20th Century
In 1914 there were still dragoon regiments in the British, French, German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian, Peruvian, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish and Spanish armies. Their uniforms varied greatly, lacking the characteristic features of hussar or lancer regiments. There were occasional reminders of the mounted infantry origins of this class of soldier. Thus the dragoon regiments of the Imperial German Army wore the pickelhaube (spiked helmet) of the same design as those of the infantry and the British dragoons wore scarlet tunics, 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.
The Australian Light Horse were similar to dragoon regiments in many regards, 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, since neither sabres or lances were part of their equipment.
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 early 1970s. In 1966, the Portuguese created an experimental horse platoon, to operate against the guerrillas in the high grass region of the Eastern Angola, in which each soldier was armed with a G3 assault rifle to combat on foot and with an automatic pistol to fire on horseback. The troops on horseback were able to operate in difficult terrain (unsuited for motor vehicles) and had the advantage of being able to control the area around them, with a clear view over the grass (which foot troops didn't have). Moreover, these unconventional troops created a psychological impact over the enemy, which was not used to dealing with horse troops, having no training or strategy to face 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.
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