Hussar

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Polish (Winged) Hussar

Hussar (original Hungarian spelling: huszár, plural huszárok, Polish: Husaria) refers to a number of types of cavalry used throughout Europe since the 15th century. Some modern military units retain the title 'hussar' for reasons of tradition.

History

Light hussars

The word hussar (IPA: [hə.ˈzɑː], [hə.ˈsɑɹ]; or [hʊ-]) derives from the Hungarian huszár, which in turn comes from the Croatian gusar ("highwayman", or brigand), a type of flamboyant 15th century cavalryman. Initially fighting in various smaller units, they were reorganised into a strong, highly-trained and motivated unit during the reign of King Matthias I Corvinus of Hungary. Under his command the units took part in the war against the Ottoman Empire in 1485 and proved successful against the Turkish Spahis as well as Bohemians and Poles. After the king's death in 1490 many hussars fled to other Central and Western European countries and became the core of similar light cavalry formations created there. For instance, Austria hired Hungarian hussars as mercenaries for wars against the Ottoman Empire. Also Frederick the Great used hussar units extensively during the War of the Austrian Succession. Great Britain also hired German hussars among their Hessian mercenaries and sent them to America to fight in the American War of Independence. While light hussars were adopted by all European militaries to counter infantry and artillery, the most spectacular were the heavy hussars of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Polish hussars from the so-called "Stockholm Roll" (1605)

Heavy hussars

Further information: Polish Hussars

Initially the first units of Polish hussars in the Kingdom of Poland were formed by the Sejm (Polish parliament) in 1503, which hired three banners of Hungarian mercenaries. Quickly recruitment also began among Polish and Lithuanian citizens (Lithuania being increasingly tied to Poland through the Polish-Lithuanian union). Being far more maneuvrable than the heavily armoured lancers previously employed, the hussars proved vital to the Polish-Lithuanian victories at Orsza (1514) and Obertyn (1531). By the reign of King Stefan Batory the hussars had replaced medieval-style lancers in the Polish-Lithuanian army, and they now formed the bulk of the Polish cavalry.

Over the course of the 1500s hussars in Hungary had become heavier in character: they had abandoned wooden shields and adopted plate metal body armour. When Stefan Batory, a Transylvanian-Hungarian prince, became king of Poland in 1576 he reorganized the Polish-Lithuanian hussars of his Royal Guard along Hungarian lines, making them a heavy formation, equipped with a long lance as their main weapon. By the 1590s most Polish-Lithuanian hussar units had been reformed along the same 'heavy' Hungarian model. These Polish 'heavy' hussars were known in their homeland as husaria.

With the Battle of Lubieszów in 1577 the 'Golden Age' of the husaria began. Until the Battle of Vienna in 1683, the Polish hussars fought countless actions against a variety of enemies, and rarely lost a battle. In the battles of Byczyna (1588), Kokenhusen (1601), Kircholm (1605), Kłuszyn (1610), Trzciana (1629), Chocim (1673) and Lwów (1675), the Polish-Lithuanian hussars proved to be the decisive factor often against overwhelming odds.

Until 18th century they were considered the elite of Commonwealth armed forces.

Commonwealth Hussar, wings visible. Painting by Aleksander Orłowski
File:Szarza Husarii.jpg
Commonwealth hussars charge.

Hussars in Western Europe

Hussars outside of Eastern and Central Europe followed a different line of development. During the early decades of the 17th century hussars in Croatia ceased to wear metal body armour; and by 1640 most were now light cavalry. It was hussars of this 'light' pattern rather than the Polish heavy hussar that were copied across Europe. These light hussars were ideal for reconnaissance and raiding sources of fodder and provisions in advance of the army. In battle, they were used in such light cavalry roles as harassing enemy skirmishers, overrunning artillery positions, and pursuing fleeing troops.

Frederick the Great used hussar units extensively during the War of the Austrian Succession and they were widely utilised in the armies of the various German states. France established a number of hussar regiments, recruiting originally from Hungary and Germany, then subsequently from German speaking frontier regions within France itself.

The Hussar Image

The colourful military uniforms of hussars from 1700 onwards were inspired by Hungarian fashions.

