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Vermilion Bird Force FOTS Icon

Vermilion Bird Force are a type of line infantry in Fall of the Samurai.

Description[]

Vermilion Bird Force troops are trained to fight line infantry, overcoming foes with disciplined fire.

The Vermilion Birds carry rifles, which give them good accuracy and a reasonable rate of fire against enemies and, thanks to the large bore used in nearly all rifles, they do a more than satisfactory amount of damage too. These troops are not suited to being thrown into close combat, and if they are carelessly positioned and left unsupported, they may well be overwhelmed by cavalry attacks. However, thanks to the martial traditions of Aizu province, these men have good morale. The unit is named after a Chinese constellation, the mythological Vermilion Bird of the South, a creature associated with the element of fire.

Even after he was declared an “enemy of the Court” by Satsuma and Choshu Imperial officials, Matsudaira Katamori, the lord of Aizu, asked for mercy and did much in his power to avoid conflict. The Imperialist generals and Court officials were having none of it, and effectively forced him into the ranks of their enemies. Although never formally part of the Northern Alliance, the “Ouetsu Reppan Domei”, Matsudaira Katamori did allow his army to integrate into their forces. Despite this, the Alliance was soon a beaten force. Katamori was spared, and finished his days as a priest at Nikko Toshogu shrine, dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the man who founded the defeated Tokugawa Shogunate. There has to be a small suspicion that, despite this being an honourable position, a point was being made by Katamori’s enemies: the past was gone.

Strengths & Weaknesses

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

General Information[]

Unique to the Aizu, Vermillion Bird Force are superior line infantry, comfortably outclassing standard line infantry in nearly every category, and even having an edge over other superior line infantry such as Azure Dragon Force or Black Bear Infantry. They are correspondingly more expensive to train and maintain, however.

Vermilion Bird Force compare most similarly to Shogunate/Republican/Imperial Infantry, but are cheaper to train and maintain, yet have superior attack, defense, charge, accuracy and morale at the cost of worse reloading rates. In particular, their morale is much higher. However, they wield different rifles than Shogunate/Republican/Imperial Infantry, so they fire much more slowly than their reload skill would suggest. SIR infantry are superior in protracted firefights, while Vermilion Bird Force is more suitable for engagements where melee fighting is expected. Unlike their counterparts, Vermilion Bird Force do not disband upon the player switching allegiances.

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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