Carabinier


A carabinier is in principle a soldier armed with a carbine, musket, or rifle, which became commonplace by the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. The word is derived from the identical French word carabinier.
Historically, carabiniers were generally horse soldiers. The carbine was considered a more appropriate firearm for a horseman than a full-length musket, since it was shorter in length, weighed less, and was easier to manipulate on horseback. Light infantry sometimes carried carbines because they are less encumbering when moving rapidly, especially through vegetation, but in most armies the tendency was to equip light infantry with longer-range weapons such as rifles rather than shorter-range weapons such as carbines. In Italy and Spain, carbines were considered suitable equipment for soldiers with policing roles, so the term carabinier evolved to sometimes denote gendarmes and border guards.
Today, the term is used by some countries in military, law enforcement, and gendarmerie roles.

Background

Carabiniers differed from army to army and over time, but typically were medium cavalry, similar in armament and tactical role to dragoons.
Napoleon inherited two French carabinier regiments of heavy cavalry, which gained some prestige in his wars. In 1810, French Carabiniers were equipped like cuirassiers, with helmets and cuirasses, and they were no longer issued carbines. The French army has no carabinier regiments today. The British army raised regiments of carabiniers in the late 17th century. The descendants of one such regiment survived as the 3rd Carabiniers until 1971, when it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Greys. Accordingly, no regiment bears the title today, although the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards are sub-titled "Carabiniers and Greys".
Italy has a famous force of carabiniers, a gendarmerie known by the Italian name Carabinieri. Chile also has a force of gendarme carabiniers, the Carabineros de Chile, and the National Police of Colombia has mobile road-based units called Mobile Carabinier Squadrons. The Belgian Land Component includes a Regiment des Carabiniers, which saw service against the German invaders in August 1914 still dressed in its 19th century uniform complete with a form of top hat. The Spanish Army formerly maintained a corps of Carabineros who served as frontier guards. This force was, however, disbanded following the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 and replaced by units of the Civil Guard.

Infantry Carabiniers

The use of carabinier to refer to infantry troops comes from the French light infantry battalions of 1794, where it denoted troops of the elite company known as grenadiers in line infantry.
Other infantry units with the title of carabiniers included:
  • The military of Monaco includes an infantry unit called the Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince, which has been active since at least 1817.
  • In the Imperial Russian Army during the Napoleonic Wars, the sections on the right flank of yeger battalions deployed in line were called carabiniers.
  • * Quite apart from the elite yeger platoons, foot carabinier regiments existed for a brief time after 12 February 1816 when the six grenadier-yeger Regiments were renamed as carabiniers. These included the oldest regular infantry regiment in the Russian Army, the Yerivan Leib-Grenadier regiment as the former 7th Carabinier Regiment. Foot Carabinier regiments were renamed rifles in 1857 following the Crimean War.
  • Bavarian Volunteer Jäger Corps in 1813
  • The Belgian Chasseurs included an infantry Regiment des Carabiniers, which saw service against the German Army in August 1914 still dressed in its 19th century uniform complete with a form of top hat. Following a merger in 1992, the unit became the Regiment Carabiniers Prins Boudewijn – Grenadiers.
  • Waldeck, Lippe-Detmold, Shaumburg-Lippe contingents in the 2nd battalion, 6th Rheinbund Regiment of the Confederation of the Rhine.
  • Nassau 2nd Light Infantry Regiment
  • Legion Irlandaise in French service
  • Westphalian voltigeurs-carabiniers created by Jérôme Bonaparte, and after 1811 renamed Jäger Carabinier d'Elite
  • Papal States Carabinieri indigeni formed from Italian recruits, and Carabinieri esteri formed from foreign recruits
  • Kingdom of Italy under Viceroy Eugène de Beauharnais had Velites Carabiniers of the Guard.
  • One of the three light infantry battalions of the reorganised Royal Spanish Army in 1812 was called Carabiniers.

    Mounted Carabiniers

Royal Spanish carabineros

Although the Spanish Crown was the first to raise carbine armed cavalry regiments, the Spanish Army is not known for its cavalry carabiniers. The la Brigada de Carabineros Reales, though dressed as hussars, did however participate in several of Spain's wars, including the Peninsular War against Napoleon, where they distinguished themselves at Sepúlveda, along with the Alcántara and Montesa cavalry regiments, against Lasalle's French 10th Chasseurs à cheval and 9th Dragoons. One notable officer serving with the brigade was Carlos María de Alvear. The regiment, along with the cavalry of the Spanish Royal Guard, was reformed at Valladolid by General Gregorio García de la Cuesta by which time they were numbered scarcely more than a squadron, and were given the pick of some 5,000 volunteers. They later participated in the Carlist Wars, notably at Bilbao. See also the separate section on the frontier guard Carabineros of the Spanish Army below.

