Croats (military unit)
| Croats | |
|---|---|
| Active | 17th century |
| Country | Habsburg Monarchy |
| Allegiance |
.svg){kind=small} Catholic League
|
| Branch | light cavalry |
| Type | auxiliary |
| Role | off-battlefield |
| Equipment | Carbine and pistols |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Initial structures | Count of Tilly |
| First regular regiments | Albrecht von Wallenstein |
The Croats or Crabats (Croatian Hrvatsko konjaništvo), (German: Crabatten) were 17th-century light cavalry forces comparable to the Hussars. The Croats were initially irregular units loosely organized in bands. The first regular Croat regiment was established in 1625.
The most notable engagement of the Croats was their participation on the side of the Catholic League in the Thirty Years' War. At the height of the Thirty Years' War, as many as 20,000 Croatian cavalry was in the service of the Imperial Army, including the majority of Wallenstein's Harquebusiers.
The name came to be used as a generic term for light cavalry from the area of the Habsburg Military Frontier rather than an ethnic designation, and besides Croats also included Hungarians, Serbs, Wallachians, Poles, Cossacks and Tatars.
The Croats were initially recruited by generals of the Habsburg Monarchy. The soldiers who joined Croats signed contracts which expired after the military campaign would be over, most often for any booty and sometimes for a fee. At the beginning, their bands were loosely organized. They were dismissed after the military campaign was finished and returned in the spring to be recruited by their old commanders.
In 1623 the size of the Croat units under command of Count of Tilly was reduced from 172 hearths to 72. They participated in the 1623 Battle of Stadtlohn under Tilly's command.
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