【简译】英格兰内战时期的龙骑兵

Dragoons were hybrid cavalry-infantry troops during the English Civil Wars (1642-1651). They usually dismounted before fighting and were used primarily as support troops. Dragoons were frequently tasked with capturing and holding strategically valuable areas of a battlefield such as bridges and passes that facilitated infantry movements, natural rises for artillery batteries, and cover such as buildings, trees, and hedges for musketeers.

          龙骑兵（简称龙兵，最早是一种“骑马步兵”的兵种，大多出现于17世纪晚期至18世纪早期的欧洲军队，是同时接受马术与步兵战斗技巧的训练，以马匹运输、步行战斗的士兵）是英格兰内战（1642-1651年）期间骑兵与步兵的混合部队。他们通常在战斗前下马，主要用作支援部队。龙骑兵的任务通常是夺取并占领战场上具有战略价值的区域，如方便步兵行动的桥梁和通道、炮台的天然高地，以及火枪手的掩体，如建筑物、树木和树篱。（此名词有可能是来自一种由法国陆军携带的铳，这种铳被称作“龙”，因为它们开火时会吐烟。另外在法语中，龙骑兵与龙（西方龙）使用的是同一个单字。中文翻译是意译，但也可能同时受《宋史》中记载的禁军部队“龙骑”影响，该军“号有马步人，见阵即步斗”）

Armed with muskets or carbines and more lightly armoured than full cavalry, dragoons became very valuable utility troops charged not only with operations during battles but also such duties as guarding camps and supplies, scouting, and policing. As European warfare developed, cavalry became less heavily armed and armoured so that they often became indistinguishable from dragoons, a term that in later periods came to be used as a synonym for light or medium cavalry.

          龙骑兵装备火枪或短铳，装甲比正装骑兵轻，成为非常有价值的实用部队，不仅负责战斗中的行动，还负责守卫营地和补给、侦察和维持治安等任务。随着欧洲战争的发展，骑兵的武器和装甲越来越轻，因此他们往往与龙骑兵难以区分，龙骑兵在后来被用作轻型或中型骑兵的同义词。

一种特殊的骑兵部队

In this period, dragoons were sometimes called "dragooners" or "dragons". It was the form of carbine weapon these soldiers carried, the dragon, which gave them their name. Dragoons typically rode inferior horses to the cavalry proper because they usually dismounted for battle, at least in the early part of the war. The historian M. Marix Evans explains how this happened in practice: "They rode ten abreast, and when they fought nine dismounted, throwing their reins over the neck of the horse next to them so the tenth could hold the horses of a whole rank" (24). For this reason, for many military theorists of the period, dragoons were classified more as mounted infantry than lightly armed cavalry who remained on their horses at all times. Essentially, the horse was merely a means to get the infantryman to a particular place on the battlefield faster than an ordinary musketeer or pikeman. Over time, the role of dragoons became more sophisticated as commanders tried to better their counterparts on what was becoming a much more dynamic battlefield.

          在这一时期，龙骑兵有时被称为“龙兵”或“龙”。这些士兵携带的短铳武器“dragon”就是他们的名字由来。龙骑兵通常骑着比骑兵差的马，因为他们经常下马作战，至少在战争初期是这样。历史学家马里克斯·埃文斯 (M. Marix Evans)解释了实际情况：“他们十人并排骑马，战斗时九人下马，将缰绳甩到旁边马的脖子上，这样第十人就可以牵着一整队的马”（24）。因此，对于当时的许多军事理论家来说，龙骑兵更多地被归类为骑马步兵，而非始终骑在马上的轻装骑兵。从根本上说，马只是一种让步兵比普通火枪手或长枪兵更快到达战场上特定地点的手段。随着时间的推移，龙骑兵的作用变得越来越复杂，因为指挥官们试图在变得更加动态的战场上发挥龙骑兵更多的优势。

Dragoons were present in both English Parliamentary and Royalist armies, as well as the Scottish army that fought at the battle of Dunbar in 1650. The best-documented dragoons are those in the Parliamentary armies, although even here, descriptions are inconsistent and patchy in their details. Parliament's New Model Army was created in 1645 with 11 cavalry regiments, 12 infantry regiments, and one dragoons regiment. This was the first time the dragoons had been so organised as previously they tended to be distributed amongst the other cavalry regiments, one troop of 100 dragoons per regiment.

