Napoleon Senki/Units

This section describes the strengths and weaknesses of each rank of your army, along with tips for getting the most out of each fighter's abilities.

Infantry
These are your common, entry-level foot soldiers. They aren't particularly powerful in any area, but they're great for defending your cannons and your general, and they're potent attackers when used in a large group. Unlike other types of units, you can recruit new infantry units for an individual regiment by staying in a town for a while.

Grenadier
These guys carry rifles, allowing them to attack enemies with a much greater range than any unit except artillery. They're not very useful in hand-to-hand combat, however, so to capitalize on their strengths, keep them a few squares from the front of enemy lines, or let them advance up the side and move inwards on the enemy army, wreaking havoc from afar.

Artillery
One of the most important developments in military strategy that Napoleon helped usher in was the increased reliance on heavy artillery to decimate enemy defenses. Napoleon's use of artillery greatly affected strategies used in wars throughout the 19th century, including the American Civil War, and you'll find that mastering the use of cannons is perhaps the biggest key to success - or failure - in this game.

Cannons have many nice points in this game. For one thing, they have tremendous range, and each cannonball does damage on a large area (a 3 x 3 block). Cannons are also useful for destroying boulders and other obstacles in front of the enemy lines, giving you an easier route into the belly of the enemy. The downside is that artillery fire can hurt your own men as well as those of the enemy. Cannons can only remain stationary or move slowly forward, so be careful not to overpursue. Still, cannons are the most potent offensive units in the game, so it's wise to guard each artillery unit with a few foot soldiers (although you need to keep them away from the actual landing area of cannonballs).

Cuirassier
Cuirassiers are the big guys wielding medieval-looking axes. They're not that different from infantry in terms of attack style, but they're more powerful and thus more useful.

Cavalry
As you can probably guess, these units attack from horseback. Their primary strength is their outstanding speed. This speed has a drawback, however, in that cavalry units are only able to advance and retreat - they can't move sideways. Even with that downside, cavalry fighters are great for opening holes in the enemy defenses at the beginning of a battle. They tend to become less useful as fights wear on, however, as their lack of lateral movement makes them easy to avoid. Avoid positioning cavalry units on the same line as your artillery, since this arrangement cannabalizes the effectiveness of both units and can impede your horses' path.

NCO
Non-commissioned officers are expert swordsmen who look a lot like regular soldiers, but they wear taller hats and are stronger in every way.

Officer
Officers are elite versions of regular soldiers - they attack hand-to-hand, but they wear big funny hats. They're also faster and significantly stronger than the guys that just got out of boot camp. You might use these as bodyguards for your general, or in certain battle formations, to take out enemy artillery.

General
The most important man on the battlefield, the general boasts decent fighting abilities, but you're wise to keep them well out of harm's way, because Napoleon Senki is like chess in that if you lose your leader, the battle's over, no matter how many other units you have left. Be careful, because generals and lower officers, especially for enemy armies, look rather similar to each other (generals have a white stripe on their hats).