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There were only two regiments of horse carabiniers, the 1er and 2e. In 1792 the French Ministry of War ordered that the carabiniers must always be chosen from seasoned and reliable soldiers. They were armed with straight sabers and pistols. (They even briefly became 'Horse Grenadiers'). In 1801 the strongest and tallest men and horses from the dissolved 19e, 20e, 21e and 22e Régiment d'Cavalerie were assigned to the horse carabiniers. Despite the flow of soldiers into their ranks in 1803 the two regiments were only 2 squadrons each. Napoleon strengthened them with young robust recruits and brought their strength to 3 and 4 squadrons. In the ranks of carabiniers alongside the Frenchmen served also quite a few Belgians. The carabiniers fought well in the following campaigns 1805, 1806, 1807 and in 1809. In 1809 with the temporary absence of the Guard cavalry, the 1er Carabiniers formed Napoleon's escort.

In 1809 the carabiniers suffered badly in the hands of Austrian uhlans and Napoleon ordered to give them armor. Chlapowski, among others, described this combat: "The cuirassier division arrived, with the brigade of carabiniers at its head. ... Soon an uhlan regiment in six squadrons trotted up to within 200 paces of the carabiniers and launched a charge at full tilt. It reached their line but could not break it, as the second regiment of carabiniers was right behind the first, and behind it the rest of the cuirassier division. I saw a great many carabiniers with lance wounds, but a dozen or so uhlans had also fallen." (Chlapowski - "Memoirs of a Polish Lancer" p 60)
After this and another fight with the Austrian uhlans, Napoleon decided to give armor to the carabiniers. Their new helmet was of yellow copper, with iron chinstrap scales and a headband with the letter 'N' in front. The crest had a scarlet comb instead of the cuirassiers black horsehair. The cuirasses were almost identical in design to those worn by the cuirassiers, although they were covered with a sheet of brass (for officers red copper). The visual effect was astounding !

While other types of cavalry had their important roles to play, it was the cuirassiers, the descendants of the medieval knights, who could turn a battle with their sheer weight and brute force. They looked dangerous everytime they ventured forward and the generals never employed them frivolously. When it came to hardware the cuirassiers were riding arsenals: body armor, helmets, carbines, pistols and long straigh sabers. The Russians called them zheleznye ludi (the iron men)
There were 12 regiments of cuirassiers. Originally the 25 understrength regiments of l'Cavalerie were converted into 18 regiments. The first 12 received the strongest and tallest men and horses. Napoleon gave them armor and they became cuirassiers. They were considered as elite troops. Some British officers thought that the cuirassiers were "Bonaparte's Bodyguard." But for the Russians, Austrians and Prussians Napoleon's heavy cavalry was a familiar opponent. In 1805 at Austerlitz the 5e Cuirassier Regiment captured Russian flag. The cuirassiers also fought with the famous Hungarian hussars. Chlapowski writes: "... regiment of [French] cuirassiers which after one charge got into a melee with some Hungarian hussars. I was surprised to see when the Hungarians retreated that far more of their bodies were lying dead than French" (Chlapowski, - p. 63)
One battle was enough for the British to learn a very healthy respect for the iron-clad warriors. Soldier Morris was so awestruck by the sheer size of the men and the horses, by their shining armor, that he thought "we could not have the slightest chance with them."

The cuirassiers wore body armor. It was uncomfortable to wear in summer and expensive. In 1815 at Waterloo the entire 11e Régiment was without armor. After some summer battles many cuirassiers discarded their heavy armor. The cuirassiers were armed with straight long sabers and pistols. When in 1812 they received carbines they made considerable effort to avoid carrying them. According to one inspection only troopers in the 6e Regiment had cartridge boxes. The others kept ammunition in their pockets. According to regimental inspections only 20 % had pistols. Rousselot moted that most contemporary illustrations shows the cuirassiers without cartridge box and carbine belt. He wrote that inspections reports conducted in 1805 showed that the 3e, 4e, 7e and 8e Cuirassier Regiment lacked cartridge boxes and belts. The troopers caried few rounds of ammunition in their pockets. Inspections in 1807 again showed lacks of the same items in 4e, 6e, 7e and 8e Cuirassier Regiment.
The cuirassiers rode possibly on blacks, browns and dark bays. All horses and men were big and strong. Only the horse carabiniers were (slightly) taller than the cuirassiers.

The cuirassiers wore dark blue coat, a flaming grenade on coat-tails and saddlecloth, red epaulettes and plume attached to their headwear. Inspections conducted in cuirassier regiments showed lack of epaulettes on big scale. According to Decree isuued on April 7th 1807 : "From March 1st to December 1st the cuirassiers have to wear a mustache but must be clean shaven for the remaining 3 months." This regulation was until new one was issued on March 3rd 1809.




Cuirassier Charge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL0TYZmJoMs