Assault Tetreres - Persian Swordsmen
Ramming attacks from these ships inflict terrible damage.Sword fighting has become commonplace, even reaching eastern military traditions.
There is a good deal of debate as to how large ancient warships worked; the principles are understood, but the details are not always so clear. A Roman 'quadreme' or Greek 'tetreres' would seem to have four rows of oars if the name is translated literally. However, it is unclear how four sets of oars each with one rower apiece could be used without them getting in a terrible tangle even with a magnificently trained crew, or how the top set of rowers would be able to handle the extremely long oars pitched at a steep angle and still produce any power. The chances are that the term 'oar' had become synonymous with 'rower' and that the lowest bank had more than one man per oar. The other option was to go back to a double row of oars, with two men apiece. Two banks of oars would also have made for a cheaper construction task for each ship. Either way, the result was a ship that could rival the lighter trireme in speed, yet had more deck space for a large fighting contingent or artillery pieces.
(Persian Swordsmen)
In contrast to their European opponents, eastern armies generally had lighter equipment. This was a function of the terrain and climate of their homelands, which naturally favoured irregular combat. As a result, traditional Persian warfare favoured skirmishing with few close combat engagements. Heavy armour was impractical in such conditions, as the oppressive eastern heat hampered soldiers already weighed down by chainmail or scales. Also, the metal needed to produce it was not cheap at the time. As eastern forces encountered heavier European warriors for the first time, the difference in equipment had a large impact on their way of battle. Under Sassanid rule, the Persian army was properly prepared for the expansion into southern Europe, as the reconquest of this land was high on the Shah's list of priorities - he wished to wipe out the stigma of his ancestor Xerxes' defeat at Greek hands, almost 1000 years before. In order to fight Rome's Legions effectively, eastern warriors began to be equipped with bulkier armour and heavier weapons such as axes and longer metal swords, rather than spears and javelins.
Unit Name Assault Tetreres - Persian Swordsmen |
Main Unit Key 3c_Per_Assault_Trieres_commander |
Land Unit Key 3c_Per_Persian_Swordsmen |
Naval Unit Key 3c_persian_four |
Soldiers 120 |
Category Medium Ship |
Class Melee Ship |
Custom Battle Cost 630 |
Recruitment Cost 630 |
Upkeep Cost 125 |
32 |
├ Missile Weapon rome_javelin_precursor |
├ Projectile javelin_prec |
├ Missile Damage 20 |
├ Missile Ap Damage 12 |
└ Base Reload Time 15 |
Accuracy 5 |
Range 40 |
Reload 0 |
Shots Per Minute 4 |
Ammunition 2 |
890 |
└ Ship persian_four |
Ship Speed 6 |
Melee Attack 32 |
34 |
├ Melee Weapon rome_eastern_sword |
├ Melee Damage Base 30 |
├ Melee Damage Ap 4 |
├ Armour Piercing No |
├ Bonus vs. Large 0 |
├ Bonus vs Elephants 0 |
└ Bonus vs Infantry 0 |
Charge Bonus 28 |
47 |
├ Base Defence 22 |
├ Shield thureos |
└ Shield Defence 25 |
75 |
├ Armour mail |
├ Armour Defence 40 |
└ Shield Armour 35 |
50 |
├ Man Entity rome_infantry_medium |
├ Man Health 40 |
└ Bonus Hit Points 10 |
Base Morale 35 |
Abilities
Assault Tetreres- Row Hard 20
Increases speed for 20 strokes.
Ship speed
Attributes
- Hide (forest)
This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close. - Resistant to Heat
This unit tires less quickly in the desert.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Assault Tetreres- Average hull strength
- Medium crew
- Average speed
- Average ramming
- Average boarding
- Long range
- Average rate of fire
- Fast moving
- Good damage but low armour penetration
- Very weak in melee
- Very poor morale
Faction Availability | |
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Empire Divided |