Riflemen (CivRev)

Riflemen
Ground unit
Stats
Attack	3
Attack	3
Defense	5
Defense	5
Moves	1
Moves	1
Production cost	20
Required
Technology	Gunpowder
Resource	None
Upgrades to
Modern Infantry
Modern Infantry

Back to List of units in CivRev

Riflemen are strong defensive units that are a tier above Pikemen and a tier below Modern Infantry. They are acquired by researching the Gunpowder technology and are made obsolete by the Modern Infantry. They are the defensive unit of the Industrial Era.

Strategy

Bonuses

• The Egyptians receive a bonus movement square for Riflemen in the Industrial Era.
• The Zulus receive a bonus movement square for Riflemen in the Modern Era.
• Russia receives half cost Riflemen in the Industrial Era.

Civilopedia entry

Early gunpowder-based weapons such as muskets and arquebuses were stunningly inaccurate. To compensate for this lack of precision, generals often had their musketmen line up in a straight line, side by side, and fire in unison, in the hope that their mass of bullets would find a target. It was not until the development of rifling that firearms could surpass or even match the accuracy of a bow and arrow. By carving a series of grooves into the inside of the firearm's barrel, the accuracy of that weapon could be greatly increased. This added to the firearm's repertoire of uses, beyond simply scaring horses with loud noises, to actually turning the rifle into an accurate weapon. The rifle's widespread adoption in the mid-nineteenth century made the conflicts of that period some of the bloodiest in history.

Fun facts

• It was not until the 19th century that firearms with more than a single shot were developed. Samuel Colt's "six-shooter" was a pistol that could fire six shots before needing to be reloaded.
• Riflemen kept their powder in small tubes of greased paper. The grease was impermeable to water, meaning that the powder could stay dry - and usable - even if the rifleman didn't.
• One of the key tactical improvements in the use of early muskets was the layering of firers and reloaders. Several rows of riflemen would interchange position, each reloading while the other fired. A variety of this tactic was used with devastating effect at the Battle of Nagashino, Japan in 1575, which fundamentally changed the way Japan fought its wars.

See also

• Riflemen in other games