Skirmisher

Skirmishers were a catch all name for light soldiers who fought outside of big formations. As a rule they were lightly armored (if armored at all), had ranged weapons and focused on mobility and maneuverability. If faced with major resistance, they would retreat. Standard skirmisher tactics include scouting, killing enemy scouts, raiding enemy camps and supply lines, widdling away at big enemy formations to weaken them against their big formations and preventing the enemy from doing the same.

Both cavalry and infantry could be skirmishers. As they were cheaper to equip and were seen as cowardly by the guys who marched in big formations head on into enemy formations, skirmishers were often pretty low on the pecking order of premodern armies and were often drawn from the poorer classes.

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