French Carabiniers-à-Cheval

In 1690, one company of carabiniers was maintained in each regiment of the French army's cavalry. Their duties were analogous to those of grenadiers in infantry regiments: scouting, detached work, and, in general, all duties requiring special activity and address. They fought mounted and dismounted alike, and even took part in siege warfare in the trenches. The French carabiniers were mentioned at the battle of Neerwinden in 1693 commanded by Prince de Conti. Although their original role was that of a mounted police similar to the Gendarmes, as combat troops they first took the form of separate companies within each cavalry regiments on 29 October 1691 under Louis XIV. Only later was an independent regiment or cavalerie de reserve established in 1693 under the command of Duc du Maine. However at that time all French cavalry other than the gendarmes were called light cavalry, and their first name was Corps royal des carabiniers, organised by brigading of four squadrons commanded by a lieutenant-colonel.
The Corps was enlarged to ten squadrons by the start of the Seven Years' War. Their depot was in Strasbourg, where it remained for a century. On 13 May 1758, the Corps was renamed Royal carabiniers de monsieur le Comte de Provence. By 1762, the Corps was enlarged to five brigades of thirty squadrons, but was reduced to two regiments in 1788. However, the events of the French Revolution affected all of the French Army and the cavalry Arm in particular, and the carabiniers were reduced to two regiments of four squadrons each, later serving in the Army of the Rhine. The regiments retained their distinctive bearskin headwear until 1810 when it was replaced by even more distinctive helmets with scarlet combs. They were also distinguished by Napoleon with a brass overlay on the iron cuirasses after suffering heavy casualties in the 1809 campaign, but were no longer equipped with carbines.
The two Carabiniers regiments, brigaded together and as a part of General of Division Nansouty's 1st Heavy Cavalry Division saw action during the Napoleonic Wars, including in the Battle of Austerlitz, Battle of Friedland, Battle of Wagram, Battle of Borodino, Battle of Leipzig, Battle of Laon, and Battle of Waterloo. The Carabiniers were restored as a single régiment de Monsieur after the second Bourbon restoration.
By 1814, there were two regiments of Carabiniers with their distinctive style of helmet, which was temporarily adopted by the cuirassiers. The Carabiniers were present in Paris in June 1848 for the creation of the Republic, when nine regiments were brought in to maintain peace, the first time in 200 years that carabiniers were again serving as military police. From 1852 the Carabiniers were a part of the Army of the Second French Empire, but did not serve in the Crimean War. In 1870, they saw service again as a single regiment, but now as part of the Imperial Guard. Following the Franco-Prussian War, the Carabiniers were amalgamated with the 11th Cuirassier regiment on 4 February 1871.
The 1-11e Régiment de Cuirassiers of the modern French Army can accordingly trace its origin, in part, to the 19th Century Carabiniers. By coincidence the present day regiment is stationed in Carpiagne within Provence, once the domain of their former commander.

British Carabiniers

was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was descended from the Ninth Horse regiment, raised in response to the Duke of Monmouth's rebellion in 1685, the first year of the reign of King James II. Colonelcy of the Ninth Horse was given to Richard, 2nd Viscount Lumley of Waterford. In accordance with tradition of the time, the regiment became known as Lord Lumley's Horse. In 1691, during King William's Irish Campaign, the regiment distinguished itself, as a result of which it was posted to London and renamed The King's Carabiniers. However, in 1741 the regiment became known as the 3rd Regiment of Horse, and in 1756 became the 3rd Horse. Through the Napoleonic Wars period the regiment was called the 6th Dragoon Guards, becoming 3rd Dragoon Guards in 1826. In 1920, the regiment briefly became known as The Carabiniers again before being amalgamated in 1922. Although the regiment's first battle honour is for the Battle of Blenheim, it did not take a notable part in any major battle of the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars, but did serve in the Crimean War. The regiment also served in the Boer Wars, although by far most of its battle honours come from the First World War. Known in the British Army as "The Carbs", the regiment survived as the 3rd Carabiniers until 1971 when it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Greys during the Palace of Holyrood House parade in July 1971. In attendance was Her Majesty The Queen, who is the regimental Colonel-in-Chief. At the same time the role of the regiment changed from cavalry to mechanised infantry. As a result of the amalgamation, no regiment bears the title of Carabiniers in the British Army today, although the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards are sub-titled "Carabiniers and Greys".
There also existed the Hampshire Carabiniers as a Yeomanry cavalry regiment that was formed during the French Revolutionary Wars, and remained known as the Carabiniers late in the Victorian era. The regiment served in the Boer Wars, and the First World War, after which the Hampshire Yeomanry was re-roled as an Artillery Regiment and then amalgamated with the Hampshire Royal Horse Artillery to become the 95th Field Brigade, Royal Artillery.