Carabinier

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. (help, get involved!)
Any unsourced material that has been or is likely to be challenged may be removed at any time.
This article has been tagged since February 2007.

A Carabinier (also sometimes spelled Carabineer or Carbineer) was a cavalry soldier armed with a carbine (a short musket). Sometimes considered a type of mounted infantry, because they could also dismount to fight on foot, Carabiniers saw action during the Napoleonic wars in Europe, including the Battle of Waterloo, and many other conflicts throughout the 19th century. Carabiniers differed from army to army and over time, but typically were medium cavalry, similar in armament and tactical role to Dragoons.

Napoleon inherited two French Carabinier regiments, which gained some prestige in his wars. In 1810 French Carabiniers were equipped as heavy cavalry with helmets and breastplates, and were no longer equipped with carabines. The French army has no carabinier regiments today. The British army raised some regiments of carabiniers from time to time, but no regiment bears the title today, although the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards are sub-titled "Carabiniers and Greys".

Italy has a famous force of carabiniers, a gendarmerie often known by the Italian name Carabinieri. Chile also has a force of gendarme Carabiniers (Spanish: Carabineros). The Belgian Army includes a Regiment des Carabiniers, which saw service against the German invaders in August 1914 still dressed in its green 19th century uniform complete with a form of top hat.