Polish Hussars - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Polish Hussars were the main type of cavalry

Cavalry

Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

of the first Polish Army, later also introduced into the Army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...

, between the 16th and 18th centuries. When this cavalry type was first introduced by the Serbian mercenary

Mercenary

A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...

horsemen around the year 1500, they served as light cavalry

Light cavalry

Light cavalry refers to lightly armed and lightly armored troops mounted on horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the riders are heavily armored...

banners; by the second half of the 16th century hussars had been transformed into heavy cavalry

Heavy cavalry

Heavy 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,...

. Until the reforms of 1770s the husaria banners or companies were considered the elite

Elite

Elite refers to an exceptional or privileged group that wields considerable power within its sphere of influence...

of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...

cavalry. They were widely regarded as most powerful cavalry formations in the world. Polish Hussars were undefeated in battle for over 100 years.

Origins and usage outside Poland

The word hussar

Hussar

Hussar refers to a number of types of light cavalry which originated in Hungary in the 14th century, tracing its roots from Serbian medieval cavalry tradition, brought to Hungary in the course of the Serb migrations, which began in the late 14th century....

derives from the Serbian

Serbian language

Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....

Gusar and later Hungarian Husar. Exiled Serbian warriors introduced hussar horsemen – light cavalry armed with hollowed lance

Lance

A Lance is a pole weapon or spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior. The lance is longer, stout and heavier than an infantry spear, and unsuited for throwing, or for rapid thrusting. Lances did not have tips designed to intentionally break off or bend, unlike many throwing weapons of the...

, Balkan-type shield, and saber – in Hungary following the Ottoman conquest of Serbia in the late 15th century.

The Hussars of Poland originated in the late 15th century of Serbian warriors that had left Ottoman Serbia, beginning in the 14th century.

The Hungarian Kingdom hussar banners (units) were organized into a strong, highly-trained and motivated formation during the reign of King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

. Under his command the various hussar banners took part in the wars against the House of Habsburg, Bohemia, Poland and the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

(in 1485) and proved successful against the Turkish cavalry as well as Bohemians, Germans, Austrians, and Poles. In the Kingdom of Hungary various peoples (Serbs, Croats, Wallachians, Hungarians) made changes to the hussar armament and thus introduced armor in terms of helmets, mail, gorget

Gorget

A gorget originally was a steel or leather collar designed to protect the throat. It was a feature of older types of armour and intended to protect against swords and other non-projectile weapons...

s making hussars much heavier cavalry than when they first started around 1500. It was the combination of 'Hungarian' influence and changes within the Polish cavalry (obrona potoczna) serving in present day Ukrainian provinces of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that led to the development of armor-clad hussars by the early 1560s. Hungarian prince

Prince

Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...

, Polish King and Lithuanian Grand Duke Stephen Bathory

Stephen Báthory

Stephen Báthory may refer to several noblemen of Hungarian descent:* Stephen III Báthory , Palatine of Hungary* Stephen V Báthory , judge of the Royal Court and Prince of Transylvania...

reorganized first, the Polish cavalry banners (containing both hussars and other cavalry types) and later the Grand Duchy of Lithuania cavalry banners, thus created the typical Commonwealth hussar banners, starting in 1574.
Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Hungary

The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...

– lance-armed and clad-in-armor hussar companies existed first in the Hungarian armies (and her vassal states of Wallachian, Moldavian princes) later in the Habsburg armies until early 17th century. The Hungarian, Wallachian and Moldavian hussars gradually abandoned armor and heavy lances during the course of wars and pillages of the later 17th century, reinventing themselves as the scrimmage, reconnaissance and pillage horsemen becoming in fact the light cavalry

Light cavalry

Light cavalry refers to lightly armed and lightly armored troops mounted on horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the riders are heavily armored...

, in type similar to Croats

Croats

Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...

in Habsburg service. Later in the 18th century, when the Rákóczy's uprising failed in Hungary, many noble hussars with their retainers fled to other Central and Western European countries and became the core of similar light cavalry formations created there, for instance, the 1st French Hussar Regiment created and trained by count Miklós Bercsényi. Also Prussian army during the wars of Frederick the Great started using Hungarian-type hussar regiments extensively, starting with the War of the Austrian Succession

War of the Austrian Succession

The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...

