| Grunt | |
|---|---|
 A Western Frontier Rifle Grunt | |
| Vital statistics | |
| Title | Standardized Infantry Units |
| Faction | ALL |
| Health | Unarmored |
| Level | All levels |
| Status | Common |
| Location | Anywhere and Everywhere |
| Grunt | |
|---|---|
| Stats | |
| Health | Unarmored |
| Resistances | {{{resistances}}} |
| Weaknesses | {{{weaknesses}}} |
Grunts are the standardized infantry units of every faction. They appear in every mission. They are armed with the weakest of machine guns, yet they can damage any unit. The best strategy is to keep moving if you're going to stay alive in command of one of these infantry. They were origanaly called Rifle Grunts, but the name was changed in the second game because of the similar Assault Veteran. In Battalion Wars they were capable of destroying armored vehicles given enought time, which came in handy during missions where the main troops are grunts, and where there were few weak armored vehilicles. This could be done with a single grunt by moving up to the side of a tank without an armament and firing at point-blank range. Because of this some missions could be completed with a single grunt.
Western Frontier
Battalion Wars 2 Unit Dossier: Frontier rifle infantry may pack a minimal punch, armed with only their wits and trusty standard-issue H-16 rifle, but their unfaltering sense of duty has earned them the title 'Herman's Heroes' the world over.
The Western Frontier rifle grunt serves as a sort of un-official mascot to the Battalion Wars series.
Grunts of the first game
Tundran Territories
Battalion Wars 2 Unit Dossier: Anti-snow-glare goggles, rabbit-fur fatigues, and the trusty Kasparove KA-57 are the hallmarks of Tundra's volunteers or peasant conscripts. The most popular assault rifle in the world, the KA-57 is realiable under even the poorest climactic conditions.
Solar Empire
Battalion Wars 2 Unit Dossier: A posting in the Imperial Battalions must be earned. Recruit candidates will spend many years proving their worth in the Training Dojos of the Outer Islands, acquiring the discipline needed to weild a standard-issue PlasRifle.
Anglo grunt and veteran
Anglo Isles
Battalion Wars 2 Unit Dossier: Mandatory military service has been scrapped for years in the Anglo Isles, since the sheer volume of patriotic nationals willing to take rifle in hand and fight for the Commonwealth sees the army with an unending shortfall in available billets.
Xylvania
Battalion Wars 2 Unit Dossier: Protecting their sallow complexions against the rigors of the Xylvanian atmosphere with canvas gasmasks, "Baghead" Infantillerie are the rank and file of Xylvania's army.
Iron Legion
Battalion Wars 2 Unit Dossier: Choking down pungent Ghosgene fumes from the moment of their birth, infantry of the Legion's military nation wielded Borkavar Muskettes before they could walk. When not massed on the front lines, they were happiest digging for Nerocite in the darkest mines of Old Xylvania.
Trivia
- The Western Frontier H-16 (originally named the M17 in the first game) is, unlike most other Battalion Wars equipment, an exact copy an actual M16 rifle sans stock, thought to be a stereotypical rifle used throughout various nations part of NATO.
- The Tundran Kasparov KA-57 assault rifle is an obvious reference to the real-world AK-47. However, it is also notable that a weapon called the KA-57 also appears in the game James Bond: Agent Under Fire. Not surprisingly, it is also an allusion to the AK-47. The name Kasparov is both a reference to the Russian chess player and to Mikhail Kalashnikov, the original designer of the AK-47. The AK-47 is also the most popular weapon in our world and is very resistant to the harshest weathers like the jungles of Vietnam.
- The weapon carried by the Solar Empire grunts looks a lot like the MA5B Assault Rifle from the Halo series. This could reflect the fact that the Solar Empire is an extremely advanced nation, as the events in Halo take place in the year 2552. Also, the weapon is called a PlasRifle, which may also be a reference to the Halo Plasma Rifle.
- The Xylvainian assault rifle resembles a MP 40 submachinegun used by Nazi Germany in WWII.
- Anglo Isles grunts are armed with what appear to be heavily disguised FN FAL's with bayonets attached to them. This reflects the stereotype that British soldiers still use technology from the 50's. (resemblance to the Lee Enfield bolt action WWII era rifle-in keeping with the battle of Britain feel of the nation)
- The nickname for Western Frontier grunts, "Herman's Heroes", is an obvious parody of the TV show Hogan's Heroes, about Allied soldiers in a German prison camp in WWII. Also notable is that a mission with a similar name (Battalion Wars) where the objectives are to liberate prison camps and destroy Xylvanian supplies there, another similarity to the TV show.
- Grunts from each army also double as the crew of any vehicle, ship, or aircraft.
- Grunts that are not in vehicles or emplacements drop items such as a Gameboy Advance SP, a rubber duck, dogtags, and even a Nintendo DS when killed in combat.
- When not in combat, Grunts tend to take part in idle chit chatter about their respective nations or conditions they're in. Tundran Grunts tend to complain about how cold it is, how they miss farming turnips, or stating the obvious when under fire.
- The Grunt uniforms changed in Battalion Wars 2, both subtle and significantly. The X-ers now have an actual canvas gasmask with blue goggles and filter. The Imperial Grunts no longer have a balaclava over their face, no longer have gold colored armor and clothing, and are the only Grunts to actually show their face explicitly. The Tundrans now have completely different uniforms. They have russian winter hats and jackets, along with white pants, black boots, and new rucsacks. They also sport a brighter shade of red through out the entire army and the Grunts simply leaving their snow goggles off. Frontier Grunts have a white stripe on their balaclava with a star on both sides on their helmets.