Hussar (Age of Empires III)

The Hussar is a melee cavalry unit in Age of Empires III.

Overview
Hussars are the mainline cavalry for most of the European civilizations and should be the backbone of cavalry units for them. Since they are the base cavalry unit they have no distinguishing characteristics. They are fast and hit relatively hard making them good at raiding or getting in close with artillery. They are also effective against light infantry, which is too fragile to stand up to melee combat. However, Hussars are weak against heavy infantry and ranged cavalry. They should be put in formations with infantry so that each can cover for the other's weakness.

Upgrades
Hussars can be upgraded into different ranks or form depending on the type of civilization chosen or the Age the player is in.

Veteran Hussar
The Veteran Hussar is an upgrade of the ordinary Hussar and has slightly more hit points and attack compared to its predecessor. The upgrade is available at the Stable for  once the Fortress Age is reached.
 * Hit points: 384
 * Siege attack: 24
 * Guardian attack: 36
 * Hand attack: 36

Guard Hussar
The Guard Hussar is an upgrade of the Veteran Hussar and has slightly more hit points and attack compared to its predecessor. The upgrade is available at the Stable for  once the Industrial Age is reached.
 * Hit points: 480
 * Siege attack: 30
 * Guardian attack: 45
 * Hand attack: 45

Imperial Hussar
The Imperial Hussar is an upgrade of the Guard Hussar and has slightly more hit points and attack compared to its predecessor. The upgrade is available at the Stable for  once the Imperial Age is reached.
 * Hit points: 640
 * Siege attack: 40
 * Guardian attack: 60
 * Hand attack: 60

Royal Guard Hussars
The British and Ottomans are the only civilizations that can upgrade the Hussar to the Royal Guard level, making them the strongest out of all the civilizations. British Royal Guard Hussars are King's Life Guard which are available during the Industrial Age while Ottoman Royal Guard Hussars are Gardeners which are also available at the same Age. Researching this upgrade gives them improves the hit points and attack by a further 33% compared to their Veteran stage.


 * Hit points:
 * Siege attack:
 * Guardian attack:
 * Hand attack:
 * Cost: [[File:Resources wood.png]] and [[File:Icon coin.gif]]

Imperial Guard Hussars
The French and Germans are the only civilizations that can upgrade Hussars to Imperial Guard level, making them the strongest out of all the civilizations. British Imperial Guard Hussars are Imperial King's Life Guard which are available in the Imperial Age while Ottoman Royal Guard Skirmishers are Imperial Gardeners which are also available at the same Age. Researching this upgrade improves the hit points and attack by another 30%. This is the final upgrade which provides the most benefits, but is the most expensive available.


 * Hit points:
 * Siege attack:
 * Guardian attack:
 * Hand attack:
 * Cost: [[File:Resources wood.png]] and [[File:Icon coin.gif]]

Arsenal provides:
 * Cavalry Cuirass increases hit points.

Shipments
This is a list of shipments that benefit Hussars in anyway. {| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%; margin-bottom:0px; margin-top:1px;" ! sab="1148" | Click for a list of Hussar related Home City Cards
 * - sab="1147"
 * - sab="1149"
 * sab="1150" |

Spanish

 * }

Other upgrades

 * The British can upgrade veteran Hussars into Life Guard Hussars in the Industrial Age.
 * The Ottomans can upgrade veteran Hussars into Gardener Hussars in the Industrial Age.
 * The Germans cannot train Hussars but can send 10 Polish Winged (Royal Guard level) Hussars from the Home City.
 * The Russians cannot train Hussars but can send 17 Bashkirs (Hussars) from the Church when it ships the Royal Decree shipment.
 * The Spanish can use unction to boost their Hussars in combat, providing a sizable damage increase.

Trivia

 * British Royal Guard Hussars are named after the Life Guards.
 * Ottoman Royal Guard Hussars are named after the Bostandji, whose name translates to "Gardener".
 * Russian Hussars are named after the Bashkir people whose horses have a relatively small size (hence the shipment is named "Bashkir Ponies") but are known for their endurance.

History
"Lasalle, Napoleon's most dashing and competent light cavalry commander, boldly stated that any Hussar who lived to see the age of 30 was "a blackguard." Hussars were known for their daring and flamboyant displays in and out of combat. They could be an unruly and rowdy lot, though some, like the Prussian Death's Head Hussars, looked quite severe. Hussars were used to scout, gather intelligence, run down their enemy counterparts, and in flanking and screening maneuvers. They were excellent horsemen and daring to a fault. The Prussian hussars, who served under Wellington at Waterloo, wore uniforms of almost entirely unrelieved black, with a large white skull and crossbones on the front of their short-brimmed, tall cylindrical hats. Hussars were typically armed with curved cavalry sabers and sometimes muskets or pistols."