Guard

The Pan-Asian Republic basic infantry units. Guards are equipped with semi-automatic rifles and shovels. They are able to deploy a foxhole, gaining increased range and armor.

Background
The Republic's conscription procedures allow them to operate with military units quantitatively equal to the Soviet counterpart. Everyday thousands of volunteers apply to the Grand Army of the Republic, wishing to take revenge on the imperialist states for decades of capitalist slavery.

Guards are the genuine backbone of the army of the Great Asian Republic Infantry Corps. Disciplined and loyal to the party, these brave warriors go into battle, sparing neither their own nor the enemy's lives.

Each guard, being the perfect protector of his Country and people, is trained to build simple, personal cover right on the battlefield. This allows the Republican infantry to quickly erect defensive lines while the enemy would spend more time and resources in establishing a proper base. Meanwhile, supervision by regiment-assigned officers ensures that no Guard desserts.

The Guard's standardized equipment consists of a uniform, a sapper shovel, and most importantly; a semi-automatic rifle with a moderate set of cartridges. Individually, each rifle is of little benefit on the modern battlefield: their high power and accuracy as well as ease of reloading are offset by low ammo capacity and a slower rate of fire.

Nevertheless, to the Republic, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. The rifles and magazines are cheaper and easier to manufacture, maintain, repair, and replace. The simple design and growing Chinese industry combined with relative peace and stability of the nation allows for a very durable and reliable gun that can be mass-produced to outfit the vast and ever-growing army of the Republic. Since they still use standard soviet rifle cartridges, they avoid the need for a complete retooling of each weapon. Rounds can also be 'liberated' from conveniently dead conscripts to provide an ample supply of ammo.

In short, the slow rate of fire from each individual rifle is offset by the sheer number of soldiers using them. The potential accuracy and range that can be achieved means that a properly arranged defensive line can gun-down scores of higher standard enemies before they manage to get in range for retaliation.

Entrench
Guards are trained to quickly dig foxholes for personal cover. This gives them much protected survival in the face of more technologically advanced and rigorously trained forces. Bullets may end up passing harmlessly over the guardsman if not hitting the surrounding dirt instead. Guards make us of this added longevity to shoot back more effectively.

Notes from the field

 * Farming Pays off - Years of drudgery in the service of apathetic and distant rulers have trained the Guard for the hardships of army life. Their duties encompass long marches and extensive amounts of menial labor, through hazardous environments while motivated by small meals and unreasonable bosses. These are things are not new experiences, they've actually become good in such work. The regular provision rations, shipments actual shoes and clothes, and a sense of camaraderie and purpose greater than some corporate bottom-line has an immense effect on morale.
 * Long Ranged Defender - The nature of their weaponry, training, and army combat doctrine emphasizes the use of long ranged defense. When mobile, the lack of stability and small ammo count makes them reluctant to shoot at distant targets. Becoming entrenched or garrisoned gives them the stability and confidence to reliably hit targets further than they usually do.
 * A Simple Man - The simplicity of the Guard's training and equipment allows for large masses to be reliably trained to an acceptable standard and shipped out to combat in quick succession. Under the eyes of combat instructors and honed with training equipment bought and paid for by the state. They learn the basics of combat and the importance of obedience to superiors and how to shoot reliably under the stress and chaos of war. The fact that they cost as much as Soviet Conscripts should tell you how much is left out in streamlining this process.

Assessment
Pros Cons
 * One of the two cheapest basic infantry units in the game.
 * The short production time can be further decreased, allowing double the amount of guard at the same rate.
 * High attack range when deployed.
 * High armor rate when deployed.
 * Wins a one-on-one duel with a Conscript if he shoots first.
 * Wins ranged duel with Conscript and Imperial Warrior if deployed.
 * As fragile as the conscript.
 * No anti-garrison ability.
 * Loses a duel with a Conscript if he shoots second.
 * Drastically increased vulnerability to molotovs when deployed.
 * Deployment does not guarantee protection against toxins and energy weapons.
 * Immobile when deployed and takes some time to switch between modes.