Dragoon

Cartoon of a French dragoon intimidating a Huguenot in the dragonnades

The establishment of dragoons evolved from the practice of sometimes transporting infantry by horse when speed of movement was needed. In 1552, Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma mounted several companies of infantry on pack horses to achieve surprise, another example being that used by Louis of Nassau in 1572 during operations near Mons in Hainaut, when 500 infantry were transported this way.[4] It is also suggested the first dragoons were raised by the Marshal de Brissac in 1600.[5] According to old German literature, dragoons were invented by Count Ernst von Mansfeld, one of the greatest German military commanders, in the early 1620s. There are other instances of mounted infantry predating this. 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).

During the Spanish Conquest of Peru in the 16th century, conquistadors fought on horse with arquebuses, prefiguring the origin of European dragoons.[6]

The name possibly derives from an early weapon, a short wheellock, called a dragon because its muzzle was decorated with a dragon's head. The practice comes from a time when all gunpowder weapons had distinctive names, including the culverin, serpentine, falcon, falconet, etc.[7] It is also sometimes claimed a galloping infantryman with his loose coat and the burning match resembled a dragon.[1]

It has also been suggested that the name derives from the German "tragen" or the Dutch "dragen", both being the verb "to carry" in their respective languages. Howard Reid claims the name and role descend from the Latin Draconarius.[8]

Early dragoons were not organized in squadrons or troops as were cavalry, but in companies like the infantry. Their commissioned and non-commissioned officers bore infantry ranks, while they used drummers, not buglers, to communicate orders on the battlefield. The flexibility of mounted infantry made dragoons a useful arm, especially when employed for what would now be termed "internal security" against smugglers or civil unrest, and on line of communication security duties.

In Britain, companies of dragoons were first raised during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and prior to 1645 served either as independent troops or were attached to cavalry units. When the New Model Army was first approved by Parliament in January 1645, it included ten regiments of cavalry, each with a company of dragoons attached. 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.[10]

Supplied with inferior horses and more basic equipment, the dragoon regiments were cheaper to raise and maintain than the expensive regiments of cavalry. When in the 17th century Gustav II Adolf introduced dragoons into the Swedish Army, he provided them with a sabre, an axe and a matchlock musket, using them as "labourers on horseback".[11] Many of the European armies henceforth imitated this all-purpose set of weaponry. 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.[12]

French dragoon of the Volontaires de Saxe regiment, mid-18th century

A non-military use of dragoons was the 1681 Dragonnades, a policy instituted by Louis XIV to intimidate Huguenot families into either leaving France or re-converting to Catholicism by billeting ill-disciplined dragoons in Protestant households. 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.[13]

In the Spanish Army, Pedro de la Puente organized a body of dragoons in Innsbruck in 1635. In 1640, a tercio of a thousand dragoons armed with the arquebus was created in Spain. By the end of the 17th century, the Spanish Army had three tercios of dragoons in Spain, plus three in the Netherlands and three more in Milan. In 1704, the Spanish dragoons were reorganised into regiments by Philip V, as were the rest of the tercios.

Dragoons were at a disadvantage when engaged against true cavalry, and constantly sought to improve their horsemanship, armament and social status. By the Seven Years' War in 1756, their primary role in most European armies had progressed from that of mounted infantry to that of heavy cavalry. They were sometimes described as 'medium' cavalry, midway between heavy/armoured and light/unarmoured regiments, though this was a classification that was rarely used at the time.[14] 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. In the Imperial Russian Army, due to the availability of the Cossack troops, the dragoons were retained in their original role for much longer.

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.[15] Starting in 1756, seven regiments of Light Dragoons were raised and trained in reconnaissance, skirmishing and other work requiring endurance in accordance with contemporary standards of light cavalry performance. The success of this new class of cavalry was such that another eight dragoon regiments were converted between 1768 and 1783.[16] When this reorganisation was completed in 1788, the cavalry arm consisted of regular dragoons and seven units of Dragoon Guards. 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.[15]

Towards the end of 1776, George Washington realized the need for a mounted branch of the American military. In January 1777 four regiments of light dragoons were raised. Short term enlistments were abandoned and the dragoons joined for three years, or "the war". 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.

French Dragoons with captured Prussian flag at the Battle of Jena

During the Napoleonic Wars, dragoons generally assumed a cavalry role, though remaining a lighter class of mounted troops than the armored cuirassiers. Dragoons rode larger horses than the light cavalry and wielded straight, rather than curved swords. Emperor Napoleon often formed complete divisions out of his 30 dragoon regiments, while in 1811 six regiments were converted to Chevau-Legers Lanciers; they were often used in battle to break the enemy's main resistance.[17] In northern and eastern Europe they were employed as heavy cavalry, while in the Iberian peninsula they also fulfilled the role of lighter cavalry, for example in anti-guerrilla operations.[14] In 1809, French dragoons scored notable successes against Spanish armies at the Battle of Ocana and the Battle of Alba de Tormes.

