Kurassier Gens d’armes Rgt. Nr 10, Prussia 1750

The cuirassiers were horsemen armed with swords and protected by breastplates, they were a heavy cavalry corps. 

Their breastplates easily withstood the impact of the enemies’ bayonets and swords. They would charge against the enemy infantry, breaking through the lines to facilitate hand-to-hand combat. The use of cuirassiers by the Prussian army was decisive in the wars of Succession and the Seven Years War. 

The Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin took its name in 1799 in memory of the Gens d’Armes regiment of cuirassiers, whose stables were located there until 1773 when Frederick II demolished the stables to build the square.