Napoleon total war Units: A General Overview By Brass45 Part I: Introduction Many players, especially new ones, seem

to be not getting the most out of their armies:cavalry charges into squares, exposed artillery, firing 6-ranks deep, etc . , and unbalanced armies as well;6 units of artillery, a spam of cavalry, and a ll elite infantry armies can bring doom to even the best of players. Due to mist akes like this, new players are often smacked down hard by better players, even if they try to go easy on them. Most players eventually get better over time, bu t what about the ones who get so discouraged that they stop playing, or they sim ply can't find what they're doing wrong?I hope that this article can help those players and all players in general to get better at this game and to ultimately become a more effective tactician. note: this guide just details the basics of each unit type. their may be more te chniques i don't know, or tactics not yet discovered. this guide may not be enou gh; trial and error may be the best tool for learning Part II:Units And Uses Now, we're on to the actual descriptions and potential uses of units. Note that in certain situations, such as endgame scenarios, it may boil down to a melee ch arge with skirmishers, or charging straight into a square with cavalry. Attacks like those, however, are only LAST RESORT options. Line Infantry Line Infantry is the core of your body. These guys should hold down the opponent s center and either overpower it or hold it in place for a flanking force. These guys are extremely versatile, but here are some general tips for using them(and for pretty much all infantry units). If you plan on shooting out your opponent with as little melee action as possible, spread out your lines to 3 units thick. If you plan on an attrition battle, 2 units for a blitzkrieg attack or increase d firepower, 1 unit if you want to really steamroll over your opponent (not advi sable as a melee charge will kill pretty much anything in that case), and 4 unit s if using fire and advance (which does decrease the range, so you should have i t activated at the beginning of the battle) or are doing a melee charge. If your opponent has an army heavy in artillery, however, your troops would be better o ff 2 or even 1 line thick as an artillery blast into thick troop formations will take out significantly more than a spread out one. Also, as with all units, tak e any high ground ASAP! This will maximize the range of your own troops while mi nimizing your opponents, add to your charge bonus while decreasing your opponent s etc., along with some artillery protection by placing your troops behind the h ill. Also, on slopes where it goes up and then flattens out (pretty much a ridge that you can travel through), you can make it extremely dangerous for the oppon ent to go near you as he will need to get to the top of the ridge to set up and be able to get of shots at you, all the while taking fire from your troops. Elite Infantry Elite Infantry are, of course, your heavy hitters, with incredibly high morale a nd melee combat scores, and still impressive reload rates. These guys, however, often result in a very common mistake: all-elite armies. At first, it sounds ver y appealing:a powerful army that can crush any unit on a one on one fight. But t hat's just the problem: your army is going to be half the size of a smart oppone nts because your units are far more expensive than normal infantry. In no time, you'll be under heavy fire, likely from the flanks, and no matter how elite your units are or how inspiring your general is your army will crumble to dust. Howe ver, they do serve a very important purpose:backup and late-game forces. The con cept is simple:you keep a unit or two of elite infantry behind your lines, with fire at will turned off, ready to assist. As soon as you see your line starting to lose, or a unit breaks and more are to follow(as in it wasn't a one-in-a-thou

sand artillery attack), you rush in your elites to give your line some desperate ly needed firepower. Or if neither your nor your opponents line are faltering, d on't give your opponent time to plan;rush over your infantry to your opponents l ine and fire, preferably into the opponents flank or rear. And later on in the g ame, when all of the units are depleted and tired and low on ammunition, some fr esh reinforcements of elite infantry will easily turn the tide of battle! Skirmishers / Light Infantry Skirmishers and light infantry are almost identical, except skirmishers generall y have a longer range. They both have the same reload rate as most line infantry , and they have anywhere from 30-60 troops. Yet skirmishers are vitally importan t because of one thing:range. They can have a range of up to 125, enough for the m to wear down the enemy before the main force arrives, or for them to attack wi thout ever getting hit. Because of their range, skirmishers are great for hit-an d-run attacks;they actually have a button just for that purpose, skirmish mode. They also make great flanking troops as they can circle around the enemy without getting hit, and ambushes are perfect for them;you simply hide a skirmisher uni t on the map (skirmishers can hide about