This uniform usually comprised a short jacket known as a dolman, or later a medium-length "attila" jacket, both with heavy horizontal gold braid on the breast, and yellow braided or gold Austrian knots (sújtás) on the sleeves; a matching pelisse (a short-waisted overjacket often worn slung over one shoulder); colored trousers, sometimes with yellow braided or gold Austrian knots at the front; a busby (kucsma) (a high fur hat with a cloth bag hanging from one side; although some regiments wore the shako (csákó) of various styles); and high riding boots.

European (but not British) hussars traditionally wore long moustaches (but no beards) and long hair, with two plaits hanging in front of the ears as well as a larger queue at the back. They often retained the queue, which used to be common to all soldiers, after other regiments had dispensed with it and adopted short hair.

Hussars had a reputation for being the dashing, if unruly, adventurers of the army. The traditional image of the hussar is of a reckless, hard-drinking, hard-swearing, womanising, moustachioed swashbuckler. Arthur Conan Doyle's character Brigadier Etienne Gerard of the French Hussards de Conflans has come to epitomise the hussar of popular fiction - brave, conceited, amorous, a skilled horseman and (according to Napoleon) not very intelligent. Brigadier Gerald's boast that the Hussards de Conflans (an actual regiment) could set a whole population running - the men away from them and the women towards them, may be taken as a fair representation of the espirit de corps of this class of cavalry.

Less romantically, 18th century hussars were also known (and feared) for their poor treatment of local civilians. In addition to commandeering local food-stocks for the army, hussars were known to also use the opportunity for personal looting and pillaging.

Hussars of the Napoleonic Wars

The hussars were a prominent cavalry force in the Napoleonic wars (1796 - 1815). As light cavalrymen mounted on fast horses they would be used to fight skirmish battles and for scouting. Most of the great European powers used the hussar within their military forces. The armies of France, Austria, Prussia and Russia had included hussar regiments since the mid-18th century. In the case of Britain four light dragoon regiments were converted to hussars in 1805. Hussars were notoriously impetuous and Napoleon was quoted as stating that he would be surprised for a hussar to live beyond 30* due to their tendency to become reckless in battle, exposing their weaknesses in frontal assaults. The hussars of Napoleon created the tradition of sabrage, the opening of a champagne bottle with a saber, something that is still popular in France to this day. The uniform of the Napoleonic hussars was made up of the pelisse: a short cloak which was often worn slung over one shoulder and fastened with a cord. This garment had a fur edging and was extensively adorned with braiding (often gold or silver for officers) and several rows of multiple buttons. Under this was worn the dolman or tunic which also was decorated in braid. On active service the hussar normally wore reinforced breeches which had leather on the inside of the leg to prevent them from wearing due to the extensive riding in the saddle. On the outside of such breeches, running up the outside was a row of buttons, and sometimes a stripe in a different colour. In terms of headwear the common hussar wore either a shako or fur busby. The colours of dolman, pelisse and breeches varied greatly by regiment, even within the same army. The Napoleonic hussar was armed with a brass hilted sabre and sometimes with a brace of pistols although these were often unavailable.

A famous military commander in Bonaparte's army who began his military career as a hussar was Marshal Ney who after being employed as a clerk in an iron works joined the 5th Hussars in 1787. He rose through the ranks of the hussars in the wars of Belgium and the Rhineland (1794 - 1798) fighting against the forces of Austria and Prussia before receiving his marshal's baton in 1804 after the Emperor Napoleon's coronation.

* This comment was actually made by General Antoine Charles Louis Lasalle, one of Napoleon’s cavalry commanders and a Hussar himself, who said that “Any Hussar who is not dead by the time he is thirty is a blackguard.” Ironically, he was thirty-four when he was killed at the battle of Wagram on 6th July 1809.

Hussars in the early 20th Century

On the eve of World War I there were still hussar regiments in the British (including Canadian), French, Spanish, German, Russian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Romanian and Austro-Hungarian armies. In most respects they had now become regular light cavalry, recruited solely from their own countries and trained and equipped along the same lines as other classes of cavalry. Hussars were however still notable for their colourful and elaborate parade uniforms, the most spectacular of which were those worn by the two Spanish regiments, Husares de Pavia and Husares de la Princesa. A characteristic of both the Imperial German and Russian Hussars was the variety of colours apparent in their dress uniforms. These included red, black, green, dark and light blue, brown and even pink (the Russian 15th Hussars) dolmans. Most Russian hussar regiments wore red breeches as did all the Austro-Hungarian hussars of 1914. This rainbow effect harkened back to the 18th century origins of hussar regiments in these armies. The fourteen French hussar regiments were an exception to this rule - they wore the same relatively simple uniform, with only minor distinctions, as the other branches of French light cavalry. This comprised a shako, light blue tunic and red breeches. The twelve British hussar regiments were distinguished by different coloured busby bags and a few other distinctions such as the yellow plumes of the 20th, the buff collars of the 13th and the crimson breeches of the 11th Hussars.

