Cuirass

Not long after this he learned that Otho held possession of the camp, and when several advised him to proceed thither as soon as possible – for they said that he could win the day by his presence and prestige – he decided to do no more than hold his present position and strengthen it by getting together a guard of the legionaries, who were encamped in many different quarters of the city.

[citation needed] A cuirass ending at the waist would severely limit the ability of the wearer to lean forward, backward, or sideways.

[4] About the middle of the 15th century, the breastplate of the cuirass was made in two parts; the lower adjusted to overlap the upper, held together with a strap or sliding rivet in order to add flexibility to the advantages plate armour had over mail.

The fabric was generally a rich material, and was lined throughout with overlapping scales of metal which were attached to the jacket by rivets, having their heads, like studs, visible on the outside.

Corslets, provided with both the breast and back pieces, were worn by foot-soldiers in the 17th century, while their mounted comrades were equipped with heavier and stronger cuirasses.

Their use never altogether ceased and in modern armies mounted cuirassiers, armed with breast and back plates as in the earlier days, have, to some degree, emulated the martial splendour of the body armour of the era of medieval chivalry.

[4] British, French, German, and Russian heavy cavalry wore cuirasses as part of their parade uniforms leading up to World War I.

Some years after the Battle of Waterloo (1815), certain historical cuirasses were taken from their repose in the Tower of London and adapted for ceremonial service by the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals of the British Army's Household Cavalry.

By the end of the Heian period, the Japanese cuirass had arrived at the shape recognized as part of iconic samurai armour.