Hussaria

Hussaria
active	1503 to 1776
Country	Poland-Lithuania
Type	heavy cavalry
Colours	Red, white wings
Butcher	; Moldovan Magnate Wars, Ottoman-Polish Wars, Nordic Wars
commander
Commander in chief	Johann III. Sobieski , Olesko
Important ; commanders	Stefano I Báthory; Jan Zamoyski; Stanisław Żółkiewski; Jan Karol Chodkiewicz; Stanislaw Koniecpolski;

Józef Brandt , Hussars , 1890

Polish Hussars ( Pol. Husaria ), also wing Hussars called, is one of the hussars developed Polish cavalry that the combat troops core of the 16th and 17th century Polish army formed. In the course of this time the Hussaria developed from a light or mixed to a uniformly heavy cavalry, whose mission it was to crush the enemy troops in a massive attack and force them to flee. Her most important victory she achieved in 1683 in the Battle of the Kahlenberg , where she was under the leadership of King John III. Sobieski succeeded in destroying the Ottoman army besieging Vienna .

history

Józef Brandt , Battle of the Kahlenberg

Johann III. Sobieski , commander of the Hussaria

The Hussaria was the elite cavalry in Poland-Lithuania in the early modern period. It was unbeaten for 125 years, making it one of the most effective cavalry classes in world history. They had an atypical armament and warfare, mostly outnumbered, which spoke for their tactical superiority. The most important victory of the Hussaria in 1683 was the " Battle of the Kahlenberg ". Under the leadership of Johann III. Sobieski defeated the Ottoman army there in its second siege of Vienna .

During the heyday of the Hussaria, the Polish state had to deal with several opponents who were different in their warfare and armament. The Swedes , who had excellent infantry formations and well-trained cavalry, bordered the north, the Russians to the east , and the Tartars and Cossacks , mostly light riders , to the southeast . The Ottomans dominated south of the Polish borders , the main strength of the Ottomans being their numerical superiority. The opponents in the west were the states of the Holy Roman Empire , including the Habsburg Empire, which were committed to Western military tradition.

Improvements in firearms and the associated changes in the art of war significantly reduced the value of armored cavalry, so that the Hussaria was mostly only used for representational purposes in the 18th century. In 1775 it was abolished and replaced by more modern, lighter cavalry, such as B. by the Uhlans or Hussars . Nevertheless, the Hussaria is still remembered by the Poles as the legendary cavalry, which also lives on symbolically in the insignia of the modern Polish armored forces and air force.

List of battles involving the Hussaria

equipment

weapons

Lances

The Kopia is a 4 to 5.5 m long type of hussar's lance, but constructed completely differently. The Kopia was made of aspen wood, was very light, hollow and therefore brittle. The copies broke after the first impact in an attack. They were only used to break through the front line of formation. For longer journeys or parades, special brackets for the lance were attached to the saddles, as were also common with Cossack cavalry and the Uhlans. The lance was the only piece of equipment that was financed by the state. Therefore, the troops mostly consisted of rich nobles (Szlachta) and the followers they supported.

Firearms

The Hussaria have long preferred bows and arrows. They were more accurate and were also used when attacking from a distance of about 200 meters while riding. Usually it was enough for only one volley, but at least one achieved a weakening of the enemy. Later pistols (mostly in pairs) and rifles were also used.

Bladed and struck weapons

The swords used at the beginning were later replaced by sabers , as they did not have to be so heavy for a strong blow and the use of the body and the curvature of the blade were more important. The saber was also more handy as it was lighter and shorter. Since the hussars procured their weapons themselves, various saber models (including various prey weapons ) were used. Also broadsword or Warhammer ( "Nadziak") and the so-called. " Koncerz " (one up to 1.8 m long mix of sword and lance with triangular point) were used.

armor

Armor

Hussaria armor from the 17th century.

The armor of the hussars changed over time. At first the king oriented himself to the European development and let the hussars switch to lighter armor. The first armor consisted only of light chain mail and thin plate armor. The head protection consisted of a helmet with wide nose protection; however, this was particularly controversial. Later bracers were purchased and the nose protector was removed as it stifled the view - but this was later reintroduced. The chain mail was abolished and the plate armor reinforced and lined inside with deer leather. This was the final shape of the tank. The aristocrats had the armor made in Venice, as the best blacksmiths worked there. The Polish hussars were the only cavalry in Europe to remain a heavy cavalry.

There was also a less popular light armor that was rarely used in combat. This consisted of hard leather that was embroidered with rivets

wing

Wings were not required for hussars. They consisted of wooden or steel stirrups with eagle feathers fastened close together, which protruded over the rider's head (hence the German term "winged hussars"). Originally they were attached to the saddle, and later on to the armor in the course of the 17th century. The wings are said to have produced a clearly audible noise when a larger unit rode quickly, although this could also be due to the characteristic and obligatory fabric pennants on the tip of the lance. They served to frighten the opposing horses with the rustling of eagle feathers and thus make them uncontrollable. The hussar horses were trained for this sound so that they would not shy away. The wings also served to protect against blows on the back and prevented the Tatars from using their throwing snares. The wings were supposed to make the galloping hussars look particularly terrifying because of their noise and appearance. The origin of the wings remains a mystery, it is clear that they were not compulsory and that they were raised more often to parade than to fight.

Culture of remembrance

Hussariastaffel at celebrations in Poland in 1966

The Hussaria plays an important role in the Polish view of history, as its clout was the basis of Poland-Lithuania as a great power in the early modern period. The Polish Nobel Prize laureate Henryk Sienkiewicz portrayed them in his trilogy Ogniem i mieczem ( With Fire and Sword 1884), Potop ( The Flood 1886) and Pan Wołodyjowski ( Herr Wołodyjowski, the Little Knight 1888), which Jerzy Hoffman filmed from 1969 to 1999 ( Pan Wołodyjowski , Potop and Ogniem i mieczem ). More recently, the role of the Hussaria in the defense against the Turks in 1683 has been emphasized and placed in the context of current security policy, emphasizing the coincidental date of the Battle of Kahlenberg and the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, which is where the title of the 2012 film September is Eleven alludes to 1683 .

Conversely, the Hussaria is the symbol of Polish-Lithuanian oppression for the Russian-Ukrainian Cossack and was accordingly used in Gogol's story Taras Bulba and his film adaptations (1936, 1962 and 2009) as well as in the Soviet film biography about the Cossack leader Bohdan Khmelnyzkyj from 1941 and 2007 Russian historical film 1612 - The bloody struggle for the fatherland… depicted.

literature

Jerzy Cichowski, Andrzej Szulczyński: Husaria. Warsaw 1977, OCLC 3483516 .
Richard Brzezinski: Polish Armies 1569-1696. Volume 1, (Osprey Men-at-Arms 188) Osprey, Oxford 1987, ISBN 0-85045-736-X .
Richard Brzezinski: Polish Winged Hussar 1576-1775. (Osprey Warrior 94) Osprey, Oxford 2006, ISBN 1-84176-650-X .

Individual evidence

↑ History of Hussaria. Retrieved March 4, 2017 .

[1] History of Hussaria. Retrieved March 4, 2017 .