Editing Dragoon (section)

== 19th century ==
[[File:Battle of Jena.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|French Dragoons with captured Prussian flag at the [[Battle of Jena–Auerstedt|Battle of Jena]]]]

During the [[Napoleonic Wars]], dragoons generally assumed a cavalry role, though remaining a lighter class of mounted troops than the armored [[cuirassier]]s. Dragoons rode larger horses than the light cavalry and wielded straight, rather than curved swords. 

=== France ===
Emperor [[Napoleon]] often formed complete divisions out of his 30 dragoon regiments, while in 1811 six regiments were converted to ''Chevau-Legers Lanciers''; they were often used in battle to break the enemy's main resistance.{{Sfn|Rothenberg|1978|p=141}} In northern and eastern Europe they were employed as heavy cavalry, while in the [[Peninsular War]] they also fulfilled the role of lighter cavalry, for example in anti-guerrilla operations.{{Sfn|Haythornthwaite|2001|p=19}} In 1809, French dragoons scored notable successes against Spanish armies at the [[Battle of Ocaña]] and the [[Battle of Alba de Tormes]].

=== British Army ===

Between 1806 and 1808, the 7th, 10th, 15th and 18th regiments of Light Dragoons of the British Army were re-designated as [[hussars]] and when the [[Napoleonic Wars]] ended in 1815, some became [[lancer]]s. The transition from dragoons to hussars was however a slow one, affecting uniforms but not equipment and functions. Even titles often remained ambiguous until 1861, for example, 18th King's Light Dragoons (Hussars).{{Sfn|Barthorp|1984|pp=61 & 64}}

The seven regiments of Dragoon Guards served as the heavy cavalry arm of the British Army, although unlike continental [[cuirassier]]s they carried no armour.{{Sfn|Rowe|2004|p=}} Between 1816 and 1861, the other twenty-one cavalry regiments were either disbanded or rebadged as lancers or hussars.{{Sfn|Barthorp|1984|p=24}}{{Efn|The seven Dragoon Guards regiments were the [[1st King's Dragoon Guards]], [[2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays)]], [[3rd Dragoon Guards]], [[4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards]], [[5th Dragoon Guards]], [[Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards)]] and the [[7th Dragoon Guards]]. In addition, there were 24 cavalry of the line regiments; [[1st The Royal Dragoons]], the [[Royal Scots Greys]]; [[3rd The King's Own Hussars]]; the [[4th Queen's Own Hussars]]; [[5th Royal Irish Lancers]] (disbanded in 1799 and reformed in 1858); the [[6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons]], the [[7th Queen's Own Hussars]], the [[8th King's Royal Irish Hussars]], the [[9th Queen's Royal Lancers]], the [[10th Royal Hussars]], the [[11th Hussars]], the [[12th Royal Lancers]], the [[13th Hussars]], the [[14th King's Hussars]], the [[15th The King's Hussars]], the [[16th The Queen's Lancers]], the [[17th Lancers]], the [[18th Royal Hussars]], the [[19th Royal Hussars]], the [[20th Hussars]], the [[21st Lancers]], the [[22nd Dragoons]], the [[23rd Light Dragoons]], the [[24th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons]] and [[25th Dragoons]] (renumbered as the 22nd Dragoons in 1802).}}

=== Kingdom of Prussia ===
The Kingdom of Prussia in the Napoleonic era included 14 Regiments of Dragoons, designated Numbers 1 through 14, in their Order of Battle at the start of the 1806 Campaign against Napoleon's French Army. Prussian cavalry regiments were better known by their "Chef" or "Inhaber", the titular commander responsible for supporting the regiment, while command in the field might fall to a more junior Colonel, Lt. Colonel, or even a Major. As a result, every time there was a change in "Chef" the name of the regiment changed. By 1806, the Prussian Dragoons wore a very tall bicorn hat worn slanted slightly obliquely with a tall, white plume. Their uniforms had changed by 1802 from coats that had been cut like the infantry to short, medium-blue cavalry tunics. Each regiment had differentiating colors for a variety of uniform accessories such as small pompoms at the side of the hat, tunic facings and shoulder flaps on the left shoulder, woolen tassels for the sabre straps, and the horse saddlecloths. Dragoons were issued a long, straight blade with a single edge, the Dragoon Pallasch sword, which featured a brass basket hilt for hand protection. The Pallasch was designed for powerful cutting and thrusting action, making it effective for cavalry charges.

For the period of 1798 to October of 1806, the majority of Prussian Dragoon regiments were similar to Prussian Cuirassier regiments in staffing and organization. Most were made up of 5 squadrons with an 'on paper' war-time regimental strength of 935 men including soldiers, officers, and all the support staff. The minor difference was that Dragoon regiments had 10 more carabiniers (60 in a Dragoon regiment compared to 50 in a Cuirassier regiment) and therefore ten fewer regular troopers (660 Dragoons compared to 670 Cuirassiers). The average regimental staff of most of the regiments was around 37 officers, 65 NCOs, one staff trumpeter and 14 trumpeters, supported by 5 surgeons led by a regimental surgeon, 9 blacksmiths, a regimental quartermaster, a chaplain and a judge, a horse trainer, a saddlemaker, a gunsmith and a gunstock maker, a provost, and 68 servants. The two regiments that were exceptions were the 5th "Bayreuth" (re-designated in March 1806 as the Queen's or "Königin" Dragoons) and the 6th "Auer" Dragoon regiments, which were double-strength with 10 squadrons and retained 2/3rd German heavy horses. 

