British Army During The Napoleonic Wars - Cavalry

Cavalry

Unlike most of the armies on the Continent of Europe, the British Army maintained no units of armoured cuirassiers or of heavy horse. At the start of the French Revolutionary Wars, the "heavy" cavalry were equivalent to dragoons or "medium" cavalry in the French and other armies. They consisted of three regiments of Household Cavalry, seven regiments of Dragoon Guards and six regiments of Dragoons. The Dragoon Guards had been regiments of heavy cavalry in the eighteenth century, but had been converted to dragoons to save money. The heavy cavalry wore red uniforms and bicorne hats. From 1796, they were armed with the straight 1796 Heavy Cavalry Sword, a heavy hacking sword which was reckoned to be useless for thrusting, and also carried a long carbine. (The Scots Greys wore a bearskin headdress and had a more curved sword.)

The light cavalry units consisted of fourteen regiments of Light Dragoons, which had been formed during the eighteenth century to carry out the roles of scouting and patrolling. In many cases, the regiments were originally troops attached to heavy regiments, before being separated from them and expanded. Some regiments were raised specifically to serve overseas; the 19th and 25th (later the 22nd) Light Dragoons to serve in India, and the 20th to serve in Jamaica. The light dragoons wore short blue braided jackets and the leather "Tarleton" helmet which had a thick woollen comb. They were armed with the Pattern 1796 light cavalry sabre, which was very sharply curved and generally used for cutting only. Later in the period, light cavalry carried the short "Paget" carbine, which had a ramrod attached by a swivel for convenient use.

In 1806, four light dragoon regiments (the 7th, 10th, 15th and 18th) were converted into regiments of Hussars, with no change in their role, but a great increase in the expense of their uniforms. From 1812, the uniforms of most of the remaining British cavalry changed, following French styles. The heavy cavalry (excepting the Household Cavalry who adopted a helmet with a prominent woollen comb and the Scots Greys, who retained their bearskins) adopted a helmet with a horsetail crest like those of French dragoons or cuirassiers, while the light dragoons adopted a jacket and shako similar to those of French chasseurs a cheval. The Duke of Wellington objected to these changes, as it became difficult to distinguish French and British cavalry at night or at a distance, but without success.

For most of the wars, British cavalry formed a lower proportion of armies in the field than most other European armies, mainly because it was more difficult to transport horses by ship than foot soldiers, and the horses usually required several weeks to recuperate on landing. British cavalry were also more useful within Britain and Ireland for patrolling the country as a deterrent to unrest. Some exceptions were Wellington's Vitoria campaign in 1813, when he required large numbers of cavalry to ensure a decisive result to the campaign, and the Waterloo campaign, where the cavalry needed to be transported only across the English Channel.

The British cavalry was usually organised into brigades, but no higher formations. (The cavalry division referred to all cavalry units of an army.) Brigades were attached to infantry divisions or columns, or sometimes acted directly under the command of the cavalry commander of an army.

British cavalry were excellently mounted and were reckoned superior to French cavalry if squadrons clashed, but because brigades and even regiments were rarely exercised in battlefield manoeuvres and tactics, they were inferior in larger numbers. Wellington in particular was highly unimpressed by the quality and intelligence of many of his cavalry officers.