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pre-1806
Prior to the defeat of 1806 the cavalry comprised twelve cuirassier regiments plus the Garde du Corps, twelve Dragoon regiments (13 in 1802 and 14 in 1803), and ten Hussar regiments including one of the Bosniaks (later lancers, raised from Prussia's Polish territory). Under Frederick the Great they had been employed in 'shock' action, but in the 1806 campaign the formation of divisions including a cavalry brigade resulted in the cavalry becoming too scattered to act effectively en masse.
The Cuirassiers
The Cuirassier Regiments formed the heavy cavalry, employed in crushing the opposing cavalry and piercing the enemy's battle line. As mentioned above, there were 12 Cuirassier Regiments in the army plus the Garde du Corps numbered 13th. Each of these regiments were comprised of five squadrons (the Garde du Corps three until 1798) with a field strength of 841. All of these squadrons consisted of two companies, each company had 3 officers, 6 NCOs, 1 Trumpeter and 72 men. They wore no cuirass, but a white jacket (except for the 2nd Regiment which was yellow) with facing-coloured collar, cuffs, turnbacks and girdle, with broad lace down the breast and edging the cuffs, shoulder straps and white belts; white breeches, long boots and bicorns and white plumes for troopers, with a black tip for NCOs and black base for officers. The sword was long and straight with a large, brass basket type hilt carried in a black scabbard with steel fittings. A white carbine belt, edged in the facing colour, was worn over the left shoulder. The cartouche was black leather, decorated with a brass disc engraved with the Royal cypher, carried on a plain white leather strap over the right shoulder. The cartouche of the 10th Regiment, an exception, was white and both it and the strap were edged with the regimental lace.
Post 1806
Organization
After the Treaty of Paris and disastrous campaign of 1806 the cavalry was reduced to four Kurassier, six Dragoon, seven Hussar and two Uhlan (lancer) regiments each of four squadrons, of two companies each, and each company of two troops or Zugen thus leaving the recionstituted cavalry at a strength of 76 squadrons. Each squadron each squadron consisted of 125 men all ranks.
The highest cavalry formations were brigades. These were usually formed from three regiments but sometimes brigades contained four such units. In practice, it was common for a regiment to field only two, or three squadrons or to be split into two parts. The strength of a brigade could vary from seven or eight squadrons up to twelve.
In 1809, Major von Schill, the commander of the 2nd Brandenberg Hussar Regiment, raised the flag of revolt against Napoleon. His actions were illconsidered and as a result, his regiment was struck from the army list and was replaced by the newly-formed Brandenburg Uhlan Regiment.
An independent Uhlan Squadron was formed in 1809 and in the following year was renamed the Garde-Uhlanen-Eskadron. In 1811, two Normal squadrons were formed; the Normal-Dragoner-Eskadron, composed of men from Dragoon and Kurassier regiments; and the Normal-Hussaren-Eskadron drawn from the ranks of the Hussar rgiments. In February 1813 to these three formations was added a fourth, the Garde-Cosaken and together they became known as the Leichtes Garde-Kavallerie-Regiment. In March 1815, these squadronswere expanded to form the Garde-Uhlan, Dragoon and Hussar Regiments, the Cossacks being attached to the Garde Uhlanen
In early 1813, Yorck raised the East Prussian National Cavalry Regiment. This was a volunteer formation and it was later re-titled Prussian. This example was followed in March, when the Silesian National Cavalry Regiment, later the National Hussar Regiment and the Pommeranian National Cavalry, later the National Light Cavalry, were raised. In November 1813, the Elb-National-Hussaren-Regiment, was formed in the newly liberated western provinces.
The Reserve cavalrymen that were mobilized in 1813 were absorbed into the existing cavalry regimental organizations.
The Landwehr cavalry was recruited at this time and by mid-1813;
113 squadrons were in existence. Generally they were grouped into
four squadron regiments, but some regiments had three, or five,
squadrons. By the end of the 1815 campaign, the following numbers
of Landwehr Cavalry Regiments were serving with the Prussian Army
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