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A hussar was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry regiments in European armies during the late 17th and 18th centuries. By the 19th century, hussars were wearing jackets decorated with braid plus shako or busby fur hats and had developed a romanticized image of being dashing and adventurous.
The Polish cavalry can trace its origins back to the days of medieval cavalry knights. Poland is mostly a country of flatlands and fields and mounted forces operate well in this environment. The knights and heavy cavalry gradually evolved into many different types of specialised mounted military formations, some of which heavily influenced western warfare and military science. This article details the evolution of Polish cavalry tactics, traditions and arms from the times of mounted knights and heavy winged hussars, through the times of light uhlans to mounted infantry equipped with ranged and mêlée weapons.
The Battle of Klushino, or the Battle of Kłuszyn, was fought on 4 July 1610, between forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Tsardom of Russia during the Polish–Russian War, part of Russia's Time of Troubles. The battle occurred near the village of Klushino near Smolensk. In the battle the outnumbered Polish-Lithuanian force secured a decisive victory over Russia, due to the tactical competence of hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski and the military prowess of Polish hussars, the elite of the army of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. The battle is remembered as one of the greatest triumphs of the Polish cavalry and an example of excellence and supremacy of the Polish military at the time.
Uhlan is a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. The uhlans started as Lithuanian irregular cavalry, that were later also adopted by other countries during the 18th century, including Poland, France, Russia, Prussia, Saxony, and Austria-Hungary. The term "lancer" was often used interchangeably with "uhlan"; the lancer regiments later formed for the British Army were directly inspired by the uhlans of other armies.
Armoured companion was a medium-cavalryman in 16th to 18th century Poland, named after their chainmail armor. These units were the second-most-important cavalry in the Polish-Lithuanian army, after the hussars.
A poczet was the smallest organized unit of soldiers in the Royal Polish Army and later also the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army from the 15th until the 18th century. The name of a medium or heavy-cavalry soldier in a poczet was pocztowy.
Companion was a junior cavalry officer or knight-officer in the army of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from the 16th century until its demise in 1795.
Chorągiew was the basic administrative unit of the Polish and Lithuanian cavalry from the 14th century. An alternative name until the 17th century was rota.
Rogatywka is the Polish generic name for a peaked, four-pointed cap used by various Polish military formations throughout the ages. It is a distant relative of its 18th-century predecessor, the konfederatka, although similar caps have been used by light cavalry since the 14th century. It consists of a four-pointed top and a short peak, usually made of black or brown leather. Although rogatywka in English seems to mean the same as czapka, the word czapka in Polish designates not only rogatywka, but all caps.
The Battle of Polonka took place near Polonka during the Polish-Russian War (1658-1667) on 29 June 1660 between Polish-Lithuanian and Russian forces. Polish-Lithuanian army under Stefan Czarniecki and Paweł Jan Sapieha forced a Russian retreat through a carefully planned Polish hussar ambush and several tactically effective flanking maneuvers. The Russian defeat also meant they had to abandon the Siege of Lyakhavichy (Lachowicze).
For much of history, humans have used some form of cavalry for war and, as a result, cavalry tactics have evolved over time. Tactically, the main advantages of cavalry over infantry were greater mobility, a larger impact, and a higher riding position.
The Polish–Swedish War of 1621 to 1625 was a war in a long-running series of conflicts between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Swedish Empire. It began with a Swedish invasion of the Polish–Lithuanian fiefdom Livonia. Swedish forces succeeded in taking the city of Riga after a siege. The Commonwealth, focused on a war with the Ottoman Empire, was unable to send significant forces to stop Gustav Adolf, and signed a truce favorable to Sweden. The Commonwealth ceded Livonia north of the Dvina (Düna) river, and retained only nominal control over Riga. The new truce in Mitau was signed and lasted from November 1622 to March 1625.
The Polish hussars, alternatively known as the winged hussars, were a heavy cavalry formation active in Poland and in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1503 to 1702. Their epithet is derived from large rear wings, which were intended to demoralize the enemy during a charge. The hussars ranked as the elite of Polish cavalry until their official disbanding in 1776.
