Lombardy-Cisapline Legions are a type of light infantry in Napoleon: Total War.
Description[]
These light infantry are a versatile unit who can both skirmish and form a disciplined line.
The Lombardy-Cisalpline Legion is trained to use an effective combination of loose and close knit formations. They are skirmishers, used to harass the enemy at long range before concentrating into a tighter formation for a last charge. Their versatility has some disadvantages however, and they may come unstuck against troops trained to specialise in one area of expertise.
Historically, many of the troops in Napoleon’s Italian army were Polish emigrants, who looked to Revolutionary France for sanctuary and inspiration after the third partition of Poland in 1795. The Polish legions were assembled by Jan Henryk Dabrowski acting for the Cisalpline Republic, a French puppet state. Eventually they became part of the army of the Republic of Lombardy. All, however, were under the command of Bonaparte. Napoleon made his name during his Italian campaign, thanks to his appeal to the common soldiers and brilliant strategies. He had the respect and admiration of his men and even managed to inspire the Army of Italy in 1796, despite the fact that they were under-equipped, underfed and unpaid!
General Information[]
Available only in the Battle of Lodi and the Italian campaign, the Lombardy-Cisapline Legion are light infantry exclusive to France. They are somewhat worse than generic Chasseurs in most ways, yet have the same recruitment and upkeep costs. The only advantage Lombardy-Cisapline Legions have over chasseurs is that they can be trained from the most basic recruitment trainers, while chasseurs can only be trained in tier-2 barracks.
A regiment of them is granted for free a few turns after capturing Lombardy in the single player Italian campaign; additional regiments may be trained in Lombardy. A regiment is part of the French army during the Battle of Lodi, where it serves as one of just two regiments of light infantry available, providing crucial firepower at a distance.