TOTAL WAR WIKI

Portuguese Cavalry
Category:	Cavalry
Class:	Standard Cavalry
Men:	15 / 30 / 45 / 60
Melee attack:	7
Charge bonus:	13
Defence:	7
Morale:	5
Turns to train:	2
Recruitment cost:	430
Upkeep cost:	180

Armed with straight swords, these cavalry are competent troops.

Portuguese horses, although hardy and reliable, are neither large nor fast enough to be used for heavy or light cavalry. For this reason, they are used as mounts in a kind of all-purpose cavalry, slower than light cavalry and weaker than most heavy cavalry units. Despite this lack of specialisation, they are still useful on the battlefield and fight courageously. They must be deployed with a little care, as charging them into well-trained line infantry squares will only lead to heavy losses.

Historically, cavalry regiments were the weakest arm of the Portuguese forces. They had difficulty raising effective cavalry due to Portugal’s lack of natural resources required to produce remounts. It was hard to find enough forage to sustain the horses, and the native animals were not large, or swift. As a result, Portuguese cavalry was never organised as specialised regiments and failed to fulfil the needed tactical roles. To be fair, Portugal simply did not have the spare land required for large herds of horses.

Abilities

Can hide in woodland

Technological abilities

Wedge formation

Diamond formation

Available for:

Unit is exclusive to the Peninsular Campaign.