Game Info
A Chinese unique ranged unit. Replaces the Crossbowman.
- Common abilities:
- May Not Melee Attack
- Special abilities:
- May Attack Twice (in one turn)
- Special traits:
- Lesser ranged strength (14 vs. 18)
Strategy
The Chu-Ko-Nu is one of the strongest ranged attackers of the Medieval Era, thanks to its ability to fire twice in a round even before it reaches a high enough level to gain access to the respective promotion. Although its ranged strength appears to be lower than that of a Crossbowman, firing twice more than makes up the difference. Entrench it in a city, or a Fort, and lay waste to the enemy armies!
The ability to fire twice carries over when the Chu-Ko-Nu is upgraded, creating really dangerous Gatling Guns and Machine Guns.
Historical Info
The Chu-Ko-Nu is a rather nifty repeating crossbow invented in China at the end of the second century AD. The machine looks something like a standard European crossbow with a box bolted to its top, just above the string. The box was filled with crossbow bolts. In operation, the soldier would pull a lever to cock the string and then push the lever back, causing a bolt to drop out of the box and into place to be fired. This gave the Chu-Ko-Nu a faster rate of fire than a standard European crossbow. However, the Chu-Ko-Nu fired a lighter bolt and had a shorter range than a European machine. Which was the superior weapon would depend upon circumstances – the European model might prevail in open terrain against heavily armored opponents, while the Chu-Ko-Nu would probably be better at short-range against large numbers of lighter-armored attackers.