Hitogumi

''Note: This page describes Hitogumi squad one. You might have been looking for Hitogumi squad two.''

''Note: This page contains an image that is not owned by the author of Sagara. One image shown in this page belongs to Nobuhiro Watsuki.''

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Organization name: Hitogumi/Hitogumi squad one.

Date of foundation: June 1st, 46th year of first Tao era.

Affiliation(s): Taogakure.

Founder(s): Sagara Sozo.

Leader(s): Sagara Sozo, Myojin Guntai, Akamaru Mizu.

Known members:

Akamaru Mizu

Kaisen (deceased)

Kensai Tsuki

Myojin Guntai

Nikito (deceased)

Osore Kasai

Riki Hajitame

Sagara Sozo (deceased)

Sagara Tao

Shingi Takani (deceased)

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History
The original Hitogumi, known as Hitogumi squad one in later epochs, was founded in the 46th year of the first Tao era. When diplomatic relations between the world's greater powers was failing, Taogakure was in need of greater military strength. A force known as the Hitogumi, led by the young commando soldier Sagara Sozo, suddenly appeared as a response to the government's request. The force consisted mostly of farmers that had been given weapons and uniforms. The leader of the Tao clan, Daichi Tao, accepted the organization's help in an obviously upcoming war against Shourigakure, in exchange for lower taxes to the farmers in the army. However, despite the help of the Hitogumi, Taogakure soon fell under Shourigakure control. The soldiers of Hitogumi was still peasants given weapons, but they had no actual military training, except for a few old military veterans recruited from the outskirt villages in Taogakure. But after a year of Imperialist rule, rumors spread that the Hitogumi had returned with a well-trained army and would retake Taogakure. This was only half true - The Hitogumi had returned, but they was not able to bring an army. Instead they became an underground rebellion movement that performed such duties as assassinations or minor raids against Shourigakure. With military leaders being killed and resources stolen, Emperor Shourisha I recruited a group of Hitokiri-ranked swordsmen known as the Wolves of Shigai. These new elite samurai pushed back the still unexperienced Hitogumi troops with ease, and the organization was about to collapse from civil war. But eventually several Hitokiri joined up with the organization and was able to even the odds. Although the Shigai swordsmen was known by the Imperialist army as "anti-Hitokiri soldiers", they were unable to defeat the majority of Hitokiri sent by the Hitogumi. But eventually the headquarters of the Hitogumi was tracked down and attacked, forcing the freedom fighting force to retreat into the forests and leaving Taogakure without any defense against the cruel rule of Emperor Shourisha. And the problems would not stop here. A man introducing himself as a "diplomat from Kunihae" turned out to be in reality General Sendou, one of the most skilled military leaders of the Empire. In the assault he led against the remaining Hitogumi force, Captain Sozo was killed alongside the other leaders (except for Admiral Mizu and General Guntai, who were located in Kaon Sabaku). After some time, a Hitogumi assassin named Sagara Tao returned to Taogakure alongside the two young Hitokiri Shingi Takani and Kaisen, the Hitogumi squad two member Mitsukai, and two new members named Sano Seibuki and Nikito. With their aid, Hitogumi could establish a new secret base in Taogakure. The organization was now led by the united rule of General Guntai and Admiral Mizu, and they both agreed that they would need to establish an army to secure the city permanently. After protecting Kaon Sabaku refugees they gained a new powerful ally and another when helping Kunihae securing their capital once more. And, as expected, the citizens of Taogakure was eager to take arms against their cruel ruler. A large army was collected and began a siege of Taogakure that would last for a few months before the defending Shourigakure troops surrendered. Shortly after the battle, Emperor Shourisha I died of disease and his son, Shourisha II, claimed the throne of Shourigakure. Being an even more aggressive military ruler than his father, and performing great military reforms, the situation for the Hitogumi became much more difficult. Since no army was prepared to meet the conquerors, Taogakure was forced to open the gates and let themselves become occupied by Shourigakure once again. Shourisha II immediately ordered an operation that would be known throughout history as the Great Hitokiri Purge, hunting down and killing all remaining Hitokiri in the world. Only a few Hitokiri survived, and less than half of them was willing to support the Hitogumi. General Guntai could only rely on his allies, but both Kaon Sabaku and Kunihae had already been completely conquered, and there was no sign of rebellion from any of the countries. But eventually the time came for the population to stand up against their rulers and create a grand army once again. The force of freedom fighters were, just as a few years earlier, extremely effective and could liberate both Kunihae and Kaon Sabaku. But when they reached Taogakure resistance was much harder. Almost a million soldiers died before they were even able to return fire. But eventually, although their greater numbers and equipment, the Shourigakure garrison gave up after hearing of the Emperor's death at the hands of Sagara Tao. The Hitogumi was from this moment remembered as the Liberators of Taogakure.

