Cuirassier

Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as men-at-arms and demi-lancers discarding their lances and adopting pistols as their primary weapon.

[2] In the later part of the 17th century, the cuirassier lost his limb armour and subsequently wore only the cuirass (breastplate and backplate), and sometimes a helmet.

Following some initial successes, this tactic proved to be extremely ineffective as infantry, with superior firearms and numbers, could easily outgun the cuirassiers.

With the refinement of infantry firearms, especially the introduction of the powerful musket, the usefulness of the protection afforded by full armour became greatly lessened.

Their value as a heavy striking force during the Napoleonic Wars ensured that the French, Russian, and Prussian armies continued to use cuirassier regiments throughout the 19th century.

[14] For the reasons of both climate and cost, cuirassiers of the 19th century type seldom appeared outside of Europe and Latin America [citation needed].

However Ranjit Singh's Sikh Army (the Khalsa) of the 1830s included two regiments of cuirassiers equipped and armed in French fashion.

Napoleonic French cuirasses were originally intended to be proof against three musket shots at close range; however, this was never achieved in practice.

During this period, a single British cavalry regiment (Royal Horse Guards) wore cuirasses during the Netherlands campaign of 1794, using breastplates taken from store.

The last occasions when cuirassiers played a major tactical role as shock cavalry wearing traditional armour was during the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871).

[20] Accordingly, the prospect of action against the Prussian Army, which included 10 cuirassier regiments of its own,[21] was seen as an opportunity for a strongly traditional branch of the French cavalry to prove its continuing relevance.

In the event, in a series of massed charges against Prussian infantry and artillery at Froeschwiller and Rezonville, the French cuirassiers suffered very heavy losses for little return.

The Austrians had dispensed with breastplates in 1860[23] and formally abolished the twelve[24] Kuirassier regiments as the heavy cavalry branch of their army in 1868.

[26] By the end of the 19th century, the German and Russian cuirassiers used the breastplates only as part of their peacetime parade dress,[27] but the French regiments still wore the cuirass and plumed helmet (both with cloth covers) on active service during the first few weeks of World War I. Amongst ceremonial units the Spanish Escolta Real (Royal Escort) Squadron,[28] the Argentinian Presidential Bodyguard,[29] and the Italian Cuirassier (Corazzieri) Corps[30] all wore cuirasses as part of their mounted full dress in the early 20th century.

Before the war, it had been argued within the army that the cuirass should be limited to parade dress, but upon mobilisation in 1914 the only concession made to active service was the addition of a cover of brown or blue cloth[31] over the shining steel and brass of the metal equipment to make the wearer less visible.

This form of protection was reduced in the latter half of the 17th century to the breastplate and the helmet, both of which eventually became largely decorative against projectiles but still retained their effectiveness against swords, lances, bayonets, and other edged weapons.