Dragoon

From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat with swords and firearms from horseback.

The name reputedly derives from a type of firearm, called a dragon, which was a handgun version of a blunderbuss, carried by dragoons of the French Army.

However Mansfeld, who had learned his profession in Hungary and the Netherlands, often used horses to make his foot troops more mobile, creating what was called an armée volante (French for 'flying army').

[9] Dragoon is occasionally used as a verb meaning to subjugate or persecute by the imposition of troops; and by extension to compel by any violent measures or threats.

In Britain, companies of dragoons were first raised during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and prior to 1645 either served as independent troops or were attached to cavalry units.

At the urging of Sir Thomas Fairfax, on 1 March they were formed into a separate unit of 1,000 men, commanded by Colonel John Okey, and played an important part at the Battle of Naseby in June.

When in the 17th century Gustav II Adolf introduced dragoons into the Swedish Army, he provided them with a sword, an axe and a matchlock musket, using them as "labourers on horseback".

Dragoons of the late 17th and early 18th centuries retained strong links with infantry in appearance and equipment, differing mainly in the substitution of riding boots for shoes and the adoption of caps instead of broad-brimmed hats to enable muskets to be worn slung.

While other categories of infantry and cavalry were also used, the mobility, flexibility and available numbers of the dragoon regiments made them particularly suitable for repressive work of this nature over a wide area.

[citation needed] Dragoons were at a disadvantage when engaged against true cavalry, and constantly sought to improve their horsemanship, armament and social status.

[15] Their original responsibilities for scouting and picket duty had passed to hussars and similar light cavalry corps in the French, Austrian, Prussian, and other armies.

An exception to the rule was the British Army, which from 1746 onward gradually redesignated all regiments of "horse" (regular cavalry) as lower paid "dragoons", in an economy measure.

The designation of dragoon guards did not mean that these regiments (the former 2nd to 8th horse) had become household troops, but simply that they had been given a more dignified title to compensate for the loss of pay and prestige.

They participated in most of the major engagements of the American War of Independence, including the battles of White Plains, Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown, Saratoga, Cowpens, and Monmouth, as well as the Yorktown campaign.

During the Napoleonic Wars, dragoons generally assumed a cavalry role, though remaining a lighter class of mounted troops than the armored cuirassiers.

[19] The seven regiments of Dragoon Guards served as the heavy cavalry arm of the British Army, although unlike continental cuirassiers they carried no armour.

The creation of a unified German state in 1871 brought together the dragoon regiments of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Mecklenburg, Oldenburg, Baden, Hesse, and Württemberg in a single numbered sequence, although historic distinctions of insignia and uniform were largely preserved.

[22] The Austrian (later Austro-Hungarian) Army of the 19th century included six regiments of dragoons in 1836, classed as heavy cavalry for shock action, but in practice used as multi-purpose medium troops.

[26] In mainland Spain, dragoons were reclassified as light cavalry from 1803 but remained among the elite units of the Spanish Colonial Army.

A number of dragoon officers played a leading role in initiating the Mexican War of Independence in 1810, including Ignacio Allende, Juan Aldama and Agustin de Iturbide, who briefly served as Emperor of México from 1822 to 1823.

[27] The United States Dragoons was organized by an Act of Congress approved on 2 March 1833 after the disbandment of the Battalion of Mounted Rangers.

Upon the reinstatement of Uhlan and Hussar Regiments in 1907 their training pattern, as well as that of the Cuirassiers of the Guard, remained unchanged until the collapse of the Russian Imperial Army.

In the period before 1914, dragoon regiments still existed in the British and French armies,[29] as well as the German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian,[30] Canadian, Peruvian, Swiss,[31] Norwegian,[32] Swedish,[33] Danish, and Spanish.

Weaponry had ceased to have a historic connection, with both the French and German dragoon regiments carrying lances during the early stages of World War I.

The historic German, Russian and Austro-Hungarian dragoon regiments ceased to exist as distinct branches following the overthrow of the respective imperial regimes of these countries during 1917–18.

The Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade became famous for the Battle of Beersheba in 1917 where they charged on horseback using rifle bayonets in hand, since neither sabres nor lances were part of their equipment.

In 1966, the Portuguese created an experimental horse platoon to operate against the guerrillas in the high grass region of Eastern Angola, in which each soldier was armed with a G3 battle rifle for combat on foot and with a semi-automatic pistol to fire from horseback.

[40] The regiment was established in 1808 by the Prince Regent and future King of Portugal, John VI, with the duty of protecting the Portuguese royal family, which had sought refuge in Brazil during the Napoleonic wars.

In 1994 when the regiment deployed to Bosnia as part of the United Nations Protection Force, B Squadron was employed as a mechanized infantry company.

However, by Ministerial Resolution No 139-2012/DE/EP of 2 February 2012 the restoration of the Cavalry Regiment "Marshal Domingo Nieto" as the official escort of the President of the Republic of Peru was announced.