          英国议会和保皇党军队中都有龙骑兵，1650年参加邓巴战役的苏格兰军队中也有龙骑兵。记载最多的龙骑兵是议会军队中的龙骑兵，但即使在议会军队中，描述也不一致，细节也不完整。议会新模范军成立于1645年，下辖11个骑兵团、12个步兵团和1个龙骑兵团。这是龙骑兵第一次成建制出现，因为在此之前，他们往往分布在其他骑兵团中，每个团100名龙骑兵。

The first notable commander of the Parliamentary dragoons regiment proper was Colonel John Okey (1606-1662) who commanded 676 men and officers at the Battle of Naseby in 1645. The New Model Army grew in size over the years, and eventually, there were four dragoons regiments. Each regiment bore the name of its commanding colonel, and the dragoons regiments reported to the overall commander of the cavalry, otherwise known as the Lieutenant-General of the Horse. He, in turn, reported to the commander-in-chief, the first being Sir Thomas Fairfax (1612-1671) and then, from 1650, Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658).

          议会龙骑兵团的第一位著名指挥官是约翰·奥基上校（John Okey，1606-1662 年），他在1645年的纳西比战役（Battle of Naseby）中指挥了676名官兵。新模范军的规模逐年扩大，最终形成了四个龙骑兵团。每个团都以其指挥官上校的名字命名，龙骑兵团向骑兵总指挥官（又称骑兵中将）报告。骑兵总指挥官又向总司令报告，第一任总司令是托马斯·费尔法克斯爵士(1612-1671)，从1650年开始是奥利弗·克伦威尔（1599-1658 年）。

A dragoons regiment had a theoretical maximum of 1,000 men and was divided into ten companies, although the size of companies varied depending on the tasks set them and the availability of riders. If there was a shortage, it was usual for commanders to recruit dragoons from local militia units in the various counties where they were a relatively common type of soldier (their equipment being less expensive than cavalry). Each company was led by a captain or the colonel or his second-in-command, a lieutenant-colonel. A company had its own quartermaster and a cornet officer who carried the company colours. These colours were a variation of the regimental flag with a number indicating that company. The flags were like the cavalry flags and took the form of a square but ended in a swallow-tail on the right side. Illustrating its hybrid status between cavalry and infantry, there was a trumpet or cornet player (distinct from the officer of that name) and two drummers, the former being a typical element of a cavalry company, while the latter were only present in infantry companies. The cornet player and drummers gave signals for manoeuvres when the dragoons were, respectively, mounted or dismounted.

          一个龙骑兵团理论上最多有1000人，并分为10个连，但各连的规模因任务和骑手的情况而有所不同。如果缺乏骑兵，指挥官通常会从各郡的当地民兵部队中招募龙骑兵，因为龙骑兵是相对常见的兵种（他们的装备比骑兵便宜）。每个连由一名上尉或上校或其副手（中校）领导。每个连队都有自己的军需官和一名携带连队军旗的司号员。连旗是团旗的变体，上面标有该连的编号。连旗与骑兵连旗一样，呈正方形，但在右侧以燕尾形结束。为了说明其骑兵和步兵的混合地位，连里有一名小号手或圆号手（有别于该名称的军官）和两名鼓手，前者是骑兵连的典型成员，而后者只出现在步兵连中。当龙骑兵上马或下马时，吹号手和鼓手分别发出机动信号。

In terms of pay, a Parliamentary dragoon received 1 shilling 6 pence per day (compared to 8 pence for an infantryman and 2 shillings for a cavalry rider). Deductions could be made for the cost of clothing, equipment, and food (bread, biscuits and cheese when on the move).