In Poland

While light hussars of the XV century were adopted by some European armies after King Mathias Corvinus hussars, to provide them with light and expendable cavalry units, the most spectacular were the heavy hussars that developed first in the Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Hungary

and later in the Kingdom of Poland

Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)

The Kingdom of Poland of the Jagiellons was the Polish state created by the accession of Jogaila , Grand Duke of Lithuania, to the Polish throne in 1386. The Union of Krewo or Krėva Act, united Poland and Lithuania under the rule of a single monarch...

and later, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

, 1569 after the Union of Lublin

Union of Lublin

The Union of Lublin replaced the personal union of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with a real union and an elective monarchy, since Sigismund II Augustus, the last of the Jagiellons, remained childless after three marriages. In addition, the autonomy of Royal Prussia was...

.

In 1500, the Polish Treasury books make their first references to hussars, still light cavalry, largely foreign mercenaries, from the Serbian state of Raška

Raška (state)

Principality of Serbia or Serbian Principality was an early medieval state of the Serbs ruled by the Vlastimirović dynasty, that existed from ca 768 to 969 in Southeastern Europe. It was established through an unification of several provincial chiefs under the supreme rule of a certain Višeslav,...

(Рашка) and were called Racowie ('of Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

'). "They came from the Serbian state of Ras." Initially the first hussar units in the Kingdom of Poland

Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)

were formed by the Sejm

Sejm

The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....

(Polish parliament) in 1503, which hired three banners of Hungarian mercenaries. Quickly recruitment also began among Polish citizens. Being far more expendable than the heavily armoured lancers of the Renaissance, the Polish-Serbian-Hungarian hussars played a fairly minor role in the Polish Crown victories during the early 16th century, exemplified by the victories at Orsza (1514) and Obertyn

Battle of Obertyn

The Battle of Obertyn was fought between Moldavian Prince Petru Rareş and Polish King Zygmunt Stary, in the town of Obertyn, north of the Dniester River, now in Ukraine. The battle ended with a Polish victory and the reconquest of Pokutia....

(1531).
During the so called 'transition period' of the mid-1500s heavier armed hussars largely replaced typical 16th century armored lancers riding armored horses, in the Polish 'Obrona Potoczna' cavalry forces serving on the southern frontier.

In the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The true winged Polish-Lithuanian type hussar came with the reforms of the king of Poland and grand duke of Lithuania Stephen Bathory

Stephen Báthory

Stephen Báthory may refer to several noblemen of Hungarian descent:* Stephen III Báthory , Palatine of Hungary* Stephen V Báthory , judge of the Royal Court and Prince of Transylvania...

in the 1570s.
The hussars were the leading or even elite branch of cavalry in the Polish-Lithuanian army from the 1570s until 1776, when their duties and traditions were passed on to the Uhlans by a parliamentary decree. Most hussars were recruited from the wealthier Polish and Lithuanian nobility (szlachta

Szlachta

The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...

). Each 'towarzysz' (Polish for 'comrade') of hussars raised his own poczet

Poczet

Poczet 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...

or lance/retinue. Several retinues were combined to form a hussar banner or company

Company (military unit)

A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...

(Chorągiew husarska).

Over the course of the 16th century, hussars in Hungary

Hungary

had become heavier in character: they had abandoned wooden shields and adopted plate metal body armour. When Stefan Batory

Stefan Batory

Stephen Báthory was a Hungarian noble Prince of Transylvania , then King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania . He was a member of the Somlyó branch of the noble Hungarian Báthory family...

, a Transylvanian-Hungarian prince, was elected king of Poland and later was accepted as a Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1576 he reorganized the hussars of his Royal Guard along Hungarian lines, making them a heavy formation, equipped with a long lance as their main weapon. By the reign of Batory (1576–1586) the hussars had replaced medieval-style lancers in the Polish Crown and Grand Duchy of Lithuania armies, and they now formed the bulk of the Polish and Lithuanian cavalry

Cavalry

Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

. By the 1590s most Polish-Lithuanian hussar units had been reformed along the same 'heavy' Hungarian model. These 'heavy' Commonwealth hussars were known in Poland as husaria.
With the Battle of Lubiszew in 1577 the 'Golden Age

Golden Age

The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology and legend and refers to the first in a sequence of four or five Ages of Man, in which the Golden Age is first, followed in sequence, by the Silver, Bronze, and Iron Ages, and then the present, a period of decline...

' of the husaria began. Between then and the Battle of Vienna

Battle of Vienna

The Battle of Vienna took place on 11 and 12 September 1683 after Vienna had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months...

in 1683, the hussars fought many actions against several enemies, most of which they won.

