Chevauxlégers were versatile light cavalry forces that were first employed by France during the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The Chevauxlégers had shorter lances and less armor than the Gendarmes, and the Austrians and other German states would retain their own Chevauxléger regiments. During the Napoleonic Wars, the Chevauxlégers were some of the most powerful cavalry in Europe while serving in the Reichsarmee, but cowardly or reckless leaders could (and were) selected through favoritism, patronage, and personal politics, leaving it to the soldiers to save their regiment and its commander from death or humiliation.