Everything about Reiter totally explained
Reiters (
German:
Reiter, or horserider, shortened from the original “Schwarze Reiter” [literally“black riders”] called for the colour of their armour) were a type of
cavalry, which appeared in the armies of
Western Europe in the
16th century in place of the outmoded
lance-armed
knights, at the same time that
cuirassiers and
dragoons began to attain typological distinction from other kinds of cavalry. The reiters raised
firearms to the status of primary weapons, as opposed to earlier Western European heavy cavalry which primarily relied upon
mêlée weapons.
The reiter’s main weapons were two or more
pistols and a
sword; most wore
helmets and
cuirasses and often additional armor for the arms and legs; sometimes they also carried a long cavalry firearm known as an
arquebus or a
carbine (although this type of horsemen soon became regarded as a separate class of cavalry - the
arquebusier or in Britain
harquebusier).
In general, the reiters were expected to be able to engage their opponents both with firearms and sword. In the 16th century and up to about 1620, reiters tended to form up in deep blocks and used their firearms in a
caracole attack to disorder enemy infantry before charging home and engaging in melee combat.. However, enterprising commanders such as
Henry IV and
Gustavus Adolphus preferred to employ their reiters and other heavy cavalry in a more aggressive manner, ordering them to press the charge and fire their pistols at point-blank range (especially against well-armored enemies) or use their swords instead. Regardless of criticism by 19th and 20th century historians of the
caracole tactic, Reiters could be incredibly effective when properly employed. A particular case in point is the
Battle of Turnhout, where a force of Dutch ruyters under
Maurice of Nassau defeated the opposing Spanish cavalry and then successfully engaged the Spanish infantry with a combination of pistol volleys and sword-in-hand charges.
The Reiters mostly consisted of
Germans and served in the armies of the German states,
Sweden,
Poland as
Polish: “rajtaria”, and elsewhere. There were also Reiter
regiments in
Russia between
1630s and late
17th century (see
Regiments of the new order).
In the later
17th century the Reiters gradually merged into generic cavalry regiments and were no longer seen as a distinct class of horseman.
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