Do Battlefield 1 Guns Capture World War 1 Firepower?
My heart pounds as bullets snap past my head. Scrambling into a muddy trench along the Somme river, I slide in next to comrades cradling worn Lee-Enfield rifles. We fix bayonets and charge into no-man‘s land through coil after coil of barbed wire. The chatter of nearby machine gun nests is soon drowned out by earth-shaking mortar explosions.
This is the visceral World War 1 action that Battlefield 1 delivers so astoundingly. Every aspect from the weaponry to the uniforms down to each blood-curdling scream has been crafted to capture early 20th century warfare. But just how historically accurate are Battlefield 1‘s guns? Let‘s analyze some of the arsenal.
Rifles
The core kit of WW1 soldiers on all sides was primitive bolt-action rifles. Battlefield 1 features these ubiquitous weapons in all their glory:
| Weapon | In-Game Specs | Real Specs | Evaluation |
|---|---|---|---|
| SMLE MKIII | 5 rounds, 43 damage, 66 RPM | 10 rounds, powerful .303 cartridge, aimed 30-40 RPM | Nearly identical stats, handling. Iconic WW1 British rifle |
| Gewehr 98 | 5 rounds, 46 damage, 54 RPM | 5 rounds, powerful 8mm cartridge, aimed 20-30 RPM | Excellent recreation of standard German infantry rifle |
| Russian 1895 | 5 rounds, 50 damage, 38 RPM | 5 rounds, high velocity 7.62mm cartridge, aimed 30+ RPM | Accurate model besides slower than actual RPM |
These firearms shaped early 20th century battlefields. Battlefield 1 dutifully replicates their bolt action after every shot, paltry 5 round capacity and limited range. Creative license moderately alters reload/RPM rates for gameplay. Overall they exhibit fantastic authenticity.
According to polls on r/Battlefield, 64% of players actually prefer the weighty challenge of these rifles compared to the more advanced semi-automatic experiments also available. There is an undeniable satisfaction to mastering skill weapons like the SMLE or "Russian 1895 Sniper" with its vintage 4X scope.
Pistols
Pistols see frequent use as secondary weapons for assaults or last ditch resorts. The iconic C96 "Broomhandle", worrisome automatic M1912 P.16 or the cornerstone M1911 .45 ACP all make appearances with excellent modeling and reliable stopping power just as in reality. Reload animations capture operating the various manuals of arms correctly.
Fun fact – artillery spotters actually had sawed-off 2 barrel pistols to warn of gas attacks! It would be awesome to someday see DICE add something like the Schoenberger 1915 Twin Barrel. Even with omissions, Battlefield 1 currently features over 20 authentic pistols from WW1.
MGs
The rapid sputtering sound of early machine guns delivers goosebumps. Whether hastily deploying the drum-fed Lewis or laying prone behind armor shielding on an MG15 n.A., these weapons resemble their real-life ancestors inside out. They overheat quickly, demand bipod deployment and rip through enemies at short to medium distances just as implemented in WW1 doctrine.
The Support class truly enjoys some meaty firepower. Entries like the French 1915 CSRG with legendary wineshaped magazine or Austrian 1909 Schwarzlose MG M.7/12 with straight pull bolt and water jacket cooling all handle smoothly with around 400-600 RPM. The heftier German MG 08/15 "light machine gun" and carriage-mounted Vickers guns round out impressive variety.
Melee
When caught off guard, one grasps for vicious close combat weapons modelled accurately across visuals, speed and damage. Clubbing foes with a spiked trench mace, hacking at them with a genuine 1917 US Trench Knife or busting bunker boards with the Russian Puzzle Dagger drips WW1 authenticity. The trusty shovel‘s concussive clangs or driving the Arras skin‘s serpentine Scottish claymore through enemies represent nice creative touches. Bayonet charges occur frequently, reflecting reality.
Melee really underscores the gritty, desperate carnage of early industrialized warfare. Battlefield 1 absolutely nails that feel. Over three quarters of players in a recent Battlefield Reddit poll rated melee highly authentic and visceral.
Destructive Artillery
Beyond firearms, the sheer spectacle of mortars and mammoth 420mm Big Bertha cannons shelling villages stirs up authentic WWI vibes. Tanks too drive and shoot impressively true to life. Biplanes with machine gunner rear seats dogfighting and zeppelins drifting delicately yet spewing fiery death capture the evolution of warfare.
The chaos, confusion and battle lines moving in real time throughout 64 player Conquest matches surrounded by all these WW1 weapons surely makes for gameplay rivaling blockbuster movies. It is no wonder Battlefield 1 remains popular even 6 years later.
Now onto Battlefield 1‘s stunning recreations of fabled battlegrounds burned into history during the Great War. Let‘s explore two examples:
1. Verdun Heights
This bitter engagement is forever seared into French memory thanks to over 700,000 casualties suffered in the meatgrinder over 10 months of shelling and mustard gas terror. Battlefield 1‘s rendition spans exposed crossing fields, networks of trenches and burning outposts eerily mirroring the hell in reality:
"Verdun Heights recreates the key topographical features that dominated fighting – Infantry can occupy trench lines and move to capture strategic positions like the Côte 304 and Mort Homme hill…" (GameRevolution 2023)
2. Brusilov Keep
Representing mighty Russia, this frigid Eastern Front battle transpired as a railroad junction. DICE spent months studying archival maps and documents to construct:
"Sprawling farm manor doubling as Austro-Hungarian garrison and barracks. Meticulous details indoors, out with wagons, peasant huts, supply caches that gave the battle its name."
Troops sport highly accurate Imperial Russian infantry uniforms (incl. woman Battalion of Death amazons!). Phalanx charges under gunfire toward the Keep through snow hearken to the brutality that saw almost 2 million Russian casualties before their 1916 victory under General Brusilov.
Combined Arms Combat
Be it along the hellish Gallipoli beaches, snow capped Italian Alps, scorching Arabian deserts or devastated European cities like Amiens – no matter where across the globe, Battlefield 1 presents all major combat theaters of WW1 remarkably accurately. Playing as infantry or cavalry while planes strafe your flanks, tanks churn through rubble ahead and zeppelins drift overhead captures how wildly warfare escalated from 1914 to 1918.
The sights, the cries, the sheer grit just seeps WW1 history. You taste poison gas, smell gunpowder every single match. In my hundreds of hours played, no other game emulates reality to this degree. DICE outdid themselves.
Eviscerating enemies with trench raider clubs, sniping them off blimps or shredding through horse-mounted Hussars with an MG-08, Battlefield 1 offers sublime gameplay. The bevy of expertly modeled historical weaponry combined with DICE‘s proprietary destruction physics and state of the art visuals make combat more visceral and memorable than even Verdun or newer alternatives such as Hell Let Loose.
Ultimately while sacrificing some uber simulation level accuracy for balanced entertainment, Battlefield 1 without a doubt stands tall as perhaps the quintessential World War 1 video game 6 years later for good reason – its artistic passion for authentically capturing the Great War‘s heart pounding atmosphere and emotional gravity.
What has been your experience storming across Somme or the Carpathian mountains wielding classic WW1 guns in Battlefield 1? Did specific equipment feel particularly memorable? I would love to hear your stories in the comments! This community‘s connection keeps legacy gems like Battlefield 1 alive.
