The elite of the Prussian cavalry, the Cuirassiers were cut back drastically like the rest of the army in the aftermath of the Treaty of Tilsit. From thirteen regiments in 1806, the re-organisation called for only four regiments in 1808.

The French also made good use of the excellent Prussian horseflesh as mounts for their own Cuirassiers and Carabiniers. Also in common with the rest of the army, the new uniforms were far more somber than the old ones they replaced.

For full dress, the Cuirassiers wore a white Kollet. The collar, cuffs, piping on the shoulder straps, and braid edging the turnbacks and the front edge of the jacket were all in the regimental color. For campaign dress, a dark blue Litewka was worn, with the collar in the regimental color, as well as the piping on the cuffs; all regiments had white shoulder straps.

The Guard du Corps had white litzen on their collars and cuffs. Belts were white, and the usual Prussian grey cavalry overalls were worn. The saddle blankets were rectangular and were in the facing color (Nash says they were all red, probably incorrectly), bordered by a double line in the button color; for the Garde du Corps, the two white lines were divided by a single line of black. As usual, for officers, silver replaced white and gold replaced yellow. The Cuirassiers wore a black leather helmet with a stiff upright horsehair crest.. On the front was a brass plate bearing a Prussian Eagle; for the Guard du Corps this was replaced by a silver metal guard star.