GT25's Historical Series: Swiss Guard vs. Ashigaru

Hello, and welcome to the Historical Series. In this series, we will compare warriors from across the world and throughout history and mythology and analyze their weapons, armor, and x-factors to see who would win in a hypothetical battle. For this installment, we will take two warriors armed with early firearms who saw battle in the 16th century with the Pontifical Swiss Guard of Vatican City and the Ashigaru of Japan. For this installment, we will take the Swiss Guard during the Sacking of Rome in the year 1527 and the Ashigaru during the Battle of Nagashino in the year 1575. Since both warriors are still rather unknown to some people, I will be giving a summary of their histories for those who wish to learn about them.

History of the Warriors

During the late 15th century, the Swiss Confederacy had already had an alliance with Pope Sixtus IV and several others like Pope Alexander VI using the Swiss mercenaries during their alliance with the King of France. When Cardinal Guiliano della Rovere became Pope Julius II in 1503, he asked the Swiss Diet to be provided with a constant corps of 200 mercenaries with financing of German merchants. Upon the first contingent of 150 soldiers entering Rome on January 22, 1506, these men would be the first of many to become the Pontifical Swiss Guard who would be tasked with the defense of the Pope. The guardsmen would serve the de facto military of Vatican City when the troops of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V began the Sacking of Rome on May 6, 1527 due to being starved for unpaid wages. As forty-two guards escorted Pope Clement VII through the Passetto di Borgo, the rest of the Guard made a valiant stand against the mutinous troops with them dying fighting the soldiers. Despite being replaced at first with 200 German mercenaries, the Swiss Guard would be reinstated ten years later with them still being used even in the present day as an honor guard unit.


With land owning Samurai and peasant foot soldiers fighting together in many wars and conflicts, the constant warfare between the 14th and 16th centuries made the hiring of soldiers necessary at times. Having no particular loyalty and paid only in loot, these mercenaries were not well trained and unable to be depended upon by their employers when in battle. These foot soldiers would eventually become the Ashigaru with them gaining a reputation during the Ōnin War as unruly troops when they looted and burned Miyako, now modern day Kyoto. As the aspect of battle changed from single combat to massed formations in the Sengoku period, the Ashigaru would become the backbone of many feudal armies and some even rose to greater prominence. With the introduction of matchlock firearms in 1543, many Ashigaru would be given the weapon over the Yumi bow by local daimyōs with their tactics changing as well. The Ashigaru and the importance of matchlock guns would be shown during the Battle of Nagashino in 1575 when Ashigaru gunners under Oda Nobunaga stopped repeated heavy cavalry charges from the Takeda clan from getting into their defensive line.


Close Range

Schiavona (Swiss Guard): The Schiavona is a cut and thrust sword that was a type of basket-hilt sword that became popular in Italy during the 16th century. This weapon is widely recognized for its "cat's head pommel" and unique hand guard that was made up of many leaf-shaped brass or iron bars attached to the cross guard and knuckle bow rather than on the pommel. An example of this sword has a 34.38 inch steel blade with a total length of 40.5 inches and weighs 2.94 pounds.


Wakizashi (Ashigaru): The Wakizashi is one of the traditionally made Japanese swords which was used by the Ashigaru as their main sidearm in combat. An example of this sword from this time period has a 19.75 inch folded steel blade with a total length of 26.5 inches and weighs 1.81 pounds.


Verdict: The Schiavona gets the edge. The Wakizashi is lighter by 1.13 pounds, but the Schiavona has a longer blade by 14.63 inches and has better means to protect the user's hand with its basket guard. In addition, the steel blade of the Schiavona is most likely stronger than the folded steel blade of the Wakizashi.

Medium Range

Halberd (Swiss Guard): The Halberd is a type of polearm that was used by European armies during the Medieval Ages and even into the Renaissance era. This polearm combined a spear with an axe that has a hooked spike on the back of it to hook a mounted foe and pull them off their horse. An example of a Halberd from this period most likely had a length of 90 inches and possibly weighs 5.6 pounds.