Leadership and policies
The three most notable leaders of the Hitogumi are Captain Sagara Sozo, Admiral Akamaru Mizu and General Myojin Guntai. Although Captain Sozo was meant to be the lone leader of the organization, he often asked his two sub-commanders for advice before making any major decisions. With the combined tactical knowledge of these three men, the Hitogumi army was provided with excellent strategies and equipment that made them a worthy opponent even for the mighty Empire of Shourigakure. General Guntai leads his own commando force known as the Guntai regiment, a group of the strongest known Hitokiri. Admiral Mizu have his own flagship, a gigantic steamboat battleship that is said to be able to destroy an entire fleet. Captain Sozo on the other hand, doesn't control any own army or superweapon, but the two sub-commanders themselves. Both Akamaru and Myojin are extremely loyal to their leader, and have promised to complete the goals of the Hitogumi, even if they have to sacrifice their own lives in the process. Admiral Mizu proves this when he refuses to leave his ship when it's under bombardment in order to give the land army more time before they get attacked by the enemy fleet. Admiral Mizu is mortally injured when his "undefeatable" flagship explodes, but is saved by another ship of the same model. His left leg will never be completely restored, but he will still be able to command the united Hitogumi fleet with great tactical knowledge.

The Hitogumi's goals and policies are many, and have been changed in time. But their main goal have always remained the same: Taogakure's freedom and peace with their neighbors.

Policies and goals during the era of the three leaders Captain Sozo, Admiral Mizu, and General Guntai:
 * The Hitogumi's main headquarters will be located inside the capital of Taogakure, so that quick military commands can be made.
 * Farmers, beggars, and other non-noblemen in the organization will have their taxes reduced by 50% permanently after 1 year of field duty.
 * Armament can be chosen freely by all soldiers.
 * When among regular soldiers, any Hitokiri is ranked as "general".
 * The land army can take a maximum of 50% of the total financial status of the organization.
 * The organization may attack other nations if any of our allies are threatened.
 * If a soldier is killed in action, his basic fee will be paid to his family for 15 years.
 * Soldiers can be trained from the age of 10, but may not be put into the field before the age of 15.

Policies and goals during the era of Admiral Mizu and General Guntai:
 * The Hitogumi's main headquarters will be located outside the capital of Taogakure to avoid detection by any occupying force.
 * All soldiers of the organization will be completely free from any taxes as long as they perform field duty. If a soldier have injuries preventing him from performing field duty, he will have his taxes reduced by 50%.
 * Armament of soldiers is chosen by their superiors. Only officers and Hitokiri can choose their weapons freely.
 * When among regular soldiers, any Hitokiri is ranked as "captain".
 * The land army can take a maximum of 75% of the total financial status of the organization.
 * The organization may never attack other nations unless we are attacked first.
 * If a soldier is killed in action, his fee will be paid to his family for 10 years. The amount of the payment depends on the deceased soldier's rank and achievement on the field.
 * Soldiers can be trained from the age of 8, but may not be put into the field before the age of 17.

The army
"Offense is the best defense."

- General Guntai

The first Hitogumi army was a poorly trained collection of peasants that had been given modern weapons without actually knowing how to use them. However, after a few years when this mistake had been corrected, the Hitogumi possessed one of the best trained and equipped land armies in world history. The land army was constantly changed with several military reformations, creation of new regiments, new armament, changing armament priority, and new infantry formations. The core of the Hitogumi army was the main infantry, supported by light cavalry and light artillery. After Captain Sozo's death. General Guntai performed a great military reformation that provided the Hitogumi field army with much better offensive ability without any notable decrease in their defensive power. The basic Hitogumi infantry soldier during the era of the three leaders was armed with a bayonet-equipped musket, a katana, and a wakizashi. The basic infantry soldier after Captain Sozo's death was instead equipped with a bayonet-equipped musket, a katana, two pistols, and two hand grenades. While Captain Sozo wanted the infantry to first fire off a musket volley and then charge into close combat with swords, General Guntai meant that in the modern battlefields it was better to equip the infantry with more ranged weapons. After General Guntai's military reformation, the wakizashi was removed from the main infantry's armament and replaced with two pistols and two hand grenades. The uniform of the Hitogumi army have always remained the same: A black shirt and black pants, leather boots, a red coat, white gloves, and a red headband. The army of Hitogumi squad two were, however, using different uniforms and armament, since they were not under the control of General Guntai.