After the disastrous results of the 1806-07 war with France, most of the Prussian army had ceased to exist. For example, the 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, and 14th Dragoon regiments were totally lost and even the 9th and 14th Dragoon regimental depots had been destroyed. The complete re-organization of the Prussian army in 1808 led to numerous regiments being re-organized and re-designated, mixing surviving Dragoons and Cuirassier veterans with new recruits into a new numeric system and losing the traditional "Chef" naming schema in favor of a mostly geographical designation, with a few exceptions. For example, the old pre-1807 5th "Bayreuth"/"Königin" Dragoons became the 1st "Königin" Dragoon regiment, while the 7th "von Baczko" Dragoons became the 3rd "Lithuanian" Dragoon regiment. The newly designated 5th "Brandenburg" Dragoons were formed from merging the remains of the 5th "von Bailliodz" Cuirassier regiment and its depot with the remains of the old 1st "Konig von Bayern" Dragoon regiment and its depot. This resulted in the reduction of Prussian Dragoon regiments from 14 to 6.<ref>Nafziger, George F.,''The Prussian Army During the Napoleonic Wars (1792-1815). Volume III. The Cavalry & Artillery'', West Chester, OH, 1996, p16-17</ref>

Many of these new Prussian Dragoon regiments fought in the 1813 [[German Campaign of 1813|Wars of Liberation]] in the [[Sixth Coalition]] against Napoleon in central Europe and France into 1814.

=== German Empire ===
The creation of [[German Empire|a unified German state]] in 1871 brought together the dragoon regiments of [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]], [[Kingdom of Bavaria|Bavaria]], [[Kingdom of Saxony|Saxony]], Mecklenburg, [[Grand Duchy of Oldenburg|Oldenburg]], [[Grand Duchy of Baden|Baden]], [[Grand Duchy of Hesse|Hesse]], and [[Kingdom of Württemberg|Württemberg]] in a single numbered sequence, although historic distinctions of insignia and uniform were largely preserved. Two regiments of the Imperial Guard were designated as dragoons.{{Sfn|Marrion|1975|pp=7–11}}

=== Austria ===
The Austrian (later Austro-Hungarian) Army of the 19th century included six regiments of dragoons in 1836, classed as heavy cavalry for shock action, but in practice used as multi-purpose medium troops.{{Sfn|Pavlovic|1999|p=3}} After 1859 all but two Austrian dragoon regiments were converted to cuirassiers or disbanded.{{Sfn|Pavlovic|1999|p=26}} From 1868 to 1918 the Austro-Hungarian dragoons numbered 15 regiments.{{Sfn|Knotel|1980|p=26}}

=== Spain ===
During the 18th century, Spain raised several regiments of dragoons to protect the northern provinces and borders of [[New Spain]], the present-day states of California, [[Nevada]], [[Colorado]], [[Texas]], [[Kansas]], [[Arizona]], [[Montana]], [[North Dakota]], and [[South Dakota]].{{Sfn|Torres|Láinez|2008|p=?}} In mainland Spain, dragoons were reclassified as light cavalry from 1803 but remained among the elite units of the [[Military of New Spain|Spanish Colonial Army]]. A number of dragoon officers played a leading role in initiating the [[Mexican War of Independence]] in 1810, including [[Ignacio Allende]], [[Juan Aldama]] and [[Agustin de Iturbide]], who briefly served as Emperor of México from 1822 to 1823.

[[File:Officier de dragons Mexique 1826.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|{{center|Picture depicting a Mexican dragoon officer in 1826 }}]]

=== United States ===
Prior to the [[War of 1812]], the U.S. organized the [[Regiment of Light Dragoons (United States)|Regiment of Light Dragoons]]. For the war, [[2nd Regiment of Light Dragoons (United States)|a second regiment]] was activated; that regiment was consolidated with the original regiment in 1814. The original regiment was consolidated with the [[Field Artillery Branch (United States)|Corps of Artillery]] in June 1815.{{Sfn|Heitman|1903| pp=79—80}} The [[United States Dragoons]] were organized by an [[Act of Congress]] approved on 2 March 1833 after the disbandment of the [[United States Mounted Rangers|Battalion of Mounted Rangers]]. The unit became the "First Regiment of Dragoons" when the Second Dragoons was raised in 1836. In 1861, they were re-designated as the 1st and 2nd Cavalry but did not change their role or equipment, although the traditional orange uniform braiding of the dragoons was replaced by the standard yellow of the Cavalry branch. This marked the official end of dragoons in the U.S. Army in name, although certain modern units trace their origins back to the historic dragoon regiments. In practice, all US cavalry assumed a dragoon-like role, frequently using [[carbine]]s and [[pistol]]s, in addition to their [[sword]]s.

=== Russian Empire ===
Between 1881 and 1907, all Russian cavalry (other than [[Cossacks]] and [[Imperial Guard (Russia)|Imperial Guard]] regiments) were designated as dragoons, reflecting an emphasis on the double ability of dismounted action as well as the new cavalry tactics in their training and a growing acceptance of the impracticality of employing historical [[cavalry tactics]] against modern firepower. Upon the reinstatement of Uhlan and Hussar Regiments in 1907 their training pattern, as well as that of the Cuirassiers of the Guard, remained unchanged until the collapse of the Russian Imperial Army.<ref>Novitsky, N. F., ed. (1911–1915). ''Cavalry/Encyclopaedia Militera'', V.11. Moscow – SPb, Sytin Publishing.</ref>

=== Japan ===
In Japan, during the late 19th and early 20th century, dragoons were deployed in the same way as in other armies, but were dressed as [[hussars]].