For the similar Napoleon: Total War unit, see Corso Terrestre de Navarra.
'Corso Terrestre' Guerillas are a type of skirmisher in Empire: Total War.
Description[]
Guerrillas are not a recognised military organisation at all, but bands of friends and neighbours who have adapted banditry to be a way of making war. They fight hard, because if they are captured they can expect little mercy from an enemy: at best, a trial before inevitable execution. War and vendetta are often the same thing for guerrillas: wrongs done and the resulting hatred are what drive them to fight. They are best when employed in ambush, or to skirmish and harass. They cannot be expected to fight in carefully dressed lines like soldiers, because they are not soldiers.
Historically, the Spanish people had an enormous capacity for carrying on wars against foreign occupiers long after their rulers had capitulated or made their peace with an enemy. Guerrillas arose as an act of rebellion. The name itself is Spanish, and means “little war”: the constant skirmishing and sniping that wears out an occupying army. When his men were bogged down there, Napoleon described Spain as an “ulcer”, thanks in part to the constant partisan warfare carried on by the guerrillas.
General Information[]
The 'Corso Terrestre' Guerillas are accessible right from the beginning in the game and are below average skirmishers, with worse shooting and reloading skills than the already poor quality Guerillas but better melee capabilities. Despite having unremarkable statistics, these units give Spain an advantage over their rivals in the early game due to the lack of early game light infantry in most faction rosters.
Notes[]
Although they can be recruited at the beginning of the Grand Campaign, 'Corso Terrestre' Guerillas can only be used in late period skirmishes.