anywhere), wait for the enemy to come b y, and then BAM! Hit them from maximum range so they can't retaliate. Skirmisher s can also protect artillery from cavalry attacks via anti-cavalry stakes. Howev er, skirmishers have one weakness that keeps them from being perfect: melee stat s. Skirmishers are horrible in melee fights, and light infantry is only a little better. They're extremely vulnerable to cavalry because of this, and though sta kes do help, they take long enough to set up that cavalry may reach you during t hat period of vulnerability. You should also never go into a melee fight head-on against line infantry with skirmishers. Overall, however, skirmishers are a val uable asset and should make up part of any army. Heavy Cavalry Heavy Cavalry is just that:cavalry that's bigger, but not always better. They're significantly slower than light cavalry, making them not ideal for chasing down routing units, and they usually have higher melee base stats (their charge bonu s is about the same as light cavalry). This makes them good for clearing away th e enemy's cavalry;once you catch up to light cavalry, the heavies will make shor t work of them, clearing the way for light cavalry to wreak havoc on your oppone nts line. Heavy cavalry are also good as shock troops for THIN LINES!If you char ge into a thick line, the opponent's infantry may hold the charge and form into a square. Although you should know this, let me say it here: SQUARES OF INFANTRY =DEAD HORSES! Charging into a square with any kind of cavalry is suicide, and le t me describe a square to you to show why. A square formation of infantry is a 2 -rank deep square facing in all directions. The front rank have their bayonets p oised, turning any charge into a self-created slaughter. The second rank behind them are firing with their muskets, further weakening any cavalry unit charging or within range. Another tip with all cavalry is to keep them in motion. Cavalry doesn't fight we ll standing still due to their charge bonuses and fairly low numbers, along with the fact that they aren't ranged units, allowing infantry to easily pick them o ff if they're standing still. However, heavy cavalry is a great addition for cle aring the way for other units, and they're also a must-have for protecting your flanks unless you send your cavalry ahead of your infantry. They aren't perfect, but heavy cav are an important asset to any army. Light Cavalry Light Cavalry is very similar to heavy cavalry, but also in many ways different. The lights have slightly lower melee base stats, similar charge bonuses, can hi de more easily, and are much faster than the heavies (although both are faster t han infantry). This makes them ideal for chasing after units that have routed, t o ensure that they don't return to the fray (occasionally behind your lines!), " mopping up" so to speak. But they're far more versatile then that. They can take

out isolated skirmishers and militia with ease (just mind the stakes). Similarl y, artillery that is left undefended your lights can quickly charge through and rout fast. Because of their speed, their also ideal for split-second hammer and anvil strikes (for any new players who don't know, a hammer and anvil attack is where one unit attacks an opponent from the front, and another unit circles arou nd and strikes them in the rear). Also, while heavy cavalry may not be able to h ide at all, light cavalry can often hide in woodland, making them perfect for su dden ambushes on the opponent (especially when they're already engaged). Overall , therefore, light cavalry serves its purposes and serves them well, and should always be a part of a good army. Grenadiers I unfortunately won't be able to give as much information on grenadiers as some others could, as I rarely use them in my battles (for now), but I'll try to give as much information as I can. Grenadiers are similar to line infantry in most r espects except that they have higher melee stats, lower reload rates, and signif icantly less troops (60-90, almost always 90). Now, anyway, here's the only reas on I didn't use grenadiers; their only value, grenade shot, was a complete joke. It had ridiculously short range, only killed 6-10 troops, and didn't even cause that much morale damage. And with their troop counts down so low, they weren't even extremely effective in a one-on-one shootout. However, I recently did a tes t to see if CA had rectified this in a patch. In it, I tested my two-rank deep e lite 90-troop Dutch Grenadiers against the AI's 3-rank deep British Fencibles (I used militia because I just wanted to test the kill rate, not the morale factor ). I got within range, then threw the grenades at the running fencibles. I only got 1 kill!However, the fencibles were running at the time to get to a closer ra nge because of their accuracy, so I had to dismiss the results. I then tried aga in when the fencibles were firing, killing about 12 of my grenadiers. However, t he grenades killed 40 troops, and sent their morale down into the orange level, enough so that a melee charge could have routed them (I instead just fired close range volleys until the AI charged and routed). This has made me rethink the gr enadiers usefulness, and