In the battles of Battle of Lubiszew in 1577, Byczyna

Battle of Byczyna

The Battle of Byczyna or Battle of Pitschen was the deciding battle of the 1587–1588 War of the Polish Succession, which erupted after two rival candidates were elected to the Polish throne...

(1588), Kokenhausen

Battle of Kokenhausen

The Battle of Kokenhausen was a major battle opening the Polish–Swedish War . It took place on the 23 June 1601 near Koknese in Livonia . In the battle, Polish forces defeated the Swedish relief force and captured the besieging force, relieving the Polish garrison...

(1601), Kircholm

Battle of Kircholm

The Battle of Kircholm was one of the major battles in the Polish-Swedish War of 1600-1611. The battle was decided in 20 minutes by the devastating charge of Polish-Lithuanian cavalry, the Winged Hussars...

(1605), Kłuszyn (1610), Trzciana

Battle of Trzciana

The Battle of Trzciana, , which took place in June 1629 was one of many battles of the Polish-Swedish War...

(1629), Chocim (1673), and Lwów

Battle of Lwów (1675)

Battle of Lwów or Battle of Lesienice refers to a battle between the armies of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealthand Ottoman Empire that took place near the city of Lwów on August 24, 1675.-Before the Battle:...

(1675), the Polish-Lithuanian hussars proved to be the decisive factor often against overwhelming odds. For instance, in the Battle of Kluszyn during Polish-Muscovite War

Polish-Muscovite War (1605–1618)

The Polish–Muscovite War took place in the early 17th century as a sequence of military conflicts and eastward invasions carried out by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, or the private armies and mercenaries led by the magnates , when the Russian Tsardom was torn into a series of civil wars, the...

the Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

ns outnumbered the Commonwealth army 5 to 1, yet were heavily defeated. The hussars suffered some defeats, particularly during the Khmelnytsky Uprising

Khmelnytsky Uprising

The Khmelnytsky Uprising, was a Cossack rebellion in the Ukraine between the years 1648–1657 which turned into a Ukrainian war of liberation from Poland...

(Battle of Zhovti Vody

Battle of Zhovti Vody

Battle of Zhovti Vody , was the first significant battle of the Khmelnytsky Uprising. The name of the battle derived from a nearby river.-Scope:...

, 1648).

The role of the hussar changed over time, towards a reconnaissance and advanced scout capacity, but if anything their uniforms became more elaborate as their armour and heavier weapons were abandoned. In the 18th century, as infantry firearms became more effective, heavy cavalry with its tactics of charging into and breaking infantry units became increasingly obsolete and hussars transformed from an elite fighting unit to a parade one.

Winged Hussars

The hussars were famous for their huge 'wings', a wooden frame carrying usually eagle, but sometimes ostrich, swan or goose feathers. The symbolism is connected with the Serbian origin. In the 16th century characteristic painted wings or winged claws began to appear on cavalry shields. Wings were originally attached to the saddle and later to the back. In 1645, Col. Szczodrowski was said to have used ostrich wings. Several illustrations in this article depict Winged Hussars.

They wore the wings because they made a loud, clattering noise which made it seem like the cavalry was much larger than in reality. Unfortunately, the wings were very heavy and when the soldiers went into battle it proved to be strenuous.

In the 1970s those theories were disproved. When a film adaptation

The Deluge (film)

The Deluge is the English title of the Polish film Potop, a historical drama directed by Jerzy Hoffman, released in 1974. The film is based on the novel by the Nobel Prize-winning Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz...

was made of The Deluge, a Polish historical novel

Historical novel

According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...

, it revealed that the wings attached to the riders' back almost threw them out of their saddles when their horses went faster than a trot

Trot (horse gait)

The trot is a two-beat diagonal gait of the horse, where the diagonal pairs of legs move forward at the same time. There is a moment of suspension between each beat....

(when attached to the saddle they slowed down the horse greatly). Most probably the wings were used only for parades and other special occasions, but probably never in battle.

There is another possibility, however, that the wings were worn to make their own horses deaf to the wooden noise makers used by the Ottoman

Ottoman Turks

The Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...

and the Crimean Tatars

Crimean Tatars

Crimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...

.

Some historians suggest that the tradition of wearing wings came from Ottoman "akinci" raiders who worked as a light cavalry in the Ottoman army. Hussars, in a sense, were a European answer to Ottoman cavalry tactics and original Hungarian hussars imitated Ottoman raiders'(akıncı) in equipment and in fighting tactics. While doing so, they also imitated their appearance. The Turkish tradition of wearing eagle wings came from Central Asian Turkish shamanistic traditions: it was believed their horses would go faster if bearing wings (a form of sympathetic magic

Sympathetic magic

Sympathetic magic, also known as imitative magic, is a type of magic based on imitation or correspondence.-Similarity and contagion:The theory of sympathetic magic was first developed by Sir James George Frazer in The Golden Bough...

