Dragoon regiments - originally a type of troops capable of fighting both on foot and on horseback. That is, the dragoon is a versatile fighter who knows different battle tactics.
Name
According to one version, the dragoon regiments got their name from the French word "dragon". The image of this mythical creature was on the banners of the first regiments. According to another version, the name comes from the term "dragon" - a short French musket of the 16th century. It is possible that both of these factors influenced the name of the new type of troops.
Purpose
Initially, the dragoon regiments were considered rather a kind of infantry. The appearance of small arms nullified the effectiveness of heavily armed knightly cavalry, since armored soldiers no longer played a significant role on the battlefield, as they did in the Early and Middle Middle Ages. Now the clumsy knights were an excellent target for the musketeers, whose weapons easily pierced iron armor.
Initial application tactics
The weakness of the infantry with muskets was that they did not have mobility. Therefore, an idea appeared in the minds of French tacticians: to put the infantry on horseback so that they could quickly and maneuverably appear on any sector of the front. In fact, this is the first appearance of mobile infantry, only horses were used instead of motor vehicles. Initially, dragoon regiments dismounted into infantry battle formations as they approached the enemy, opening fire with muskets.
Dragoon Transformation
In the 17th century, medieval chain mail and armor were finally abandoned. Now the smell of gunpowder hovered on the battlefield and volleys of cannons and rifles were heard. At this time, there was a need for a universal cavalry, which at the same time would be distinguished by speed and could deliver a powerful blow to the dense ranks of the enemy. It was this kind of cavalry that the dragoon regiment became.
Ulansky, dragoon, hussar regiment - these are different types of cavalry in the XVII - early. XX centuries And if lancers and hussars are lightly armed detachments on fast trotters, which, as a rule, were used for reconnaissance and pursuit of the enemy, then dragoons are full-fledged cavalry on strong, hardy horses. Their main task was to find a weak spot in the enemy's defensive ranks and break the enemy's unified formation with the subsequent encirclement of the groupings separately. It was this tactic that allowed Napoleon Bonaparte to win many brilliant victories against the enemy's outnumbered troops.
Appearance in Russia
In our country, the first dragoon regiment was formed in 1631 from among foreigners: the Swedes, the Dutch and the British. But the foreigners did not serve in Russia for long: a year later they all quarreled with each other, with the local population and with the authorities, and left our country.
By the 18th century, all Russian cavalry is formed according to the dragoon type. Since 1712, even police cavalry detachments of dragoons have been formed. By the end of the 19th century, the line between individual types of cavalry was erased. In 1907, the former names of lancers, hussars, dragoons were restored, but they no longer differed from each other, as before.
Armaments
Dragoons were armed with swords, muskets and short spears, unlike, for example, lancers, who had long lances that hit the same dragoons at a distance. In our country, dragoon regiments were often armed with reeds or axes, which distinguished the tactics of our infantry from the European one.
Uniforms
We have already said above that dragoons were originally used both on foot and on horseback. This feature was manifested in the uniform: it was the same as the infantry regiments, and only in the equestrian ranks did the dragoons put on large blunt boots with flaps and iron spurs.
Life Guards Dragoon Regiment
Service in the dragoon regiments was less prestigious than in the "purely" cavalry lancers or hussars, so they went to serve there, as a rule,impoverished nobles, numerous representatives of the “children of the boyars”, etc. Dragoons died more often, as they were thrown into the thick of battles, and often they themselves were the source of creating the hottest centers of battle, as they wedged into the enemy’s outnumbered foot ranks, creating a gap in the defensive ranks.
However, there was still one unit among the dragoons, in which absolutely all cavalrymen wanted to serve - the Life Guards of the Dragoon Regiment. Initially, the unit was called the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment. The division appeared by decree of April 3, 1814, signed in the suburbs of the French capital - Versailles. According to the plan of the Russian Emperor Alexander the First, the new unit was to become a living monument to the victory of Russian weapons over the invincible Napoleon. Every youth dreamed of getting into the service of this particular unit, as he was personally patronized by the imperial persons.
April 3, 1833 the regiment received its final name - the Dragoon Life Guards, retaining this name until its disbandment in 1918. He participated in many military campaigns, including the Russian-Turkish wars, defended the border during the Crimean War, in the Polish campaign of 1831, in the East Prussian operation as part of the First Army of General P. K. Rennenkampf during the First World War.
All soldiers of the unit wore the distinctive sign of the dragoon regiment - a breastplate in the form of a red and black wreath with a capital letter "B" in the center and with the imperialcrown on top. This symbol meant that the regiment belonged to the imperial dynasty.
Royal Dragoons of Scotland
When talking about dragoon regiments, one cannot but mention the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. The peculiarity of this unit is that powerful cavalry units were not created in Scotland due to the historical, geographical and cultural characteristics of this nation. However, in 1861, King Charles II signed a decree on the formation of six squadrons of the Scottish Dragoons regiment. Their uniforms were stone gray, and therefore the unit was often called the "grey regiment", and in 1702 it receives its unofficial name - "Grey Dragoons" after the union of the armed forces of England and Scotland. The official name of the regiment was "The Royal Regiment of North British Dragoons", but it was not used in everyday life.
Scottish dragoons successfully fought for the British crown. So, for example, in the battle of Ramilliers in 1706, they overturned the French Guards Grenadier Regiment of the King. At the Battle of Waterloo, the "Gray Dragoons" shouting "Scotland forever!" in a swift attack fell on the French battalions, capturing many prisoners. One sergeant even captured the banner of the enemy line regiment. From that time on, the headdresses of the Scottish Dragoons depict the emblem of this regiment in the form of an eagle and the inscription "Waterloo" flaunts.
The regiment took part in the Crimean War, and in the Boer War, as well as in the First and Second World Wars. It is curious that our last Emperor Nicholas II was the chief of this regiment. The Gray Dragoons were the first of the British units to meet the Soviet troops in Germany on May 2, 1945.
