Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Imperial Army of the Sun





As with everything regarding the Empire of the Sun and Flame, it is difficult to generalize regarding either the Regular Army regiments or the formations of "samurai" collected by the various daimyos. More or less any collection of figures in whatever arrangement pleases the player can be thrown onto the table.

Samurai Battalion -- Every daimyo raised one battalion of samurai which consisted of between 3 and 7 companies mixed and matched from the following assortment.
Headquarters -- 1xCommand Stand (s2), 1x81mm mortar stand, 2xTrucks OR horses
Mounted -- 1xRifle Stand (mounted)
Motorcycle -- 1xRifle Stand (motorcycle)
Light Tank -- 1-2 Light Tanks
Tank -- 1xMedium or Heavy Tank
Artillery Battery -- 1x75mm howitzer, with truck or limber
Motorized -- 1xRifle Stand, 1xTruck
Anti-tank Battery -- 1x37mm gun, 1xTruck
Machine Gun Battery -- 2xHMG stands, and either 2 trucks, or two wagons. Frequently the HMGs were mounted on the wagons as per WWII Russian practice

Infantry Regiment -- These were better regulated, but poorly led, as aggressive officers drifted to the Samurai formations with better pay and higher social regard. While the Romans found the Imperial infantry tenacious and quite capable at the tactical level, the lack of any permanent formation above the regimental level, appointment of political generals based on loyalty and birth, and the lack of support assets crippled them dramatically.

Headquarters -- 1xCommand Stand (s2)
3-4 Rifle Battalions -- 1xCommand Stand (s1), 3xRifle Stands, 1x60mm mortar, 1xMMG Stand
Mortar Battery -- 1x81mm mortar, 1xTruck
Artillery Battery -- 1xFOO stand (mounted), 1x105mm howitzer, 1x37mm AT gun, 2xTruck
Engineer Company -- 1xEngineer Stand, 1xDump Truck
Scout Company -- 1xRifle Stand (bicycle mounted)

3 comments:

  1. Kit bashing a heavy tank for this lot as I speak!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What sorts of miniatures are you imagining for infantry?

    ReplyDelete
  3. For Infantry Regiment 1900 Japanese
    infantry.

    Samurai Battalion Modified WWII Japanese Infantry

    ReplyDelete