Tortoise Shell Formation

The Tortoise Shell Formation is a distinctive infantry tactic employed by the Imperial Legions of the Scarlet Empire. It is spoken of in the Thousand Correct Actions of the Upright Soldier as ideal for a force of infantry, either immobile or on slow march, to defend against missile attacks. The Actions advises that the formation is too dense for its soldiers to fight effectively in close combat, and also that it can be countered with flanking cavalry or siege weapons.

To shape the formation, soldiers in the front rank of a unit hold their shields forward, those on the flanks to the side, and those within overhead, interlocking to form an armoured ‘shell’. The soldiers must move forward together, careful to keep their shields properly positioned, a slow and methodical process.

The footsoldiers of the Imperial Legions are equipped and trained extensively to make use of the Tortoise Shell, and the tactic is closely associated with them both within the Blessed Isle and across the Threshold. The shields of both Legion Medium and Heavy Infantry are sized to allow units to lock together in a near-perfect shell, and each Legionnaire has drilled to assume and move in the formation with speed that oft surprises enemy commanders… this allows Legion units to close with enemy armies through hails of arrows and shot without taking casualties, the formation then shifting for a charge once they are close enough to the enemy line that missile troops have more difficulty. Most Imperial commanders know well the formation’s weaknesses, but soldiers have also been trained to halt and present spears between shields to deter cavalry charges, and siege weapons are uncommon amongst those armies the Legions are usually called to put down, with Legion siege weapons often suppressing those that are present through counterbattery fire.

The formation is rejected by the forces of Lookshy’s Seventh Legion, who favour the highly-maneuverable forces of the Shogunate Era. Lookshyan copies of the Thousand Correct Actions typically redact the passages on the Tortoise Shell, considering them to be forged additions to the original text… while the Scarlet Empress is often blamed, Scavenger Lords recovering ancient copies of the text show that any such revision must have occurred prior to those ancient editions being published, before the Great Contagion.