Post 1805, the 7th, 10th, 15th and 18th regiments of Light Dragoons of the British Army were re-designated as hussars and when the Napoleonic Wars ended in 1815, some became lancers. The transition from dragoons to hussars was however a slow one, affecting uniforms but not equipment and functions. Even titles often remained ambiguous until 1861, for example "18th King's Light Dragoons (Hussars)".[18]

The seven regiments of Dragoon Guards served as the heavy cavalry arm of the British Army, although unlike continental cuirassiers they carried no armour.[19] Between 1816 and 1861, the other twenty-one cavalry regiments were either disbanded or rebadged as lancers or hussars.[16] [lower-alpha 1]

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. Two regiments of the Imperial Guard were designated as dragoons.[20]

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.[21] After 1859 all but two Austrian dragoon regiments were converted to cuirassiers or disbanded.[22] From 1868 to 1918 the Austro-Hungarian dragoons numbered 15 regiments.[23]

During the 18th century, Spain raised several regiments of dragoons to protect the northern provinces and borders of New Spain, the present-day states of California, Nevada, Colorado, Texas, Kansas, Arizona, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota.[24] 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.

Picture depicting a Mexican dragoon officer in 1826

Prior to the War of 1812 the U.S. organized the Regiment of Light Dragoons. For the war a second regiment was activated; that regiment was consolidated with the original regiment in 1814. The original regiment was consolidated with the Corps of Artillery in June 1815.[25] 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. The unit became the "First Regiment of Dragoons" when the Second Dragoons was raised in 1836. In 1861, they were re-designated as the 1st and 2nd Cavalry but did not change their role or equipment, although the traditional orange uniform braiding of the dragoons was replaced by the standard yellow of the Cavalry branch. This marked the official end of dragoons in the U.S. Army in name, although certain modern units trace their origins back to the historic dragoon regiments. In practice, all US cavalry assumed a dragoon-like role, frequently using carbines and pistols, in addition to their swords.

Between 1881 and 1907 all Russian cavalry (other than Cossacks and Imperial Guard regiments) were designated as dragoons, reflecting an emphasis on the double ability of dismounted action as well as the new cavalry tactics in their training and a growing acceptance of the impracticality of employing historical cavalry tactics against modern firepower. 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.[26]

In Japan, during the late 19th and early 20th century, dragoons were deployed in the same way as in other armies, but were dressed as hussars.

German dragoons near Reims 1914

In the period before 1914, there were still dragoon regiments in the British and French armies,[27] as well as German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian,[28] Canadian, Peruvian, Swiss,[29] Norwegian,[30] Swedish,[31] Danish, and Spanish.[32] Their uniforms varied greatly, lacking the characteristic features of hussar or lancer regiments. There were occasional reminders of their mounted infantry origins; the 28 dragoon regiments of the Imperial German Army wore the infantry Pickelhaube or spiked helmet, [33] while British dragoons wore scarlet tunics for full dress while hussars and all but one of the lancer regiments wore dark blue.[34] In other respects however dragoons had adopted the same tactics, roles and equipment as other branches of the cavalry and the distinction had become simply one of traditional titles. 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 Spanish dragoons, which dated back to 1640, were reclassified as numbered cavalry regiments in 1931 as part of the army modernization policies of the Second Spanish Republic.

Baden dragoon in a World War I monument at Karlsruhe. While almost an anachronism after the early stages of that war, German dragoons did see continuing service on the Eastern Front until 1917. Note the functional Stahlhelm helmet.

The Australian Light Horse were similar to 18th-century dragoon regiments in some respects, being mounted infantry which normally fought on foot, their horses' purpose being transportation. They served during the Second Boer War and World War I. 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 or lances were part of their equipment. Later in the Palestine campaign Pattern 1908 Cavalry Swords were issued and used in the campaign leading to the fall of Damascus.

Probably the last use of real dragoons (infantry on horseback) in combat was made by the Portuguese Army in the war in Angola during the 1960s and 1970s. 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 assault rifle for combat on foot and with an automatic pistol to fire from horseback. The troops on horseback were able to operate in difficult terrain unsuited to motor vehicles and had the advantage of being able to control the area around them, with a clear view over the grass that foot troops did not have. Moreover, these unconventional troops created a psychological impact on an enemy that was not used to facing horse troops, and thus had no training or strategy to deal with them. The experimental horse platoon was so successful that its entire parent battalion was transformed from an armored reconnaissance unit to a three-squadron horse battalion known as the "Dragoons of Angola". One of the typical operations carried out by the Dragoons of Angola, in cooperation with airmobile forces, consisted of the dragoons chasing the guerrillas and pushing them in one direction, with the airmobile troops being launched from helicopter in the enemy rear, trapping the enemy between the two forces.[35]

• Carabinier
• Cuirassier
• Dragonnades
• Gendarmerie
• Harquebusier
• Hobilar
• Hussar
• Motorized infantry
• Reiter—Another type of pistol-armed cavalry
• Ulan

