(Ebook) The Armies and Wars of the Sun King 1643-1715 Volume 3: The Cavalry of Louis XIV by René Chartrand

(Ebook) The Armies and Wars of the Sun King 1643-1715 Volume 3: The Cavalry of Louis XIV by René Chartrand

This section describes what was by very far Europe’s largest cavalry force. It included the Gendarmerie de France, which was a privileged division between the guards and the line cavalry. The line cavalry evolved from a fairly standard heavy cavalry force in the 1640s to a more complex arm of the service that first added numerous dragoon regiments in the 1670s, a division of rifled-armed elite carabiniers in the 1690s and also the advent of Hussars as light cavalry at that time. The peculiar organization of the cavalry with its Mestre de Camp Général, Colonel Général is also described and some of its personalities had rather colorful careers. Arms, accoutrements and dress of the cavalry are discussed and also, the horses and the never-attained challenge of furnishing enough for some 60,000 troopers in the 1690s. By comparison, British cavalry hovered at about 7,000. This included efforts to develop better breeding and the advent of “dressage” as we know it today from France’s Louis XIVs era.