180:
314:
72:
163:
369:
29:
150:. They employed harquesbusiers very aggressively, charging with sword in hand, thus relegating their firearms to a secondary function. Indeed by the 1620s cavalry not equipped with carbines could be termed "harquebusiers", just from the level and style of their armour protection. By the time of the English Civil War all cavalry not equipped as cuirassiers or carrying a
126:
of Sweden in the 1620s and 1630s. This change was initially made from necessity; Sweden was a relatively poor nation and could not afford to equip many expensive cuirassiers, therefore more lightly-equipped cavalry had to be employed in the shock role. The success of
Swedish cavalry in battle during
304:
was appointed. Numbers of cavalrymen per troop were often lower than the ideal when on campaign and some regiments had more troops than was normal. Prominent commanders also often had a 'lifeguard'; Prince Rupert had a ten-troop regiment plus a lifeguard of 150 men, whilst Oliver
Cromwell's regiment
338:
had largely adopted the direct charge with the sword. The
Royalists, under Prince Rupert's direction, began the Civil War using the Swedish three ranks-deep formation but the Parliamentarians retained a six-deep formation until late 1643 or early 1644. A cavalry unit drawn up in a shallow formation
358:
Many troops and regiments only with sword and pistol armed, their encounterings being not after the ancient manner of firing at a distance and wheeling off, which hath been found to be of dangerous consequence, but to fire at near distance their swords hanging at their wrists by a string, and with
408:
fell in and out of fashion during the 18th century, before the
Napoleonic renaissance of the later type of cuirassier in the first decade of the 19th century. The lobster-tailed pot helmet fell out of favour in most countries by 1700, though the Austrian army retained this type of helmet for its
388:
fell out of use gradually, as armour use declined and the fully-armoured cuirassier disappeared. Harquebusiers became part of the undifferentiated "horse" or, in French, "cavalerie", of the early to mid-18th century. In the
British army many cavalry regiments having their origins as units of
393:. In the last two decades of the 17th century, the use of armour and the buff coat declined and helmets were definitively replaced by felt hats and uniform coats. As an example, all items of armour previously employed by the regiment of Oxford Blues (precursor of the
154:(the Scots fielded light lancers as late as the 1650s) were called harquebusiers. In the course of the war the cuirassier ceased to be fielded in Britain, and when the cuirassier discarded his limb armour he instantly became indistinguishable from the harquebusier.
226:
holsters, and a stout, straight-bladed sword. The 'dog' of the doglock was a type of safety-catch used to prevent the unintentional firing of the carbine when on horseback. Records also indicate that some harquebusiers were also armed with a horseman's poleaxe or
321:
There were national variations in the battlefield employment of harquebusiers. The French tended to retain greater use of firearms, with their harquebusiers often giving a volley of carbine or pistol fire before closing with the sword. The
Swedish and
260:(mass-produced) armour at this time was usually of iron, sometimes containing small amounts of phosphorus; this addition gave a minimal increase in hardness. Officers and other wealthy men would have had access to steel armour, which was carefully
82:
According to John Cruso in his cavalry manual of 1632, the harquebusier was 'first invented in France'. This type of cavalryman was characterised by the use of a form of carbine, the earliest type of carbine used was called a
117:
Towards the mid-17th century, the harquebusier became the standard type of cavalry found throughout western Europe. The change in the role of the harquebusier from support cavalry primarily reliant on firearms to one of
375:
painting of a harquebusier. The image is intended to show a soldier of the late 17th century, though the equipment is more typical of early 17th: a wheelock carbine, a cuirass over a buff coat, and an old-fashioned
48:
called a "harquebus". In
England, harquebusier was the technical name for this type of cavalry, though in everyday usage they were usually simply called 'cavalry' or 'horse'. In Germany they were often termed
774:
179:
248:. In England, in 1629, a harquebusier's armour cost one pound and six shillings, that of a cuirassier four pounds and ten shillings. A more wealthy harquebusier may have worn a
313:
343:
a similar-sized unit arrayed in a deep formation, a considerable tactical advantage. The Swedes and
Royalist horse usually charged at speed, while the Parliamentarian
784:
256:
to protect his bridle hand and forearm. Also worn were tall, cuff-topped riding boots; these reached the thigh and were often also of buff leather.