The National cavalry was a branch of Polish–Lithuanian cavalry in the Polish-Lithuanian armed forces in the last quarter of the 18th century. Formed as a merger of previously-existing units of Winged hussars, pancerni and petyhorcy that were still in service after the Confederation of Bar. In 1777 the Sejm new regulations converted all units of heavy cavalry and medium cavalry and reformed them into a line cavalry, roughly similar to later uhlans popular in Europe in the 19th century. Existing dragoon and Front or Vanguard Regiments were outside this reform The National Cavalry had a very short history of 20 years, and some units stationed in the eastern Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were forcibly incorporated into the Russian cavalry following the Second Partition of Poland, and the remainder was disbanded together with the rest of Polish–Lithuanian armed forces after the final partition in 1795. The Sejm's 1777 decision was a rather late effort to modernize Polish–Lithuanian cavalry, along with the much earlier trend of evolution of European cavalry towards the more modern organization of the cavalry regiments into more mobile formations. The most modern part of the reform was the establishment of some very modern battle dress uniforms for these cavalrymen, and in turn, this uniform of the National Cavalry inspired numerous similar uniforms and employment of 'Polish lance' in the rest of Europe, notably the Austrian, Prussian, Russian cavalry, and later of the French cavalry of the Napoleonic Wars.
The Battle of Wojnicz was fought around the medieval town of Wojnicz in Lesser Poland as part of the Second Northern War on October 3, 1655 between forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth commanded by Field Crown Hetman Stanisław Lanckoroński and Great Crown Hetman Stanisław Rewera Potocki on one side, and on the other, the invading Swedish forces commanded by King Charles X Gustav. The battle ended in a Swedish victory.
Warfare in Medieval Poland covers the military history of Poland during the Piast and Jagiellon dynasties.
The military of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth consisted of two separate armies of the Kingdom of Poland's Crown Army and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania's Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army following the 1569 Union of Lublin, which joined to form the bi-conderate elective monarchy of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The army of each country was commanded by their respective Hetmans. The most unique formation of both armies were the Winged hussars. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Navy never played a major role and ceased to exist in the mid-17th century.
Battle of Wenden was fought during the Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629), between Sweden and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth on December 3, 1626, at Wenden in present-day Latvia. Swedish forces were led by Gustav Horn and Hans Wrangel. Lithuanian forces were led by Aleksander Gosiewski. The Swedes won the battle.
The 3rd Lithuanian National Cavalry Brigade was a military unit of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania led by Józef Antoni Kossakowski.
1st Lithuanian National Cavalry Brigade, also known as Hussar or Kaunas Brigade was an 18th-century National Cavalry Brigade of the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army. It was formed in 1776.
References
- ↑ Korzon & Gembarzewski 1912, p. 64.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Rakutis 2021.
- 1 2 Wojtasik, Janusz (2008). Podhajce 1698 (in Polish). Bellona.
- ↑ Brainard, Alfred P. (1991). "Polish-Lithuanian Cavalry in the late Seventeenth Century". The Polish Review . 36 (1): 76. JSTOR 25778547 – via JSTOR.
In the Lithuanian Army there was also the petyhorcy, an intermediate type between hussars and pancerni, probably possessing few if any firearms.
- ↑ Mistrini 2016.
- ↑ Markiewicz, Mariusz. Historia Polski 1492-1795 (PDF) (in Polish).
koniec XVIw. - ze strzelców osłaniających husarię wykształcili się jeźdźcy lekkozbrojni: petyhorcy (Litwa), towarzysze pancerni (Korona), Kozacy
[ dead link ] - 1 2 Adamczewski, Przemysław (2019). Polski mit etnopolityczny i Kaukaz (in Polish). Instytut Studiów Politycznych Polskiej Akademii Nauk. p. 245. ISBN 978-83-66819-02-3.
Nazwa Petyhorcy, która rozpowszechniła się w Polsce, pochodzi od góry Besztau (w językach turkijskich besz oznacza pięć, a tau górę). Również od niej wywodzi się nazwa rosyjskiego miasta Piatigorsk. Petyhorcy to lekka jazda, (...)
- ↑ Bandtkie, Jerzy Samuel (1831). Rozmaitości naukowe (in Polish). Kraków: Drukarni Szkoły Głownej. p. 72.
Wiadomo, że Litewskie woysko na Wiedeńską wyprawę nie przyszło, lecz ledwie Króla pod Koszycami i Preszowem na powrocie spotkało. Petyhorcy, jazda lekka w woysku Litewskiem nie była z pod gór Karpackich, jak Czacki chce 1,288 lecz jak Czeremissi z pośrzód Rossyi, tak ci Petyhorcy z pośrzód Georgii mieli swoie imie. Wszakże awanturników mnóstwo Persów, Georgian cisnęło się do Polskiey służby. Widać to po rozmaitych Georgianów i Persów z Azyi nobilitacyach.
- ↑ Bohun, Tomasz (2018). "Polish-Lithuanian Mercenaries in the Service of Jacob de la Gardie" (PDF). Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. History. 63 (3). Saint Petersburg State University: 718–728. doi:10.21638/11701/spbu02.2018.303. hdl:11701/14910.
- ↑ Bobiatyński & Hundert 2018, p. 158.
- ↑ Bobiatyński & Hundert 2018, p. 162.