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 greater in numbers but technologically inferior to those of the Fire Nation. During the Hundred Year War they were usually able to counter the attacks of the Fire Nation through diversity and good defense, as they could not match their technology, but the Fire Nation successfully invaded and colonized several areas in the Earth Kingdom during the war. However, the Earth Kingdom military is still 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 also been shown to function as an impromptu shield in battle against fire blasts. Non-bending soldiers also wear a headdress underneath the helmet, they appear to be more heavily armored than their bending counterparts and wear boots, unlike bending soldiers, who are often barefoot to assist in earthbending. Helmets designed for benders are pointed and decorated with the Earth Kingdom emblem. 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 wore yellow and light brown.
 * General Fong's soldiers wore 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 carry soldiers over long distances as well as run at high speed almost vertically for short distances. Cavalry ostrich horses often wear armor.

Earthbenders use heavy circular stones with a diameter roughly the height of a person as artillery and catapult projectiles. They are meant to look like the emblem of the nation, resembling an Earth Kingdom coin, with the square in the center of the emblem usually carved out. They can be lined up side by side to make a mobile defensive wall, or stacked to make a lookout tower. Skilled earthbenders can use them as vehicles by "riding" in the square hole in the middle of one and rolling it with earthbending.



Recently, the mechanist, a brilliant Earth Kingdom inventor, designed and produced several highly advanced earthbending-powered tanks for the Earth Kingdom to use in what was ultimately a failed attempt to invade the Fire Nation. These tanks are powered by four earthbenders and can carry at least a dozen troops, with side hatches that allow earthbenders to hurtle earthen projectiles at enemy forces. The tanks are multi-segmented, allowing them to bend and flex in a way similar to caterpillars. This feature makes it possible for them to traverse practically any terrain, crawl over and even crush obstacles or enemy vehicles, make wide turns, and twist upright should a tank be overturned. They also have incredibly thick armor that can deflect all manner of fire blasts. These new vehicles were more than a match for the Fire Nation armored forces at the time of their invention and debut in battle. A year after the Hundred Year War, the tanks were officially incorporated into the country's line of warfare.



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

A year after the Hundred Year War, the Earth Kingdom acquired the specs for the hot air balloons, which were once Fire Nation exclusives. The balloons were incorporated the aircrafts in their own line of warfare, albeit modified to now sport the Earth Kingdom emblem and colors. One such unit was used to carry Earth King Kuei to lead the Earth Kingdom army to Yu Dao to enforce the Harmony Restoration Movement.

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 a Fire Nation fleet.

One mention of the Earth Kingdom Navy was when the exiled Fire Nation Prince Zuko was questioned by then-Commander Zhao on how his ship had incurred its recent damages. Though in truth the damage had been inflicted by the Avatar, Zuko claimed to have hit an Earth Kingdom ship. General How also mentioned that the navy was 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 exclusively female warriors do not take kindly to training outsiders, let alone men, in these unique methods, because traditionally only women from the island 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 attempting to breach the Outer Wall of Ba Sing Se. When the earthbenders were near the machine, Ty Lee, who was stationed with Azula aboard the drill, saw the team approaching 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 were defeated swiftly. They had to be rescued and taken back to the Outer Wall, where Katara did her best to heal them.

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 also able to be used 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", meaning that they are intended to preserve and defend the ways of the city from upheaval. 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, the rise of a corrupt leader led to their function being warped so that they began to hide the truth of the war with the Fire Nation from the Earth King himself, using fear and brainwashing to control the citizens. This conspiracy ultimately 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. At least some of them were shown to have traveled with Azula to the Fire Nation, until they were banished.

Other groups
These groups have very little to no affiliation with the central Earth Kingdom government. They are independent movements and fighting 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 were a gang of teenagers who wanted to rid the Earth Kingdom of Fire Nation occupation, even if it meant killing innocent people. They conducted their schemes under the leadership of Jet.

Earth Kingdom rebellions
The Earth Kingdom rebellions were a set of rebellions formed during the later stages of the Hundred Year War at an unknown exact time after the Coup of Ba Sing Se in addition to the more military-related underground resistance in Omashu. 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