The Kharadron Overlords are peerless traders and dauntless explorers, sailing through the skies on marvels of technology, armed with powerful weapons unlike anything else found in the Mortal Realms. They search for aether-gold, the key to their unusual engines and the most prized commodity in the Kharadron empire.
The jewel in the crown of the fleet, the Arkanaut Ironclad is a majestic airship. Bristling with weaponry, its deep cargo holds can be laden with aether-gold or it can be loaded to the gunwales with Arkanaut Companies or Grundstok Thunderers.
Thought of as invincible by the Allied forces in the early stages of World War II, the Japanese soldier was a brave, disciplined, often fanatical, warrior who fought to the death sometimes against overwhelming odds. Conquering all before them and carving out a vast Empire during the opening stages of the war the Imperial Japanese Army were truly a force to be reckoned with.
Due to the deep distrust the Japanese Army and Navy had for each other, joint operations were all but out of the question and the Navy created the Special Naval Landing Forces as a result. First seeing action in 1932 during the 'Shanghai Incident’ of the Sino-Japanese War, the SNLF were highly trained, high quality troops with excellent morale. Each SNLF formation was named after the base in which it as formed.
When it comes to feet on the ground, the Arkanaut Companies form the Kharadron Overlords’ main fighting forces. Descending swiftly via a Frigate’s grav-ladders or suspension ropes, an Arkanaut Company can deploy rapidly into the fray.
The Kharadron Overlords rule the skies, masters of a trading empire built by grand fleets of cloud-faring vessels. Crewed by ambitious duardin who value profit above all, these wonders of artifice boast enough raw firepower to level fortresses and cripple nations – when diplomacy is found wanting, of course. Kharadron technology is fuelled by aether‑gold, and their daily lives are built around amassing as much of that arcane substance as possible. Even now, as the long-absent ancestor god Grungni reveals himself to unite the duardin races, the question remains: how can the Kharadron profit most?
The Grundstok Thunderers are militarised formations employed by the fleet to help defend it.
Endrinriggers are members of the Endrineers Guild, and report to a ship’s Captain as well as the fleet’s Endrinmaster. They bear rapid-fire rivet guns and aethermatic saws for conducting airborne repairs, flying to wherever they are needed in order to patch up damage to a ship.
With over 2,100 units made, the Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tank was the second most produced Japanese medium tank of World War II, after the smaller Type 95 Ha-Go. It saw extensive action in the Second Sino Japanese War, the Battles of Khalkhin Gol against the Soviet Union, and throughout World War II.
The Type 95 Ha-Go light tank was most numerous armoured fighting vehicle fielded by the Japanese during WWII. It also saw action versus the Soviet Union at Khalkhyn Gol in 1939 and during the Sino-Japanese war of 1937-45. It saw action in both Imperial Army and Special Naval Landing Force forces.
With Allied bombing and ground campaigns hampering Japanese industry the Emperor’s soldiers learnt to use whatever materials were at hand to face the enemy, as firearms and ammunition became ever more scarce. This would see Japanese soldiers sacrificing themselves with grenades, a courageous last ‘banzai’ charge with swords drawn, or using sharpened lengths of bamboo as makeshift spears.
Japanese paratroopers – Teishin Shudan (raiding group) – proved highly effective in the early years of the war. German successes with paratroops during 1940 encouraged the Japanese to develop their airborne arm as a constituent part of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF).