Stand up and fight!

What kind of soldier travels on horseback and fights on foot? It’s dragoons, who appeared on the battlefields during the Renaissance when firearms became popular. Fire spitting short muskets (which, with time, changed into rifles) were called “draco” meaning a “dragon”, hence the name of the unit. It originated in France at the end of the 16th century at the time of Henry IV. At first dragoons were “imported” to Poland from other countries. They appeared in the 16th century when their main features, such as mobility, large fire power and adjustment to different conditions became important enough to attract Polish recruits and develop the units. They usually constituted the advance guard of an army and in the 18th century dragoons often became military policemen who pacified rebelling Cossacks. At the end of the 18th century dragoon regiments were changed into advance guard regiments. The last dragoon unit in the First Republic of Poland was the Regiment of Crown Cavalry Guard called “Dragoni Mirowscy”. In modern armies dragoons’ role was assumed by motorized infantry.