Infanterie de marine

Infanterie de marine
Appears in	Fall of the Samurai
Belongs to	Most factions
Type	Elite Infantry
Ammunition	15
Soldiers per unit	50/100/150/200
Attack skill	11
Charge bonus	20
Anti-cavalry skill	7
Armour	2
Defense skill	7
Range	125
Precision	75
Loading speed	70
Morale	12
Produced from	French Trading District
Special abilities	Kneel Fire Suppression Fire
Cost	1430 SP/1440 MP
Upkeep	180
Turns to train	1
Unit cap	3

Infanterie de marine are a type of elite infantry in Fall of the Samurai.

Description

These hardy marines have learned their business in tough, colonial wars across the world.

These French line infantry are tough, capable soldiers, well used to fighting in all corners of the world and dealing with whatever hardships and enemies of France they encounter. They are armed with modern breech-loading rifles and are well trained in their use. This allows them to pour accurate and rapid fire into enemies stupid enough to act as targets. They are also well able to charge into melee and give a good account of themselves. As Frenchmen they naturally have élan, and this gives them very good melee in most circumstances. Like all infantry, however, bravery and dash are no use when bombarded by artillery.

The infanterie de marine could trace their origins back to 1622, when the troupes de marine were established by Cardinal Richelieu, Louis XIII’s chief minister. Apart from being a brilliant administrator and statesman, he was also used later as the chief villain in Dumas’ tale, “The Three Musketeers”; sadly for Richelieu’s other achievements, that’s how most people know of him. The troupes de marine were intended to fight overseas, and in the new French colonies. This meant they saw a good deal more action than most of the French army, usually against troublesome British fellows. Oddly, infanterie de marine weren’t directly controlled by the French Navy, but by the Ministere de la Marine, the civil servants who ran the navy and also the French colonies. It suited the Ministry to divert marines to keep the colonies in order, rather than to help the Navy! As a result, the Navy had to recruit its own “fusiliers-marins” to replace what should have been its marines. The Ministere de la Marine, glad to keep the infanterie de marine, let them get on with it.

Strengths & Weaknesses

• Very good accuracy and reload rate.
• Good in melee.
• Very good morale.

General Information

Infanterie de marine are unparalleled in terms of accuracy and reloading. Their melee stats, on the other hand, are unremarkable for elite infantry, being about equivalent to that of Shogunate/Imperial/Republican Guard Infantry. They are more expensive to train and maintain than any other elite infantry. Like other foreign elite infantry, infanterie de marine can be obtained much earlier than Shogunate/Imperial/Republican Guard Infantry thanks to their only needing a trading district port rather than the end-game Army War College, despite their stronger overall stats. This makes them a valuable addition to mid-game armies all the way through to the end game.

Infanterie de marine are trained in provinces with a French Trading District, and can only be trained by factions with diplomatic missions with the French, making them directly available only to Shogunate factions.

Despite their status as elite infantry, infanterie de marine still have the vulnerabilities of line infantry, such as being attacked in the flanks or rear by cavalry, being bombarded by artillery, and engaging in combat with dedicated melee troops.