Caucasus Huntsmen

"One can only be silent and sit peacefully when one hath arrow and bow; otherwise one prateth and quarrelleth."
	— Friedrich Nietzsche

In game

Caucasus Huntsmen — Vital statistics
	Medium ranged infantry unit with medium-powered range, able to take out slow-moving melee targets with good hitpoints and armour but slower than normal archers. Strong versus heavy infantry, light ships Weak versus siege weapons, buildings, melee cavalry
Prereq:	Build time	HP	LOS	Attack	Attack speed	Movement speed	Upgrades to
	11.2s (175t)	85	11	14	2s (30t)	23
Cost			Created from	Armour	Weapon range	Specialty
Base	Ramp	Pop
: 50 : 40;	: 1; : 1	1		0	1–10	Strong versus heavy infantry.

Overall strategy

Mountains often make mighty men and these people are no exception, whether descended from the smaller Christian kingdoms in the Caucasus, or from the Turkic peoples that have hitherto began pouring out westwards from Asia, and are sufficiently tough enough to hold out even against cavalry. These units come with added hitpoints and armour compared to other units of the same type, and thus can be expected to hold a line until reinforcements arrive.

The one sole problem that these units have, however, is that they are not very fast on foot, being undisciplined at best and wholly unruly at worst, thus commanders on the field must balance this inability to move them with haste against their greater prowess in combat. Thus while Caucasus Huntsmen may be expected to best factions dependent on melee strength, do not expect wonders from them should they face more disciplined units, especially against the elite archers of the Japanese with their immense range and payload, thanks to their mastery of the yumi. Equally devastating is the Welsh helwyr (and its criminal counterpart, the brigand), being especially effective, given its range, ability to hide and speed of training.

With this in mind, there are many ways to use these archer units. Hunters can be used to cover Poland's spearmen until it can bring out is slower-training but highly durable medium infantry units to bear on the foe, equally these units can be used to screen heavy infantry troops from horse archer ambushes given their armour and hitpoint bonuses (they don't move as fast, but are mobile enough to escort heavy infantry). With Russia and Hungary, these units are perfect infantry killers, leaving the task of mopping up archers to their respective unique cavalry units.

Unit summary

• When the Going Gets ... — Caucasus hunters are of a strong disposition at the cost of mobility, thus they often can be used for defensive frontline duty. This addition of hitpoints works especially well in Poland's favour, which has a slow-training but strong Slavic axe "meat shield".
• Counter Fire — Added durability means that Caucasus Huntsmen are ideal as counter-archery units.
• Thus, use only fast-moving units with sufficient armour such as heavy cavalry, or ranged units that can outrange normal archers such as longbowmen or even siege weapons to take them down.

History

The Caucasus is a region forming part of the boundary between Europe and Asia. Named for the Caucasus Mountains that define the border, the Caucasus region is the location of the countries of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan and since time immemorial had been the waypoint for tribes migrating from Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East. Unsurprisingly, the Caucasus has long been a recruiting ground for armed groups, with various ethnicities living in the mountains being courted by various empires as mercenaries such as the Cimmerians, Sarmatians, Scythians, and Circassians.