Sikh Musketeers (ETW Unit)
Sikhs are a distinctive community from northern India; they are easily recognised by their turbans, beards and uncut hair. They also carry swords as one of the marks of their faith, and sometimes for less ceremonial purposes. In addition to being a devout people, Sikhs have a proud martial tradition, like many in the Punjab. As fighters, they are fierce foes, and rightly feared by their neighbours and enemies.
Historically, Sikhism is the youngest of the world’s major religions. The word “sikh” can be translated as disciple or pupil. Arising in 15th Century Mughal India, the leaders of the new faith were often persecuted by the Mughals, although sometimes for political rather than religious reasons. With the decline in Mughal power, the Sikhs managed to carve out a kingdom of their own, and gave the advancing British several nasty shocks. It is noticeable that the British Raj later made very extensive use of Sikh troops. Even today, when Sikhs are only a tiny percentage of India’s population, they represent a substantial part of the Indian Army’s officer corps.
Like all line infantry Sikh Musketeers should form the heart of your army. In a head-on fight, a line infantry unit will be able to beat almost any non-line infantry regiment . Line infantry hold the advantages of superior numbers (and therefore superior fire-power when Fire by Rank is researched), morale and defensive capabilities. Sikh Musketeers are a comparable unit available to the Punjab Faction. They are of equal quality to European Line Infantry which is unusual compared to most other factions. Sikh Musketeers are significantly more expensive than their counterparts; however they have superior accuracy and are well suited to the Indian climate to make up for this.