Military of the Earth Kingdom

The Military of the Earth Kingdom is the military organization responsible for the defense of the Earth Kingdom. It consists of an army, a navy and several special forces. It wields considerable power, having held off Fire Nation assaults for a century.

The Earth King is the constitutional overall commander, although at times his actual power has been very limited. The main commanding authority is the Council of Five, an assembly of five senior generals who oversee war efforts from Ba Sing Se.

The Earth Kingdom military forces are numerically superior, but technologically inferior to those of the Fire Nation. They are able to counter the attacks of the Fire Nation through diversity and defense, as they can not match their technology. However, this makes the Earth Kingdom military the second most powerful in the Avatar World, and the Earth Kingdom has considerable projection capabilities around the world.

Army
The Earth Kingdom Army is the largest and most important branch of the military of the Earth Kingdom. Like the Fire Nation, the Earth Kingdom armies consist of benders as well as normal foot soldiers.

Infantry


Soldiers, both benders and non-benders, carry a wide variety of weapons, from spears, swords and other various polearms, to more unusual weapons such as hammers, axes and sickles. Soldiers typically wear a specially armored conical helmet which has been shown to act as an impromptu shield in battle against fire blasts. Non-bending soldiers also wear a headdress underneath, appear to be more armored, and wear boots. Helmets designed for Earthbenders are pointed and are decorated with the Earth Kingdom emblem. They are barefooted, as called for by a principle of Earthbending. Officers wear yellow armor instead of the regular green armor.

Infantry clothing appears to be color-coded. Non-benders wear an olive drab green. However, out of bending soldiers:
 * Omashu soldiers wear leaf green.
 * Iroh's kidnappers wear yellow and light brown.
 * General Fong's soldiers wear light green.
 * Ferry guards wear brown on tan uniforms.
 * Ba Sing Se soldiers have more diverse uniforms with black and yellow colors.

Heavier equipment
The cavalry consists of ostrich horses, which can vertically climb short distances and run at high speeds. They are also used as means of transport.

Earthbenders use stones shaped like the Earth Kingdom emblem as artillery and catapult projectiles. These person-sized round coins are invaluable weapons to the Earthbenders. The coins can be lined up side by side to make a defensive and mobile wall, or stacked to make a lookout tower. Skilled Earthbenders can use these coins as a vehicle and "ride" in the hole in the middle of the coins.



Recently, the Mechanist, a brilliant Earth Kingdom inventor, designed and produced several highly-advanced Earth Kingdom Tanks for the Earth Kingdom to use in what was ultimately a failed attempt to invade the Fire Nation. These tanks, which travel on treads, are powered by four Earthbenders and can travel over virtually any terrain. They carry at least a dozen troops and possess side hatches that allow Earthbenders to hurtle earthen projectiles at enemy forces. These tanks are multi-segmented, so they can be manipulated to travel on or over obstacles and can make wide turns when necessary. Such a feature allows these vehicles to crush tundra tanks. They also have incredibly thick armor that can deflect all fire blasts. These new vehicles are more than a match for Fire Nation armored forces. However, if these tanks get overturned, it is relatively difficult to get them upright.

The Mechanist also manufactured a select number of Supply Trucks for this invasion. These vehicles are designed to carry weapons and bendable elements for use by the benders and warriors. They are driven entirely on treads. They are controlled by a single driver and are made entirely of metal. They possess a large flatbed that can carry earthen boulders, jugs of water, fire bombs, etc.

List of known commanders

 * Council of Five
 * General How (head of the Council of Five)
 * General Fong
 * General Sung
 * General Chin
 * Captain Yung

Navy
Not much is known of the Earth Kingdom Navy, except that it is inferior to that of the Fire Nation. It is considered "suicide" for any Earth Kingdom fleet to launch a naval attack against any Fire Nation fleet.