they could really do some damage with their higher stat s. Anyway, let's get to the grenadiers uses. First off, their grenade shot is extre mely effective against thick formations because the blast would kill all around, rather than just horizontally. However, when your using it against infantry, ma ke sure that the line is stationary and that you attack between volleys to minim ize casualties. If your attacking line infantry and your numbers are fairly clos e to the line infantry's, charge, but if it's an elite unit or if your outnumber ed retreat your grenadiers instead. Cavalry is a different matter because, altho ugh I haven't tested this yet, their thicker formations should mean that "Grenad ing" them when they're charging is okay, you just need to hope you get in the th row quickly. Also, when you position grenadiers behind the crest of a hill, but still close to an infantry line to retreat to, they and your army will be protec ted from fire and artillery, enabling your grenadiers to throw their grenades an d peel out without a single casualty. Apart from that, grenadiers are very simil ar to line infantry and, though not a necessity to every army, open up a whole n ew host of tactical possibilities. Missile Cavalry Again, as with grenadiers, I can't tell you as much as I would like to about Mis sile Cavalry, but I'll try. Missile cavalry I personally don't use at all, and t hat's due to several reasons. First off, missile cavalry usually have lower mele e stats than regular light or heavy cavalry, meaning that if they're caught up t o (especially lights are able to do this) then your cavalry force is in trouble. Secondly, these guys only have a range of 80 (the same as line infantry), so th ey can't outshoot normal infantry units, and the infantry will always win due to a higher unit count. Finally, even if you use them to take out artillery, they will do it much slower than normal cavalry because of missile cavalry's reloadin

g time. Their only real use is hit-and-run attacks, which skirmishers are far be tter at due to their superior range (and think about which one is easier to hit. .. ), and even if they attack on the flanks or rear normal cavalry or line infan try is far better for a maneuver like that than missile cavalry. Anyway, there m ay be some amazing combo that you could do with these guys that I'm missing, but I personally don't see them very useful in an army. Artillery Artillery are important units, and as the game says, "Cannons win battles". But as important as artillery are, they always need support to be successful, and th eir are certain situations where you may not use them. Anyway, let me describe a typical artillery unit. In this unit, there are 3-4 cannons in each unit, with a range between 450-600(fixed artillery, such as rockets, may have ranges as hig h as 750, but they are extremely inaccurate and fixed artillery is banned in mos t games). This "Average cannon" has a firepower of 6-35(the mortar of the ottoma ns has a 70 firepower, but will hardly ever hit and, again, will be banned in mo st games), and though they can deal fantastic damage at a distance, they're as g ood as dead in a melee unless you have a unit nearby to save the day(artillery u sually has morale down in the 3-4 range to boot). Finally, the average artillery piece is very, VERY slow, with the exception of horse artillery, which can keep up with heavy cavalry when unlimbered. Anyway, let's get down to the tactics. Never leave your artillery unguarded or t hey'll be crushed due to their slow reload rate and horrible melee stats, making them an especially tempting target for cavalry. A good idea is to protect them against cavalry by having skirmishers deploy their stakes in front of your artil lery. As for what targets to choose, it ultimately depends on the situation. If his army's demoralized, go for his general; if his cavalry's coming in for a cha rge, start shooting them;and if his infantry outnumbers you, start the slaughter with them (either aim for his elite units or units on the flanks; elite units d ie just as easily as militia, while routing units on the flanks may allow you to outflank your opponent). And if they get close enough, immediately switch to ca nister shot, as it does a great deal of damage to close-range enemy troops. Also , let me make a note here about cannons and howitzers. Cannons are artillery that fire a normal iron cannonball at a straight or low an gle;howitzers are artillery that fire an explosive shell at a mid-to-high angle. I personally prefer howitzers as they do more damage because of their shells, b ut they do have a shorter range. Therefore, what kind of artillery you bring rea lly depends on the terrain. Cannons, especially twelve pounders, are well suited to flat terrain relatively free of obstacles, while howitzers are better suited for maps full of choke points and rocks, as they can fire over them. One situation where you shouldn't use artillery period, however, is in rush armi es. This is because a rush armies objective is to hit fast and hard, hopefully c atching the enemy out of position, and almost always forcing the enemy to abando n their plans. Artillery, however, moves and sets up far too slowly to be any he lp to a rush army. Finally, here's one trick that I haven't been able to try but I hear is effectiv e;first, place a unit or two of artillery away from the rest of your army, so th at it looks vulnerable. Then, hide a few units of skirmishers or line infantry n earby. Then, when an enemy unit(likely light cavalry) comes to destroy your seem ingly-undefended artillery, ambush them and quickly destroy the threat!Overall, artillery is an essential part of most armies, and is a welcome help to any Tota l War player. Lancers Now, lancers are similar to light cavalry (and can be used as such)except for on e fact:they have ridiculous charge bonuses, even as high as 44 for the French Du

