| Polish hussars | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1503–1702 (disbanded in 1776) |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of Poland Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth |
| Type | Heavy cavalry |
| Role | Maneuver warfare Raiding Shock attack |
| Nickname(s) | The Angels of Death[1] |
| Motto(s) | Amor Patriae Nostra Lex (Love of the fatherland is our law) |
| Colors | Red andwhite |
| Equipment | Burgonet,lance,mace (bludgeon),hatchet,sabre |
| Engagements | Tree list
|
ThePolish hussars (/həˈzɑːrs/;Polish:husaria[xuˈsarja]),[a] alternatively known as thewinged hussars, were aheavy cavalry formation active inPoland and in thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1503 to 1702. Theirepithet is derived from large rear wings, which were intended to demoralize the enemy during acharge. The hussars ranked as the elite ofPolish cavalry until their official disbanding in 1776.
The hussar dress was ostentatious and comprised platedbody armour (cuirass,spaulders,bevors, andarm bracers) adorned by gold ornaments, aburgonet orlobster-tailed pot helmet andjackboots as well as versatile weaponry such aslances,long thrusting swords,sabres,pistols,carbines,maces,hatchets,war hammers, andhorseman's picks. It was customary to maintain a red-and-white colour scheme, and to be girded with tanned animal hide. The wings were traditionally assembled from the feathers ofraptors, and the angel-like frame was fastened onto the armour or saddle.
The earlyhussars werelight cavalry units of exiledSerbian warriors who came to Poland from Hungary asmercenaries in the early 16th century. Following the reforms of KingStephen Báthory (r. 1576–1586), the Polish military officially adopted the unit and transformed it into heavyshock cavalry, with troops recruited from thePolish nobility. The Polish hussar differs greatly fromthe light, unarmoured hussars that developed concurrently outside Poland.
The hussar formation proved effective againstSwedish,Russian, andOttoman forces, notably at the battles ofKircholm (1605),Klushino (1610), andKhotyn (1673). Their military prowess peaked at theSiege of Vienna in 1683, when hussarbanners participated in the largest cavalry charge in history and successfully repelled the Ottoman attack. From their last engagement in 1702 (at theBattle of Kliszów) until 1776, the obsolete hussars were demoted and largely assigned to ceremonial roles.
The etymology of the wordhussar stems from the Serbian wordgusar meaning "wanderer/brawler".[2][3] Hussars originated inmercenary units of exiled Serbian warriors from Hungary.[4][5] Mercenary lancers ofSerb origin, known as theRascians, were frequently hired to counter Ottomansipahi anddeli cavalry.[6] In the 15th century, the hussars based on those ofMatthias Corvinus were adopted by some European armies to provide light, expendable cavalry units.[6]
The oldest reference of hussars in Polish records dates to the year 1500, when the Rascians were employed by Grand TreasurerAndrzej Kościelecki to serve under thebanner of the royal household.[7] However, it is possible that they were in service much earlier and their contribution was not well-documented.[8] As the Ottoman raids on the southeastern frontier intensified, the so-called Rascian Reform (1500–1501) during the reign ofJohn I Albert solidified the role of an early hussar in Polish ranks.[9]
The first hussar formation was established by the decree of theSejm (Polish parliament) in 1503, which hired three Hungarianbanners. Soon, recruitment also began among thePoles. Being far more expendable than the heavily armouredlancers of the Renaissance, the Serbo-Hungarian hussars played a fairly minor role in thePolish Crown victories during the early 16th century, exemplified by the victories atOrsha (1514) andObertyn (1531). During the so-called "transition period" of the mid-16th-century, heavy hussars largely replaced armoured lancers riding armoured horses, in the PolishObrona Potoczna cavalry forces serving on the southern frontier.
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The true winged hussar arrived with the reforms of theKing of Poland andGrand Duke of LithuaniaStephen Bathory in the 1570s and was later led by the KingJohn III Sobieski. The hussars became the elite cavalry, and were a branch of cavalry in the Polish army from the 1570s until 1776 when their duties and traditions were passed on to theuhlans by a parliamentary decree. Most hussars were recruited from the wealthier Polish nobility (szlachta). Each hussartowarzysz ("companion") raised his ownpoczet or lance/retinue. Several retinues were combined to form ahussar banner orcompany (chorągiew husarska).
Over the course of the 16th century, hussars inHungary became heavier in character: they abandoned wooden shields and adopted metal-plated body armour. When Bathory waselected king of Poland and later accepted as a Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1576, he reorganized the hussars of his Royal Guard into a heavy formation equipped with a long lance as their main weapon. By the reign of Bathory (1576–1586), the hussars had replaced medieval-style lancers in the Polish Crown army, and they now formed the bulk of the Polishcavalry. By the 1590s, most Polish hussar units had been reformed along the same "heavy" model. These heavy hussars were known in Poland ashusaria.
With theBattle of Lubiszew in 1577, the 'Golden Age' of thehusaria began. Between then and theBattle of Vienna in 1683, the hussars fought many battles against various enemies, most of which they won. In the battles ofLubiszew in 1577,Byczyna (1588),Kokenhausen (1601),Kircholm (1605),Klushino (1610),Chocim (1621),Martynów (1624),Trzciana (1629),Ochmatów (1644),Beresteczko (1651),Połonka (1660),Cudnów (1660),Khotyn (1673),Lwów (1675),Vienna (1683), andPárkány (1683), they proved to be the decisive factor against often overwhelming odds. For instance, in theBattle of Klushino during thePolish–Muscovite War, the Muscovites and Swedes outnumbered the Commonwealth army 5 to 1, yet were heavily defeated.
Over time, the role of the hussar evolved into areconnaissance and advanced scout capacity. Their uniforms became more elaborate as their armour and heavy 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.
Instead of ostrich feathers, the husaria men wore wooden arcs attached to their armour at the back and raising over their heads. These arcs, together with bristling feathers sticking out of them, were dyed in various colours in imitation of laurel branches or palm leaves, and were a strangely beautiful sight to behold –Jędrzej Kitowicz (1728–1804).[10][11]
The hussars represented the heavy cavalry of the Commonwealth. TheTowarzysz husarski (Companion) commanded his ownpoczet (kopia) consisting of two to five similarly armed retainers and other servants (czeladnicy) who tended to his horses, food, supplies, repairs and fodder and often participated in battle. His 'lance' was part of a larger unit known as abanner (chorągiew). Each banner had between 30 and 60kopia (lances) or more. The commander, per his contractual obligation, was called "rotmistrz", while thede facto commander was often theporucznik (lieutenant). There was also onechorąży (ensign) who carried the banner's flag (chorągiew) and could command the banner when the porucznik was unable to. Each banner had one rotmistrz kopia that was larger than its other lances; this included trumpeters, and musicians (kettle drummers, more trumpeters etc.). There were othertowarzysze with duties (keeping order, helping with manoeuvres) within the banner during battle, but their functions are rather poorly understood.
The Polish hussars' primary battle tactic was the mountedcharge. They charged at 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 (the Polish hussars 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 akopia (lance), akoncerz (stabbing sword), aszabla (sabre), set of two to six pistols, often acarbine orarquebus (known in Polish as abandolet) and sometimes a warhammer or light battle-axe. The lighter, Ottoman-stylesaddle allowed for morearmour to be used by both the horses and the warriors. Moreover, the horses were bred to be especially fearless and resistant, and they could run quite fast with a heavy load while recovering quickly. They were hybrids of old, Polish equine lineage and eastern horses, usually from Tatar tribes. As a result, a horse could walk hundreds of kilometres loaded with over 100 kg (220 lb) (the hussar with their armour and weapons) and instantly charge. Hussar horses were also very agile and maneuverable. This made hussars able to fight with any cavalry or infantry force from heavycuirassiers to quick light-armed Tatars. There was a death penalty for selling a hussar horse (sometimes the horses were referred to as "tarpan") to someone outside ofPolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.[12]
The hussars'towarzysz were required to provide the arms andarmour for themselves and their retainers, except for the lance which was provided by the King.[13] Each lance's horses also came at each towarzysz husarski's expense. During their heyday, 1574–1705, winged hussars carried the following arms and armour:
Thelance was the main offensive weapon of the hussar. The lances were based on theBalkan and Hungarian lances, but 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 were often richly gilded. They were commonly made from fir-wood, with the lance point being made from forged steel. They had agałka, a large wooden ball which served as the handle guard. The hussar's lances usually ranged from 4.5 to 6.2 metres (15 to 20 ft) in length and were provided by the King or the banner's owner, not by the regular soldiers. A large 'silk'/taffetaproporzecpennon was attached to the lance below the point. Another type of lance, known as thedemi-lance orkopijka, and was 3 to 3.6 metres (9.8 to 11.8 ft) long and was used against the Tatars and Turks in late-17th-century wars.
