Protection from shrapnel, I believe - Arditi were famous (or infamous) for throwing hand grenades into trenches and then charging in with knives immediately after the detonation.

It was an extremely dangerous practice, but also difficult for the enemy to defend against - lunatics with knives hopping on you right after everyone in the trench has been wounded or disoriented by a grenade is a hard thing to fight off.

[–] magikmw@piefed.social 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Typical FPS meta strats.

[–] PugJesus@piefed.social 3 points 3 days ago

They remembered to bind their grenade and quick-melee hotkeys

[–] sga@piefed.social 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

can we get some context on this one? It partially seems goofy, and their visors are metallic, so they must be in some harsh sunlight or something (but probably not on a desert because the are open from below, and in desert, light would enter from below i guess). and what is with the paper/cloth covering rest of face? maybe against chemical weapons (ww1 is kinda infamous for that)(a few geneva covention rules on that one i think).

[–] PugJesus@piefed.social 5 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

I believe the visors are for protection from shrapnel - Arditi would often use grenades at... inadvisably close ranges before closing in with their knives.

Though even at reasonable ranges and without lunatic assault practices, shrapnel was a constant danger on the WW1 battlefield, and there was a great deal of experimentation searching for the proper balance between mobility/visibility and protection.

I think the cloth covering over the rest of the face is either a simple means of protection against chemical attack, or else simply against dust and other irritants to prevent distraction during an assault.

The Arditi operated on the Italian Front, which was largely temperate and mountainous.

[–] OrteilGenou@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Battlefield 1 has an Arditi storyline. Basically you're a walking machine gun turret grinding up a mountain. Great fun!

[–] PugJesus@piefed.social 1 points 3 days ago

I wish BF1 put more into the single-player and making the era feel authentic, because WW1 is such a great period for weird, experimental weaponry.

But instead everyone has a Hellriegel, and it just operates like a normal SMG.

Ah, well. I got it for free off Epic or something like that, so it's not like I paid money for it.