2 nd. Cuirassiers Regiment Trumpeter , Prussia 1745

The cuirassiers were a corps of heavy cavalry, their breastplates resisting with ease the impact of their enemies’ bayonets and swords. They would charge against the enemy infantry, breaking through the lines of fusiliers to facilitate hand-to-hand combat. 

Frederick II’s heavy cavalry included the regiments of dragoons and cuirassiers. Squadrons in cuirassier regiments (five regiments) normally consisted of two companies with two platoons each.  Each regiment had six officers, 12 non-commissioned officers, 4 musicians (two trumpeters and two drummers), 150 cuirassiers, one or two quartermasters and a small number of batmen. 

The Prussian army’s use of cuirassiers was decisive in the Wars of Succession and the Seven Years War.