          在军饷方面，一名议会龙骑兵每天可领取1先令6便士（步兵为8便士，骑兵为2先令）。可以扣除服装、装备和食物（行军时的面包、饼干和奶酪）的费用。

服     装

Dragoons began as mounted infantry, and so some even carried pikes, but their value as mobile troops soon meant they carried similar arms to ordinary cavalry. Their particular weapons then determined the best clothing to wear. Clothing and weapons were sometimes issued by the army, but there was no standard uniform as such. Coloured sashes were often worn, most often around the waist or diagonally across the chest, in order to distinguish who was who on the battlefield. Officers of any branch of the military continued to wear whatever suited them, only from the 1680s did a uniform become standard for them.

          龙骑兵最初是骑马步兵，因此有些甚至携带长矛，但他们作为机动部队的价值很快就意味着他们携带与普通骑兵类似的武器。他们的特殊武器决定了最好的服装。服装和武器有时由军队发放，但并没有标准的制服。为了在战场上区分谁是谁，人们通常会佩戴彩色腰带，最常见的是腰间或胸前斜挂的腰带。任何军种的军官都可以继续穿着适合自己的服装，只有从17世纪80年代起，他们才开始统一着装。

Dragoons usually wore less armour or none at all, and probably no helmet, preferring instead either the simple woollen or leather Monmouth cap or the soft felt hat with a wide brim that musketeers wore. Personal decoration might take the form of a few feathers or a coloured scarf where today a hat would have a band.

          龙骑兵通常穿戴较少的盔甲或根本不穿盔甲，可能也不戴头盔，而是喜欢戴简单的羊毛或蒙茅斯皮帽，或者火枪手戴的宽边软毡帽。个人装饰的形式可能是几根羽毛或一条彩色围巾，而后来的帽子上会有一条带子。

A typical dragoon could be dressed like a musketeer in other respects with breeches that ended at the knee and stockings. They had a short jacket, possibly in the Parliamentary Venetian red that some other troops came to wear as the war wore on. Alternatively, a dragoon might wear the leather 'buff coat' of a cavalryman, which protected the upper legs. In cold or wet weather, a long-buttoned coat or cassock was worn. Long leather boots that reached the knee but which could be folded down were likely worn when more riding was required than footwork, otherwise, leather shoes would have been worn. It may be that some dragoons compromised between the two alternatives and wore shorter boots than the full cavalry version. It is clear from the historical record that dragoons were a still-evolving branch of the military, and the variations in clothing reflect this.

          典型的龙骑兵在其他方面的穿着可能与火枪手相似，马裤及膝，长筒袜。他们有一件短夹克，可能是议会的威尼斯红，随着战争的进行，其他一些部队也开始穿这种红色短夹克。另外，龙骑兵还可能穿上骑兵的皮质“浅黄色外套”，以保护上肢。在寒冷或潮湿的天气里，则穿长扣大衣或长袍。当需要骑马多于步行时，可能会穿着长及膝盖但可折叠的长皮靴，否则就会穿皮鞋。可能有些龙骑兵在这两种选择之间做出了妥协，穿上了比普通骑兵版更短的靴子。从历史记录中可以清楚地看出，龙骑兵是一个仍在不断发展的军种，服装上的变化也反映了这一点。

马     匹

Another distinction from ordinary cavalry was that dragoons had inferior horses, usually smaller and less sturdy animals. This fact is indicated in records such as the New Model Army purchasing a number of horses in 1645. The price paid for a cavalry horse was £7 10 shillings, significantly more than the £4 paid for a horse destined for a dragoon. Another indication of the lower status of dragoons is the price Parliament paid for their saddles: 7 shillings 6 pence compared to the 16 shillings 6 pence paid for a cavalry saddle. The lack of quality horses and saddles was not such a problem as dragoons usually dismounted before actually fighting, and because they did not usually clash with the enemy on horseback, they did not need the extra supports at the back and front of their saddles that cavalry riders had. Most dragoons brought their own horse when first recruited, but an animal that died in battle or became too old for use was, at least in theory, replaced at the cost of the army and not the individual dragoon.

