AUSTRIAN UHLANS

When the wars with revolutionary France broke out (1792-1799), the Austrian army was perceived as one of the largest and strongest in Europe. It is true that she suffered a number of defeats during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748), but during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) she was able to keep the field of the great Prussian army, and even (though rarely) deal defeats - as in the Battle of Kolin in 1757. The Austrian army also performed well during the War of the Bavarian Succession (1778-1779). However, despite the reforms carried out during the reign of Maria Theresa (1740-1780) and Joseph II (1780-1790), the Austrian army turned out to be inferior in the field to the troops of revolutionary and Napoleonic France, which was clearly demonstrated by the Italian campaign of 1796-1797 and such battles as Austerlitz (1805) or Wagram (1809). Considering the above, it is not surprising that during the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815) the Austrian army underwent reforms (similarly to the Prussian army after 1806), and these changes also applied to the Austrian cavalry. In 1809, the Austrian cavalry consisted of, inter alia, 3 regiments of lancers. Each of them consisted of about 1,480 people, divided into 8 squadrons of about 185 people. In the period 1812-1813 the regiments of lancers were reduced to 6 squadrons, approx. 180 men each. In 1814, the fourth regiment of lancers in the Austrian army was established. The basic armament of the Austrian uhlan consisted of a lance, a saber and two cavalry pistols. It is worth adding that in each squadron of lancers there were 16 soldiers armed with long firearms (rifles and carbines). Uhlans wore green uniform jackets and similar trousers with red stripes and lapels.