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We have no idea the build or size of the average Kriegsman, because, you know, they wear their bulky uniforms covering their entire body.

Not a chance. The catachan as mentioned is stronger. But they don't lack technique. They know how to use their knives/swords. They have skill and talent at it. They live and survive by the Knife.
Its by no way clear cut. But I'd as both troops are skilled in combat, I'd give the Catachan the advantage because of those physical capabilities.

The Catachan without a doubt would have superior strength compared to the Kriegsman, but a Catachan is still not devoid of technique, while it may be a specialization i taking out your opponent quickly and stealthily without alerting his buddies, he is after all a guardsmen and will have received hand to hand training most likely. Although i do believe an average Kriegsman is going to be more experienced in hand to hand and close quarters fights more often than a Catachan whose advantage is guerrilla tactics. Because of how the Korps fights, trench warfare, their men are going to be pretty proficient at repelling an attack on their trench, most likely by a superior numbered force, in which he will mostly likely find himself fighting multiple enemies if they are able to even breach the trench line.

The story of Cpl. Jake Allex comes to mind, Cpl. Allex took command of the platoon and led it forward until the advance was stopped by fire from a machine gun nest. He then advanced alone for about 30 yards in the face of intense fire and attacked the nest. With his bayonet he killed 5 of the enemy, and when it was broken, used the butt of his rifle, capturing 15 prisoners.

I would not want to face anyone who is capable of stabbing 5 men single handed in a fight then he continued to smash heads in with the butt of his rifle.

Another story that relates in trench fighting from the real world is that of the valiant Sergeant York. He was a man who grew up in the back woods of Tennessee and was a tough guy their is a story that he killed a bear with a knife a 1890's davy crockett basically. So when World War one broke out he was drafted early in the war and was trained exstensivley un-like the later U.S drafted men who were very poorly trained Yorks unit endured boot camp for about six months so when he went to war he single handedly out flanked a german trench killed around forty men and captured two hundred

 GambleDwarf wrote:
The Catachan without a doubt would have superior strength compared to the Kriegsman

Why.

 Void__Dragon wrote:

 GambleDwarf wrote:
The Catachan without a doubt would have superior strength compared to the Kriegsman

Why.

Well for one if you just look at a Catachan there is obviously an absurd amount of muscle mass, when compared to a Korpsmen, the Krieger is smaller in stature, or at least i do not see ridiculously sized biceps. I do also remember in the book Death World, its mentioned that Catachan has a slightly higher gravity. I could honestly be completely mistaken as i read the book several years ago and they could have been referencing the planet they were on at the time.

Catachan is noted as being a high gravity resulting in a generally high Strength and muscle mass, earning them a nick name of 'Baby Ogryns'

They carry las carbines as a standard weapon but that's variable I guess but it is a more close assault orientated weapon than a kriegsman lasgun.

They are noted at being especially profficient at close combat with their specialised blades, some 20" long, others more like a 4ft sword half filled with mercury, some poisoned, some designed to prevent clotting and wound closure.

The catachans like the Kriegs men can do the CC dance, but physical superiority gives them an edge. They are skilled with their chosen weapons, but with carbines they gain a little more.

As for kriegs been more skilled in CC, wouldn't be the case in the Deathworld eterans dex, before catachans and cadians all got rolled into one.

Kriegsmen are supremely drilled in bayonet weapons, yet so are mordians and I'd put catachans as a cut above them also.

Link to lexicanum for your convenience.
http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Catachan_Jungle_Fighters

Who bets in a close combat fight between the two some kind of gas grenades would be employed by kriegsman to make use of the gasmasks plus in the case of a hive city its quite simple you dont have to deal with close quarters combat if you shell the city into oblivion what works better at killing the people hiding in the corners waiting to strike then a building falling on them?

i say number 2

Unless you actually need to capture a city.
Otherwise the whole world of 40k might as well be just called 40k a grimdark game of orbital Bombardment.

As for gas grenades. If you can throw a Gas grenade you can throw a frag. Both weapons do their job equally well. Gas grenades kill or force Catachans to put Masks on when Krieg storm a room. Frags kill, and wound, and probably disorientate.

Wouldn't say theres an awful lot to choose between them.

 Eetion wrote:
Unless you actually need to capture a city.
Otherwise the whole world of 40k might as well be just called 40k a grimdark game of orbital Bombardment.

As for gas grenades. If you can throw a Gas grenade you can throw a frag. Both weapons do their job equally well. Gas grenades kill or force Catachans to put Masks on when Krieg storm a room. Frags kill, and wound, and probably disorientate.

Wouldn't say theres an awful lot to choose between them.

Gas is both an area denial weapon and lets you cover a greater area by ignoring cover. Personally I would prefer frags but Gas does serve its purposes.

After careful study I determine the winner will be the army that can field a CRASSUS ARMORED ASSAULT TRANSPORT!

 Galdos wrote:

 Eetion wrote:
Unless you actually need to capture a city.
Otherwise the whole world of 40k might as well be just called 40k a grimdark game of orbital Bombardment.

As for gas grenades. If you can throw a Gas grenade you can throw a frag. Both weapons do their job equally well. Gas grenades kill or force Catachans to put Masks on when Krieg storm a room. Frags kill, and wound, and probably disorientate.

Wouldn't say theres an awful lot to choose between them.

Gas is both an area denial weapon and lets you cover a greater area by ignoring cover. Personally I would prefer frags but Gas does serve its purposes.

Not much use in area denial if the wind isn't 'just right' I see both weapons as more use in urban environments and room clearence.

if the kiregsman made it to building vent systems by tunninling in with hades drills the could pump gas into entire buildings catachans would die in droves.

I was actually thinking urban warfare when I said area denial lol. Thanks for correcting me

draw. hive would be the draw and would be close though. in dead men walking the death corp did well since they didnt fear the ambush they just went and completed their objectives, but the catachans willingness to use explosives would be what decides it. trap them all under buildings and they cant fight.

I suggest you look into how big Hive cities are and just how much explosives the Catachans would need to make an impact on the buildings of those colossal cities.



Look at how big the Hive is behind him! It's enormous!

Depends on the hive. In Necromunda its modular with many 'Domes' collapsed and lost. Support structures could quite easily be detonated.

Sure it wont impact much on the hive overall, but a collapsed dome could have a serious detriment to the korps.