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'Dragoon' is the traditional name for a soldier trained to fight on foot but transport himself on horseback, in use especially during the 17th and early 18th centuries.

Contents

History and use

Modern dragoons

Brazil

Canada

Denmark

France

Norway

Poland

Sweden

Switzerland

United Kingdom

United States

References

External links

History and use

The name derives probably from the dragoon's primary weapon, a carbine or short musket called the ''dragon''. ''Dragon ''carbines are said to have been so-called because they "breathed fire" — a reference to the flames carbines emitted when fired. According to another theory, the name originated from the title of ''Dragon'' given to Guillaume de Gomiécourt, an 11th century French lord, by King Henry I of France, and from his son Raoul Dragon de Gomiécourt, who trained a group of soldiers to fight both from horse and foot.
The creation of dragoons, although still not bearing that name, is now generally credited to Piero Strozzi, an Italian condottiero who fought for the King of France in the early 16th century.
Dragoons were organized not in squadrons or troops like the cavalry, but in companies like the foot soldier, and their officers and non-commissioned officers bore infantry ranks. The flexibility of mounted infantry made dragoons a useful arm, especially when employed for what would now be termed "internal security work" against smugglers or civil unrest. The dragoon regiments were also cheaper to recruit and maintain than the notoriously expensive regiments of cavalry. When in the 17th century Gustav II Adolf introduced dragoons into the Swedish Army, he provided them with a sabre, an axe and a matchlock musket (flintlocks from 1635): many of the European armies henceforth imitated this all-purpose set of weaponry.
However, dragoons were at a disadvantage when engaged against true cavalry, and constantly sought to raise their horsemanship, armament and social status to the levels of the latter. In most European armies "Dragoon" came to refer to medium cavalry by the time of the early wars of Frederick the Great, in the 1740s. Exceptionally the 30 regiments of Russian dragoons in existence by the Seven Years' War were still trained to fight as both dismounted musketeers and cavalry capable of engaging a mounted enemy in a melee. They also retained responsibilities for scouting and piquet duty which in the Prussian, French and other armies was passing to hussars and other light corps.
The term "to dragoon" dates from the earlier mounted infantry period. Dragoons were the most efficient and economical form of cavalry for police work and counter guerrilla warfare.
From the late 18th century, some regiments started to be designated as Light Dragoons, who rode faster and lighter horses and carried lighter sabres. They were trained in reconnaissance, skirmishing and other work requiring speed. In the early 19th century, the British Light Dragoon regiments converted to lancers and hussars. Between 1881 and 1910 all Russian cavalry other than Cossacks and Imperial Guard units were designated as dragoons, reflecting an emphasis on dismounted action in their training.
In 1914 there were still dragoon regiments in the British, French, German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian, Swedish, Danish and Spanish armies. Their uniforms varied greatly, lacking the characteristic features of hussar or lancer regiments. There were occasional reminders of the mounted infantry origins of this class of soldier. Thus the dragoon regiments of the Imperial German Army wore the pickelhaube (spiked helmet) of the same design as those of the infantry and the British dragoons wore scarlet tunics (hussars and all but one of the lancer regiments wore dark blue). In other respects however dragoons had adopted the same tactics, roles and equipment as other branches of the cavalry and the distinction had become simply one of traditional titles.

Modern dragoons

Brazil

The Brazilian president's honor guard is formed by a regiment of dragoons, known as the "Independence Dragoons" (formally, 1st Regiment of Cavalry of Guards), the name being a reference to the fact that a detachment of dragoons escorted Portugal's crown prince Peter at the time when he proclaimed Brazilian independence from Portugal, on September 7, 1822.
The regiment was established in 1808 by the future king of Portugal, John VI, with the duty of protecting the Portuguese royal family, which had sought refuge in Brazil during the Napoleonic wars.
The regiment of dragoons continued to guard the Brazilian heads of State even after the overthrow of the monarchy and the proclamation of the Republic, in 1889. The dragoons wear 19th century uniforms, in white and red, with plumed golden helmets, and are armed with lances.^[1]

Canada

There are three dragoon regiments in the Canadian Forces: The Royal Canadian Dragoons, the senior armoured regiment in the Canadian Forces, and two reserve regiments, the British Columbia Dragoons and the Saskatchewan Dragoons.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police were accorded the status of a regiment of Dragoons in 1921.[1][2]. However this distinction was cancelled during the 1960s and the modern RCMP have no formal connection with the Canadian Armed Forces.

Denmark

The Danish Army includes amongst its historic regiments the Jutland Dragoons, which was raised in 1670.

France

The modern French Army retains "Dragons" (RD) for service both as mechanised infantry and with light tanks.

Norway

In the Norwegian Army, the designation of dragoons is given to armoured reconnaissance units. "Dragon" is the rank of a private cavalryman.

Poland

Sweden

In the Swedish Army, dragoons are the Military Police and Military Police Rangers. They form the Dragoons Battalion of the Life Guards. The Dragoons Battalion have roots that go back as far as 1523 making it one of the worlds oldest military units still in service. "Livdragon" is the rank of a private cavalryman. The Swedish Army Dragoons are one of few units that still use horses. Horses are being used for ceremonial purposes only, most often when the dragoons take part at the change of the guards at The Royal Castle.