          龙骑兵与普通骑兵的另一个区别是，龙骑兵的马匹品种较差，通常体型较小，也不结实。新模范军在1645年购买了一批马匹等记录表明了这一事实。一匹骑兵马的价格为7英镑10先令，大大高于龙骑兵的4英镑马。龙骑兵地位低下的另一个表现是议会为他们的马鞍支付的价格：7先令6便士，而骑兵马鞍的价格为16先令6便士。缺乏优质马匹和马鞍并不是一个大问题，因为龙骑兵通常会在实际战斗前下马，而且由于他们通常不会在马背上与敌人交手，因此不需要像骑兵那样在马鞍后部和前部提供额外的支撑。大多数龙骑兵在首次招募时都会自备马匹，但如果马匹在战斗中死亡或过于年老而无法使用，至少从理论上讲，更换马匹的费用由军队而非龙骑兵个人承担。

武     器

Swords were worn by dragoons in a scabbard held in a belt around the waist or across the chest, but the particular style was up to the individual. Most swords had an iron hilt and a wide steel blade. Like cavalry, the dragoons carried firearms, either a musket or the shorter-barrelled carbine. Unlike most musketeers, dragoons typically had weapons with the faster and safer flintlock or wheellock mechanism (which used flint to create an ignition spark) and not the matchlock type. A matchlock firearm required a constantly lit match to operate, and so this was not a practical weapon for use on horseback regardless of whether the dragoon dismounted to fire it or not. The firearm was often carried over the shoulder or chest using a sling.

          龙骑兵佩剑时将剑鞘插在腰间或胸前的腰带上，但具体样式由个人决定。大多数剑都有铁质剑柄和宽大的刀刃。与骑兵一样，龙骑兵也携带火器，可以是火枪，也可以是短火铳。与大多数火枪手不同，龙骑兵的武器通常采用更快、更安全的燧发枪或轮锁枪（使用打火石产生点火火花），而不是火绳枪。火绳枪需要持续燃烧的火绳才能使用，因此无论龙骑兵是否下马射击，这种武器都不适合在马背上使用。火器通常用吊带挂在肩上或胸前。

Like cavalrymen, some dragoons, especially officers, also had pistols, carried in a holster at the front of the saddle. As pistols fired a smaller bullet than a musket, they were usually only fired at a very close range to the enemy, even point-blank range if one's adversary was wearing armour. For greater ease of movement, dragoons may have kept their ammunition in leather cartridge boxes slung around the waist, rather than the more cumbersome bandolier belt worn across the chest by musketeers, since it was in this way easier to keep ammunition dry in wet weather when the box could easily be kept within the protection of a cloak.

          与骑兵一样，部分龙骑兵，尤其是军官，也配有手枪，装在马鞍前部的枪套里。由于手枪发射的子弹比火枪小，因此通常只能在距离敌人很近的地方发射，如果对手穿着盔甲，甚至可以近距离射击。为了更方便行动，龙骑兵可能会将弹药放在腰间的皮革弹匣中，而不是火枪手胸前佩戴的笨重腰带，这样在潮湿的天气里更容易保持弹药干燥，这个子弹盒可以很容易地用斗篷保护起来。

龙骑兵的战略运用

During the English Civil Wars period, the dragoon has been rather neglected by military theorists and in the contemporary accounts of the conflict compared to other troop types, but as the military historian J. Tincey notes, "In the day-to-day conduct of the Civil War, the dragoon proved to be the most useful of all soldiers" (23).

          在英国内战期间，与其他兵种相比，龙骑兵在军事理论家和当代冲突描述中一直被忽视，但正如军事历史学家约翰·廷西 (John Tincey)所指出的，“在内战的日常指挥中，龙骑兵被证明是所有士兵中最有用的”（23）。

Only rarely were dragoons used like full cavalry, charging the enemy on horseback in a tight group, but they did do this at Naseby with success, where the Parliamentary dragoons led by Okey routed a group of Royalist infantries, captured their colours, and took 500 prisoners. Okey's dragoons then faced and beat a body of Royalist cavalry.