Thetowarzysz husarski carried underneath his left thigh akoncerz (up to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) in length) and, often, apalasz (a type ofbroadsword) under his right thigh. Theszabla was carried on the left side, and several types ofsabres were known to winged hussars, including the renownedszabla husarska.
Hussars sometimes carried additional weapons, such as a 'nadziak' (horseman's pick).Towarzysz husarski carried one or two wheellock (laterflintlock) pistols in the saddle holsters, while retainers also might have carried a pistol or lightwheellockarquebus orcarbine; from the 1680s a carbine for retainers was mandatory.
Individual hussars may have possibly carried aTatar orTurkishcomposite bow with arrows in aquiver, especially after the mid-17th century, when many 'pancerny' companions became hussars, and some sources of the late 17th century note the existence of bows amongst the hussar companions. During the first half of the 18th century, while in non-military attire, the hussars' companion carried a bow in a bow case to denote his military status. Yet bows in bow cases were carried by all cavalry officers of the National Army until the reforms of the 1770s, includinguhlan units in the Saxon service.
At the height of their prowess, from 1576 to 1653, hussar armour consisted of a comb-likezischagge (szyszak),burgonet ormorion helmets with a hemispherical skull, '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 visor. Zischagge andkettle hat helmets for the lower rank (retainers) were often blackened as was their armour. Acuirass (breast plate), back plate,gorget, shoulder guards and of theGreat Steppe, Western vambraces with iron glove and later, during the 1630s, thePersian-originatedkarwaszvambrace, for forearm protection. Atowarzysz also could weartasset hip,cuisse thigh, andpoleyn knee protection, underneath a thigh-length coat of mail or specially padded coat with mail sleeves. Retainers usually wore less expensive and older armour, often painted black, and, after the 1670s, might have no cuirass, according to some sources.
The hussar armour was light, usually around 15 kilograms (33 lb), allowing them to be relatively quick and for their horses to gallop at full speed for long periods. Albeit from the 1670s onwards, chain-mail was used when fighting the Muslim Tatars in the southeastern borderlands of the Commonwealth. A rarely-usedSarmatian karacena armour (of ironscales riveted to a leather support) might have consisted of a scale helmet,cuirass,gorget, leg and shoulder protection and became popular during the reign of KingJohn Sobieski, but perhaps due to costs and weight, remained popular mostly with the winged hussar commanding officers.
Thetowarzysz usually wore aleopard (sometimestiger,[citation needed]jaguar[citation needed] orlion) pelt over his left shoulder, or as often depicted in the survivingPodhorce Castle paintings, he had the exotic pelt underneath his saddle or wrapped around his hips. Wolf, brown bear and lynx pelts were reserved for leaders and veterans (starszyzna).
The Polish hussars are depicted on the commemorative500 złotych gold coin.[14]
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The badge of the Polish Army's11th Armoured Cavalry Division features a stylized hussar wing and helmet.[15] The Division's patron isJan III Sobieski, who led the winged hussars at theBattle of Vienna, and the unit's commemorative badge is inscribed with the inheritedbattle honour "Vienna 1683".[15]
In 2016, the Swedish metal bandSabaton wrote the song "Winged Hussars" for their albumThe Last Stand. The song is about theBattle of Vienna in 1683 and the hussars' charge which helped defeat theOttomans.[16]
One, then two for one scene, were featured in the Canadian TV seriesMurdoch Mysteries, in the 2018 season 11 episode 16 entitled, "Game of Kings".
In 2023, in the Netflix series1670, Bogdan is seen wearing the winged hussars in Season 1 Episode 1, "The Assembly".
On May 1, 2024, Poland announced that Polish-operatedF-35 fighter aircraft will be called "Husarz" in honor of the hussars.[17]
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