Voluntarios de la Cruzada del Tietar are a type of guerrilla line infantry in The Peninsular Campaign.
Description[]
Guerrilla Fusiliers are a versatile infantry unit able to form line to use their muskets and bayonets to full effect. Guerrilla units can be deployed anywhere on the battlefield except inside the enemy deployment zone or within range of the enemy general.
Recruited from vengeful and patriotic Spaniards outraged by the French usurpation of their lands, Guerrilla Fusiliers are mountain men who have grown up using firearms, swords and knives. This personal experience makes them individually skilled and they are effective in melee as a result. They are at a disadvantage when facing enemies such artillery and skirmishers, but they have enough tactical sense to be able to form square when threatened by cavalry.
During the French occupation of Spain, the French army committed many crimes against the Spanish people, often with the connivance of their officers. Theft, rape and murder were commonplace, and seen as practical ways to strike back at the “brigands” and “bandits” of the guerrilla, or little war. Friends and family would suffer, even if the fighters did not. In their turn, the Spanish treated any Frenchmen they caught with similar brutality. Family honour, a driving force for many Spaniards, meant that they had to avenge their dead no matter what the personal cost. So while the government apparently did little, the people made the lives of the French invaders a hell of ambushes and fear. The French army was almost paralysed at times by the need to protect its rear and supply lines from the guerrillas.
General Information[]
Voluntarios de la Cruzada del Tietar are guerrilla line infantry, meaning that they can be placed anywhere on the battlefield during the deployment phase of a battle (except in the enemy's deployment zone). Like other guerrilla line infantry, they have below average stats compared to line infantry, but make up for this with their flexibility in deployment. They are at their most useful when surprising or aiding in encircling enemy armies.
Both Great Britain and Spain may obtain these units. While Spain may train one regiment of them from training centers, much like how it trains its standard units, Great Britain obtains Voluntarios de la Cruzada del Tietar from liberating the region of Ciceras. Great Britain can therefore obtain theoretically unlimited amounts of these units, though given that they aren't superior to other guerrilla line infantry there's usually no practical reason for doing so.