The Chevau-légers (from
French ''cheval''—horse—and ''léger''—light) was a generic French name for several units of light and medium cavalry.
Their history began in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, when the heavy
cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...
forces of the French ''Compagnies d'Ordonnance'' were undergoing a massive structural reorganization. Initially, the companies combined the ''gendarmes'' (fully armoured men-at-arms) along with lighter ''coutiliers'' and "archers" in the same mounted formation, with the better armoured men forming the foremost ranks. However, as time passed the lighter horsemen were increasingly separated into independent formations of "medium" cavalry, bearing lighter armour and much shorter lances than the ''gendarmes''. These lighter formations eventually gained the name of ''chevau légers''. A similar development also happened in the organization of the Austrian and Spanish cavalry with the growth of ''caballería ligera'' formations.
Their original similarities to
lancer
A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used for mounted warfare in Assyria as early as and subsequently by Persia, India, Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome. The weapon was widely used throughout Eurasia during the M ...
units meant that in the armies of the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
the title came to be applied for both sword armed medium cavalry and lancer cavalry units interchangeably, depending on the regional custom. Examples of this include the famous
Polish 1st Light Cavalry Regiment of the French
Guards and the
2e régiment de chevau-légers lanciers de la Garde Impériale
The 2e régiment de chevau-légers lanciers de la Garde Impériale (English: 2nd Regiment of Light Cavalry Lancers of the Imperial Guard) was a light cavalry regiment in Napoleon I's Imperial Guard.
They were formed in 1810, after the Kingdom of ...
, both subtitled ''Chevau-légers'' despite being light lancer cavalry, while the Austrian and many other German states retained ''Chevau-légers'' that were actually sword armed medium cavalry.
Cavalry
18th- and 19th-century warrior types
{{europe-mil-stub