The Advantages of Medium Cavalry

Many generals of this period, including napoleon, spurned the medium cavalry whenever possible. However, under napoleon's regime, the french army raised dozens of medium cavalry regiments. In all the major armies of the napoleonic wars, medium cavalry were usually classified as dragoons. Dragoon units started appearing in european armies in the seventeenth century. Their original purpose was to act as mobile fantry using their horses as transportation and doing most of their fighting dismounted.