). Some historians also speculate that it was for intimidating enemies with their strange look (a form of psychological warfare). İmages of Ottoman raiders who wore ox horns, eagle wings and leopard fur can be found in 14th,15th and 16th century Ottoman miniatures and engravings made by European artists who visited Ottoman Empire.

Tactics

The hussars represented the heavy cavalry of the Commonwealth. The Towarzysz husarski

Towarzysz husarski

Towarzysz husarski or Husarz , was the name of a type of heavy cavalryman in Poland....

or Companion commanded his own poczet (kopia) consisted of several (from 2 to 5) similarly armed retainers and other servants (czeladnicy) caring for his horses, food, supplies, repairs, fodder and often taking part in battle. His 'lance' in turn was part of a larger unit known as banner

Banner

A banner is a flag or other piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or other message. Banner-making is an ancient craft.The word derives from late Latin bandum, a cloth out of which a flag is made...

. Each banner had between 30 to 60 or more "kopia." The commander,by his contract obligation, was called "rotmistrz" (rotameister), while the commander-in-fact was often "porucznik" (lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

), there was also one "chorąży" (ensign

Ensign

An ensign is a national flag when used at sea, in vexillology, or a distinguishing token, emblem, or badge, such as a symbol of office in heraldry...

) caring banner's flag ("znak" or "chorągiew") who could command the banner in case of "porucznik" lack of capacity. Each banner had one "rotmistrz" kopia that was larger than the other lance

Lance

s of each banner, and included trumpeters, and musicians (kettle drummers, more trumpeters etc.). There were other towarzysz

Towarzysz

A Towarzysz was sort of a junior cavalry officer or rather knight-officer in the autorament narodowy Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth National army, both in cavalry and infantry, from the 16th century until 1794 AD....

e with duties (of keeping order, helping with maneuvers) within the banner during the battle, and their functions are rather poorly understood.

The Polish-Lithuanian hussars' primary battle tactic was the charge

Charge (warfare)

A charge is a maneuver in battle in which soldiers advance towards their enemy at their best speed in an attempt to engage in close combat. The charge is the dominant shock attack and has been the key tactic and decisive moment of most battles in history...

. They carried the charge to, and through the enemy. The charge started at a slow pace and in a relatively loose formation. The formation gradually gathered pace and closed ranks while approaching the enemy, and reached its highest pace and closest formation immediately before engagement. They tended to repeat the charge several times until the enemy formation broke (they had supply wagons with spare lances). The tactic of a charge by heavily armoured hussars and horses was usually decisive for nearly two centuries. The hussars fought with a long lance, a koncerz

Koncerz

thumb|KoncerzA koncerz is a type of sword used by Polish-Lithuanian hussars in the renaissance period. It is thin and long and generally used by a type of heavy cavalry to go through an armour plate, but not to slash....

(stabbing sword), a szabla

Szabla

Szabla is the Polish word for sabre. It specifically refers to an Eastern European one-edged sabre-like mêlée weapon with a curved blade and, in most cases, a two-bladed tip called a feather . Initially used by light cavalry, with time it also evolved into a variety of arms used both for martial...

(sabre), 1 or 2 pistols, and often with a carbine or arquebus, known in Polish as a bandolet. In addition, there was no West European stigma attached to the use of a bow and arrows, but the more English-like view was held (the English continued to hold archers

Archery

Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...

in high esteem.) It is possible that the projectile

Projectile

A projectile is any object projected into space by the exertion of a force. Although a thrown baseball is technically a projectile too, the term more commonly refers to a weapon....

weapons were used to weaken the enemy's infantry squares and to create a domino effect

Domino effect

The domino effect is a chain reaction that occurs when a small change causes a similar change nearby, which then will cause another similar change, and so on in linear sequence. The term is best known as a mechanical effect, and is used as an analogy to a falling row of dominoes...

. The lighter Turkish-style saddle

Saddle

A saddle is a supportive structure for a rider or other load, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is the equestrian saddle designed for a horse, but specialized saddles have been created for camels and other creatures...

allowed for more armour

Armour

Armour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action...

to be used by both the horses and the warriors. Moreover, the horses were bred to run very fast with a heavy load and to recover quickly. These were created by mixing old Polish horses blood with eastern horses, usually from Tatar tribes. As a result, horse could walk hundreds of kilometres loaded with over 100 kilograms (warrior plus armor and weaponry) and instantly charge. Also, hussar horses were very quick and manoeuvrable. This made hussars able to fight with any cavalry or infantry force from western heavy kissaiers to quick tatars.

