Tiradores de Cantabria are a type of skirmisher infantry in The Peninsular Campaign.
Description[]
As sharpshooters the Guerrilla Tiradores are perfect for harassing an enemy from afar. Guerrilla units can be deployed anywhere on the battlefield except inside the enemy deployment zone or within range of the enemy general.
Largely recruited from among hunters and farmers living in the Spanish mountains, these men have grown up using firearms, and they are crack shots. Their hunting and tracking experience allows them to hide and their loose formation helps to protect them from bombardment. These sharpshooters are best employed sniping enemies from a distance: they will take heavy losses in close-combat, have precious little defence against cavalry, and will they suffer in a formal exchange of volleys with against other infantry.
Guerrilla bands were created by the Spanish to fight back against occupying French forces during the Peninsular War. Often outnumbered and outgunned, the guerrillas relied heavily on skirmishing, ambushing and superior knowledge of the landscape to obtain a tactical advantage. Francisco Espoz y Mina (1781-1836) made himself into an expert on guerrilla tactics. He started his career in the “Tiradores de Doyle”, a guerrilla band put together by British officer, Col. Charles W. Doyle, and then went on to be one of the most feared fighting men in Spain.
General Information[]
As Guerrilla Tiradores are unavailable for custom battles, Tiradores de Cantabria are the only guerrilla skirmishers that Spain can field in such battles. Like Voltiguers, they have only 100 range, but make up for this with their superior reloading speed compared to the rifle-armed, 125 range skirmishers. Compared to Voltiguers, Tiradores de Cantabria have worse accuracy and far worse reloading, but make up for it by being able to be placed anywhere on the battlefield during the deployment phase of the battle. This allows them to deliver volleys from unexpected places. Placing them in isolation from other units is risky, however, as they have terrible melee statistics and are easily overrun by cavalry.