Some well-known formations during the era of the three leaders:
 * Kougeki hohei: The most common formation of the Hitogumi army consisted of three musketeer lines. During combat, the first line would kneel and the second stand, both aiming their muskets towards the enemy army. They would fire simultaneously to cause as much damage as possible and to avoid enemy frontline survivors (the muskets of this time was very inaccurate, and it was very rare that an entire front line would be killed by a single musket volley). The two front lines would then put their muskets aside and charge into close combat with their katana (if preffered by an individual soldier, he could use the bayonet-equipped musket during the charge). The third line would stay in formation and give continuous support fire. To avoid friendly fire, the third line in this formation was given accurate sniper rifles instead of the basic musket.
 * Hohei-kihei: A formation that allows maximum effect with infantry and cavalry cooperating was necessary, so the Hitogumi leaders developed this fighting technique. The infantry would fire with two lines as in the beginning of the Kougeki hohei formation. But instead of charging into close combat after delivering the musket volley, they would step aside and let the cavalry past. The cavalry would ride in a line and fire simultaneously against the enemy, and then put their carbines aside and pull out swords. The cavalry would pierce right through the enemy formation without stopping, cutting down everything in their way. Then the infantry would charge into close combat with katana or bayonets to kill off any enemies that survived the cavalry charge.

Regiment organization during the era of the three leaders:
 * A basic infantry regiment of Hitogumi squad one consisted of 72 musketeers, 23 snipers, and 48 samurai.
 * A basic cavalry regiment consisted of 46 dragoons, 22 lancers, and 12 mounted samurai.
 * A basic artillery regiment consisted of 12 field artilleries and 8 heavy artillery cannons.

Formations after General Guntai's military reformation:


 * Difensu hohei: When acting for defense or fighting in a terrain were massive infantry charges were barely a possibility, this formation was used. It required three musketeer lines. The first line would aim and fire a musket volley towards the incoming enemy charge. They would then crouch to reload and allow the next line to fire. When all lines had fired a destructive volley, the first line had reloaded and could fire again. This allowed continuous fire against the enemy.
 * Hohei-houhei: This formation requires two musketeer lines and one artillery line. The first infantry line would crouch and the second stand, and fire simultaneously against the enemy. While the infantry reloaded their muskets, the artillery would fire a destructive volley against the enemy, and while the artillery reloaded the infantry could fire again. This allowed a continuous, combined stream of fire from both muskets and cannons, causing massive destruction among any enemy army.

Regiment organization after General Guntai's military reformation:
 * A basic infantry regiment of Hitogumi squad one consists of 80 musketeers, 40 snipers, and 20 samurai.
 * A basic cavalry regiment consists of 60 dragoons and 30 lancers.
 * A basic artillery regiment consists of 10 field artilleries and 10 heavy artillery cannons.



The navy
"If you want to control the land, take the sea first."

- Admiral Akamaru Mizu

The Hitogumi navy was not affected much by the military reformations on land, and Admiral Mizu was pleased with his force after introducing the new armored steamboat ships. Although the Hitogumi was not a great naval power like Kunihae, the Hitogumi fleet was no doubt the strongest of the entire war. There was no ships that could match the firepower or armor of the Hitogumi steamboats, and their maneuverability was not something that was easily overpowered either. The Hitogumi fleet was also supported by the aircrafts that proved to be an important part of the Hitokiri war's battles at sea. There had so far not been built any ships that could defend against air attacks, so an airborne escort was necessary for any fleet. None of the Hitogumi leaders other than Admiral Mizu had a better fleet as their first priority. The army took half of the Hitogumi income and many other factions was costy as well. There simply wasn't enough high financial level in the organization to maintain any major naval force. The only notable changes in the Hitogumi navy was the introduction of armored steamboats in the beginning of the Hitokiri wars.

Hitogumi naval organization before Admiral Mizu's naval reformation:
 * A basic Hitogumi naval force consisted of 2 battleships, 6 frigates, 8 corvettes, 4 gunboats, and 12 aircraft.
 * A Hitogumi naval blockade force consisted of 6 battleships, 14 frigates, and 6 aircraft.
 * A Hitogumi naval assault force consisted of 4 battleships, 4 frigates, 12 transports, and 20 aircraft.

Hitogumi naval organization after Admiral Mizu's naval reformation:
 * A basic Hitogumi naval force consists of 2 steamboat battleships, 8 steamboat frigates, 10 steamboat corvettes, and 12 aircraft.
 * A Hitogumi naval blockade force consists of 8 steamboat battleships, 12 steamboat frigates, and 6 aircraft.
 * A Hitogumi naval assault force consists of 6 steamboat battleships, 6 steamboat frigates, 8 steamboat transports, and 20 aircraft.