Xiǎo Yú KMT Revolutionary Army of the Frontier

-

The Revolutionary Army of the Frontier is the Nationalist KMT aligned army operating in  Xiǎo Yú. Their goals are simple, to drive out the local warlord, to suppress the local banditry, to defeat the local communists, and to bring the province under the control of the fledgling KMT Government in the south. 


An over view of the infantry element of the KMT RAF, organized for Fistful of Lead with several options available. In base FFoL not all these infantry would be on the table at once. The squad leader with Pistol, two specialists, four regulars, and a 4 man grunt group. 




The Leader in the center, armed with a pistol is currently unnamed, to his left is a melee specialist (I mean look at that beef) and to his right an SMG specialist with MP20



The basic regulars. In a FFoL skirmish game you typically have 3 regulars in your 5 man squad (1 leader, 1 specialist, and 3 regulars) here are four options, as certain leader traits can let you bring more men, or simply for bigger games. Three have rifles, one has a pistol and flag, clearly!



The Grunt group, replace one regular with a group of three grunts. Grunts are more basic, bare bones infantry, each having only one wound to a regular's (or leader or specialist) base 3 wounds. They shoot and fight worse, but you get more of them. The Tough as Nails trait typically gives a regular or better an additional wound, but if given to a group of grunts they get an additional grunt. This group has that flexibility. 

This collection gives some good flexibility to building a KMT squad for FFoL. With two options for specialists and a grunt group, their flush for build options. But that's not all, they also have access to two armored vehicles! (I couldn't fit them in the group shot) 

A Vickers Carden Loyd A4E11 Light Amphibious Tank (say that 5 times fast) on the left provides "heavy armor" support. Meanwhile the Carden Loyd Mk IV on the right provides "light armor" support. There is very little difference rules as written between the two, mechanically speaking. Both get 2 cards, one for their driver, one for their gunner, and both have medium machine guns as weapons. I'll have to figure out how to flavor them with traits, to make them interesting and unique!

I really love the A4E11, it's a tank I've dreamed about having for years, and the model was a wonderful birthday present given to me by someone very dear. That camo was a pain to paint, but I think it looks really nice. I'm very grateful to have it in my collection. 




That's it for the first wave of KMT troops. In my backlog for reinforcements I have a mountain gun, an airplane, and some more basic riflemen infantry, plus their over all leader, as far as lore is concerned. I'm very happy with this though, and these lads mark the first major faction for my Xiǎo Yú setting. More on that later. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A fishy tale in Warlord China, Xiao Yú, 192x - 193x

-
Image
I've been working on all this in earnest since last August, terrain, lore, armies, everything organized for Fistful of Lead, and Beyond the Empire. Some day.. some day I'll have enough army men for Setting the East Ablaze.  Anyways, an introduction. The province of Xiao Yú, a microcosm of the struggles of Greater China, is a small forgotten land, tucked away somewhere north of Beijing, near the Mongolian Border, neighbor enough to Manchuria, somewhere in the lands of Rehe and inner Mongolia. The province takes it's name from the Xiao Yú River, an equally forgotten tributary that snakes off the northern hump of the Yellow River, past Shanxi and into the lands beyond.  It's quite alright if you've never seen Xiao Yú on any map, the residents prefer it that way. Some say that it was the Germans who originally erased it from the maps around the time of the Boxer Rebellion, not in the typical Germanic fashion mind you - nothing was burned down - but rather, that their in
Read more

The Yellow Locust Gang

-
Image
The countryside of Xiǎo Yú, like with most Chinese provinces during this era, is plagued with bandit gangs. Ranging from small ragtag groups of thugs to large organized but poorly disciplined hosts they are countless and unending. A constant stream of destitute peasants, craven deserters, and those just looking for an easy meal keep these gangs flush with manpower. Two major gangs prowl Xiǎo Yú, one of which is known as "The Yellow Locust Gang." Yellow representing power and prosperity in traditional Chinese culture, and locust referring to the gangs ability to lay waste to all they descend on. They are lead by "Four Eyes" Chin, a smart and capable man believed to once have been a junior officer in the now destroyed Anhui Clique. Chin's nickname stems from his poor eyesight, the man needing glasses to see beyond the end of his nose. It is said that the primary goal for his gang is to ensure he has enough glasses to last him the rest of his life, and while this i
Read more

Missionary Troubles

-
Image
 A Fistful of Lead Game.  Missionary Troubles. The province of Xiao Yu has been experiencing increased instability over the past few weeks, warlord government troops have been busy clashing with the KMT expeditionary force in the region, drawing away much needed soldiers from local anti-bandit patrols. Bandit gangs have quickly taken advantage of this lax security and are making the best of the opportunity presented while it lasts. The Americans are not oblivious to the instability in the region. Orders have come out from China Station HQ for all American expats to seek refuge in the large, well protected treaty ports and cities. That being said not all American's have willingly agreed to these orders. Several groups of erstwhile missionaries have held up in their mission stations, refusing to budge, believing that their faith in the people will protect them better than any gunboat. As a result US Navy China Station sailors have been dispatched to recover these hold outs and bring
Read more