One mention of the Earth Kingdom Navy was when the exiled Fire Nation Prince Zuko was questioned by Commander Zhao on how his ship had incurred the damages it sustained. Zuko told the Commander a lie that he had crashed into an Earth Kingdom ship, and not the truth that the Avatar had inflicted the damage. General How also mentioned that the navy would be included in the original plan for the Invasion of the Fire Nation on the Day of Black Sun.

Kyoshi Warriors


The Kyoshi Warriors are an all-female group of fighters led by Suki on Kyoshi Island. Their fighting style and clothing mimic those of their founder, Avatar Kyoshi, although the most current fighters do not implement any of the bending arts in their physical movements. Clad in ornate, green armor and Kabuki-like makeup designed to intimidate opponents, Kyoshi Island Warriors use metal fans as their main weapons. It was later revealed that the warriors also utilize katanas and wrist shields. Holding the fans like extensions of their own arms, they aim to turn the strength of their opponents against them, a principle also hinged upon in Waterbending. The female warriors do not take kindly to training outsiders, let alone men, in these unique methods. Traditionally, only women are trained as Kyoshi Warriors; however there is one known exception.

Terra Team


The Terra Team is an elite platoon of Earthbenders under the command of General Sung. The platoon was ordered to destroy the Fire Nation drill that was about to breach the outer wall of Ba Sing Se. When the Earthbenders were near the machine, Ty Lee pointed out muscular guys approaching the drill through a periscope, and she and Mai were then sent to take them out. Unprepared to have their chi blocked by Ty Lee, the Earthbenders succumbed to being unable to bend and move. They had to be brought back to the outer wall and healed by any means necessary.

Royal Earthbender Guards
The Royal Earthbender Guards of Ba Sing Se are affiliated with neither the Dai Li nor the military, and instead serve as personal protectors of the Earth King. There seem to be hundreds of them guarding the Royal Palace. They have also been seen as the gate keepers of the outer and inner walls of Ba Sing Se. The guards use specialized Surface-to-Surface Rocks against invaders approaching on foot, but the projectiles are displayed to be able to also serve as Surface-to-air rocks against airborne intruders. They sport dark green armor with a green feather at the top of the helmet.

Dai Li


The Dai Li serve as the "cultural protectors of Ba Sing Se". They were created by Avatar Kyoshi, following a peasant uprising that threatened the rule of the 46th Earth King. Their loyalties are questionable, for though they are supposed to protect Ba Sing Se, they were involved in a conspiracy that led to the city's downfall. With orders from Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, they initiated a coup to weaken the city's defenses, and later went to personally take down the walls of Ba Sing Se, allowing the Fire Nation to invade. They were shown with Azula in the Fire Nation, until they were banished. Their current status is unknown.

Other groups
These groups have very little to no affiliation with the central Earth Kingdom government. They are independent military groups that are loyal to the Earth Kingdom, though their interests and methods may differ from the interests of the Earth Kingdom government.

Freedom Fighters
The Freedom Fighters are a gang of teenagers who want to rid the world of Firebenders, even if it means killing innocent people. While the exact origin of this group is unknown, it was obviously founded by Jet.

Earth Kingdom rebellions
The Earth Kingdom rebellions were a set of rebellions formed during the later stages of the War at an unknown time after the Coup of Ba Sing Se. It was mentioned in 100 ASC to Fire Lord Ozai in a war meeting a day before the eclipse that these rebellions were preventing the Fire Nation from achieving total victory in the Earth Kingdom. It was this information that made Ozai decide to use the power of Sozin's Comet to burn down the Earth Kingdom, ending the rebellion once and for all.

List of major engagements

 * War of Chin the Conqueror
 * Battle of Han Tui
 * Battle of Taku
 * Hu Xin Provinces Campaign
 * Battle of Garsai
 * 600-Day Siege of Ba Sing Se
 * Battle for the Northern Air Temple
 * Capture of Omashu
 * Battle of the Drill
 * Coup of Ba Sing Se
 * Invasion of the Fire Nation
 * Earth Kingdom rebellions