Yari Spear (Ashigaru): The Yari Spear is a weapon that was used by both the Samurai and Ashigaru with the weapon being able to have a straight spear blade that ranges from being several centimeters up to being three feet in length. This spear will be seen as having a 16 inch folded spear blade with a total length of 9 feet, or 108 inches, and possibly weighs 4.84 inches


Verdict: The Halberd gets the edge. Despite the Yari Spear being longer by 18 inches and lighter by 12.16 ounces, the Halberd provides the user more options with its axe blade and hooked spike along with the spear blade on top of the weapon. In addition, the Halberd would most likely be better against an armored opponent and could even break the shaft of the Yari Spear with its axe blade.

Long Range

Arquebus (Swiss Guard): The Arquebus is a type of matchlock firearm that is the forerunner of the modern rifle that fires a .58 caliber lead ball. An example of the Arquebus has a length of 45.28 inches and weighs about 9 pounds with an effective range of 50 meters.


Tanegashima (Ashigaru): The Tanegashima is a type of matchlock firearm based off the arquebus with a pistol grip in place of a regular stock that fires a .62 caliber lead ball. An example of the Tanegashima has a length of 40 inches and weighs about 9 pounds with an effective range of 80 meters.


Verdict: The Tanegashima gets the edge. As I said in Hernán Cortés vs. Oda Nobunaga, the pistol grip of the Tanegashima allows the user to use the firearm without a stand unlike the Arquebus along with being shorter by 5.28 inches and having a longer range by 30 meters.

Special Weapons

Flamberge (Swiss Guard): The Flamberge is a term that is often used to describe a type of sword blade that has an undulating wave which is found on both long blades and rapiers. In this case, the Swiss Guard made use of a type of greatsword similar to the Zweihänder used by the German Landsknecht. This type of sword most likely had a 39.37 inch steel blade with a total length of 56.69 inches and possibly weighed 8.38 pounds.


Tantō (Ashigaru): The Tantō was one of the traditionally made Japanese swords that was a dagger which was used as a back up weapon for the Ashigaru and Samurai. An example of this type of dagger has a 11 inch folded steel blade with a total length of 16.63 inches and weighs 13.4 ounces.


Verdict: The Flamberge gets the edge. While the Tantō is much lighter by 7.54 pounds and more useful in melee combat, the Flamberge has a longer blade by 28.37 inches which gives the weapon a greater reach. In addition, the undulating blade can cause more damage to a foe than the relatively normal blade of the Tantō and most likely has the stronger blade of the two weapons.

Armor

Steel Cuirass with Spaulders, Rerebraces, and Morion Helmet (Swiss Guard): During the Sacking of Rome in 1527, the Swiss Guard had been using a Steel Cuirass as their main body armor. This cuirass, obviously made of steel, was composed of a chest and back piece either fitted or made together to protect both sides of the user's torso. This body armor was often equipped with spaulders connected at the shoulders and rerebraces, or upper cannons, which helped protect the user's upper arms from attack. This armor provided the user excellent protection from slashing attacks and most thrusting attacks, through a dedicated thrust from a polearm to the cuirass could be capable of piercing it and blunt force trauma can damage it.

In addition to this body armor, the Swiss Guard made use of an open helmet known as a Morion that was common among foot soldiers in many kingdoms in Europe. This helmet has a domed shape to it with a flat brim around it and a crest from front to back. This helmet can protect the user's head from overhead strikes and attacks coming from the side at an angle, but left the face and neck exposed.


Hara-ate Dō, Kote, and Jingasa (Ashigaru): When going into battle during the 16th century, the Ashigaru made use of the Hara-ate Dō as their main body armor. This cuirass was composed of a chest and back piece made of lacquered iron plates put together most likely on a cloth backing. As added protection, this armor made use of long plates, or lames, laced together at the bottom of the cuirass in different sections to protect the user's upper legs. Due to being a type of metal cuirass, the Hara-ate Dō most likely can protect the user from slashing attacks and most thrusting attacks, though a dedicated from a polearm could be capable of piercing it and blunt force trauma can damage it.

