Foederati Cavalry are a type of light cavalry unit available to the Western Roman Empire in Rome: Total War: Barbarian Invasion.
Description[]
Before the army reforms of Diocletian and Constantine the Great, minorities were included in the Roman army as units of auxilia. After their reforms the same practice continued, but under the designation of foederati. With increasing numbers of barbarians within the Roman borders thanks to tribal migrations, whole units were incorporated into the army as "allies" under treaty (or "foedus") to Rome. The foederati were therefore non-Romans who had agreed to fight for Rome, usually in return for the right to settle in Roman lands, a promise that was not always honoured by Rome.
The Roman army has always been infantry-heavy force, so the inclusion of barbarian cavalry within its ranks is a useful tactical addition. These men are relatively light cavalry, and valuable for scouting, screening and pursuit tasks.
Tactics[]
Foederati Cavalry are worthy enough for a spot in the Roman army. They're fairly standard light cavalry units, on par with a unit like the Sarmatian Virgin Cavalry which is nearly the same as Foederati Cavalry. While they're not as strong as other, heavier cavalry units such as the Sarmatian Auxilia and Graal Knights used by the Romano-British, Noble Clansmen used by the Celts or Goth Noble Warriors used by the horde factions, namely the Goths and Ostrogoths, Foederati Cavalry is useful in other roles than anti-cavalry.
Their statistics are not overly amazing if you once again compare them to later cavalry units, who will be able to see off Foederati Cavalry if they met in battle. However, for fighting other light cavalry or, more importantly, lighter infantry units, Foederati Cavalry server their purpose well. Their charge stat is not too bad, capable of causing some casualties if they are able to outflank the main melee as well as some morale damage. This is especially useful as they can form their wedge formation, capable of causing even more damage. However, they do not do well against heavy cavalry or spearmen, since spearmen are a counter to cavalry and heavier cavalry units are just more well armoured and do more damage than Foederati Cavalry. Because they are light cavalry, they are quite speedy and can catch up with fleeing enemies who are routing from the battlefield, causing extra casualties.
Foederati Cavalry can be built relatively early on, considering their building is acquired quite early on and the Roman Empire is rather large and built up. As such, they are good cavalry to keep in Roman legions while attempting to stabilise the Empire. They are quite cheap to build and their upkeep is not disastrously high, something that would harm the Empire if higher cost cavalry was attempted to be kept. They can reliably outflank armies already engaged in combat thanks to their speed and the charge damage they can do can help out the fight. They're also quite useful for chasing down archers and missile units who would otherwise pepper friendly forces and chasing them away with heavy cavalry would be a waste. Like all cavalry, Foederati Cavalry works best on the flank supported by heavier cavalry or defending your more vulnerable units such as your own archers. Since Foederati Cavalry can also be recruited as a mercenary unit by all factions with access to Germania and Gaul, several other factions will likely recruit them as mercenary light cavalry if their own faction is missing a cavalry arm, like the Saxons for example.
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