A musketeer (French: mousquetaire) was an early modern type of infantry soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern armies, particularly in Europe. They sometimes could fight on horseback, like a dragoon or a cavalryman. The musketeer was a precursor to the rifleman. Muskets were replaced by rifles in most western armies during the mid 1850s. The traditional designation of "musketeer" for an infantry private survived in the Imperial German Army until World War I.