Hussar influences were apparent even in those armies which did not formally include hussar regiments. Thus both the Belgium Guides (prior to World War I) and the Mounted Escort of the Irish Defence Forces (during the 1930s) wore hussar style uniforms.

After horse cavalry became obsolete, hussar units were generally converted to armoured units, though retaining their traditional titles. Hussar regiments still exist today, in the British Army (although amalgamations have reduced their number to two only), the French Army, the Swedish Army (Livregementets husarer (Life Regiment Hussars)), the Dutch Army and the Canadian Forces), usually as tank forces or light mechanized infantry. The Danish Guard Hussars provide a ceremonial mounted squadron, which is the last to wear the slung pelisse.

Armament and tactics

Hussar armament varied over time. Until the 1600s it included a cavalry sabre, lance, long wooden shield and, optionally, light metal armour or simple leather vest. Their usual form of attack was to make a rapid charge in compact formation against enemy infantry or cavalry units. If the first attack failed, they would retire to their supporting troops who re-equipped them with fresh lances, and then would charge again.

Polish heavy hussars were much more heavily-armed. Apart from the Polish sabre and the lance, they were usually also equipped with two pistols, a small rounded shield and koncerz, a long (up to 2 metres) yet light sword used in charge when the lance was broken. Also the armour became heavier and with time it was replaced by shield armour.

Unlike their lighter counterparts, the Polish hussars were used as a heavy cavalry for line-breaking charges against enemy infantry. The famous low losses were achieved by a unique tactics of late concentration. Until the first musket salvo of the enemy infantry, the hussars were approaching relatively slowly, in a loose formation. Each rider was at least 5 steps away from his colleagues and the infantry using still undeveloped muskets simply could not aim at any particular cavalryman. Also, if hussar's horse was wounded, the following lines had a time to steer clear of him. After the salvo, the cavalry rapidly accelerated and joined up the ranks. At the moment of clash of the charging cavalry with the defenders, the hussars were riding knee-to-knee.

Hussars of the Polish Commonwealth were also famous for the huge 'wings' worn on their backs or attached to the saddles of their horses. There are several theories trying to explain the meaning of the wings. According to some they were designed to foil attacks by Tatar lasso; other theory has it that the sound of vibrating feathers attached to the wings made a strange sound that frightened enemy horses during the charge. However, recent experiments carried over by Polish historians in 2001 did not support any of the theories and the phenomenon remains unexplained. Most probably the wings were worn only during parades and not during combat, but this explanation is also disputed.

Current hussar units

Canada

Note: All Canadian hussar regiments are reserve force armoured reconnaissance units.

Denmark

  • Gardehusarregimentet (English: Guard Hussar Regiment). Founded in 1614, this is the oldest regiment of hussars in the world. It is a mixed armour/infantry unit with seven battalions. In addition to its operational role, the Guard Hussar Regiment is one of two regiments in the Danish Army (along with the Den Kongelige Livgarde) to be classed as 'Guards'; in this case, the Guard Hussars perform the same role as the Household Cavalry do in the British Army. In mounted parade uniform the Gardehusarregimentet are the only hussars to still wear the slung and braided pelise which was formerly characteristic of this class of cavalry.

France

Netherlands

The Dutch word for hussar is huzaar (IPA: [hʊ.ˈzaːʁ]).

Except for the Huzaren Van Boreel, every regiment operates in the armoured role in one of the three mechanized brigades of the Dutch army, using the Leopard 2 main battle tank. Each of these brigades also has a squadron from the Huzaren Van Boreel attached for reconnaissance.

Peru

  • Regiment of Hussars of Junin. The regiment was created in 1821 by General Jose de San Martin to protect the then recently independent republic of Peru. The name Hussars of Junin was actually adopted after their victorious performance in 1824 at the Battle of Junin which was one of the Spanish-Peruvian confrontations determinant to the final defeat of the Spanish colonial rule. Today, their members guard symbolically the Peruvian government palace wearing the traditional uniform that dates from 1821 and performing a colorful change of guard much admired by visitors.

