Basic Unit Statistics (can be modified by difficulty level, arts, skills, traits and retainers)
| Recruitment Cost | 960 | |
| Upkeep Cost | 160 | |
| Melee Attack | 6 | 17% |
| Charge Bonus | 15 | 30% |
| Bonus vs Cavalry | 5 | 16% |
| Range | 125 | 19% |
| Accuracy | 45 | 45% |
| Reloading Skill | 55 | 55% |
| Ammunition | 12 | 15% |
| Melee Defence | 4 | 11% |
| Armour | 2 | 13% |
| Morale | 8 | 16% |
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Good accuracy and reload rate.
- Average in melee.
- Weak against cavalry.
- Good morale.
Description
Shogunate infantry are trained to stand in line of battle and fire on approaching enemies.
These infantrymen carry European-pattern arms and equipment, and have been trained by European advisors. They are well-versed in modern tactics, and can deliver accurate, sustained, and damaging fire with their modern rifles. They are capable of reloading quickly, and have a good morale as a result of their training. They are reasonably useful for close combat work but, like all infantry, are vulnerable to being overrun by cavalry if left in a poor tactical position. By the middle of the 19th Century, nearly all European armies had adopted the rifle-musket, a muzzle-loading update of the trusted Napoleonic-era smoothbore. Unfortunately, it took a while for tactics to take account of fact that every infantryman was now carrying a rifle, a much more accurate weapon than the smoothbore predecessor. The old "Napoleonic" tactics of marching to within a stone's throw of the enemy before giving fire proved to be verging on the suicidal, when every bullet could be aimed with some assurance that it would hit the mark. Often, it was only the tendency of inexperienced troops to aim high that prevented worse slaughter being done. This was recognised in the oft-issued instruction to "aim at their bellies" when firing volleys.