Lets talk about factions : Italian units

ok its a bit talking about nothing since Venetia and The siculo-normans were a bit different from all the rest of italy but i think that this units have to exist for mercenary purpose or avaiable for training to whoever conquest Milan ( since it seems it doesnt exist anymore as a faction ) , Genoa or Florence .

Italian militia infantry was good but nothing exceptional otherwise they would not be converted to crossbows... nothing that could stand mercenary troops ,but surely a bit better than french or german levies ... their main duty was to defend cities and assault them ... very few are the cases were militia infantrymen played some roles in battles ....

The crossbow was widely used ... so the average shooter was quite good ...nothing exceptional but quite good ...

The Knight in general , accompained by men at arms was very very good ... maybe the best in europe after the normans ( but as them always fighting in limited numbers )... he was flamboyant , but also a hell of a soldier ... they defeated french many times , they inflicted the swiss one of their few losses ... they made a wide use of boiled leather ( often painted , very personal style ) and their armour and weapons were top notch .
The best knights were called "breakers" , they were chosen before the battle to break enemy charges or enemy lines when charging , they were the best equipped and most corageous ( since was a volountary duty ) .
The Condottieri unit is not historical ...ther was a Condottiero ( 1 person ! ) that carried with him some good mercenary units , but he was a commander , not an heavy knights unit ( even if of course he would have been with a little retinue of MAA ) ... i would like to see the "breakers" instead of that one .

the mounted arquebuser was common but i dont think it fit in the new timeline of MTR2

another note , ITalian infantry should have very big shields and surely not rounded or oval ....
The famous poet Dante was in youth one of the "braeakers" ( fenditori )

id like to see some venitian units that are really powerful yet really small because the venitians focused more on strength and armour then numbers.

helpful book for those whao can get it:

Quote:

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Italian Medieval Armies 1000-1300 (Men-at-Arms) (Paperback)

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