Carabinier

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For the device used to connect ropes, see carabiner

A Carabinier (also sometimes spelled Carabineer or Carbineer) (Carabinero in Spanish, Carabiniere in Italian)) was originally a cavalry soldier armed with a carbine (a short musket). Today the term is used by some armies, police, and gendarmeries.

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 of heavy cavalry (the two most senior cavalry regiments in the army), which gained some prestige in his wars. In 1810 French Carabiniers were equipped like cuirassiers with helmets and breastplates (though these were of brass and brass-skinned iron), and were no longer equipped with carabines. The French army has no carabinier regiments today. The British army raised regiments of carabiniers in the late 17th century. The descendents of one such regiment survived as the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales's Dragoon Guards) until 1971 when it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Greys. Accordingly 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 known by the Italian name Carabinieri. Chile also has a force of gendarme Carabiniers (Spanish: Carabineros) and the Colombian Police has mobile road-based units called Mobile Carabinier Squadrons. 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. The Spanish Army formerly maintained a corps of Carabineros who served as frontier guards. This force was however disbanded following the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39 and replaced by units of the Civil Guard.