Cavalry Regiment Organisation
Italian cavalry regiments, both heavy and light, were organised in the same way. Each regiment was made up of a regimental staff, four field squadrons and a depot company.
Regimental Staff
The staff of a cavalry regiment was made up as follows:
| Colonnello | Colonel | 1 |
| Sotto Colonnello | Colonel en seconde | 1 |
| Maggiore | Major | 1 |
| Capo-Squadrone | Chefs d'Escadron | 3 |
| Aiutante | Adjutants | 2 |
| Quartier Mastro | Quartermaster | 1 |
| Chirurgo-Maggiore | Surgeon-Major | 1 |
| Sotto-Chirurgo | Assistant Surgeons | 2 |
| Tromba-Maggiore | Trumpet-Major | 1 |
| Veterinario | Veterinary Surgeon | 1 |
| Furieri | ??? | 1 |
| Mastro-Artigiano | Master Craftsmen (Bootmaker, Tailor, Saddler, Breechesmaker & Armourer) |
5 |
| Zappatori | Sappers | 2 |
| Total establishment | 30 | |
The sappers were not properly part of the regimental staff and were attached to the regiment's elite company.
Company Establishment
As noted above, each regiment was made up of four squadrons. Each squadron, in turn, was made up of two companies organised thus:
| Capitano | Captain | 1 |
| Tenente | Lieutenant | 1 |
| Sotto-Tenente | Second Lieutenant | 2 |
| Sergente-Maggiore | Sergeant-Major | 1 |
| Sergente | Sergeants | 2 |
| Caporale-Furiere | Quartermaster-Corporal | 1 |
| Caporale | Corporals | 4 |
| Maniscalco | Farrier | 1 |
| Tromba | Trumpeters | 2 |
| Soldato | Troopers | 75 |
| Total establishment | 90 | |
The two dragoon regiments added a Tamburo (drummer) to this establishment to give a company total of 91 men.
Thus the theoretical strength of a dragoon regiment would be 758 men and that of a chasseur regiment 750 men.
In practice, however, regiments in the field never got near this figure. Battle casualties, disease, desertion and shortage of horses (a particular problem in the later years of the war) ensured that a regiment's "field strength" was much lower. Here are some examples taken at the beginning of their respective campaigns, active service would make them even lower...
| Regina Dragoons, July 1812: | 653 men |
Sources
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My thanks go to Marcello Marconi of Verona for checking and correcting the spelling of the military ranks & titles shown above.
See Also
Infantry Organisation
Artillery Organisation
