Coureurs de Bois are skirmishers in Empire: Total War.
Description
These elite light infantrymen are trained in wilderness warfare and taught to survive in harsh conditions.
Rangers are used for scouting and raiding missions far beyond the skills of ordinary men. The ranks are mostly drawn from frontiersmen already hardened to living in the wilderness, as their experience making them ideal for further training. The wild nature of their environment is reflected in the unconventional tactics they are taught, and they are given some leeway where formal army discipline is concerned.
Historically, rangers were employed by the British army and were used in the hostile environments of North America during the French and Indian War. They would carry out long distance winter raids using crude snowshoes to travel. The most famous and revered of all rangers were the "Rogers' Rangers", named for the commanding officer, Robert Rogers. The traditions of Rogers' Rangers are carried on today by the US Army Rangers, although the modern unit owes its existence to the Second World War experience to US troops fighting alongside British commandos and a reformed force in the Korean War.
General Information
Coureurs de Bois are the French, Louisiana and Quebecer version of rangers, and are identical in every way except name.