The
National cavalry was a branch of
Polish cavalryThe Polish cavalry can trace its origins back to the days of Medieval mounted knights. Poland had always been a country of flatlands and fields and mounted forces operate well in this environment...
in the Polish armed forces in the late 18th century. Formed as a merger of previously-existing units of
Polish HussarsThe Polish Hussars were the main type of cavalry of Polish Army between the 16th and 18th centuries. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had adopted the hussars from Hungary. When the unit type was first adopted, it was a light cavalry formation, and later it transformed into heavy cavalry...
and pancerni that were still in service after the Confederation of Bar. In 1775 the
SejmThe Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. Each member of Sejm is called Poseł.Before the 20th century, the term "Sejm" referred to the entire three-chamber Polish parliament, comprising the lower house , the upper house and the King. It was commonly termed a three-estate parliament...
disbanded all units of
heavy cavalryHeavy cavalry is a class of cavalry whose primary role was to engage in direct combat with enemy forces . Although their equipment differed greatly depending on the region and historical period, they were generally mounted on large powerful horses, and were often equipped with some form of scale,...
and reformed them into a
lighter formationLight cavalry refers to lightly-armed and armored troops mounted on horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the riders are heavily armored...
, roughly similar to uhlans popular in Europe in 19th century. The National Cavalry was disbanded together with the rest of Polish armed forces after the
final partitionThe Third Partition of Poland or Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in 1795 as the third and last of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.-Background:...
in 1795.
The
National cavalry was a branch of
Polish cavalryThe Polish cavalry can trace its origins back to the days of Medieval mounted knights. Poland had always been a country of flatlands and fields and mounted forces operate well in this environment...
in the Polish armed forces in the late 18th century. Formed as a merger of previously-existing units of
Polish HussarsThe Polish Hussars were the main type of cavalry of Polish Army between the 16th and 18th centuries. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had adopted the hussars from Hungary. When the unit type was first adopted, it was a light cavalry formation, and later it transformed into heavy cavalry...
and pancerni that were still in service after the Confederation of Bar. In 1775 the
SejmThe Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. Each member of Sejm is called Poseł.Before the 20th century, the term "Sejm" referred to the entire three-chamber Polish parliament, comprising the lower house , the upper house and the King. It was commonly termed a three-estate parliament...
disbanded all units of
heavy cavalryHeavy cavalry is a class of cavalry whose primary role was to engage in direct combat with enemy forces . Although their equipment differed greatly depending on the region and historical period, they were generally mounted on large powerful horses, and were often equipped with some form of scale,...
and reformed them into a
lighter formationLight cavalry refers to lightly-armed and armored troops mounted on horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the riders are heavily armored...
, roughly similar to uhlans popular in Europe in 19th century. The National Cavalry was disbanded together with the rest of Polish armed forces after the
final partitionThe Third Partition of Poland or Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in 1795 as the third and last of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.-Background:...
in 1795. The decision was part of the trend of evolution of European cavalry towards lighter, more mobile formations, a process that lasted until the
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
when the
CuirassierCuirassiers were mounted cavalry soldiers equipped with armour and firearms, first appearing in late 15th-century Europe. They were the successors of the medieval armoured knights...
s abandoned their heavy armours. The
uniformA uniform is a set of standard clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are worn by armed forces and paramilitary organisations such as police, emergency services, security guards, in some workplaces and schools and by inmates...
s of the National Cavalry also inspired numerous similar formations in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
, notably the
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
cavalry of the
Napoleonic WarsThe Napoleonic Wars were a series of conflicts declared against Napoleon's French Empire and changing sets of European allies by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionized European armies and played...
.
History
Initially the national cavalry was divided onto four
brigadeA brigade is a military unit that is typically composed of two to five regiments or battalions, depending on the era and nationality of a given army. Usually, a brigade is a sub-component of a division, a larger unit consisting of two or more brigades; however, some brigades are classified as a...
s (each numbering roughly 900 men-at-arms), two in the
Crown of the Polish KingdomThe Crown of the Polish Kingdom , or simply the Crown , is the name for the territories under direct Polish administration in the times of the Kingdom of Poland until the end of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...
and two in the
Grand Duchy of LithuaniaThe Grand Duchy of Lithuania was an Eastern and Central European state from the 12th /13th century until 1795. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the pagan Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija...
. The brigades were further composed of 96 banners altogether. On November 12, 1788 the Sejm increased the number of cavalrymen and since then the brigades were 3600 men strong. The division onto banners was also disbanded and replaced with a
divisionA division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between ten to thirty thousand soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions make up a corps...
onto
squadronA squadron is a small unit or formation of cavalry, armour, aircraft , or warships.-Army and Marines:A cavalry squadron , typically consists of four troops.-United States:...
s. Each brigade was since then composed of 24 squadrons. Also in 1788 the Sejm disbanded all
mercenaryA mercenary is a professional soldier hired by a foreign army, as opposed to a soldier enlisted in the armed forces of a sovereign state. He or she takes part in armed conflict on many different scales, and is "motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain...
cavalry units (
cavalry units of foreign origin) and reformed them into three regiments of
Front Guard, also forming part of the national cavalry. Following this reform each squadron of National Cavalry was composed of four
cug sub-units. The first cug in every squadron consisted of 32 former
"towarzysz" HussarsTowarzysz was a cavalry officer in the Polish army, from the 16th century. Later this word assumed the same meaning as Russian communist 'comrade'....