tch Guard Lancers. However, what they have in their charge barely justifies thei r standard melee stats; even elite lancer units only have 12 for their standard stats. Thankfully, lancers are the fastest units in the game, and therefore can actually stand up to even heavy cavalry by cycle charging (see below) thanks to their ability to outrun enemy cavalry units. Also, because of their charge, they make extremely good shock troops and are probably the best units in the game to flank with, especially when combined with cycle charging (or charging repeatedl y into an enemy by withdrawing, then charging again). Overall, a lancer units us es for flanking far outweighs any risks in bringing them, and you should always have a unit or two of them in your army. Generals General units are, of course, the center of your army;you should never leave hom e without them (you can actually put a general staff member in an infantry unit, but I wouldn't recommend that as you get a 0 star general without his two abili ties). Now, all factions have four general's to choose from; each is a heavy cav alry unit with 10 morale, 7 melee attack and 8 melee defense. The general's are: a General's Staff (0 star's), a 3-Star General, a 6-Star General, and a 9-Star General. The more star's that a general has, the less likely your troops will be to run away and, less evident, the better they will fight. I did a test to see the comparisons between the four general's, by having an Austrian Cuirassier fig ht against a British Horse Guard, and I varied the Austrian general's that would be in the test. Even though the Cuirassier were hopelessly outmatched, the numb er of soldiers they routed at would change, and so I came up with these results (also, I kept the unit in the General's sphere the whole time): 0 star = 8 men, 3 star = 7 men, 6 star = 4 men, and 9 star = 7 men. Though these tests probably aren't perfectly accurate (the 9 star general took a step backwards), they shoul d still help you nonetheless to decide which general to take along, but ultimate ly it will be a trade between cost and fighting ability (I personally use the 3Star ones as they give a noticeable boost without being too expensive). Now, your men take a big morale hit if your general dies, so you want to keep hi m safe while still being in proximity of your army. This generally means right b ehind your main force, which offers suitable protection from stray bullets while still allowing the general to be close enough to inspire his units. This also b rings us up to the point of the general's special abilities. If you see a part o f your line that's wavering or just doesn't seem to stand a chance, rush your ge neral over and use the "inspire" and "rally" abilities to give your units the ex tra kick they need! Overall, I hope this part shows you the importance of select ing and using your general properly. Experience Chevrons Now, I know Chevrons aren't units, but they're still an integral part of N:TW an d any total war game in general. Basically, you can have a maximum of 14 chevron s on one unit, and each chevron gives a unit 2 more accuracy, 1 more melee attac k, 1 more melee defense, 1 more reloading speed, and 1/2 more morale. Chevrons a re most important to place on key units, such as your general or elite infantry, or ones that you feel are important but not very strong, such as militia skirmi shers. Overall, you may not use chevrons so that you can field a better army, bu t chevrons can still often give a unit the extra boost they need to win! Part III: Creating a Balanced Army Their are many different kinds of armies;rush armies, camping armies, guerrilla armies, etc. , but those could fill up another two articles, and I actually don' t know all of them, so let's just get started with a simple, versatile army that can get you through 90% of the battles you'll fight: x8 Line Infantry x2 Elite Infantry x3 Skirmishers

x2 Lancers x2 Heavy Cavalry x2 Howitzers x1 3-Star General Part IV: Conclusion First off, I just want to thank you all for reading my first article, you have n o idea how much it means to me. I hope that you all can take away some tactics a nd win some battles with this guide, but if you ignored everything else in this article (unlikely), don't ignore this: N:TW is just a game, and nothing more. If you lose, don't get frustrated, don't get upset;just have some fun, laugh it off, figure out what went wrong, and then move on. After all, it's kind of odd that people cry over a 3-inch disk these days.