For the similarly named Empire: Total War unit, see Chevaux-légers.
Chevauxlégers are a type of medium cavalry in Napoleon: Total War.
Description[]
Good all-round cavalry, Chevauxlégers are trained in heavy and light cavalry tactics.
The Chevauxléger regiments may not be the strongest or fastest cavalry, but their courage cannot be faulted. What they lack in specialisation they compensate for by versatility: they can be set almost any cavalry task to do. A wise commander needs to bear in mind that they should not be pitted against heavier, more professional cavalry. Instead, they can be used to attack light infantry or as relief for beleaguered comrades.
The Austrian cavalry of the Napoleonic Wars were one of the most powerful forces of the period, but they were often hampered by the poor quality of regimental officers. Officially, good officers were recognised as vital to success, even more so than having good men in the rank and file. Yet favouritism, patronage and personal politics meant that command positions were often given to men with the right connections. Idiots, reckless fools and cowards could be, and were, appointed to command. If they were lucky, the men of their regiments were good enough to save them and their reputations.
General Information[]
Chevauxlégers are unusual in that they are one of the few cavalry types in Napoleon: Total War that are classified as neither light nor heavy cavalry. They are simply listed as "cavalry" by the game, though they may be more accurately termed as "medium cavalry": they lack the stamina and speed of light cavalry, and do not have the formidable melee and defensive statistics of heavy cavalry, but instead fall somewhere in between. Chevauxlégers are thus good all-round cavalry, well capable of disrupting enemy formations and chasing routing units, but they pay for this with a lack of specialization.
Chevauxlégers are the only medium cavalry available to a playable faction (Austria) in the default game (Portugal's medium cavalry are available in the multiplayer version of The Peninsular Campaign). Austrian chevauxlégers are superior to chevauxlégers fielded by other factions (stat differences are listed below), and chevauxlégers as a whole are superior to other medium cavalry, being slightly better than Spanish Line Cavalry and far superior to Portuguese Cavalry.
Faction | Melee | Charge | Defence | Morale | Cost | Upkeep |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Austria | 9 | 15 | 11 | 7 | 580 SP/710 MP | 180 |
General | 8 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 530 SP/640 MP | 170 |