Editing Dragoon (section)

== 20th century ==
[[File:German dragoons near Reims 1914.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.9|German dragoons near Reims 1914]]

In the period before 1914, dragoon regiments still existed in the British, French,{{Sfn|Jouineau|2008|pp=23–25}} German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian,{{Sfn|Lucas|1987|pp=101–105}} Canadian, Peruvian, Swiss,{{Sfn|Koppen|1890|p=67}} Norwegian,{{Sfn|Koppen|1890|p=62}} Swedish,{{Sfn|Koppen|1890|p=61}} Danish, and Spanish{{Sfn|Koppen|1890|p=65}} armies. Their uniforms varied greatly, lacking the characteristic features of hussar or lancer regiments. Uniforms bore occasional reminders of their mounted infantry origins: the 28 dragoon regiments of the [[German Army (German Empire)|Imperial German Army]] wore the infantry [[Pickelhaube]] or spiked helmet,{{Sfn|Herr|2006|pp=324–343}} while British dragoons wore [[Red coat (military uniform)|scarlet tunics]] for full dress while hussars and all but one of the lancer regiments wore dark blue.{{Sfn|Barthorp|1984|pp=183–184}} In other respects however dragoons had adopted the same tactics, roles and equipment as other branches of the cavalry and the distinction had become simply one of traditional titles. Weaponry had ceased to have a historic connection, with both the French and German dragoon regiments carrying [[lance]]s when serving as mounted troops during World War I.

The historic German, Russian and Austro-Hungarian dragoon regiments ceased to exist as distinct branches following the overthrow of the respective imperial regimes of these countries during 1917–18. The Spanish dragoons, which dated back to 1640, were reclassified as numbered cavalry regiments in 1931 as part of the army modernization policies of the [[Second Spanish Republic]].{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

In 1914, at the outbreak of World War I, France maintained 32 regiments of dragoons. Armed with lances, sabres and carbines they were primarily intended to carry out reconnaissance and infantry flanking functions.<ref>{{cite book|first=Laurent |last=Mirouze|page=296|title=The French Army in the First World War - to battle 1914.|ISBN=3-902526-09-2}}</ref>
 
[[File:Karlsruhe Leibdragonerdenkmal.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.7|[[Baden]] dragoon in a [[World War I]] monument at [[Karlsruhe]]. While almost an [[anachronism]] after the early stages of that war, German dragoons did see continuing service on the Eastern Front until 1917. With functional [[Stahlhelm]] helmet.]]

The [[Australian Light Horse]] were similar to 18th-century dragoon regiments in some respects, being mounted infantry which normally fought on foot, their horses' purpose being transportation. They served during the [[Second Boer War]] and [[World War I]]. The Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade became famous for the [[Battle of Beersheba (1917)|Battle of Beersheba]] in 1917 where they charged on horseback using rifle [[bayonet]]s in hand, since neither [[sabre]]s nor [[lance]]s were part of their equipment. Later in the Palestine campaign Pattern 1908 cavalry swords were issued and used in the campaign leading to the fall of Damascus.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

Probably the last use of real dragoons (infantry on horseback) in combat was made by the [[Portuguese Army]] in the [[Portuguese Colonial War|war in Angola]] during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1966, the Portuguese created an experimental horse platoon to operate against the guerrillas in the high grass region of Eastern [[Angola]], in which each soldier was armed with a [[Heckler & Koch G3|G3]] [[battle rifle]] for combat on foot and with a [[semi-automatic pistol]] to fire from horseback. The troops on horseback were able to operate in difficult terrain unsuited to [[motor vehicle]]s and had the advantage of being able to control the area around them, with a clear view over the grass that foot troops did not have. Moreover, these unconventional troops created a psychological impact on an enemy that was not used to facing horse troops, and thus had no training or strategy to deal with them. The experimental horse platoon was so successful that its entire parent battalion was transformed from an armored reconnaissance unit to a three-squadron horse battalion known as the "[[Dragoons of Angola]]". One of the typical operations carried out by the Dragoons of Angola, in cooperation with [[airmobile]] forces, consisted of the dragoons chasing the guerrillas and pushing them in one direction, with the airmobile troops being launched from [[helicopter]] in the enemy rear, trapping the enemy between the two forces.{{Sfn|Cann|1997|p=?}}

=== Dragoner rank ===
Until 1918, ''Dragoner'' (en: dragoon) was the designation given to the lowest ranks in the dragoon regiments of the Austro-Hungarian and Imperial German armies. The ''Dragoner'' rank, together with all other private ranks of the different branch of service, belonged to the so-called ''[[Gemeine]]'' rank group.