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Shinsengumi Police Force FOTS Icon

Shinsengumi Police Force are a type of line infantry in Fall of the Samurai.

Description[]

The shinsengumi special police are a useful force of rifle-armed samurai infantry.

These “special police” carry katanas, making them rather formidable in close-quarter battles. They are also dedicated to their cause and each other, and have good morale. Like the samurai of old, they are unlikely to break and run after suffering a few casualties. While the shinsengumi embrace Japanese tradition, they are not above using modern weapons. This gives them a good, accurate and rapid ranged attack. If they have weaknesses, they are those of lesser men: artillery is no respecter of courage, and, if they were badly handled by their general, the shinsengumi could be ridden down by cavalry.

The shinsengumi were the “special police” of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Kyoto. The name can be translated as “Team of the Newly Chosen Ones”. This was a useful bit of propaganda as the men who formed the shinsengumi did not have particularly good reputations in Kyoto; previously they had been referred to as “the wolves of Mibu”, referring to a district in the capital. They were one of a number of armed factions who arose in the confusion and uncertainty of the late 1850s, and were actually quite violent towards their enemies, or the enemies of the Shogunate: they do not always appear to have been all that scrupulous about making a distinction between their vendettas and their duties. However, they were credited with breaking up a plot to burn down Kyoto by Imperialist conspirators. They used rather imaginative torture to establish that there was a conspiracy, and attacked the revealed conspirators with deadly force. Historians are now divided over the reality and dangers of the “plot”, but the shinsengumi made the most of their new opportunity for power.

Strengths & Weaknesses

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

General Information[]

Shinsengumi police force have steep requirements, needing both a Master Dojo (third tier traditional recruitment building) as well as a Shinsengumi Headquarters (final tier propaganda building) to recruit. This effectively relegates their availability to the mid to late game.

Shinsengumi Police Force are line infantry with unusually good melee statistics: they are nearly tied with Yari Kachi in terms of melee skill, who themselves are strong melee infantry when it comes to fighting other infantry. However, Shinsengumi Police Force are significantly worse than most other line infantry when it comes to fighting with their rifles, with poorer accuracy and reload skill as well as the inability to use firing drills. They are more expensive to train and maintain than standard line infantry or melee infantry, meaning that they only justify their cost if they consistently engage in battles where both their ranged and melee skills are put to use. In siege battles, where units often see both types of combat, Shinsengumi Police Force may be highly useful. Bolstering their melee capability is their Banzai ability, temporarily giving them increased charge bonus and unbreakable morale.

Despite their better melee skills, Shinsengumi Police Force are still vulnerable to cavalry, particularly if charged in the sides or rear.

Fall of the Samurai Infantry
Sword Infantry Katana KachiShogitai
Spear Infantry Spear LevySpear Levy GarrisonKyoto PoliceYari Kachi
Bow Infantry Bow Kachi
Matchlock Infantry Matchlock Kachi
Special Infantry Kisho Ninja
Militia Infantry Levy Garrison InfantryLevy InfantryWhite Tiger Force
Light Infantry SharpshootersTosa RiflemenYugekitai
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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