In addition to this body armor, the Ashigaru made use of the Kote armor as added protection to their body. This type of armor were armored sleeves which were usually composed of textile material that were padded and laced with small cords upon the inside of the arm which was covered with armor. Due to having three types of armor used for this armor, it will be assumed that this armor has small metal plates of various size and shape attached to the sleeve. In this case, the sleeves would have long iron plates that reside in the middle of the upper arm and on the forearms with tekko, or covers of metal plates for the back of the hand, being attached to the kote. This armor was able to protect the user's arm from most slashing attacks and some thrusting attacks, but a dedicated slash or thrust to the padded cloth could possibly break through the sleeve.

Finally, the Ashigaru made use of the Jingasa which was a type of hat known by the term kasa which was used by both the Ashigaru and Samurai. This type of hat was a conical hat made of lacquered hardened leather or iron plates riveted together that extended out from the user's head. Assuming this helmet is made of iron plates, this helmet can protect the user's head from overhead strikes, but left the face, sides of head, and neck exposed.


Verdict: The Swiss Guard get the edge, though not by much. Starting with body armor, the Steel Cuirass and Hara-ate Dō are types of cuirass armor with the only difference being how the two are made and what metal is used for them. In this case, the Steel Cuirass being made of one or two full pieces of steel makes it a bit better than the Hara-ate Dō as its made of several pieces of iron plates. However, this is balanced out as the Hara-ate Dō has the added lame armor to protect the user's thighs and the Kote offers more protection to the user's arm than the Spaulders and Rerebraces attached to the Steel Cuirass.

Moving onto the helmets, this is a pretty solid edge for the Morion Helmet due to its design and the make of the helmet itself. While the Jingasa is able to protect the user just as well as any helmet, the design of the Morion offers more protection due to its dome shape and the flat brim around it that protects the sides of the head. In addition, the Morion is made of steel while the Jingasa is made of iron plates that are riveted together to make the shape. While both are close to being even in body armor thanks to the benefits their armor sets provide, the better design and make of the Morion Helmet allow it to take the edge in helmets and allow the Swiss Guard to barely claim the edge.

X-Factors

Training: This is rather close for both warriors. Having been mercenaries of the Old Swiss Confederacy, the Swiss Guard were trained in the use of weapons that they were given and possibly had knowledge of tactics they would have used as mercenaries. By the time of the Battle of Nagashino, the Ashigaru had been trained in the use of polearms, swords, and the newer matchlock firearms along with training to ensure they would hold their ranks in the face of enemy fire.

Loyalty: The Swiss Guard get the edge. As shown during the Sacking of Rome, the Swiss Guard were willing to lay down their lives to ensure the protection of the Pope with most of the guard dying during their last stand in Rome as they fought off the mutinous troops. With them often being employed in feudal armies of Japan, the Ashigaru would most likely fight for the Daimyōs they served though having to be hired to fight possibly made them more willing to fight for whoever paid them more.

Experience: While it is unknown if they had been in battle before joining, the Swiss Guard took on the mutinous troops of the Holy Roman Emperor composed of German Landsknecht and Spanish soldiers along with some Italian mercenaries during their last stand. As a type of infantry during the Sengoku Period, the Ashigaru would become the backbone of many feudal armies with them taking on the armies of Daimyōs which were often composed of Samurai and other Ashigaru they employed.

Ferocity: Despite not seeing much hostility prior to the Sacking of Rome, the Swiss Guard would battle against the mutinous troops of Charles V in order to allow Pope Clement VII to escape as he was escorted by other members of the guard. When working in an army and fighting their enemies, the Ashigaru were taught to hold their ranks in the army even when being fired at by the enemy with them being willing to take on other Ashigaru and even fully trained Samurai.


Match Information: This is a five on five match with nothing else being taken into account.

The Set Up: In the burning city of Rome, a squad of Ashigaru are making their way through the city as five members of the Swiss Guard are moving to protect a portion of a nearby city street.

