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Weapons

Year XI light cavalry sabre

Year XI light cavalry sabre

Year XIII cavalry pistol
Year XIII cavalry pistol
1786 pattern musketoon
1786 pattern musketoon

The sabre. This was the primary weapon of a hussar. The hussar regiments used a variety of different models during the Consulate and the Empire. The AN XI pattern sabre began to be issued in late 1806 and became standard issue during the Empire, especially after 1812.

The pistol. Many different models were employed by the hussar regiments. The AN XIII model was the last type issued, and due to time constraints and supply difficulties in the later years of the Empire, this model was scarcely seen. Every hussar was supposed to have two pistols (carried in the pistol buckets attached to the front of the saddle) but the rank-and-file were generally issued one per man. Officers (and occasionally trumpeters) were able to acquire two pistols. Essentially a one shot fire-and-forget weapon, these were very short range weapons with a effective range of about 25 yards. De Brack, in his Cavalry Outposts book, warned against placing the muzzle of the pistol against your opponents body before pulling the trigger. The outcome could be very different from the intended result in a shattering manner!

The musketoon. Used for skirmishing, the 1786 pattern musketoon was the most common model alongside the later AN XIII pattern which was issued in the latter half of the Empire. It fired a .69 calibre round and the maximum effective range was about 100 yards.