The Chevau-légers (from French cheval—horse—and léger—light) was a generic French name for several units of light cavalry, roughly similar to lancers in the armies of other states during the Napoleonic Wars. Perhaps the most famous of all such units were the Polish 1st Light Cavalry Regiment of the Guards and the French 2nd Light Cavalry Regiment of the Guards. In later periods of the conflict also the Polish 3rd Light Cavalry Regiment of the Guards was formed.
Their history began in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, when the heavy cavalry forces of the French Compagnies d'Ordonnance were undergoing a massive structural reorganization. Initially, the companies combined the gendarmes (fully armored men-at-arms) along with lighter coutiliers and "archers" in the same mounted formation, with the better-armored men forming the foremost ranks. However, as time passed the lighter horsemen were increasingly separated into independent formations of "medium" cavalry, bearing lighter armor and much shorter lances than the gendarmes. These lighter formations eventually gained the name of chevaux légeres. A similar development also happened in the organization of the Austrian and Spanish cavalry with the growth of caballería ligera formations.