heavy cavalry
Mounted shock troops
Heavy cavalry refers to mounted soldiers equipped with substantial armor and weapons, designed for shock combat—charging enemy formations to break their lines.
Unlike light cavalry used for scouting and harassment, heavy cavalry emphasizes mass and impact: The heavy cavalry smashed through the infantry's center.
Historical examples include medieval knights and cataphracts.
- cuirassiersArmored cavalry troops
- warhorseSeasoned campaigner or mount
- bardingWrapping meat in fat
- gendarmesFrench military police
- shock tacticsSudden aggressive assault strategy
lance · knights · plate armor · horse armor · crusaders · mounted · thundering · sabers · jousting · hooves · flanking · galloping · men-at-arms · full plate · charge · melee · horse soldier · dragoon
- medieval warhorseswarhorses, chargers
- medieval knightsknight, knights, armor, sword, swords
- warriorsfighter, knight, footsoldier, barbarian, samurai
- cavalrycavalryman, dragoons, hussars, lancers, lancer
- French militaryFrench Foreign Legion, French Army, legionnaires, chasseurs, gendarme
- medieval cavalryhorsemen, mounted warriors, war horses, knight, charger
heavy cavalrylight cavalry
Fast, mobile mounted troops
hussars · mounted archers · horse archers · Numidian cavalry · dragoons
heavy cavalryskirmishers
Light troops in loose formation
scouts · flankers · light cavalry · raiding parties · outriders
heavy cavalryheavy infantry
Armored foot soldiers
foot soldiers · infantry · pikemen · hoplites · legionaries
heavy, heavily, heaviness, heavier, cavalry, heaviest, heavyweights, overheavy