, while the remaining four were composed of 32
former PancerniPoczet was the smallest organized unit of soldiers in Kingdom of Poland and Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from the 15th until the 18th century. The name of a medium or heavy-cavalry soldiers in poczet was pocztowy.In the cavalry, each poczet was commanded by a towarzysz husarski or towarzysz...
cavalrymen. This allowed the unit to be fairly flexible, with the first cug used for break-through charges and the remaining three in supporting roles.
During the
Kościuszko UprisingThe Kościuszko Uprising was an uprising against Imperial Russia and the Kingdom of Prussia led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in Poland, Belarus and Lithuania in 1794...
of 1794 additional units of National Cavalry were raised in various parts of Poland. Altogether, the government formed 12 brigades of national cavalry, 2 regiments of horse guard and 16 regiments of Front Guard. However, only a few of them ever reached the specified number of men-at-arms. The National Cavalry took part in several battles of the
Russo-Polish war of 1792The Polish–Russian War of 1792 was fought between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth on one side, and the Targowica Confederation and the Russian Empire on the other....
and the
Kościuszko UprisingThe Kościuszko Uprising was an uprising against Imperial Russia and the Kingdom of Prussia led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in Poland, Belarus and Lithuania in 1794...
. Among the most notable were:
- Battle of Zieleńce
The Battle of Zieleńce was a battle in the War in Defense of the Constitution . The battle took place on June 18 1792, between the Polish army of Józef Poniatowski and a Russian army group under the command of General Morkov, which was a part of Krechetnikov forces.-Preparations for war:After the...
of June 18, 1792
- Battle of Dubienka
The Battle of Dubienka occurred during the Polish-Russian War of 1792 where on July 18 1792, the Polish army under the command of General Tadeusz Kościuszko defended the Bug River crossing against a Russian army under General Kachovski. The Russian attacks were stymied by field fortifications...
of July 18, 1792
- Battle of Racławice of April 4, 1794
- Battle of Szczekociny
The Battle of Szczekociny was fought on June 6, 1794, near the town of Szczekociny, between Poland and the combined forces of the Russian Empire and Kingdom of Prussia. The Polish were led by Tadeusz Kościuszko, and the Russians and Prussians by Alexander Tormasov, future eminent general of the...
of June 6, 1794
- Battle of Krupczyce of September 17, 1794
- Battle of Terespol of September 19, 1794
- Battle of Maciejowice
The Battle of Maciejowice was fought on October 10, 1794, between Poland and the Russian Empire.The Poles were led by Tadeusz Kościuszko. Kościuszko with 6,200 men planned to prevent the linking of two larger Russian armies, 12,000 under Iwan Fersen and 12,500 under Alexander Suvorov...
of October 10, 1794
Following the
partitions of PolandThe Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The partitions were carried out by Prussia, Russia and Habsburg Austria dividing up the Commonwealth lands...
the National Cavalry was disbanded.
Arms and uniforms
The soldiers of the National Cavalry were dressed in uniforms of former Hussar and Pancerni units, in accordance with the 1746
proclamationUniversal is a historic term that means an official proclamation or legal act. In several historic periods Universals were issued by the Polish and Ukrainian authorities. The name originates from Latin litterae universales, meaning universal publication directed to all...
by
hetmanHetman was the title of the second highest military commander used in 15th to 18th century Poland, Ukraine and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, known from 1569 to 1795 as the Rzeczpospolita....
Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł. The Hussar regiments were dressed in crimson
capsCzapka is a Polish generic word for a cap. However, it is perhaps best known to English speakers as a word for the 19th century Polish cavalry headgear, consisting of a high, four-pointed cap with regimental insignia on the front to which feathers or rosettes were sometimes...
and
kontuszKontusz is a type of outer garment worn by the Polish, Belarusian, Lithuanian and Ukrainian male nobility . It became popular in the 16th century and came to the lands that were under Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth rule via Hungary from Turkey...
es, with Navy-blue lapels and collars, while the Pancerni wore Navy-blue caps and kontuszes, with crimson lapels and collars. The only difference between the units formed in the Grand Duchy and those from the Crown were the buttons: silver for Polish and golden for Lithuanian units.
In 1785 the uniforms were modified and all units of national cavalry since then used Navy-blue jackets of the Pancerni and crimson
capsCzapka is a Polish generic word for a cap. However, it is perhaps best known to English speakers as a word for the 19th century Polish cavalry headgear, consisting of a high, four-pointed cap with regimental insignia on the front to which feathers or rosettes were sometimes...
of the Hussars. On March 11, 1791 the new regulation was passed. Essentially the uniforms remained unchanged, but the number of adornments was lessened in order to make the uniforms less expensive. However, the new uniforms were never fully introduced.