Michel Ney and his men are a regiment of heavy cavalry in Napoleon: Total War.
Description[]
Curiassiers are heavy cavalry who still wear armour, who rely on the shock of impact to defeat enemies.
These big men mounted on big horses are led by General Michel Ney, and their primary task is to crash into enemy forces and engage in hand-to-hand combat. To this end, they wear “cuirass”; back and breast armoured plates over leather padding, along with reinforced metal helmets. They carry heavy straight swords. A wise commander with a cuirassier force uses it as a battering ram to hit the enemy at a critical point.
In 1799 [sic], ex-civil servant Michel Ney began his career as a hussar and by 1799 his talents had already made him a general de division. He was soon taken under Napoleon’s wing and given control of the VI Corps of the Grande Armée. He continued to serve with distinction, finally earning recognition for his bravery during Napoleon’s campaign against Russia. Whilst leading the III Corps, he and his troops were overcome by the enemy and deemed lost, but Ney managed to cut his way through the Russian lines and retuned to Napoleon, who dubbed him “the bravest of the brave”. His foolish charge at Waterloo in 1815, however brave, ruined the French cavalry for the remainder of the battle.
General Information[]
Michel Ney and his regiment are statistically identical to French Cuirassiers.
In the singleplayer versions of the Battle of Waterloo, as well as the 1v2 version in multiplayer, Michel Ney has 60 men in his regiment, making him essentially a cuirassier regiment. In the multiplayer 2v2, 3v3 and 4v4 versions of the battle, however, Michel Ney only has 24 men in his regiment, and he is a general, making him simultaneously less powerful and more dangerous to lose. He does not gain the rally or inspire abilities as a standard general, and he essentially becomes a general that does not inspire nearby units but with the benefit of cuirassier-like statistics.
Michel Ney also appears in the Europe campaign as a French general, where he is represented by a standard general unit. He is above average for a general, and is particularly good when commanding armies with a proportionally large amount of cavalry.
Notes[]
Ney's description panel indicates that he costs 980 gold to recruit; however, as he is only available for the Battle of Waterloo, where he is made available for free, it is impossible to recruit him without modding.
Trivia[]
- Michel Ney's description states that he joined the army in 1799 and became a general that same year. In reality, he joined the army in 1788[1].