3-lber Horse Artillery (ETW Unit)

3-lber Horse Artillery (ETW Unit)
Class	Horse Artillery
Unit Size	12 men
Weaponry	3 pdr cannon
Morale
Melee Attack
Ranged Attack
Defence
Charge Bonus
Accuracy
Range
Ammunition
Region	Global
Recruitment Cost	850
Upkeep Cost	210
Turns to Build
Unit Limit
Building Requirements	Military Governor's Barracks
Technology Requirements	Explosive Shells
Attributes	Can Hide in Woodland;

Intended to keep up with rapidly-advancing mounted forces, horse artillery batteries have a touch of “cavalry dash” about them.

Overview

Horse artillery units are distinguished from other types of artillery forces because everyone rides into battle: drivers ride the horses, while gun crews are often given seats on the gun limbers. The cannons assigned to horse artillery units usually fire relatively small calibre rounds although, as always, the weight of shot is used to designate different horse artillery types. The weight of fire is considered to be less important than the speed with which it can be moved to a firing position, deployed, and then removed to a new site. This is what gives horse artillery its appeal to generals: the ability to rapidly give fire from almost anywhere on the battlefield. Horse artillery can be used as a flexible reserve, or to exploit a weakness in an enemy line.

Historically, in many countries horse artillery developed a cavalry-like air of being an elite force. This attitude is entirely understandable. Dragging heavy artillery pieces across country at the gallop is an inherently dangerous thing to do, even without people shooting at you!

Details

Horse artillery share many similarities with foot artillery: their ammunition types, their fire trajectories, etc. However, they possess far less firepower than their foot counterparts in exchange for much better mobility: while foot artillery are easily the slowest unit type in the game, horse artillery can move almost as quickly as light cavalry. With their high speed, they can deploy firepower on crucial points of the battlefield much more quickly than foot artillery. Their lack of stopping power compared to their larger caliber cousins, however, mean that they are less suitable for direct engagements. These attributes mean that horse artillery are more suitable in an aggressive, mobile army makeup than a stationary one. In the early game, they can make for poor, but speedy, substitutes for the 12-pounder foot artilleries, allowing mobile support for line infantry for canister shot. In the late game, horse artillery becomes much more useful with the invention of shrapnel, which allows them to inflict severe casualties on enemy armies despite being a lighter calibre.

Perhaps their largest advantage is their ability to take advantage of good terrain quickly, something that might be considered risky for the cumbersome foot artillery. While horse artillery are very mobile when on the move, they do take several seconds to unlimber owing to the animation of the artillerymen dismounting and the horses moving in place. Therefore, it is important to always use horse artillery at a safe distance to prevent them from being decimated by enemy fire before they can unleash their ordnance on the enemy.