91:). In the late 16th century and into the first decades of the following century the harquebusier was envisioned, like the similar and earlier
131:
led to other nations adopting their methods. Gustavus
Adolphus also reduced the depth of a cavalry formation from the previous six to ten
44:
found throughout
Western Europe during the early to mid-17th century. Early harquebusiers were characterised by the use of a type of
744:
730:
716:
701:
687:
673:
71:
162:
242:; the fashion-conscious could replace the helmet with a broad-brimmed felt hat, often worn over a concealed iron skullcap or
779:
764:
769:
143:
400:
The equipment of the harquebusier disappeared at different rates; the doglock carbine was replaced by the 'true'
239:
368:
252:(the finest quality buff coats were often more expensive than an iron cuirass) under his armour and a metal
281:
334:
cavalry retained the use of firearms in the charge until later in the Civil War, but by the time of the
288:. Regiments were usually named after their colonel, and both the colonel and his second-in-command, the
578:
An archaeometallurgical study of two harquebusier breastplates using time-of-flight neutron diffraction
184:
394:
344:
301:
196:
347:
charged at a slower pace, the troopers keeping together knee-to-knee to retain their formation.
228:
740:
726:
712:
697:
683:
669:
340:
139:
123:
75:
28:
276:, and a variable number of troops made up a regiment. The organisation of the cavalry of the
759:
253:
244:
132:
128:
297:
257:
147:
280:
in England was typical: each troop was ideally composed of 100 cavalrymen commanded by a
78:(centre) leading a mixed-cavalry charge, c. 1632. Painting by Jan Martszen de Jonge, 1634
580:, Physica B: Condensed Matter, Volumes 385–386, Part 1, 15 November 2006, Pages 542–544
335:
293:
277:
397:) were ordered to be put in store in 1688 before the regiment went on active service.
753:
372:
261:
119:
19:
This article is about the type of cavalry. For infantry armed with an arquebus, see
409:
cuirassiers into the 1780s, especially when campaigning against the Ottoman Turks.
289:
231:, which were hafted weapons with axe or hammer heads and armour-piercing spikes.
135:
for pistol-based tactics, to three ranks to suit his sword-based shock tactics.
99:
20:
138:
The later harquebusier was also used in a shock role by cavalry leaders of the
428:
166:
107:
401:
331:
249:
215:
208:
204:
192:
350:
In England many harquebusiers did not employ a carbine, as is described in
423:
377:
326:
horse charged home directly with the sword, not using firearms until the
323:
93:
88:
418:
405:
390:
296:, personally led his own troop. When the regimental colonel was also a
285:
235:
219:
212:
188:
45:
41:
223:
111:
103:
55:
367:
327:
312:
273:
178:
161:
151:
70:
27:
238:
with a breast and backplate, and an open-faced helmet such as a
98:
as a support for more heavily-armoured cavalrymen such as the
775:
Military units and formations of the Early Modern period
317:
German drill manual for early 17th century harquebusiers
87:" (a word derived from the heavier infantry weapon, the
183:
English-made very high quality harquebusier armour of
359:
their sword points charging through adverse troops.
32:Harquebusier, carbine-armed cavalry, 17th century
284:, with six troops comprising a regiment under a
735:Tincey, J. and Turner, G. (illustrator) (2002)
678:Brzezinski, R. (Hook, R. – illustrator) (1993)
203:The harquebusier would usually be armed with a
721:Tincey, J. (McBride, A. – illustrator) (1990)
723:Soldiers of the English Civil War (2) Cavalry
694:The English Civil War, An Illustrated History
8:
234:The typical harquebusier would have an iron
666:Arms & Armour of the English Civil Wars
576:S.Leevera, D.Visser, W.Kockelmann, J.Dika,
300:or had other duties, a 'stand-in' termed a
680:The Army of Gustavus Adolphus (2) Cavalry.
389:harquebusiers eventually transformed into
122:close-combat cavalry can be attributed to
218:carbine hung from a swivel attached to a
785:17th-century military history of France
439:
536:Haythornthwaite (1983), pp. 45 and 49.
737:Ironsides: English cavalry, 1588–1688
709:The Austrian Army, 1740–1780: Cavalry
7:
668:, Trustees of the Royal Armouries.
598:Haythornthwaite (1983), pp. 51–52.
272:Harquebusiers were organised into
14:
565:The Knight and The Blast Furnace
1:
652:Haythornthwaite (1994), p. 16
170:
59:, in Sweden they were called
40:was the most common form of
707:Haythornthwaite, P. (1994)
692:Haythornthwaite, P. (1983)
801:
404:in the late 17th century.
144:Prince Rupert of the Rhine
18:
16:Historical form of cavalry
625:Tincey (2002), pp. 29–31
589:Tincey (2002), pp. 23–24
518:Tincey (1990), pp. 11–16
191:, bridle-hand gauntlet,
332:Parliamentarian English
563:Alan Williams, (2003)
381:
318:
200:
176:
79:
33:
725:, Osprey Publishing,
664:Blackmore, D. (1990)
455:Tincey (2002), p. 18.
371:
316:
305:had fourteen troops.
182:
165:
106:-armed cavalry – the
74:
31:
780:Obsolete occupations
739:, Osprey Publishing
643:Tincey (2002), p. 58
607:Tincey (2002), p. 26
554:Tincey (2002), p. 18
545:Blackmore, pp. 17–19
509:Blackmore, pp. 7–10
500:Brzezinski, pp. 4–5.
