Forlorn Hope (M2TW Unit)
These desperate men are armed with a massive two-handed sword and thick armour.
Overview
The 'Verlorene Haufen' or Forlorn Hope as they are known, are comprised of prisoners and volunteers desperate for glory. Their job is to lead the first and usually fatal charge used to break up enemy pike formations. The Forlorn Hope are heavily armoured and wield massive "zweihander" swords. These units are vicious assault troops who can chop a man into bloody pieces.
Details
The Forlorn Hope are a unit, which carry massive, two-handed swords, which can inflict serious damage on the enemy. They have high attack and charge and relatively low defence. They wear partial metal plate armour, providing them with some protection against missiles and melee attacks. While the Forlorn Hope have a much higher attack than their counterparts the Zweihanders, they have less armour and defence. While they are cheaper to recruit than the Zweihanders, they have a much higher upkeep cost and they are not as disciplined. They also have half as many men as the Zweihander unit. The Forlorn Hope are recruitable from cities, meaning you maintain the wealth of a civil settlement and still benefit from a high damage unit, which would normally require a castle.
Forlorn are very expensive and have very incredibly high upkeep, and unfortunately are a very poor unit. While the Forlorn Hope have excellent morale and a good attack and can do some damage on the charge; their defense is sorely lacking, especially with only half the men of regular infantry. Their slightly higher attack does not compensate for their far lower defense. Even if they had full men they would be not a great unit; as they are they are a terrible investment compared to more regular Infantry units such as Dismounted Feudal Knights, and will be mauled by them or similar units. The Dismounted Imperial Infantry are also a better choice for flanking as well due to their armour piercing maces. However, in the Kingdoms Expansion they are given better stats, 2 hitpoints, and armour piercing, and actually become an incredibly powerful unit in the Teutonic Campaign if used well.