BATTLE

Among the streets of the city of Rome as many of its buildings are burning, five men wearing Hara-ate Dō over their clothing along with Kote sleeves and Jingasa Hats on their heads are rushing down a street towards the center of the city. The leader of these men is holding a Tanegashima in his hands with him having a scabbard for a Wakizashi and a sheath for a Tantō held by an obi belt close to his waist. Following him is another man holding a Tanegashima in his hands with him only having his obi belt holding a scabbard for a Wakizashi close to his body.

Following them is a third man who has a Yari Spear in his hands with him having a Wakizashi in a scabbard and a Tantō in a sheath held close to his body by an obi belt. Behind him are two more men who have a Wakizashi in scabbards held close to their bodies with their obi belts with the fourth man having a Tanegashima and the fifth man having a Yari Spear. These men, in order of appearance, are Hanzō, Arata, Kichirō, Gorō, and Taichi. These men are Ashigaru who have been sent to track down the leader of city to stop the war that has been waged against their people.

Ashigaru: 5

Close to the center of the burning city, five men wearing Steel Cuirass armor with Spaulders and Rerebraces over blue and yellow clothing with Morion helmets on their heads are moving quickly through the streets of the city. All five men have a Schiavona in scabbards on their belts with their captain leading the other men while having a Flamberge sword leaning against his right shoulder and holding it with just his right hand.

Behind him is the first of the men under him with a Halberd in his hands with the third man of the group holding an Arquebus along with a stand to use the weapon. Following them are two more men with the first man having a Halberd in his hands with the final man of the group holding both an Arquebus and a stand for the firearm in both of his hands. These men, in order of appearance, are Nikolaus, Franz, Stephan, Kaspar, and Marx. These men are members of the Swiss Guard tasked with securing a city street to ensure their fellow guards can escort the Pope to safety.

Swiss Guard: 5

Ashigaru: 5

As they continue forward, Hanzō leads his fellow Ashigaru onto another city street and stops for a moment as they have found a fork leading to their left and right. Looking down the right side, Hanzō motions to the others as he starts running down the right side of the fork with his men following after him. However, as they do, the Swiss Guard reach the same street with Nikolaus leading the men under his command onto it.

At that moment, both groups find the other about twenty meters away from each other with both Hanzō and Nikolaus seeing the other group as their enemy. Hanzō tells his men to prepare for battle with Arata and Gorō getting next to their leader as Kichirō and Taichi get to the sides of their fellow soldiers. At the same time, Nikolaus has his men move to prepare for battle with Stephan and Marx getting ready to fire as Franz and Kaspar get close to them as a means to protect them.

Just as Hanzō orders Arata and Gorō to take aim, Nikolaus sees Stephan and Marx already aiming with their Arquebus' on the stands before ordering his men to fire. Pulling their triggers, Stephan and Marx firing their muskets at the Ashigaru with Marx hitting Taichi in the arm. As the man cries out, Gorō falls to the ground with his Hara-ate Dō having been punched through by the bullet from Stephan.

Swiss Guard: 5

Ashigaru: 4

Despite their fellow soldier crying out, Hanzō orders Arata to fire with both men aiming their Tanegashima muskets before firing at their foes. Getting hit in his right leg, Franz cries out from the bullet fired by Hanzō with the man stepping back to take the weight off his leg. As his fellow guardsman gets hit by their enemy, Marx gets a bullet to his throat and collapses to the ground dying within a few seconds.

Swiss Guard: 4

Ashigaru: 4

Putting their muskets on the ground, Hanzō and Arata take out spare black powder and lead balls as they start to reload their firearms for a second volley. As the Ashigaru leader tells his other men to prepare for a charge, Nikolaus tells Franz and Kaspar to defend Stephan as he continues to reload his Arquebus as quickly as possible.

As the two guards with Halberds stand in front of their fellow guard, Stephan finish reloading his musket and brings it up to rest the firearm onto its stand. While this happens, Hanzō and Arata finish reloading their muskets and bring them up to take aim at their foes. However, Stephan fires his Arquebus with the bullet striking Arata in the eye and causing the man to collapse to the ground with his Tanegashima next to it.

