Cuirassiers (ETW Unit)

Cuirassiers (ETW Unit)
Class	Heavy Cavalry
Unit Size
Weaponry	Swords
Morale
Melee Attack
Ranged Attack
Defence
Charge Bonus
Accuracy
Range
Ammunition
Region	Europe
Recruitment Cost	1090
Upkeep Cost	320
Turns to Build
Unit Limit
Building Requirements
Technology Requirements
Attributes

Cuirassiers are heavy cavalry available to all European nations. They are used to charge into the enemy and wear them down. Cuirassiers can survive a considerable time in melee thanks to their relatively high melee defence and attack.

Overview

These are big men, mounted on big horses, and their primary task is to crash into enemy forces and engage in hand-to-hand combat. To this end, they wear back- and breastplates over leather padding – the cuirass – and usually wear reinforced metal helmets too. Heavy straight swords are the weapons of choice. A wise commander with a cuirassier force under his hand keeps it as a battering ram to hit the enemy at the critical point.

Historically, armoured cavalry were the direct functional descendants of armoured knights and the three-quarter-armoured “lobsters” of 16th Century armies.

Despite the military mania for neatness and order, nearly all cuirasses had a small dent in them. This was the proofing mark, where a pistol ball had been fired into the cuirass to “prove” that it worked as armour. A cuirass with a hole in it after this test would be thrown back into the furnace!

Cuirassiers still exist in modern armies, although their armour is now purely ceremonial. The French army still has two regiments of cuirassiers, the Italians have a Presidential Honour Guard, and technically the Household Cavalry in the British army are also cuirassiers.

History

The first Cuirrassiers first appeared in the early 16th century at first did not look very different to the late Medieval man-at-arms. The Cuirassiers have always been covered in armour quite literally "from head to toe!" They had so much armour that a Cuirassier's armour would cost roughly ten times the amount that the armour used by the light cavalry at the time did. As the lancer cavalry and the lance itself slowly fell out of favour during the seventeenth century, Cuirassiers found themselves being used more and more as swords were beginning to become the favoured weapon for melee cavalry as it did not require the amount of training as a lance did. By the eighteenth century, Cuirassiers were rarely used in armies(except of course in the Austria) as heavy cavalry was used less and less. A heavy cavalry "resurgence" happened under Napoleon Bonaparte as the Cuirassiers were restored their once prominent role under him. This was short lived though as Curiassers slowly become outdated. Some nations still use the Cuirassiers. The French army still employs one regiment of Cuirassiers, Italy still uses them as the honour guard for the president and so does Spain for the royal family. Technically, Britain's Household Guard are Cuirassiers too. One should note though that these are all for ceremonial purposes only.

Unit Details

Cuirassiers are best used to wear down the enemy with constant charges. Although they do not possess the enormous charge that the Winged Hussars do, they do posses superior melee attack and defence stats. They are probably one of the best all round cavalry available. Like most cavalry after prolonged exposure to infantry( especially elite infantry) the Cuirassiers will rout.