Yeomen Archers

"And gentlemen in England, now a-bed, Shall think themselves accurs'd, they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap, whiles any speaks, That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day."
	— William Shakespeare, Henry V (Act iv, Scene iii)

In game

Yeomen Archers — Vital statistics
	Unique light infantry unit with quicker upgrade time than crossbow, but poorer damage and accuracy; capable of dealing rapid-fire splash damage, and an elevated timber ramp cost. Strong versus heavy infantry, light ships Weak versus siege weapons, buildings, melee cavalry
Prereq:	Build time	HP	LOS	Attack	Attack speed	Movement speed	Upgrade of	Upgrades to
[2];	12.2s (183t)	99	11	18	2s (30t)	26
Cost			Created from	Armour	Weapon range	Specialty
Base	Ramp	Pop
: 50; : 30	: 1; : 2	1		0	1–12	Strong versus heavy infantry. +1 splash attack radius. [Merc. stats] 90 base; 5 ramp; 5.3s (80t) train time.

Overall strategy

Unlike spears, guns or crossbows, longbows are very difficult weapons to master, but extremely deadly if put in highly trained hands. Yeomen Archers are thus the elite among all bowmen, with a cost and rate of fire that puts arbalests and arquebusiers in the shade. With sufficient mass, longbowmen can easily mess up massed formations of infantry and can even pack sufficient punch to down more heavily-armed foes, with large splash areas to boot.

Yet, as archers, they all suffer from the same problems: have the enemy come too close, and their bows will be of little use. It therefore goes without saying that longbowmen must have the protection of a unit that can function as a meat shield vis a vis cavalry: having simple pikemen or eve knights-sergeants as an infantry screen, due to their large amount of hitpoints and their ability to counter both cavalry and infantry, with the rapid-firing longbowmen placed behind them, can be devastating against all types of enemy troops.

Unit summary

• A Rain of Iron and Blood — Yeomen Archers are best used for attacking heavy melee infantry and countering other archer units.
• Rush Crush — Massed infantry can easily overwhelm archers. Bring your own heavy infantry as a "moving wall" to protect them.
• Renegade Longbowmen — Renegade Longbowmen, as these are called, could be found amongst the ranks of armies serving the rulers of Scotland, Portugal, Burgundy, and the Papal States. 

See also

• Longbow Levy
• Helwyr

History

Although the longbow has always been seen as a distinctively English weapon ever since the Hundred Years' War, all nations in the world at some point have recognised the value of archery, whether in obtaining meat for the pot or in obtaining victory from war. For this reason, however, some English renegades took up the practice of mercenary wayfaring on the Continent and outside of service to the kings of England, these renegades were found serving some king or the other. The White Company (named so for their white uniforms and/or bright "white" armour) was one such mercenary company that operated on the Italian peninsula in the 14th century CE and besides hosting men-at-arms, also recruited veteran English longbowmen in its ranks.