Swiss Guard: 4

Ashigaru: 3

With his fellow gunner now laying dead, Hanzō tells his two remaining soldiers to charge with Kichirō and Taichi running forward with their Yari Spears ready for blood. Franz and Kaspar keep their position in front of Stephan with him reloading his Arquebus as their captain grabs his Flamberge with his left hand and brings it off his shoulder for use.

However, as the two Ashigaru approach, Hanzō raises his Tanegashima and fires the musket with the bullet going through the steel cuirass of Franz and going into the man's right side. The man steps back due to pain which causes Stephan to back up just as Kichirō and Taichi get within range.

With Hanzō tossing his musket away and rushing towards Arata's body, Stephan is forced to ditch his Arquebus and draw his Schiavona as Franz is unable to react in time. Unable to move his Halberd up, Franz sees in horror as Taichi getting close enough to thrust the Yari Spear into the man's neck which quickly ends the man's life.

Swiss Guard: 3

Ashigaru: 3

However, Kaspar is able to react in time to catch the Yari Spear of Kichirō between the axe blade and the spike of his Halberd. As the guard pushes back, Taichi pulls his spear out of Franz' body with the man collapsing as Nikolaus moves forward. Just as his captain uses his Flamberge to sever the top of their foe's spear, Stephan sees Hanzō taking aim with the Tanegashima of Arata before being shot in the chest and falling to the ground.

Swiss Guard: 2

Ashigaru: 3

Tossing the spent Tanegashima away, Hanzō charges forward as he grabs the hilt of his Wakizashi as Kaspar manages to push Kichirō back a few steps as he prepares for his own attack. However, Hanzō and Kichirō could only watch as Nikolaus swings his Flamberge which results in Taichi loosing his head and his body collapsing to the ground.

Swiss Guard: 2

Ashigaru: 2

Moving his spear to his right, Kichirō steps forward and performs a thrust towards Nikolaus that results in the Yari Spear being deflected off the man's left spaulder. As the man drops his greatsword in shock and stumbles back, Kaspar brings his Halberd up before swinging it down. Hitting Kichirō on his left arm, the man cries out as the axe blade cuts into the padded material and missing the metal plates.

Stepping to his side as his left forearm drops onto the ground, Kichirō watches as Kaspar brings his Halberd back up and performs a thrust which gets the spike into the man's neck. Just as he pulls his polearm from his now dead adversary, Hanzō reaches him and draws his Wakizashi with it cutting Kaspar across his arm. With Nikolaus drawing his Schiavona from its scabbard, he sees Kaspar getting his arm cut off at the elbow as Hanzō draws his Tantō and slashing him in the neck.

Not long after Kichirō had collapsed to the ground does Kaspar join him with blood spilling from his throat.

Swiss Guard: 1

Ashigaru: 1

Stepping away from the corpse, Hanzō looks up with both him and Nikolaus looking at each other with their weapons in hand and at the ready. In a moment, the last Ashigaru charges forward to attack with a slash using his Wakizashi only for the guard captain to use his Schiavona to deflect the strike away. Stepping to the side to avoid a thrust from the dagger, Nikolaus deflects a thrust from the Wakizashi before using his own sword for a thrust. Hitting the man's right arm, the guardsman is unable to deliver a good blow thanks to the padding and has to draw his sword back to avoid a slash from the Tantō.

Stepping to his left to avoid a swing from the Wakizashi, the guardsman uses his Schiavona to block a slash from the soldier which results in a tiny piece being chipped off the blade. Despite not seeing this, the last Ashigaru performs a slash with his Tantō that causes the guard captain to trip backwards on the broken piece of the Yari Spear. Seeing his chance, Hanzō attempts to thrust his Wakizashi down into his foe's neck only for him to deflect it away.

Acting fast, Nikolaus brings his broadsword back and cuts into the man's leg a bit before bring it back as he gets to his feet. With him stepping back a bit, the last Ashigaru sees the man taking a step back and forces himself to step onto his right leg to bring his sword down. However, as he brings his Wakizashi in for a slash to his foe's neck, the captain of the guard gets back up after picking up his Flamberge and counters the strike with his own swing.