Poland

Because the Polish word pancerny initially was used to denote both as a standard adjective meaning "armoured" and a Polish cavalryman lighter than the heavy hussar, currently most Polish armoured units are named "Armoured Cavalry" and refer to the hussar tradition of Polish historical cavalry. Similarly, Polish aero mobile forces refer to traditions of 19th century light cavalry.

Romania

Transylvanian provinces (today parts of Romania) have been the home of some hussars. Ruler of Transylvania, John Hunyadi created mounted units inspired by his own enemy, the Ottoman Turks. His son, Mathias Corvinus, later king of Hungary is unanimously accepted as the creator of these troops.

In Romania the cavalry regiments were known as "Călărași" (Moldavia) and "Roșiori" (Wallachia). The three (later expanded to ten) Roșiori regiments were the regular units while the Călărași were territorial reserve cavalry who supplied their own horses. These troops played an important role in the Romanian Independence War of 1877 on the Russo-Turkish front. The Roșiori, as their name implies in Romanian, wore red dolmans with black braiding while the Călărași wore dark blue dolmans with red loopings. Both wore fur busbies and white plumes. The Roșiori regiments were distinguished by the different colours of their cloth busby bags (yellow, white, green, light blue, light green, dark blue, light brown, lilac, pink and light grey according to regiment).

After World War I the differences between the two branches of Romanian cavalry disappeared, although the titles of Roșiori and Călărași remained. Both types of cavalry served through World War II on the Russian front as mounted and mechanised units.

The city of Roșiori bears its name due to a hussar unit stationed there in the 17th century by Prince Brâncoveanu.

Hussars have inspired the Romanian Army in organizing its cavalry regiments. Although the Romanian cavalry were not formally designated as hussars, their pre-1915 uniforms as described above were of the classic hussar type. These regiments were created in the second part of the nineteenth century under the rule of Alexandru Ioan Cuza, the creator of Romania (by the unification of Moldova and Wallachia).

Sweden

  • Livregementets husarer (English: Life Regiment Hussars). Founded in 1667 when the Uplandian Cavalry were made into a royal guards regiment. Today Livregementets husarer, also known as K 3, is the last remaining hussar regiment in Sweden and trains one of the two special service units of the Swedish army: the airborne rangers.

United Kingdom

Presently, the first two regiments operate in the Armoured role, primarily operating the Challenger 2 main battle tank. The Hussar regiments are grouped together with the Dragoon and Lancer regiments in the order of precedence, all of which are below the Dragoon Guards.

Although a Dragoon regiment, The Light Dragoons was formed by the amalgamation of two Hussar regiments, the 13th/18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own) and the 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars, in 1992.

60 (RBH) Sig Sqn is a Territorial Army unit within 36 (Eastern) Signal Regiment (V) and was formed in 2000 from a Royal Green Jackets platoon.

Bibliography

  • Radosław Sikora, Fenomen husarii
  • Bronisław Gembarzewski, Husarze. Ubiór, oporządzenie i uzbrojenie 1500 – 1775
  • Zbigniew Bocheński, Ze studiów nad polską zbroją husarską in: Rozprawy i sprawozdania Muzeum Narodowego w Krakowie. Kraków, 1960
  • Marek Plewczyński, Obertyn 1531
  • Romuald Romański, Beresteczko 1651
  • Leszek Podhorodecki, Sławne bitwy Polaków
  • Szymon Kobyliński, Szymona Kobylińskiego gawędy o broni i mundurze
  • Janusz Sikorski, Zarys dziejów wojskowości polskiej do roku 1864
  • Jan Chryzostom Pasek, Pamiętniki
  • Mirosław Nagielski, Relacje wojenne z pierwszych lat walk polsko-kozackich powstania Bohdana Chmielnickiego
  • Bitwa pod Gniewem 22.IX – 29.IX. 1626, pierwsza porażka husarii in: Studia i materiały do historii wojskowości, Warsaw, 1966
  • J. Cichowski, A. Szulczyński, Husaria
  • Jakub Łoś, Pamiętnik towarzysza chorągwi pancernej

External links

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