Polish units in NTW

ENG: All available Polish units in Napoleon: Total War
PL: Wszystkie dostępne polskie jednostki w grze Napoleon: Total War

Polish Legion

The Polish Legion is a line infantry unit, able to give fire or charge home with bayonets.

The Legion may be regarded as socially inferior and paid less than other infantry, but they fight like the Devil when asked. They will honourably withstand shot, shell and sabre and then go forwards with courage to drive off enemies. Armed with muskets and bayonets, they can steadily fire volleys into the mass of an enemy army, or fix bayonets and attack at close quarters. They may lack the pomp of other infantry, but they do all that is asked.

The Poles were ardent supporters of Napoleon and saw him as a liberator. This admiration was mutual; the Emperor declared that his Polish Legion infantry were to be treated with the same respect as their French equivalents. The Polish infantry excelled in defensive tactics, choosing to avoid the mass assaults the French favoured. As a result they were less vulnerable to artillery attacks, and were even known to sit down under fire to reduce their vulnerability!


Grand Campaign


Peninsular Campaign

Polish Guard Lancers

Polish Guard Lancers are fearsome and lightning fast at the charge.

Trained to ride hard into battle with their lances couched, these superb horsemen are ideal shock troops. Their steeds are fast and carry them to key points on the battlefield in what seems like a heartbeat. The morale of these brave men is unrivalled, but should they become caught in a prolonged melee their weakness in close combat will become apparent. Employed against elite infantry formed in square their charge and lance skills will be largely wasted.

The Polish Guard were originally raised from among a party of exiled Polish noblemen who accompanied Napoleon into Warsaw in 1807. He was so impressed with the loyalty of these men that he insisted the new regiment be attached to his own Imperial Guard. From that moment on candidates for the regiment had to be Polish landowners between the ages of 18 and 40; they were expected to provide their own horses and equipment. It wasn’t until after the Battle of Wagram in 1809 that these men were issued with the lance as standard equipment. When Napoleon was forced exiled on Elba in 1814, 150 loyalists of the Polish Guard Lancers followed their Emperor to prison.

Lombardy-Cisapline Legion

These light infantry are a versatile unit who can both skirmish and form a disciplined line.

The Lombardy-Cisalpline Legion is trained to use an effective combination of loose and close knit formations. They are skirmishers, used to harass the enemy at long range before concentrating into a tighter formation for a last charge. Their versatility has some disadvantages however, and they may come unstuck against troops trained to specialise in one area of expertise.

Historically, many of the troops in Napoleon’s Italian army were Polish emigrants, who looked to Revolutionary France for sanctuary and inspiration after the third partition of Poland in 1795. The Polish legions were assembled by Jan Henryk Dąbrowski acting for the Cisalpline Republic, a French puppet state. Eventually they became part of the army of the Republic of Lombardy. All, however, were under the command of Bonaparte. Napoleon made his name during his Italian campaign, thanks to his appeal to the common soldiers and brilliant strategies. He had the respect and admiration of his men and even managed to inspire the Army of Italy in 1796, despite the fact that they were under-equipped, underfed and unpaid!


Available only for Italian Campaign

Vistula Uhlans

These cavalrymen are each armed with a lance, which make them particularly deadly when charging.

The lance is probably among the oldest of cavalry weapons. It gives the user a chance to put all his weight and that of his charging horse into one very sharp point. A lance that can, in skilled hands, be driven right through any enemy. When coupled with the fast pace of their horses, a lancer’s charge is very intimidating. However, if the lancer does not kill his target, he leaves himself vulnerable. A long lance is less use in a melee than a sword, and a lancer is at a disadvantage once the close fighting starts, especially against well-trained infantry capable of forming square.

Historically, many nations used lancers. The French army adopted lancers with some enthusiasm, and Napoleon even included Polish lancers in his Imperial Guard. In India the lance had long been used as a weapon: lancer skills were often practiced by “pegging”, picking tent pegs out of the ground with the lance tip, or “pig-sticking”, the hunting of wild pigs or even wild dogs with the lance.


Available only in Peninsular Campaign DLC

7e Regiment de Chevaulegers-Lanciers

These cavalrymen are armed with lances that make them particularly deadly when charging.

The lance is probably the oldest cavalry weapon. It allows the user to put all his weight, and that of his charging horse, behind one very sharp point. In the hands of a skilled man that point can be driven right through a man. This makes lances intimidating to face but, if a lancer does not kill his target, he is vulnerable: a lance is less use than a sword in a melee, so the lancer is at a disadvantage. This is also true against well-trained infantry capable of forming square.

Historically, many nations used lancers. Napoleon even recruited Polish lancers to be part of his Imperial Guard. Surprisingly, each type of cavalry regiment required its own set of horse furniture, especially designed for the tactics that would be used. Lancer saddles tended to be made of beech wood, covered in black leather and reinforced with metal bands. They differed from the more elaborate dragoon saddle that required holsters for pistols, and a heavy sheepskin to protect the weapons and the lower body of the rider.


Available in Heroes of the Napoleonic Wars DLC

Towarczys

This unit of lancers are a powerful force of shock cavalry, able to break through units with a charge.

The Towarczys lancers are a unique force in Prussian service: fast moving, and with high morale thanks to their self-belief. Trained to attack at the full gallop, their lances give them an advantage in the first few moments of hand-to-hand combat. This is often enough to break unprepared or disorganised enemies. Like all lancers, however, they are not good in a prolonged fight, and should withdraw and regroup rather than stay in a melee. Only a foolish commander would order them to attack prepared infantry in a square.

Originally, these troops had been the Bosniaks in Prussian service but, after 1800 they were recruited from Polish territory that had been recently conquered by Prussia. Despite the changes, they remained light lancers, indeed the only lancers in the Prussian army until the Uhlans were raised in 1808. The regiment adapted a traditional Polish idea of the nobility serving as cavalry officers called “towarzysz”, or companions. Originally, these men had joined the army with their followers, and their pay and privileges were entirely dependent on the size of their personal retinue. The Corps Towarczys was present at the Battle of Eylau in 1807, as part of the 3rd Division of the Prussian Corps; this small force was pretty much all that was left of the Prussian military after their crushing defeat at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt in 1806.


Available in Imperial Eagle Pack DLC

[McLovin]

hahahhahahahahaaa

[A1GreatNorthern1470]

If anyone is interested the unplayable campaign units are here: https://www.honga.net/totalwar/napoleon_units.php?f=poland_lithuania

[Galahad]

All of them? I cant name them polish if they are just polish in some percent.

[Franz]

Technically Austrian Ulans are also polish :>

[Galahad]

Added Vistula Uhlans available only to the Peninsular Campaign!

[Galahad]

Added!

[Galahad]

thanks will add them!

[Furdinand]

7e Regiment de Chevaulegers-Lanciers are also Polish