For other uses of the term, see Nizam-I Cedit.
Nizam-I Cedit Rifles are a type of skirmisher infantry in Napoleon: Total War.
Description[]
These troops of the “new model” army are armed, equipped and trained in the latest European fashion.
Fighting in formal order with disciplined fire is a new idea for Turkish forces: the traditional method simply involved brave, heavily armed men hurling themselves at the enemy. This “new model” army is a break with the past, and it has even adopted Western-style military dress. Despite these modernisations the Nizam-I Cedit remain vulnerable to cavalry charges and when in prolonged close combat. They are best used in a loose skirmish formation, where their marksmanship and rifles can be used to the full.
Historically, the Nizam-I Cedit reforms were made vital by the poor performance of Ottoman armies against the Russians. The Ottomans’ inability to defend their empire against a growing Slavic threat, and predatory moves by other European powers, were reason enough for Turkey to be known as the “sick man of Europe”. Help came from an unlikely source: anxious for allies, the French Revolutionary Republic provided much of the expertise to retrain the Ottoman army. However, the reforms met with opposition from the ultra-conservative janissaries; eventually the janissaries [sic] had to be disbanded.
General Information[]
Compared to Jägers, the standard skirmisher type in Napoleon: Total War, the Nizam-I Cedit Rifles have slightly better defensive values at the cost of worse reload skill. Despite the better defence stat, Nizam-I Cedit Rifles still fare abysmally at melee combat, and their worse performance at range yet identical cost makes them inferior overall. The difference isn't large, however, and the Nizam-I Cedit Rifles are still competent skirmishers, picking off targets from a distance.
Despite being nominally on par with Jägers, which can be recruited relatively early in the game due to their low building requirements, Nizam-I Cedit Rifles require staff colleges (final-tier army buildings) to be trained.
Like almost all Ottoman units, Nizam-I Cedit Rifles are resistant to heat fatigue, giving them a stamina advantage in desert maps and granting them immunity from heat attrition.