The Carabiniers-à-Cheval ( French for Horse Carabiniers or Mounted Carabiniers) were mounted troops in the service of France. Their origins date back to the mid-16th century, when they were created as elite elements of the French

light cavalry Light cavalry comprised lightly armed and body armor, armored cavalry troops mounted on fast horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the mounted riders (and sometimes the warhorses) were heavily armored. The purpose of light cavalry was p ...

, armed with

carbines A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and light ...

but then gradually evolved towards semi-independent status during the 18th century. They only became independent units as late as 1788, when a two-regiment

heavy cavalry Heavy cavalry was a class of cavalry intended to deliver a battlefield charge and also to act as a Military reserve, tactical reserve; they are also often termed ''shock cavalry''. Although their equipment differed greatly depending on the re ...

corps was created. From the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

onwards, they were the senior heavy cavalry regiments in the French army, rose to prominence during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

and were disbanded in 1871, after the fall of the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the government of France from 1852 to 1870. It was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed hi ...

Ancien Régime

The French carabiniers are first mentioned at the battle of Neerwinden in 1693 commanded by Prince de Conti. Although their original role was that of a mounted police similar to the

Gendarmes A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "men-at-arms" (). In France and som ...

, as combat troops they were first took the form of separate companies within each cavalry regiments on 29 October 1691 under

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

. Only later was an independent regiment or ''cavalerie de reserve'' established in 1693 under the command of Duc du Maine. However at that time all French cavalry other than the gendarmes were called light cavalry, and their first name was ''Corps royal des carabiniers'', organised by brigading of four squadrons commanded by a lieutenant-colonel. The Corps was enlarged to ten squadrons by the start of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

. Their depot was in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

, where it remained for a century. On 13 May 1758, the Corps was renamed ''Royal carabiniers de monsieur le Comte de Provence''. By 1762, the Corps was enlarged to five brigades of thirty squadrons, but was reduced to two regiments in 1788.

Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars

The 1st and 2nd Carabiniers-à-Cheval were created in 1788, as regiments of

. They participated with distinction in the

and

. Their uniform was described by the ''Etat militaire de l'an X'' (1802): "National blue costume and scarlet lapels, blue collar, bearskin hat, yellow bandolier and belt, with white plait on the edges. Horse equipage: saddle ''à la française'', blue cover with white plait on the edges, a grenade in the corners, the ornaments of the bridle stamped with a grenade."Fierro, Alfredo; Palluel-Guillard, André; Tulard, Jean – ''Histoire et Dictionnaire du Consulat et de l'Empire'', Éditions Robert Laffont, , pp. 593–594. Before 1810, the Carabiniers-à-Cheval did not wear a

cuirass A cuirass ( ; ; ) is a piece of armour that covers the torso, formed of one or more pieces of metal or other rigid material. The term probably originates from the original material, leather, from the Old French word and the Latin word . The us ...

Cuirass holed by a canonball at Waterloo Antoine Fauveau 18Juin 1815

The decree of 24 December 1809 altered the uniform of the carabiniers: white costume, double steel cuirass (breastplate and backplate) covered with brass sheathing (copper for officers), helmet with a peak and which covered the back of the neck, with a golden-yellow copper crest decorated with a chenille made of scarlet bristle. Their armament included a

carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and ligh ...

, a sabre (straight-bladed before c. 1811, then ''"à la Montmorency"'' – with a very slight curve) and a pair of pistols.

19th century

Carabiniers were again raised in the form of two regiments by 1824, with their distinctive style of helmet being temporarily adopted by the cuirassiers also. The Carabiniers were present in Paris in June 1848 for the creation of the

French Second Republic The French Second Republic ( or ), officially the French Republic (), was the second republican government of France. It existed from 1848 until its dissolution in 1852. Following the final defeat of Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle ...

when nine regiments were brought in to maintain peace, the first time in 200 years that carabiniers were again serving as

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...

. From 1852, during the

, the Carabiniers were a part of the military but did not serve in the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

. They saw service again in 1870 as a single regiment, but now as part of the

Imperial Guard An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the emperor and/or empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial force ...

. Following the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

the Carabiniers were amalgamated with the 11th Cuirassier Regiment on 4 February 1871. The 1st-11th Cuirassier Regiment of the modern French Army can accordingly trace its origin, in part, to the 19th century Carabiniers. By coincidence the present day regiment is stationed in Carpiagne within

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

, once the domain of their former commander.
Cartographie des unités de l'armée de Terre stationnées en Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Units

* 1e Régiment des Carabinier * 2ème Régiment des Carabinier

Uniform evolution

File:1Cav Carabiniers 1757.png, Uniform of the Regiment ″Carabiniers cavalerie″ as of 1757 File:Pascal Frankreich Tafel2.jpg, Pre-

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

Carabinier-à-cheval (1787). File:Napoleon Carabinier of 1810 by Bellange.jpg, Trooper of the Carabiniers-à-cheval in pre-1809 uniform. File:Napoleon Carabiner of 1812 by Bellange.jpg, Trooper of the Carabiniers-à-cheval in post-1809 uniform File:Gros-General Lariboisière and his son.jpg, General Lariboisière and his son, an officer of the Carabinier-à-cheval who died during the

battle of Borodino The Battle of Borodino ( ) or Battle of Moscow (), in popular literature also known as the Battle of the Generals, took place on the outskirts of Moscow near the village of Borodino on 7 September 1812 during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. ...

. File:Bellangé--Carabinier-Restauration.jpg, Carabiniers-à-Cheval, Bourbon Restauration, 1815–1830. File:Carabinier-à-cheval - Second Empire - Edouard Detaille.jpg, Carabiniers-à-Cheval,

, 1852–1870.

References