          只有在极少数情况下，龙骑兵才会像正式骑兵一样，以密集队形骑马向敌人冲锋，但在纳西比，他们确实成功地做到了这一点。在那里，约翰·奥基率领的议会龙骑兵击溃了一队保皇党步兵，缴获了他们的军旗，并俘虏了500人。奥基的龙骑兵随后迎战并击败了一队保皇党骑兵。

Besides these rare heroics, commanders more typically sent companies of dragoons to secure specific areas of the battlefield which would be advantageous to control. This might involve occupying an area, clearing it of enemy troops, or holding on to it under attack. Examples of these strategically valuable points were hamlets and villages, gatehouses, fortification walls, a rise where artillery might be stationed, a bridge or pass that would allow an attack or some form of retreat, or a wooded area or stretch of hedgerows which could provide cover for musketeers.

          除了这些罕见的英雄事迹外，指挥官通常会派遣龙骑兵连去保卫战场上有利于控制的特定区域。这可能涉及占领一个地区、清除敌军或在遭受攻击时坚守该地区。这些具有战略价值的地点包括hamlets（这个词来自盎格鲁-诺曼语hamelet，对应古法语hamelet，古法语hamel的缩写，意思是一个较小的村庄）和村庄、门楼、防御工事围墙、可能驻扎火炮的高地、允许进攻或某种形式撤退的桥梁或隘口，或者可以为火枪手提供掩护的林区或灌木丛。

Dragoons were also used to provide covering fire or general support for cavalry troops, to conduct ambushes, to draw the enemy into the range of an awaiting body of infantry, and as small raiding parties behind the enemy's lines. Dragoons were also ideal for mopping up fleeing infantry after a battle. Other roles frequently given to dragoons included acting as camp guards, searching out supplies and foraging, accompanying artillery and the baggage train, and acting as scouts.

          龙骑兵还可用于为骑兵部队提供火力掩护或一般支援，进行伏击，将敌人吸引到等待步兵的射程内，以及作为小型突击队深入敌后。龙骑兵也是战斗后扫荡逃跑敌步兵的理想选择。龙骑兵经常扮演的角色还包括担任营地警卫、搜寻补给品和粮草、护送炮兵和辎重车队以及充当侦察兵。

The New Model Army officially gave its dragoon regiment a full cavalry regiment status in 1650. However, as a result of dragoons being given such diverse tasks, it was rare for all ten Parliamentary companies to be present in the same field of operation. The term dragoon continued to be used for the four regiments of that type in the New Model Army of the 1650s and in other European armies, but, as field commanders moved towards lighter and lighter cavalry to gain greater speed on the battlefield, dragoons became less obviously a different type of mounted troops so that, eventually, they became a synonym for light or medium cavalry.

          1650年，新模范军正式赋予龙骑兵团正式骑兵团的地位。然而，由于龙骑兵被赋予的任务如此多样，很少有十个议会龙骑兵连都出现在同一战场上的情况。在17世纪50年代的新模范军和其他欧洲军队中，龙骑兵一词继续被用于四个该类型的团，但随着战地指挥官为了在战场上获得更快的速度而使得骑兵越来越轻量化，龙骑兵已不再是独特的骑兵部队，它最终成为轻骑兵或中型骑兵的代名词。

参考书目：

Asquith, Stuart & Warner, Chris. New Model Army 1645-60. Osprey Publishing, 1981.

Evans, Martin Marix & Turner, Graham. Naseby 1645. Osprey Publishing, 2007.

Gaunt, Peter. Essential Histories 58. Osprey Publishing, 2003.

Reid, Stuart & Turner, Graham. Dunbar 1650’s most famous victory. Osprey Publishing, 2004.

Tincey, John & McBride, Angus. Soldiers of the English Civil War. Osprey Publishing, 1990.

原文作者：Mark Cartwright

          驻意大利的历史作家。他的主要兴趣包括陶瓷、建筑、世界神话和发现所有文明的共同思想。他拥有政治哲学硕士学位，是《世界历史百科全书》的出版总监。

原文网址: https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1935/dragoons-in-the-english-civil-wars/