay.
Also, while it may be true that using such powerful weapons and whatnot would kill this person, I would like to ask.
Is it really worth putting that much effort into killing one soldier? I mean, he isn't even killing much more than his individual allies.
If people learned from their mistakes, there wouldn't be this thing called bad habits.Lets see the psychological value of blasting him would probably be worth. Bullets don't hurt him, hes god awfully fast, agile, and strong, his sword cuts through tanks, and he would be damn hard to kill. The man is terror incarnate and would be a major boost to allied morale and possibly simply showing up could harm enemy morale.
30m is almost 100 feet. That means they can spray burning goop 1/3 of a football field away.
Yeah he would be choice target. Imagine the affect on morale of both sides if he goes down.
For his forces a terrible blow to morale for the enemy a major uplifting.
Who watches the watchmen?Does he have any special resistance to concussion? Because while bullets don't generally have the same concussive force on a person as slower, but more spread out impacts, that has to do with the fact that they tend to penetrate through their target. But if he's wearing rigid armor, the kinetic energy of that bullet will spread out across it with impact. Now, if he's running at the speeds you said he can, that would probably counteract the force, but if he were moving slowly or stopped, focused machine gun fire could likely be enough to knock him down. Unless being able to withstand that sort of force is with his powers.
In general though, the whole face thing could be a serious achilles heel if he's not careful. Heavier guns can spew out a lot of lead in a wide area. Going against men with rifles is one thing, getting strafed by a P-51 is quite another.
And bear in mind that if he's in the conflict for long enough, his enemies will adapt to strike at his weaknesses. And goddamn-superman-with-a-sword on the battlefield is certainly something that would raise a lot of alarm among his enemies. For example, neither side really used poison gas in WWII...well, not in combat, at least. Mostly because they remembered what it was like last time, and there were treaties against it. But most nations involved would still have had access to it, and the acceptance that you're fighting some frightening supernatural being would probably dissolve those reservations pretty quick. If they have an idea where he's going to be next, I don't think it would be unrealistic to distribute masks to the soldiers and nerve gas the whole area. Presumably he still needs to breathe like anyone else.
Explode it with another bomb?
For the most part, Failure Is the Only Option. You can't really get rid of it when it's in use. Considering the tech of the day, whoever attempts to defuse it who aren't the owners will be dead as a dodo.
As for air-launched rockets, it is almost inevitable that he will encounter them. It's most likely in battles with armour/mechanised forces and naval warfare. Air power is not something to be trifled with, especially if you're a guy with a sword, as the aircraft will get nowhere near low enough for him to hit, and even if he had an opportunity to strike they'd be able to far out-speed him. Aircraft circa the early middle of the war could reach 300mph+ no problem, and the speed gap only widens as the war continues.
Locking you up on radar since '09How accurate are aerial rockets and such on a small moving target that moves faster than your average tank? Also, the swordsman's forces also have air forces and anti-air weapons, so.
He does have high resistance to concussion. Also, while he normally doesn't move very slowly it's true that machine gun fire may be something that forces him to take a more stable position with little to no movement, but as soon as the ammunition of that goes away he can get back up pretty easily. If he is aware that the enemy will use poison gas, then he will either not participate in the battle or equip himself (and his allies) with equipment to counter it. If he is not aware, then he will likely just retreat as soon as possible once the poison gas reaches his forces.
If people learned from their mistakes, there wouldn't be this thing called bad habits.Air-launched rockets are fairly accurate, and they're always launched in pairs, so it wouldn't matter if he zig-zagged, and again, you're making the mistake of assuming air power is rubbish against anything moving quickly.
As for your second point, the AAA of the time period wasn't terribly accurate - it relied on putting a lot of metal in the air. As well, the aircraft launching these rockets will likely be fighters, meaning that if they're jumped then they will not be all that vulnerable. There will also be non-rocket armed escorts to protect them.
Locking you up on radar since '09Depends on the building and how well defended it is.
For example on the Eastern Front, Pavlov's House in Stalingrad was a worthy bombing target. Well defended and stubborn resistance armed with a variety of weapons and soldiers. It held out for 5 months straight when the rest of the city around it was in German hands.
Why the Germans never hit it from the air I'll never figure out.
And then you have other things to worry about from the air. For example in the US Army Air Forces the B-24 and B-25 light and medium bombers were frequently used against targets of opportunity and strafing runs because of their faster speed and smaller hit profile than the B-17 (also lighter mission load necessitated such use).
Some variants had a fuckton of machine guns or even a 75mm cannon built into them.
The whole air rocket/strafing wouldn't be a terribly big problem for the aircraft. 45mph is very fast for someone on foot, but it's nothing a fighter or attack aircraft can't reliably track. That's about the speed of an armored truck, and not even a particularly fast one. He's got a smaller profile, and having less mass means he can presumably change direction faster, but I doubt that would be enough to avoid rocket or gunfire. Or divebombers. Especially if they start firebombing him. Coating the area with napalm could be a problem. Even if we're assuming it doesn't burn his face off or cook him alive in his armor, it could still deny him of oxygen if there's enough of it.
But yeah, there's plenty of things aircraft can't do. Flattening a building isn't always the desired result, and a plane certainly can't occupy territory. Plus, you have to consider the enemy air power. You can't really fight a conventional war if the enemy has air superiority, but if the air powers are more evenly matched, it really mitigates what either side can do with their planes. There will always be a need for infantry.
It would probably be most advantageous for your swordsman to keep a low profile. Don't get involved in large scale conflicts, stick to more strategic, small attacks at key weak points. Hit and fade, so that he's long gone by the time they realize something happened. It's a lot harder for them to counter him if they don't really know what they're dealing with.

"Some cities" being?Nevermind, Major Tom answered them. Sort of.
Aside from as a prize, what happens to cities that are strategically advantageous?
edited 19th Sep '10 7:30:49 PM by Edmania
If people learned from their mistakes, there wouldn't be this thing called bad habits.