The Croats, also known as Cravats or Crabats,[6] were 17th-century light cavalry forces in Central Europe, comparable to the hussars.

The most notable engagement of the Croats was their participation on the Habsburg side in the Thirty Years' War, serving in the Imperial Army or within the troops of the Catholic League.

At the height of the Thirty Years' War, as many as 20,000 Croatian cavalry were in the service of the Imperial Army, including the majority of Wallenstein's harquebusiers.

The first regular Croat regiment was established in 1625 by Hector Ludwig Isolani, a military officer in service of Albrecht von Wallenstein.

[14] The Cravat Regiment is a guard of honour established in 2010 in Zagreb, Croatia, which wears uniforms that are replicas of those worn by the Croats.

[15] The population of eastern France compared all invasions after the Thirty Years' War with stories about Croats and Swedes who ravaged their territory in the 1630s.