Local Recruitment Initiatives are a military technology in The Peninsular Campaign.
Description[]
The swift replacement of casualties is a vital part of keeping units in the field. Local recruits need to be inducted quickly so that they can be sent to auxiliary forces.
Local Recruitment Initiatives allow auxiliary units to be brought back to strength with some rapidity. All armies require additional men to replace those who have died, injured or simply deserted. Younger troops may be less experienced than hardened veterans, but they make up for that with naïve enthusiasm for the cause. Battle is also a fine school in itself: those who can learn to soldier do so very rapidly when cannonballs are flying!
Though the Portuguese army was a separate entity during the Peninsular War, it was largely commanded by British officers, used British tactics and equipment and was almost entirely reliant on British money. The Portuguese were, effectively, auxiliaries to the British, although they could be relied on to fight bravely and with no little skill. The British high command certainly regarded the Portuguese as being significantly more useful than the loyalist Spanish Army. While the Spanish rank and file were good soldiers, they were poorly officered and supplied even though the British poured in money and arms. The Spanish guerrilla bands, on the other hand, were seen as a vital part of the war effort.
General Information[]
Available only to Great Britain, Local Recruitment Initiatives greatly increases the replenishment rate of auxiliary troops. This includes nearly all troops Great Britain can field that are labeled "Portuguese" or "Spanish".
With the exception of the superb Portuguese Cazadores, most auxiliary troops are inferior to their British counterparts. However, their much cheaper cost, the variety of technologies that aid them in terms of experience and replenishment, and the large number of regions that can recruit them, make them a worthy alternative.