Chasseurs a Cheval are light cavalry created in 1743 by the French Army during the War of the Austrian Succession. Armed with pistols, the Chasseurs a Cheval were meant for skirmishing, but were also armed with swords if they needed to charge the enemy and fight up close. The Chasseurs a Cheval were put into good use in the army of Marshal Jean-Andre Massena during the Peninsular War, with Massena's tactics usually involving the use of Chasseurs a Cheval to chase down routed units or thin out the ranks of the Spanish/British/Portuguese armies.