Cuirassier

Cuirassiers are mounted troops armed with both firearms and swords. They succeeded over the medieval-aged knight and wear the specialized armor, the cuirass. Their light weight armor allows fast riding and quick-paced raids. Cuirassiers tend to be nobles or members of royalty. The armor is expensive to produce and was cumbersome, despite being a very defensive piece of armor. Nations have adopted regiments of cuirassiers and used them in many late-Renaissance and 19th century conflicts, including the Battle of Borodin and the Franco-Prussian War.