The Serduk is an infantry musketeer/marksman unit of the Cossack Hetmanate. Carrying slightly better head and body armor and equipped with a Simple Saber and Good Miquelet Musket, the Serduk is an improved version of the black Zaporozhian Infantryman. Thus, they can out-compete the other infantry musketeer units from rivaling nations in both range and firepower. The only infantry musketeer units that equal the Serduk in term of equipment and stats are the Swedish's Lifeguard and the Polish's German Infantry Musketeer.
You can recruit them from a commander in Cossack towns or fortresses or from enemy armies or patrols from the Polish Commonwealth or from the Crimean Khanate.
Tactics[]
The Serduk is the best infantry marksman unit that the Cossack Hetmanate can muster. In terms of marksmanship stats and equipment, they are slightly more reliable than its black counterpart. In a sense, the Serduk is simply the Cossack version of the Lifeguard and behaves similarly to it on the battlefield. Serduks are less likely to retreat from the battlefield and can shoot down the best horsemen in the game with a single shot. However, the Serduk is vulnerable to infantry and cavalry units and their red uniform and hat offers little protection against sword or saber cuts.
Keep in mind that Cossack pikemen are unreliable when it comes to protecting musketeers from cavalry, so your best chances of winning against waves of horses are either to place your Serduks in two or three rows on top of a hill to enable covering fire for your Cossack light cavalry or to construct a Wagon Fort.
They are also efficient at attacking or defending fortifications during sieges, for they can inflict suppressive fire on the enemy. If you have an army of horsemen and the enemy army is composed largely of Serduks, charge into them after they've fired their first volley or split your cavalry forces and attack them simultaneously in the flanks. If you time your orders well and overwhelm the Serduks, they will begin to flee and killing them is easier. That way, precious high quality loot and victory will be yours.
Stats and Equipment[]
| Serduk - Default Stats and Equipment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Gallery[]
| Troops of the Cossacks | ||
|---|---|---|
| Village Recruits |  Countryman
| |
| Garrison Militia | Poor Cossack (veteran)
|
 Poor Cossack Pikeman (veteran)
|
| Regular Infantry | Countryman Netyag (veteran) Zaporozhian Infantryman (veteran)
| |
| Guard Infantry | Serduk (veteran)
| |
| Regular Cavalry |  Djura (veteran)
| |
| Heavy Cavalry |  Watchman (veteran) Pike Watchman (veteran)
| |
| Personal Guard Cavalry | Zaporozhian Cavalryman (veteran)
| |
| Camp Mercenaries (between Cherkassy and Sich) |
Cossack Mercenary Infantryman (recruit) • (experienced) • (veteran) • (elite) Cossack Mercenary Rifleman (recruit) • (experienced) • (veteran) • (elite) Cossack Mercenary Cavalryman (recruit) • (experienced) • (veteran) • (elite)
| |
| Regional Mercenaries (Lviv • Krakov • Minsk • Slutsk) |
Town Cossack (veteran) Rank Cossack (veteran)
| |
| National Mercenaries (only if at peace with Crimean Khanate) |
Tatar Infantryman (veteran) Tatar Cavalryman (veteran)
| |