Weaponry

The hussars towarzysz

Towarzysz

were required to provide the arms and armour

Armour

for themselves and their retainers, except for the lance which was provided by the King. Each lance's horses also came at each towarzysz husarski

Towarzysz husarski

Towarzysz husarski or Husarz , was the name of a type of heavy cavalryman in Poland....

expense.
Winged hussars during their heyday, 1574–1705, carried the following arms and armour:

The kopia lance

Lance

was the main offensive weapon of the hussar. The lances were based on the Balkan (Serbian) and finally Hungarian lances except the Polish lances could have been longer and, like their predecessors from the Balkans and Western Europe, they were hollowed, with two halves glued together and painted, and even often richly gilded. They were commonly made from fir-wood, with the lance point being made from forged steel. They had a gałka large wooden ball which served as the handle guard. The hussar's lance usually ranged from 4.5 to 6.20 meters in length. A large 'silk'/taffeta proporzec pennon

Pennon

A pennon was one of the principal three varieties of flags carried during the Middle Ages . Pennoncells and streamers or pendants are considered as minor varieties of this style of flag. The pennon is a flag resembling the guidon in shape, but only half the size...

was attached to the kopia below the point. There was another type of lance was used, known as demi-lance or kopijka, that could have been 3-3,5 meter long and used against the Tatars and Turks of the later 17th century wars.

The Towarzysz husarski

Towarzysz husarski

Towarzysz husarski or Husarz , was the name of a type of heavy cavalryman in Poland....

carried underneath his left thigh a Eastern-in-origin koncerz

Koncerz

estoc

Estoc

The French estoc or English "tuck" was a variation of the longsword focused intensely on fighting against mail or plate armour. It was long, straight and stiff, with a diamond or triangular cross-section. An estoc had no cutting edge, just a point. Examples from Poland are more than long, with a...

(up to 1,5 meter in length) and often under his right thigh a palasz (a type of broadsword

Broadsword

Broadsword may refer to:*Broadsword , a military sword used by heavy cavalry during the 17th to early 19th centuriesIn more modern times, it has also been used to refer to:...

).
The szabla

Szabla

sabre

Sabre

The sabre or saber is a kind of backsword that usually has a curved, single-edged blade and a rather large hand guard, covering the knuckles of the hand as well as the thumb and forefinger...

was carried on the left side, and several types of sabres were known to winged hussars, including the famous szabla husarska.

Winged hussars carried also other weapons, such as "nadziak

Horseman's pick

The horseman's pick was a weapon of Islamic origin but used by cavalry during the Middle Ages in Europe. This was a type of war hammer that had a very long spike on the reverse of the hammer head. Usually, this spike was slightly curved downwards, much like a miner's pickaxe. The term is sometimes...

" type of war hammers

War hammer

A war hammer is a late medieval weapon of war intended for close combat action, the design of which resembles the hammer.The war hammer consists of a handle and a head...

and battleaxes. Towarzysz husarski

Towarzysz husarski

Towarzysz husarski or Husarz , was the name of a type of heavy cavalryman in Poland....

carried one or two wheellock (later flintlock) pistols in the saddle holsters, while retainers also might have carried a pistol or light wheellock

Wheellock

A wheellock, wheel-lock or wheel lock, is a friction-wheel mechanism to cause a spark for firing a firearm. It was the next major development in firearms technology after the matchlock and the first self-igniting firearm. The mechanism is so-called because it uses a rotating steel wheel to provide...

arquebus

Arquebus

The arquebus , or "hook tube", is an early muzzle-loaded firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. The word was originally modeled on the German hakenbüchse; this produced haquebute...

or carbine

Carbine

A carbine , from French carabine, is a longarm similar to but shorter than a rifle or musket. Many carbines are shortened versions of full rifles, firing the same ammunition at a lower velocity due to a shorter barrel length....

; from the 1680s a carbine for retainers was mandatory.

