Red Bear Infantry

Boshin_Modern_Inf_Red_Bear_Infantry Image

Basic Unit Statistics (can be modified by difficulty level, arts, skills, traits and retainers)

Recruitment Cost 750
Upkeep Cost 140
Melee Attack 8 22%
Charge Bonus 15 30%
Bonus vs Cavalry 5 16%
Range 125 19%
Accuracy 40 40%
Reloading Skill 35 35%
Ammunition 7 8%
Melee Defence 6 17%
Armour 2 13%
Morale 8 16%

Strengths & Weaknesses

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

Description

The Red Bears are line infantry from Tosa, with modern training and weapons.

Armed and equipped in the latest foreign style, but wearing a form of traditional red-haired "wig", these men are staunch sons of Tosa. They fight as line infantry, delivering disciplined volleys of rifle fire into the enemy. They carry foreign-made rifles that are accurate, powerful and quick to reload. Despite being motivated and having good morale, the Red Bears are not particularly well trained in close combat. They are also vulnerable to cavalry attacks if they are left in exposed, unsupported positions. The red bear wigs, or shaguma (meaning "red bear"), worn by these Tosa infantrymen, were a peculiar affectation of Imperial troops during the Boshin War. While amazing and intimidating helmets were common currency for samurai warriors in earlier periods, there doesn't seem to be a ready explanation for why an otherwise modern force would adopt such hats, except for the fact that they look wild and scary. The red colour used by Tosa troops is alleged to echo the red hair Dutch traders who were confined to Nagasaki during the Shogunate, but this explanation does not really explain very much or seem all that rational. Dutchmen, like most mainland Europeans, are not especially likely to be red-haired. The wigs, then, seem to have been a nod to traditional warrior attire, and just plain intimidating to enemies!