Carabineers

select riflemen in the infantry and cavalry.

From the 15th century the light infantry and cavalry of theBasques and Gascons in Spain were called carabineers; the termwas also used in France from the 16th century. From the 17thcentury carabineers were select riflemen. In the late 17th centuryin France and in the middle of the 18th century in Austriadetachments and companies of carabineers were broughttogether into privileged military units, which existed until the19th century. There were also carabineer units in Prussia in the18th century. In Russia from 1763 to 1796 there were at varioustimes from nine to nineteen cavalry regiments of carabineers, and from 1815 to 1857 there were from four to eight infantrycarabineer regiments (analogous to the Jaegers). In Italy thecarabineer troops (formed in 1814) fulfill the function of a gen-darmerie.