page_title: Lancer
section_title: Lancers equipage
hierarchical_section_title: Lancer / Lancers equipage
caption_attribution_description: English: French Light horse lancer from the Grande Armée. From book of P.-M. Laurent de L`Ardeche «Histoire de Napoleon», 1843Français&#160;: Chevau-léger lancier du 2e régiment
context_page_description: A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used in mounted warfare by the Assyrians as early as 700 BC and subsequently by Greek, Persian, Gallic, Chinese, and Roman horsemen. The weapon was widely used in Asia and Europe during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance by armoured cavalry, before being adopted by light cavalry in Europe and Central Asia. In a modern context, a lancer regiment usually denotes an armoured unit.
context_section_description: Lancers typically wore a double-breasted jacket (kurtka) with a coloured panel (plastron) at the front, a coloured sash, and a square-topped Polish cap (czapka). Their lances usually had small swallow-tailed flags (known as the lance pennon) just below the spear head. The pennons were normally removed or wrapped in a canvas cover on active service. With the improved range and accuracy of infantry rifles, the high-profile presented by lancers with their conspicuous weapons became a problem. The ułans or uhlans, as lancers are known in the Polish and German languages respectively, were trained to lower their lances when scouting on hill-tops.
caption: Imperial French lancer from 1812
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