The Lore you Know: Schwarze Reiter
By STAFF_Yuri
Mar 17th, 2017
Schwarze Reiters were a German Cavalry unit from the 16th Century. They were armed with a Wheellock pistol and a Sword and wore a Kettle Hat (Eisen Huet) or a Burgonet. Their name, "Schwarz" ( which means "black" in German), originated from the black armor that they wore. Their armor was black because they made it using low quality steel in order to cut down the price.
During battle, Schwarze Reiters would wield two weapons at the same time: the Sword and the Pistol. This was because, in this era, armies were attempting to integrate gunpowder weapons into cavalry tactics. For example, the riders would first advance towards the target in rank formations. As each rank came into range of their target, the riders would turn their mounts slightly to one side, fire one pistol, then turn slightly to the other side to fire another. They would then retire towards the back of the formation to reload and repeat again. This tactic was called “Caracole.” Caracole is also known in Dressage as a turning maneuver. but in Tree of Savior, Caracole is a skill used to immediately disengage from the enemy.
Commanders expected Reiters to engage enemies with both firearms and swords.
While riding a horse they would shoot a pistol at enemy ranks with the hope that the enemy line would collapse.
However, Henry IV and Gustavus Adolphus preferred to employ Reiters and Heavy Cavalry in a more aggressive manner, ordering them to press the charge and fire pistols at point-blank range or to use their swords instead. In Tree of Savior, Schwarze Reiter wields both the Crossbow and the Pistol. But our Schwarze Reiters tend to keep their distance from the enemy.