Guard

Line Infantry

Militia

Light Infantry

Cavalry

Artillery

Service Brigade/ Supply Train

Napoleon BonaparteHey everyone!The time has come to flex your military muscles and learn about each and every muscle group in your army. The core of March of the Eagles is warfare, so you have to know your body inside and out!Armies are your prime instruments of power. And to master your armies, you need to be aware of the different brigades of your armies and their strengths and weaknesses.Armies are divided into brigades that are organized in center, right and left flanks as well as reserves. You can recruit new brigades in any core province under your control, but recruiting in city provinces is far quicker than drawing from the country ones. Recruiting new brigades costs manpower and gold, and maintenance and reinforcement use these same resources.Each brigade belongs to one of the following categories. A brigade's category defines its abilities () while the brigade's type defines its statistics, ().Brigades can be Guard, Line Infantry, Light Infantry, Militia, Cavalry, Artillery and Service. The maximum strength varies between different brigades. Battlefield casualties and general attrition will naturally reduce the number of men as you play, but this will be slowly reinforced. Each regiment has offensive and defensive characteristics. Some have attributes that favor the attack, some favor the defense, and others are suited for a more balanced approach. Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages depending on your circumstances, and it will be up to you to decide what kind of army you want.Guards are definitely your elite troops. These are the men you will want to have in your reserves or center line for when you need a decisive push to force the battle to a favorable conclusion.These are the reliable foot soldiers and the backbone of your army. You might say that infantry is the generic type of unit, and will comprise the bulk of your army. They are good to have, but they don´t have any specific unique strengths. They may not have horses or artillery weapons, but they compensate with their discipline and physical strength. The infantryman himself, with or without his personal weapon, is considered a weapon system on his own. Your land-based soldiers are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot and engage the enemy face-to-face.Garrison Brigades have lower maintenance costs than the regular line infantry units and are generally bad at moving across the map. These soldiers are best kept guarding your forts and borders and used just as their name suggests – protecting what you already hold.These are for when you need men and lots of them - but you don´t have the cash on hand to get front line men. Militia are basically cheap, mass troops for when you have lots of manpower to exploit, but not much gold to get them up to regular battle quality.The Militia Garrison Brigade is cheaper in maintenance compared to the regular militia infantry units and bad at moving across the map. Best kept guarding your forts and borders, just like regular garrison troops.This is the flashier brigade, you might say. Light infantry primarily represent skirmishers, and they are ideal for those special tactics you will employ in battles.Fast and furious, they are your merry and mounted men. With their mobility, they can multiply the fighting value of even the smallest forces. These highly mobile forces can outflank and avoid attacks, surprise and overpower enemies, and retreat and escape in the blink of an eye. Not to mention that fighting from horseback gives greater height, speed, and inertial mass over an opponent on foot. All of these are variations of the same type.Artillery is a group of infantry with the added power of very powerful projectile weapons. They are the most lethal form of land-based armament you can have at your command. A vast majority of the deaths during the Napoleonic Wars will come from artillery.Heavy stationary guns that have a slow movement rate, intended to defend forts and strongpoints.These men sacrifice dealing damage for speed and is what you will want for your fast all cavalry armies.The Supply Train unit type is the center of supply for your armies on the move and will carry whatever your other troops need as they cross through hostile lands. But keep in mind that the Supply train cannot fight and is best kept in the reserves during combat, to make sure your army don´t lose due to attrition.Every country has unique collection of brigades, and the actual abilities of each and even their size will depend on the country.Now you know your muscles and we hope you will put them to good useSo start planning your army, next week we talk about Leaders!