

Frankish Horsemen
Lightly-armoured cavalry move swiftly and strike fast, confounding their opponents.Like other former barbarian kingdoms, the Franks inherited much of the Roman Empire's military and societal structure, not just its territory. Once again, cavalry was an aristocratic division as only wealthy landowners could afford horses and therefore provide cavalry during times of war. Elite cavalry, by extension, was drawn only from the most highly-skilled among them. They, more than any other, could afford not only the horse, but the mail and plate armour required; 'brunia' body armour was the single most expensive piece of military equipment of the age, costing more than the horse itself. Some took this to excess, adorning their armour with jewels and other finery, but Charlemagne was known to have criticised his noblemen for such ostentatious displays. In battle, Carolingian cavalry favoured a mass charge of spears to break the enemy quickly. This worked particularly well on favourable, flat terrain but led to problems on less-than-ideal topography. In fact, cavalry was still considered inferior until long after the Battle of Tours when, due to a failure in mobilisation, Charles Martel won the battle without any heavy horse at all. Standard Frankish horsemen were lightly armoured (wearing little more than padded cloth), carried spears and shields, and were best-suited for bringing home a cavalry charge and then, once involved in the fray, remaining to press the attack.
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Unit Name Frankish Horsemen |
Main Unit Key cha_fra_horsemen |
Land Unit Key cha_fra_horsemen |
Naval Unit Key cha_transport |
Soldiers 80 |
Category Cavalry |
Class Melee Cavalry |
Custom Battle Cost 350 |
Recruitment Cost 350 |
Upkeep Cost 105 |
Melee Attack 28 |
Melee Damage 32 |
├ Melee Weapon att_spear |
├ Melee Base Damage 24 |
├ Armour-piercing Damage 8 |
├ Armour Piercing No |
├ Attack Against Cavalry 20 |
├ Attack Against Elephants 20 |
└ Attack Against Infantry 0 |
Charge Bonus 50 |
Melee Defence 37 |
├ Base Defence 12 |
├ Shield cha_round |
└ Shield Defence 25 |
Armour 10 |
├ Armour cha_cloth_helmet |
├ Armour Defence 10 |
└ Shield Armour 0 |
Health 150 |
├ Man Entity cha_infantry_heavy |
├ Man Health 100 |
├ Bonus Hit Points 0 |
├ Mount cha_ger_horse_spear_shield_m |
├ Mount Entity cha_horse_medium |
└ Mount Health 50 |
Morale 34 |
Abilities
Frankish Horsemen- Wedge
The unit moves into a wedge-shaped attack formation.
Attributes
- Resistant to Fatigue
Fatigue has less of an effect on this unit. - Hide (forest)
This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.
Strengths & Weaknesses
No Strengths and Weaknesses