Reiter or Schwarze Reiter were a type of cavalry in 16th to 17th centuryCentral Europe including Holy Roman Empire, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Tsardom of Russia, and others. Contemporary to the Cuirassier and Lancer cavalry, they used smaller horses, for which reason they were also known as Ringerpferde. They were originally recruited in the North German Plain west of the Oder at the time of the Schmalkaldic War of 1546/7. The Reiter raised firearms to the status of primary weapons for cavalry, as opposed to earlier Western Europeanheavy cavalry which primarily relied upon mêlée weapons. A Reiter's main weapons were two or more pistols and a sword; most Reiters wore helmets and cuirasses and often additional armor for the arms and legs; sometimes they also carried a long cavalry firearm known as an arquebus or a carbine. In general, commanders expected Reiters to be able to engage their opponents both with firearms and with swords. In the 16th century and up to about 1620, Reiters often formed up in deep blocks and used their firearms in a caracole attack in the hopes of disordering enemy infantry before charging home and engaging in hand-to-hand combat. However, enterprising commanders such as Henry IV and Gustavus Adolphus preferred to employ their Reiters and other heavy cavalry in a more aggressive manner, ordering them to press the charge and fire their pistols at point-blank range or to use their swords instead. Using either or both of these tactics, Reiters could be incredibly effective when properly employed. A particular case in point is the Battle of Turnhout in 1597, where a force of Dutch Reiters under Maurice of Nassau defeated the opposing Spanish cavalry and then successfully engaged the Spanish infantry with a combination of pistol volleys and sword-in-hand charges. The Reiters mostly consisted of Germans and served in the armies of the German states, in Sweden as "ryttare", in Poland as Polish: "rajtaria", and elsewhere. Reiter regiments also operated in Russian armies between the 1630s and the early 18th century. In the later 17th century the Reiters gradually merged into generic cavalry regiments and were no longer seen as a distinct class of horseman.
