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A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used in mounted warfare by the Assyrians as early as and subsequently by Greek, Persian, Gallic, Han-Chinese, nomadic and Roman horsemen.〔Niels M. Saxtorph: "Warriors & Weapons of Early Times" ISBN 0-7137-0575-2.〕 The weapon was widely used in Asia and Europe during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance by armoured cavalry, before being adopted by light cavalry, particularly in Eastern Europe. In a modern context, a lancer regiment usually denotes an armoured regiment. ==17th–19th century== The lancer (called ułan in Polish and Ulan in German) had become a common sight in almost every European, Ottoman and Indian army during this time, but, with the exception of the Ottoman troops, they increasingly discarded the heavy armour to give greater freedom of movement in combat. The Polish "winged" lancers were amongst the last to abandon the armour in Europe. There was a widespread debate over the value of the lance in mounted combat during the 18th and 19th centuries and most armies had few lancer units by the beginning of the 19th century; however, during the Napoleonic Wars, lancers were to be seen in many of the combatant nations as their qualities became clear. During the wars, the Poles became a ready territory for recruitment by several armies, willingly or unwillingly, and served with distinction in most of these armies, most famously in Napoleon's French Imperial Guard as the ''1er Regiment de Chevau-Legers-Lanciers de la Garde Impériale''. At Waterloo, French lances were "nearly three meters (about nine feet, ten inches) long, weighed three kilograms (about six pounds, ten ounces), and had a steel point on a wooden staff," according to historian Alessandro Barbero. He adds that they were "terrifyingly efficient." Commander of the French 1st Corps, 4th Division General Durutte, who saw the battle from the high ground in front of Papelotte, would write later, "I had never before realized the great superiority of the lance over the sword."〔Barbero, pp. 161, 163.〕 In the Siege of Los Angeles, during the war between Mexico and the United States, a company of Californio lancers temporarily recaptured the town, expelling a company of U.S. Marines. Although the lance had its greatest impact in the charge, lancers were vulnerable against other cavalry, as the lance proved a clumsy and ineffective weapon (compared to the sabre) at close quarters.〔p150, Volume 16, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition〕 By the late 19th century, many cavalry regiments in the British and other European armies were composed of troopers with lances (as well as sabers or other secondary weapons) in the front rank and men with sabres in the second; the lances for the initial shock and sabres for the mêlée. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lancer」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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