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Black Bear Infantry FOTS Icon

Black Bear Infantry are a type of line infantry in Fall of the Samurai.

Description[]

These troops from Satsuma are trained as modern line infantry.

Armed and equipped in the latest European style, for the most part, these men are steadfast defenders of Satsuma province. They are trained as line infantry to delivering disciplined volleys of rifle fire into enemy formations. They carry foreign-made rifles that are accurate, powerful and quick to reload. Although well motivated and with good morale, the Black Bears should not be rashly sent into close combat. They are also vulnerable to cavalry attacks if they are left in unsupported positions. The exception to their modern equipment is the black bear “wigs”, called koguma, that they wear, giving them a wild, aggressive appearance.

The Black Bears were raised as troops by the Imperial forces, and yet Satsuma is forever associated with the idea of rebellion against the Emperor and his embrace of the modern world. The two ideas should not be seen as contradictory, as there is a long history in Japan, continuing until 1945, of rebellion by those who consider themselves completely loyal to the Emperor and Japan. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that many rebels have considered themselves loyal to their vision of a better, purer Japan, and hostile to the malign influences around the Imperial Court and government. The person and idea of the Emperor have never really been the target of such rebels, even as they fought against Imperial forces.

Strengths & Weaknesses

  • Good accuracy and reload rate.
  • Average in melee.
  • Weak against cavalry.
  • Good morale.

General Information[]

Black Bear Infantry are unique to the Satsuma, and are a step above Line Infantry, superior in most categories save armor and bonus vs cavalry. They are correspondingly more expensive to train and maintain, however. Black Bear Infantry are in turn inferior to Imperial Infantry/Republican Infantry/Shogunate Infantry, yet have identical requirements and are cheaper. For those factions that can afford to shoulder the recruitment and upkeep costs, training Shogunate/Imperial Infantry is the better option.

The exception to this rule is if the player wishes to betray his allies and transition to a Republic come realm divide: whereas all Shogunate/Imperial Infantry disband automatically if a faction declares itself a Republic, Black Bear Infantry do not, allowing the faction to retain its line infantry forces.

Black Bear Infantry have identical combat statistics to Azure Dragon Force, Red Bear Infantry, and White Bear Infantry. However, while the Red Bear Infantry and Azure Dragon Force can be recruited from 2nd-tier barracks, White and Black Bear Infantry can only be recruited from 3rd-tier military buildings, making it require considerably more time and research to obtain them. In practice, this makes Black Bear Infantry nearly obsolete: they require the same buildings as Imperial/Republican/Shogunate infantry, but are inferior, and with the effects of late-game Ishin Shishi and Foreign Veterans, Imperial/Republican/Shogunate infantry are even cheaper to recruit.

Fall of the Samurai Infantry
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Spear Infantry Spear LevySpear Levy GarrisonKyoto PoliceYari Kachi
Bow Infantry Bow Kachi
Matchlock Infantry Matchlock Kachi
Special Infantry Kisho Ninja
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Line Infantry Azure Dragon ForceBlack Bear InfantryBlack Tortoise ForceGarrison InfantryImperial InfantryLine InfantryRed Bear InfantryRepublican InfantryShinsengumi Police ForceShogunate InfantryVermilion Bird ForceWhite Bear Infantry
Elite Infantry Imperial Guard InfantryInfanterie de marineKihetaiRepublican Guard InfantryRoyal MarinesShogunate Guard InfantryUnited States Marines
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