Yamatai Special Naval Landing Force

Yamatai Special Naval Landing Force 大山都帝国海軍特別陸戦団 Dai Yamatai Teikoku Kaigun Tokubetsu Rikusendan
Flag of the SNLF
Active	17 April 1775 - present
Country	Yamatai
Branch	Yamatai Imperial Navy
Type	Naval infantry
Role	Amphibious operations
Size	~20,000
Headquarters	Naval Amphibious Base Yamagishi, Yamagishi, Musashi
Motto	Where we are, there is Victory!
Anniversaries	17 April Navy Day
Engagements	Shiro-Yamatai Wars First Escar-Varunan War Endwar Songese War Hinoan War Todak War
Commanders
Commander SNLF	RADM Kagome Hidetaka

The Yamatai Special Naval Landing Force (SNLF; 大山都帝国海軍特別陸戦団, Dai Yamatai Teikoku Kaigun Tokubetsu Rikusendan), also sometimes referred to as the Imperial Marines, is the amphibious force of the Yamatai Imperial Navy. It currently consists of roughly 20,000 personnel in one division, two independent regiments, and one special forces unit.

Notably, the SNLF uses the Navy rank structure, and are officially considered to be 'disembarked seamen'. The current commander of the SNLF is Rear Admiral Kagome Hidetaka.

History

Marines have been an important part of the Yamataian military for centuries. Ancient and medieval Yamataian naval tactics invariably involved boarding actions to take advantage of the superior quality of Yamataian hand-to-hand combat techniques. It was only after naval cannons and firearms were introduced did the importance of boarding enemy vessels diminish.

The SNLF was officially formed in 1775, following the Nhâm Thìn War with the Song Empire, which eventually led to the colonisation of the region by Yamatai. After 15 Yamataian traders were murdered in the coastal city of Nha Trang, and the local authorities refused to do anything about it, the Yamataian Navy bombarded the port, to which the Songese retaliated with cannon fire. A force comprising of disembarked seamen from these ships was dispatched to destroy the Songese artillery, but were able to seize control of Nha Trang after the Songese commander retreated, beginning the Nham Thin War. In the aftermath of the war, the great success of the naval infantry and the potential of amphibious warfare was recognised, and in 1775 the SNLF was officially formed.

Organised under the Imperial Navy, the SNLF became instrumental in providing security and policing functions throughout the Yamataian colonial empire of the time. It became well-known and respected throughout the Escar as one of the most well-trained and disciplined military units, and the blue uniforms of the SNLF came to be a symbol of Yamataian colonialism. The SNLF was crucial in ensuring stability and security during the chaotic nationalisation of the south-east Escaric colonies during the Imperialist era, and later distinguished itself in the Second Northern War in 1863 against Arshavat, and later in the First Chan-Yamataian War in 1868.

By this point, the SNLF had grown to a large size of over 12 divisions deployed throughout the Yamataian territories. A formal complaint was made to the Imperial Grand Marshal in 1870 by the Imperial Army, whose leadership believed the Navy was attempting to supplant its mission. The Army then began training its own amphibious warfare units as well.

18th Century SNLF troops depicted in combat in Kita Imoshima during the colonial era

The SNLF faced off with their Chiseian counterparts in the colonial conflicts over Valeyan territories, culminating in the First Escar-Varunan War, where the SNLF was instrumental in the initial seizure of the Shinzan Islands and the coastal cities of Wanshu, Shioseki, and Taira. In the Second Escar-Varunan War, the SNLF fought tenaciously in the Crosswind Sea Theatre as well as the Mainland Chisei Theatre, carrying out several amphibious landings on the northern coast of Chisei during the earlier stages of the war. SNLF troops, at this point numbering over 30 divisions, comprised the main Yamataian land forces fighting on Imoshima.

Following the closure of the Endwar, the SNLF was heavily depleted due to budget cuts and loss of manpower, leaving only a single battalion and a military police unit under the banner of the SNLF. Following the Hinoan Revolution, however, the importance of the amphibious force was again recognised and efforts were made to expand the SNLF to at least a division-sized force to conduct offensive landings on Hinomoto. In 1970, with the outbreak of the Hinoan War, the SNLF were called into action and began the land invasion by establishing a beachhead on the Hoen Plain. By 1990, the SNLF had grown into three divisions, but plans were made to slowly downsize the force into a streamlined, two-division quick-reaction force.

During the 2010 Masukan War, the 1st Naval Infantry Division of the SNLF spearheaded the HECO amphibious invasion of the island under the command of then-Captain Kagome Hidetaka. In 2016, RADM Kagome Hidetaka assumed command of the SNLF formation.

Organisation

The mission of the SNLF is not to carry out sustained combat or securing of territory. It is intended for quick amphibious assaults, the seizure of beachheads to enable the landings of Imperial Army forces to push inland, the seizure of important coastal sites, and the destruction of enemy coastal anti-ship artillery.

The SNLF is subordinate to the Yamatai Imperial Navy Headquarters, the General Department of National Defence, and the Yamataian Ministry of Defence. The SNLF at present consists of 20,000 personnel, with two combined-arms regiment-sized kogekitai and two independent battalion-sized sentai. The SNLF also has a special forces unit, the SNLF TokuSa, known popularly as the Tsunami Unit.

SNLF Marines carry out an amphibious landing in a 2016 training exercise

• Yamatai Imperial Navy HQ
  • Special Naval Landing Force HQ
    • 15th SNLF Kogekitai
      • 15th Naval Armour Sentai
      • 15th Naval Infantry Sentai
      • 16th Naval Infantry Sentai
      • 17th Naval Infantry Sentai
      • 15th SNLF Combat Engineer Kumi
      • 15th SNLF Artillery Kumi
      • 15th SNLF Air Defence Kumi
      • 5th Naval Independent Logistics Sentai
    • 30th SNLF Kogekitai
      • 30th Naval Armour Sentai
      • 30th Naval Infantry Sentai
      • 31st Naval Infantry Sentai
      • 32nd Naval Infantry Sentai
      • 30th SNLF Combat Engineer Kumi
      • 30th SNLF Artillery Kumi
      • 30th SNLF Air Defence Kumi
      • 18th Naval Independent Logistics Sentai
    • 35th Naval Infantry Sentai
    • 36th Naval Infantry Sentai
    • SNLF TokuSa Sentai (Tsunami Unit)
    • SNLF Amphibious Warfare Training School

See also

• 21st Imperial Guards Infantry Rentai
• Ever Victorious Army
• Royal Marine Corps (Chisei)