Switzerland

In the Swiss Army, mounted dragoons existed until the early 1970s, when they were converted into Armoured Grenadiers units. The "Dragoner" had to prove he was able to keep a horse at home before entering the army. At the end of basic training they had to buy a horse at a reduced price from the army and to take it home together with equipment, uniform and weapon. In the early repetition course the dragoons served with their horse, often riding from home to the meeting point.

United Kingdom

In the present-day British Army, one regiment is designated The Light Dragoons and three as Dragoon Guards. The latter comprise The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, The Royal Dragoon Guards and the 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards. The designation "Dragoon Guards" does not indicate the status of Household Troops but is a distinction awarded to former "Regiments of Horse" when these were converted to Dragoons in 1746.
In the Territorial Army, one of the five squadrons of the Royal Yeomanry, W (Westminster Dragoons) Squadron, also bears the title of a former dragoon regiment.

United States

During the American Revolutionary War, certain factors limited creation and deployment of dragoon units in Continental and local militia Patriot forces. General George Washington and his staff had little experience with dragoons and cavalry in warfare and did not understand or appreciate how to use them effectively. American geography was arguably unsuited to mounted warfare, or at least different from the typical European battlefield. Some officers with egalitarian ideals may have been prejudiced by the elite nature of mounted troops, and their cost and maintenance requirements were obstacles given the empty coffers of rebel treasuries. Dragoon forces, nevertheless, did emerge during the Revolution.
The United States formed its first dragoon unit under the Congressional act of March 5, 1792, as a squadron of four troops commanded by Major Michael Rudolph, later reduced in 1796 to two troops commanded by Major William Winston. In 1798, Congress authorized six new troops which, with the two previously constituted troops, formed a Regiment of Light Dragoons commanded by Lt. Col. Jonathan Watts, but this unit was reduced to two troops in 1800 and disbanded altogether in 1802 during a wave of Jeffersonian optimism and frugality. The Congressional act of April 12, 1808, authorized a Regiment of Light Dragoons consisting of eight troops, commanded by Colonels Wade Hampton and later Leonard Covington and Jacint Laval, and the act of January 11, 1812, authorized another Regiment of Light Dragoons, commanded by Colonel James Burn, respectively known afterwards as the First and Second United States Dragoons. The Congressional act of March 30, 1814, combined these two regiments, which could not meet their authorized strength, into one Regiment of Light Dragoons, which was disbanded by the act of March 3, 1815, and its officers and men retained were folded into the Corps of Artillery by June 15, 1815, when all others were discharged. Elements of these Regiments fought Indian, Canadian, and British forces during the War of 1812, playing crucial roles in the Mississiniwa River campaign and battles such as Stony Creek and Lundy's Lane.
Westward expansion and the Indian Wars revived the functional importance of dragoons as an ideal combat force, and the Congressional act of March 2, 1833, constituted the Regiment of Dragoons in March 1833. This unit was renamed the First Regiment of Dragoons when the second regiment was formed in 1836. Known as the Black Hawks, the First Dragoons served in the Black Hawk Wars, the Mexican War, and (under the title 1st United States Cavalry) in virtually every campaign in the east during the American Civil War. Shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War the U.S. dragoon regiments were redesignated as "Cavalry", losing their previous distinctions. The change was an unpopular one and the former dragoons retained their orange braided blue jackets until they wore out and had to be replaced with cavalry yellow.
The 1st and 2nd Battalion, 48th Infantry were mechanized infantry units assigned to the 2nd Brigade of the Third Armored Division from 1963 to 1992. They were stationed with the 1st of 33rd Armor at Coleman Kaserne, in the city of Gelnhausen, in West Germany and again served with the 3rd Armored Division in Desert Storm. The unit crest of the 48th Infantry designated the unit as Dragoons. They are descended from National Guard units which trained for the First World War, and Armored Rifle Battalions which served with the US 7th Armored Division during WWII. The 48th Armored Rifle Battalion in particular fought a tough battle in Vielsalm, Belgium, holding off the German 5th Panzer Corps for three days at the crossing of the Salm river (with 1st Battalion 40th Armor during the German Ardennes Offensive (aka Battle of the Bulge).
The 1st Dragoons was reformed in the Vietnam conflict as 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry, and continues to this day in the Iraqi War as the oldest cavalry unit, as well as the most decorated unit, in the US Army. Today's 1-1 Cavalry is a modern scout/attack unit, equipped with M1A1 Abrams tanks and M3 Bradley CFVs. Another modern United States Army unit informally known as the 2nd Dragoons is the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment. This unit was originally organized as the Second Dragoon Regiment in 1836 until it was renamed the Second Cavalry Regiment in 1860. The regiment is equipped with Stryker infantry fighting vehicles.

References

★ History of the United States Cavalry: From the Formation of the Federal Government to the 1st of June 1863, ..., , Albert G., Brackett, Greenwood, ,

★ Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, From Its Organization, September 29, 1789, to March 2, 1903, , Francis Bernard, Heitman, Genealogical Publishing Co., ,

★ Cavalry Regiments in the U.S. Army, , James A., Sawicki, Wyvern Pubs., ,

External links

★ Westminster Dragoons (Canada)

★ Saskatchewan Dragoons (Canada)

★ British Columbia Dragoons (Canada)

★ First Regiment of Cavalry (USA)

★ The Society of the Military Horse