491:Tincey (1990), p. 5.
482:Blackmore, pp. 9–10
352:Militaire Discipline
185:Pedro II of Portugal
711:Osprey Publishing.
682:Osprey Publishing,
616:Blackmore, pp. 9–10
765:Combat occupations
395:Royal Horse Guards
382:
319:
302:lieutenant-colonel
240:lobster-tailed pot
201:
197:lobster tailed pot
177:
80:
34:
770:English Civil War
696:Blandford Press.
140:English Civil War
124:Gustavus Adolphus
76:Gustavus Adolphus
792:
653:
650:
644:
641:
635:
632:
626:
623:
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614:
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561:
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527:Blackmore, p. 44
525:
519:
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510:
507:
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492:
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483:
480:
474:
473:Brzezinski, p. 4
471:
465:
464:Brzezinski, p. 3
462:
456:
453:
447:
446:Brzezinski, p. 4
444:
324:Royalist English
258:Munition-quality
175:
172:
129:Thirty Years War
800:
799:
795:
794:
793:
791:
790:
789:
750:
749:
661:
656:
651:
647:
642:
638:
634:Blackmore, p. 9
633:
629:
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441:
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415:
366:
311:
270:
195:, and 3-barred
173:
160:
148:Oliver Cromwell
69:
53:, or sometimes
24:
17:
12:
11:
5:
798:
796:
788:
787:
782:
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772:
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752:
751:
748:
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733:
719:
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591:
582:
569:
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511:
502:
493:
484:
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466:
457:
448:
438:
436:
433:
432:
431:
426:
421:
414:
411:
365:
362:
336:New Model Army
310:
307:
294:sergeant major
278:New Model Army
269:
266:
264:to harden it.
187:: an engraved
159:
156:
68:
65:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
797:
786:
783:
781:
778:
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766:
763:
761:
758:
757:
755:
746:
745:1-84176-213-X
742:
738:
734:
732:
731:0-85045-940-0
728:
724:
720:
718:
717:1-85532-415-6
714:
710:
706:
703:
702:1-85409-323-1
699:
695:
691:
689:
688:1-85532-350-8
685:
681:
677:
675:
674:0-948092-08-4
671:
667:
663:
662:
658:
649:
646:
640:
637:
631:
628:
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619:
613:
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583:
579:
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279:
275:
267:
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247:
246:
241:
237:
232:
230:
225:
222:, pistols in
221:
217:
214:
210:
206:
198:
194:
190:
186:
181:
168:
164:
157:
155:
153:
149:
145:
141:
136:
134:
130:
125:
121:
120:shock-capable
115:
113:
109:
105:
101:
97:
95:
90:
86:
77:
73:
66:
64:
62:
61:lätta ryttare
58:
57:
52:
47:
43:
39:
30:
26:
22:
736:
722:
708:
693:
679:
665:
648:
639:
630:
621:
612:
603:
594:
585:
577:
572:
564:
559:
550:
541:
532:
523:
514:
505:
496:
487:
478:
469:
460:
451:
442:
399:
386:harquebusier
385:
383:
357:
356:
351:
349:
320:
271:
268:Organisation
262:heat-treated
243:
233:
202:
174: 1660s
137:
116:
92:
84:
81:
60:
54:
50:
38:harquebusier
37:
35:
25:
100:demi-lancer
67:Development
51:Ringerpferd
21:Arquebusier
754:Categories
659:References
429:Carabinier
209:snaphaunce
167:Snaphaunce
142:, such as
108:cuirassier
406:Cuirasses
402:flintlock
384:The term
373:Victorian
354:of 1661:
345:Ironsides
250:buff coat
216:flintlock
205:wheellock
193:buff coat
169:carbine,
158:Equipment
85:harquebus
424:Petronel
413:See also
391:dragoons
378:burgonet
341:outflank
254:gauntlet
94:petronel
89:arquebus
760:Cavalry
567:, Brill
419:Dragoon
380:helmet.
309:Tactics
298:general
286:colonel
282:captain
245:secrete
236:cuirass
220:baldric
213:doglock
189:cuirass
46:carbine
42:cavalry
743:
729:
715:
700:
686:
672:
364:Demise
339:would
330:. The
274:troops
224:saddle
199:helmet
112:reiter
104:pistol
56:Reiter
435:Notes
328:melee
290:major
152:lance
133:ranks
102:, or
741:ISBN
727:ISBN
713:ISBN
698:ISBN
684:ISBN
670:ISBN
229:pick
146:and
127:the
110:and
36:The
292:or
211:or
756::
207:,
171:c.
114:.
63:.
704:.
96:,
83:"
23:.
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