Line Infantry (Fall of the Samurai)

Line Infantry
Appears in	Fall of the Samurai
Belongs to	Most factions except the Aizu
Type	Line Infantry
Ammunition	10
Soldiers per unit	50/100/150/200
Attack skill	4
Charge bonus	10
Anti-cavalry skill	5
Armour	2
Defense skill	2
Range	125
Precision	30
Loading speed	30
Morale	6
Produced from	Cadet School
Special abilities	Kneel Fire Suppression Fire
Cost	770 SP/720 MP
Upkeep	100
Turns to train	1
Unit cap	None

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

Description

Line infantry are the bulk of an army, doing a good deal of the killing and most of the dying.

Line infantry are the main force of an army making up, as the name suggests, the bulk of a battle line. Equipped and armed in modern, European style, each man has a good quality rifle which gives the unit a reasonable reload speed and good accuracy of fire in most situations. The large bullets fired do an unpleasant amount of damage to enemies. This means that line infantry are best suited to engaging the enemy with fire, and not in close combat where they are no better than other infantrymen. And like other infantry, they can be ridden down by cavalry if they are mishandled or left in an exposed, unsupported position.

A wide variety of rifles from many parts of the world were available on the open market by the time of the Boshin war. For most practical purposes on the battlefield there was little to choose between the various rifles on offer. Manufacturers in Britain, France, America and elsewhere competed fiercely to sell their weaponry to anyone who was interested. Governments supported the trade as an adjunct to diplomacy, or conveniently looked the other way in the interests of national profit. The period was, after all, a period of liberal “laissez faire” capitalism where politicians did not consider it the proper business of government to interfere in mercantile matters, even when death was the commodity.

Strengths & Weaknesses

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

General Information

Line Infantry are the first line infantry-type unit available to most factions, requiring only basic cadet schools to train. With much better accuracy and reload skill than levy infantry, line infantry are a considerable upgrade for early game armies looking for more firepower. Unfortunately, they fare poorly in melee combat, and operate best at a distance. Particularly in the early game, they benefit from having melee infantry or cavalry backing them up and intercepting hostile melee troops before they reach the firing line.

Later in the game, line infantry are supplemented by other line infantry type units, such as Black Bear Infantry, Imperial Infantry, and Vermilion Bird Force. Nearly all these variants are more expensive to field, but are statistically superior to line infantry. However, with the help of foreign veteran agents, general skills, and building bonuses, line infantry are formidable even in the late game, able to lay down devastating fire and having sufficiently good melee skills should swords be drawn.

Line infantry aren't considered Shogunate or Imperial infantry, meaning that they aren't automatically disbanded if the player declares independence.