• Barthorp, Michael (1984). British Cavalry Uniforms Since 1660. Littlehampton Book Services. ISBN 978-0713710434.
• Bismark, Graf Friedrich Wilhelm von (1855). On the Uses and Application of Cavalry in War from the Text of Bismark: With Practical Examples Selected from Ancient and Modern History. Translated by North Ludlow Beamish. London: T. & W. Boone. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
• Brzezinski, Richard (1993). The Army of Gustavus Adolphus (2): Cavalry: Pt. 2. Men-at-Arms). Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1855323506.
• Cann, Jonh P (1997). Counterinsurgency in Africa: The Portuguese Way of War, 1961-1974. Praeger. ISBN 978-0313301896.
• Carman, W. Y. (1977). A Dictionary of Military Uniforms. HarperCollins Distribution Services. ISBN 0-684-15130-8.
• Chartrand (1988). Louis XIV's Army. Men-at-Arms No. 203. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-0850458503.
• Ede-Borrett, Stephen (2009). "Some Notes on the Raising and Origins of Colonel John Okey's Regiment of Dragoons, March to June, 1645". Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research. 87 (351): 206–213. JSTOR 44231688.
• Espino López, Antonio (2012). "El uso táctico de las armas de fuego en las guerras civiles peruanas (1538–1547)". Historica (in Spanish). XXXVI (2).
• Haythornthwaite, Philip (2001). Napoleonic Cavalry. Napoleonic weapons & warfare. W&N. ISBN 978-0304355082.
• Heitman, Francis B. (1903). Historical register and dictionary of the United States Army. War Department. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
• Herr, Ulrich (2006). The German Cavalry from 1871 to 1914. Verlag Militaria. ISBN 978-3902526076.
• Jouineau, Andre (2008). Officers and Soldiers of the French Army 1914. ISBN 978-2-35250-104-6.
• Kannik, Prebben (1968). Military Uniforms in Colour. Blandford Press. ISBN 0-7137-0482-9.
• Knotel, Richard (1980). Uniforms of the World: A Compendium of Army, Navy and Air Force Uniforms, 1700-1937. Arms & Armour Press. ISBN 978-0853683131.
• Koppen, Fedor von (1890). The Armies of Europe (2015 ed.). ISBN 978-1-78331-175-0.
• Lucas, James (1987). Fighting Troops of the Austro-Hungarian Army 1868-1914. Spellmount Publishers Ltd. ISBN 0-946771-04-9.
• Marrion, Richard (1975). Uniforms of the Imperial German Army, 1900-14: Lancers and Dragoons v. 3. Almark Publishing Co Ltd. ISBN 978-0855242015.
• Mollo, John (1972). Military Fashion: Comparative History of the Uniforms of the Great Armies from the 17th Century to the First World War. Barrie & Jenkins. ISBN 978-0214653490.
• Pavlovic, Darko (1999). The Austrian Army 1836–66 (2) Cavalry. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1855328006.
• Reid, Howard (2001). Arthur the Dragon King: Man and myth reassessed. Headline Book Publishing. ISBN 978-0747275572.
• Rothenberg, Gunther Erich (1978). The Art of Warfare in the Age of Napoleon. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-31076-8. LCCN 77086495. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
• Rowe, David (2004). Head dress of the British heavy cavalry: Dragoon Guards, Household and Yeomanry Cavalry. Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7643-0957-1.
• Torres, Carlos Canales; Láinez, Fernando Martínez (2008). Banderas lejanas: la exploración, conquista y defensa por España del territorio de los actuales Estados Unidos (in Spanish). Edaf. ISBN 9788441421196.
• Young, Peter; Holmes, Richard (2000). The English Civil War: A Military History of the Three Civil Wars, 1642–1651. Ware, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions. ISBN 1-84022-222-0.

• Bennett, James A, Edited by Brooks, Clinton E., Reeve, Frank D. (1948). Forts and Forays, James A. Bennett: A DRAGOON IN NEW MEXICO 1850-1856. The University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.
• Hildreth, James (1836). Dragoon Campaigns to the Rocky Mountains, Being a History of the Enlistment, Organization, and first Campaigns of The Regiment Of UNITED STATES DRAGOONS. New York: Wiley & Long, No. 161 Broadway. 1836. D. Fanshaw, Printer.
  • Note 1: Possibly from a previous writing, which resulted in a court martial, in which he was acquitted (p. 8), the author wished to remain anonymous and sometimes listed his name as "By A Dragoon" in lieu of his real name.
  • Note 2: At the time of the author's enlistment in 1833, only one regiment of U.S. Dragoons existed, therefore there was no need to designate it with a number. When two more mounted regiments were created by Congress in 1836, the Regiment of Dragoons became the 1st U.S. Dragoons.
• Sawicki, James A. (1985). Cavalry Regiments in the U.S. Army. Dumfries, Virginia: Wyvern Publications. p. 415. ISBN 0-9602404-6-2. LCCN 85050072.

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