A distant Catholic emperor holds no appeal for them. Having beaten off brutal attempts to bring them to heel, the Dutch now have little love for Hapsburg-ruled Spain or Austria. The Dutch have learned to live with Hapsburg threats hanging over their heads. Spanish claims to the New World and its trade are cheerfully ignored, as are Spanish threats. They are everywhere, in fact, where there is a profit to be made. Dutchmen can be found trading in the Indies, where they give the locals a run for their money, and the Caribbean. A mere generation ago, the Dutch navy sailed into the Thames and burned the English fleet at anchor: this kind of bravado and expertise is not quickly forgotten.ĭutch merchantmen range across the world’s oceans, and the wealth of the world passes through Dutch ports.

Having tamed their land and held back the sea, the Dutch have also embraced the sea and become the foremost naval power in the world. Oddly, he wasn’t a very warlike chap at all.The United Provinces are a Protestant stronghold in North-western Europe, a place where science, trade and freedom of thought have flourished since the Spanish were driven out in the last century.

They provided a ceremonial guard at every state occasion, and Louis XIV picked them from candidates sent in by each regiment inappropriate candidates brought punishment on the officers who had sent them! The Prussian “Potsdam Giants” were a quirky household guard, the product of Frederick I’s obsession with very, very tall men and military pomp. Historically, the French Maison du Roi (literally “house of the king”) were the epitome of household troops. They are also expected to do a good job as garrison troops, keeping the royal family safe no matter what the locals might think or be tempted to do by some foolish revolutionary fervour. This attitude can serve them well in battle, as the guard can hardly be seen to be cutting and running, no matter how hot the enemy fire. Their uniforms are altogether more splendid, marking them out as a superior force, in arrogance if nothing else. These troops are equipped in much the same way as line infantrymen, and carry smoothbore muskets as their primary weapons. The elite foot guards are charged with protecting the persons of the monarch and the royal family.

Empire total war units