British Army during the Napoleonic Wars for battle service in the Peninsular War. The cross also saw the first use of Medal bars. Following the battle a Waterloo Medal was issued to all soldiers who participated in that engagement. Decades later the Military General Service Medal was awarded to all ranks for service in campaigns during the 1793-1814 period. At the start of the French Revolutionary Wars, the "heavy" cavalry were equivalent to dragoons or "medium" cavalry in the French and other armies. They consisted of three regiments of Household Cavalry, seven regiments of Dragoon Guards and six regiments of Dragoons. The Dragoon Guards had been
Napoleonic Wars Napoleonic Wars. Protected by naval supremacy (in the words of Admiral Jervis to the House of Lords "I do not say, my Lords, that the French will not come. I say only they will not come by sea"), Britain maintained low-intensity land warfare on a global scale for over a decade. The British government paid out large sums of money to other European states, so that they could pay armies in the field against France. These payments are colloquially known as the Golden Cavalry of St George. The British Army provided long-term support to the Spanish rebellion in the Peninsular