Hanzō cries out as his right arm is cut off just below his elbow as the guardsman brings his greatsword down low and slashes it across his right leg where his sword cut into him. The last Ashigaru collapses onto the corpse of Taichi with the remains of his right leg laying away from his body as he bleeds from both missing limbs. Leaning on his left arm, Hanzō pushes himself to sit up before turning his head to see Nikolaus standing with him holding his Flamberge with his left hand and the blade leaning on his left shoulder.

Without a word, Nikolaus brings his Schiavona up and performs a thrust that goes into Hanzō's face and into his head. Drawing his blade out with some difficulty, the captain of the guard watches as the last Ashigaru falls back and lays dead on his fallen comrade.

Swiss Guard: 1

Ashigaru: 0

Taking a deep breath, Nikolaus watches as blood flows from his fallen adversary before turning to look at the men laying dead around him. His fellow guards may have fallen in battle, but he knew they had ensured the man they protected would live to see another day.


Final Verdict: In this battle of two early gunpowder warriors from the 16th century, both were willing to hold their ground against each other but in the end it was the Swiss Guard that gained the victory with a possible outcome of 5.3 out of 10 battles. Starting with the x-factors, both were relatively even in training while both had a slight edge in one category with the Swiss Guard having ferocity and the Ashigaru having experience. However, the Swiss Guard gained a solid edge in loyalty due to being wiling to die to protect the Pope which factored in to their edge in the ferocity category. Moving onto armor, both warriors were even with body armor due to edges both sets of armor had with the Swiss Guard getting a slight edge for this category due to their better helmet. When looking the weapons, the Ashigaru took the edge in long range but that was the only real edge that they had with the other categories being claimed by the Swiss Guard. As such, the Swiss Guard had better weapons once this battle got in close and their better weapons in medium range gave them more anti-armor weapons in this battle. Simply put, the more experienced Ashigaru with their better firearm were unable to overcome the more loyal and ferocious Swiss Guard along with their better weapons.

Got a battle you want to see? Tell me and I'll see if I can get it into the series! Next time, it's a battle between two counter-terrorist units from Asia.


Ray Tanaka: Hey, everyone! So, this chapter is more of a stop gap due to how long the next Versus Series chapter's been going on for. As such, I decided to do this battle since I've had a lot done already in terms of the weapons and armor. Now, this battle was actually changed from how it was originally as the original opponent for the Swiss Guard was the Hussites. While that battle may be done in the future due to the themes of it, I decided to use the Hussites in another battle coming soon with the reason behind it being seen once it comes about. As to this one, it was a rather lopsided one due to weapons though one of the weapons is rather inaccurate.

The Schiavona, from what I can find, doesn't seem to have been around (at least in its iconic form) during this time period and may not have been used by the Swiss Guard. However, as I was unable to find a good replacement in time, I just ended up using it as their sword of choice in this battle. Now, I know some do wonder about my edge experience considering how they factored into the battle. As to why this is, it ended up being slight due to the warriors the Swiss Guard faced during the Sacking of Rome. The Ashigaru no doubt had more time on the battlefield which gave them much more experience, but it was only against other Ashigaru and the Samurai. On the other hand, the Swiss Guard faced the German Landsknecht (some of the best mercenary forces of the time) along with Italian mercenaries and even Spanish soldiers.

As such, the variety of those who faced the Swiss Guards are what made it slight since, despite being similar, all three had their own types of armor, weapons, and possibly training while the Ashigaru are mostly uniform in those terms with the Samurai being just a bit different. Though, I'd wish to specify that this came down mostly to the environment they were from and not due to the Ashigaru just fighting only two warriors. Had the Swiss Guard only taken on one of the three types of warriors they did and they would have lost the edge entirely. Finally, I have a poll for this series opened for possible future match ups after Chapter 50 for the next part of the series. There's ten choices to choose from with five generic warriors and five general type warriors with everyone allowed to pick up to four options out of the available ten. If you like the series, please consider voting on what battles you want to see in the future. Hope you all enjoy!