Colonial Militia (ETW Unit)

Colonial Militia (ETW Unit)
Class	Militia
Unit Size	160 men
Weaponry	Muskets
Morale
Melee Attack
Ranged Attack
Defence
Charge Bonus
Accuracy
Range
Ammunition
Region	The Colonies
Recruitment Cost	690
Upkeep Cost	370
Turns to Build
Unit Limit
Building Requirements	Magistrate
Technology Requirements	None
Attributes	Can Guard; Can hide in woodland; Can hide in light scrub; Grappling Hooks;

These musket-armed troops are recruited to defend their own locality, not carry the war to an enemy’s land.

Overview

Militia or provincial troops are commonly held to be inferior to regular soldiers and, although they are trained to use the same tactics as marching regiments of the line, there is some truth in this assertion. Militia are expected to act as reassuring presence, and sometimes as a police force in suppressing local disturbances.

Historically, it was not unusual for militia to be locals recruited as part-time soldiers while retaining their day jobs and trades. In Britain, for example, service in the militia was seen as a good idea: you not only looked very patriotic for volunteering, but you could not be sent overseas! For ambitious would-be officers, there was a hidden financial benefit to joining the militia. A commander who could persuade his men to transfer to the army with him would not have to pay the cost of his regular commission.

Details

Colonial Militia are a Militia unit available to the European factions and recruitable only in the Colonies. Militia are cheap infantry available to most Western nations, with a few exceptions: Russia fields Cossack Infantry in their place, while the United States have Minutemen. The Eastern nations have assorted rabble that all qualify as militia equivalents.

Militia, and their equivalents, are useful in the early game as cheaper alternatives to line infantry (despite their inferior statistics). They become less effective, however, when more and more nations field regular line infantry in their armies. Militia also do not benefit from the Fire by Rank technology, effectively meaning they have only a third of the firepower of line infantry when this technology is researched; in addition, they cannot utilize the Square Formation, making them vulnerable to cavalry. However, militia remain useful in the late game for putting down rebellions and keeping the peace: although they do not receive bonuses to repression like dragoons, they are very cheap to field and have low upkeep costs, making them ideal for garrisons.

Like some other units such as artillery and light infantry, militia gain the option to pre-deploy some defensive measures on a battlefield should they remain in the place on the campaign map for more than two turns: defensive barriers behind which militia can shoot and crouch. This grants militia much more resistance against enemy musket fire, and somewhat slows and weakens charges. Militia also have access to anti-cavalry wooden barricades.