Individual hussar towarzysz may possibly have carried a Tatar or Turkish

Turkish people

Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...

reflex bow

Bow (weapon)

The bow and arrow is a projectile weapon system that predates recorded history and is common to most cultures.-Description:A bow is a flexible arc that shoots aerodynamic projectiles by means of elastic energy. Essentially, the bow is a form of spring powered by a string or cord...

with arrows in a quiver

Quiver

A quiver is a container for arrows. Quivers have been traditionally made of leather, bark, wood, furs and other natural materials; modern quivers are often made of metal and plastic....

, especially after the mid-17th century when many 'pancerny' companions became hussars, and some sources of the late 17th century point to existence of bows amongst the hussar companions. During the first half of the 18th century hussar companion carried when in his a non-military attire a bow in a bowcase to denote his military status. Yet bow in a bow case was carried by all cavalry officers of the National Army until the 1770s reforms, including Uhlan units in the Saxon service.

At the height of their prowess, 1576-1653 hussar armor consisted of a szyszak Oriental Turkic

Turkic peoples

The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...

-in-origin helmet later developed into Polish variety with hemispherical skull, comb like Western morion

Morion (helmet)

A morion is a type of open helmet used during the 16th and early 17th centuries, usually having a flat brim and a crest from front to back. The morion, though generally identified with Spanish conquistadors, was common among foot soldiers of European nationalities, including the English; the first...

'cheekpieces' with a heart-shaped cut in the middle, neck guard of several plates secured by sliding rivets, and adjustable nasal terminating in a leaf-shaped visior. Shishak

Shishak

Shishak or Susac or Shishaq is the biblical Hebrew form of the first ancient Egyptian name of a pharaoh mentioned in the Bible.-Shishak's Reign:...

and kettle hat

Kettle hat

A kettle hat is a type of helmet made of steel in the shape of a hat. There are many design variations. The only common element is a wide brim that afforded extra protection to the wearer....

helmets for lower rank (retainers) were often blackened as well was their armor. A cuirass

Cuirass

A cuirass is a piece of armour, formed of a single or multiple pieces of metal or other rigid material, which covers the front of the torso...

(breast plate), back plate, gorget

Gorget

A gorget originally was a steel or leather collar designed to protect the throat. It was a feature of older types of armour and intended to protect against swords and other non-projectile weapons...

, shoulder guards and of the Great Steppe, Western vambraces with iron glove and later during the 1630s the Persian origin karwasz vambrace

Vambrace

Vambraces or forearm guards are "tubular" or "gutter" defences for the forearm worn as part of a suit of plate armour. Vambraces may be worn with or without separate couters in a full suit of medieval armor. The term originates in the early 14th century...

that was a forearm protection. Towarzysz

Towarzysz

also could wear tasset hip, cuisse thigh and poleyn

Poleyn

The poleyn was a component of Medieval and Renaissance armor that protected the knee. During the transition from mail armor to plate armor, this was among the earliest plate components to develop. They first appeared in the mid-thirteenth century and remained in use until the early seventeenth...

knee protection, underneath a thigh length coat of mail or specially padded coat with mail sleeves. Retainers usually wore less expensive and older armor, often painted black, and after 1670s might have no cuirass, according to some sources.
Karacena Sarmatian armor (of iron scale

Scale armour

Scale armour is an early form of armour sometimes erroneously called scale mail consisting of many individual small armour scales of various shapes attached to each other and to a backing of cloth or leather in overlapping rows. Scale armour was worn by warriors of many different cultures as well...

s riveted to a leather support), might have consisted of scale helmet, cuirass, gorget, legs and shoulder protection, became popular during the reign of king Jan Sobieski, but perhaps due to costs and weight remained popular mostly with the winged hussar commanding officers.
Their armor was light, usually around 15 kg, allowing them to be relatively quick and for their horses to gallop at full speed for long periods. Albeit during the 1670s onwards chain-mail was used when fighting the Tatars in the southern part of the republic.
Towarzysz

Towarzysz

usually wore a leopard

Leopard

The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...

(sometimes tiger

Tiger

The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...

, jaguar

Jaguar

The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico...

, lion

Lion

The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...

) pelt over his left shoulder, or as often depicted in the surviving Podhorce Castle paintings he had the exotic pelt underneath his saddle or wrapped around his hips. Whereas wolf, brown bear and lynx pelts were reserved for leaders and veterans (starszyzna).

External links

Reenactment a Polish reenactment information site
Husaria.us a Los Angeles based Polish Hussar reenactment group and reference library
http://www.foxywebdesigns.com The first Los Angeles based website for this portrayal
About hussar's armor (Polish)

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Origins and usage outside Poland

In Poland

In the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Winged Hussars

Tactics

Weaponry

See also

External links