The first cavalry units of the Poles formed almost at the same time as the Polish state. In the second half of the 10th - early 11th centuries, Poland was a small state on the map of the Middle Ages. Most of it was occupied by individual Slavic tribes. In the north, the Kingdom of Poland bordered on the Prussians and knightly orders, in the east - on Kievan Rus, in the south - on the Kingdom of Hungary.
Historians know about the so-called "mail squads" from the times of Mieszko the First and Boleslav the Brave. Thanks to its strong cavalry, the Kingdom of Poland was not perceived as an enemy by the Order of the Teutons and the Sword. But the neighbors - the Lithuanians - before the formation of their own principality did not have heavy cavalry units, but had light cavalry armed with darts and clubs. Therefore, they could not stop the heavy order cavalry, which allowed the orders to capture some territories of the Slavs and Prussians.
Polish hussars - irregular cavalry
In the Battle of Grunwald on July 15, 1410, between the knightly orders and the Kingdom of Poland, in alliance with the Principality of Lithuania, the Tatar cavalry made a huge contribution to the victory, which broke through the defenses with their pressurecrusaders.
During the Thirty Years' War with Sweden in 1630-1660, the Polish army hired irregular cavalry from Lithuanians, Tatars, Serbs, Hungarians and other nationalities. They were excellent warriors who knew how to use any convenient circumstance, but did not like to fight with the slender ranks of the enemy. However, Sweden, which did not have this type of troops, was afraid to seriously get involved with such cavalry before the approach of the allies - the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks.
At the beginning of the 16th century, the Polish cavalry consisted of cavalry heavily armed formations and light irregular units, which included Tatars, Cossacks, Serbs, Lithuanians, Moldavians and other nationalities. These military units have proven themselves in many battles and battles. The creation of Polish cavalry irregulars on a permanent basis became a matter of time.
Rzeczpospolita - a new formation on the map of Europe
When Poland and Lithuania united, the so-called Rzeczpospolita appeared, which needed new cavalry units to protect the southern and eastern borders, lighter than spear units, consisting of born horsemen. The new border defense system was called Potochna Defense, and Peter Myshkovsky was appointed its first head. This is how the Polish hussars first appeared. At the very beginning of the formation of these military units, foreigners, such as Serbs, were recruited into them, and later they began to take Poles there as well.
The hussar units were divided into spearmen and archers, as there were not enough borders at the initial stages of organizing the defenseheavy horsemen. Therefore, light hussar formations learned to fight both in close and loose formations.
A little later, the hussars became common military formations throughout the Commonwe alth. The Polish army owned them in its composition along with the knightly cavalry. Each spearman or comrade (from Polish means “comrade-in-arms”) was obliged to appear in the army along with several archers, who were called paholiki. They could be from 2 to 14 people or more. It was not uncommon for a spearman to come on his own, without an escort. A comrade bought weapons for the paholik, because their weapons were varied.
In the middle of the 16th century, due to the massive spread of firearms in Europe, the demand for heavy cavalry is rapidly falling. Therefore, the famous Polish king Stefan Batory, the smartest diplomat and skilled commander, began to reform the army, including the cavalry.
The birth of elite Polish cavalry units
Famous among the Polish gentry, the hussar units are gradually turning into cuirassier cavalry. These elite formations began to accept we althy landowners. Each of them had to bring 4 paholiks with them. Polish winged hussars were required to have a good horse. Going to war, they were required to own a spear, armor and elbow pieces, a helmet, a short gun, a saber or a broadsword. As a rule, comrades put on the skins of various animals on top of the armor. In old paintings, you can often see how the winged hussar is dressed in the skin of a leopard, leopard, bear, wolf and other animals.
Winged Guard
Comrades and paholiki often put on a design of wings over the armor. It could be the wings of a turkey, an eagle or a goose. At first, small wings were made, which were mounted on a shield or on the pommel of the saddle at the back. It is believed that during the movement, the feathers made an unpleasant sound for the unprepared horses of the enemy. The horses of the enemy went berserk, refused to obey the orders of the riders - and the enemy system broke up into various uncontrollable parts.
In the 17th century, the hussar's uniform changed: the wings became large and began to be attached to the back of the armor and hang over the rider's head. Thanks to this, the wings have additional features - protection of the rider from the lasso and softening the blow in the fall. Some researchers believe that the large wings and animal skins worn on the armor of a warrior should have demoralized the opponent. There is historical evidence for this conjecture.
One of the participants in the Battle of Vienna in 1683 compared the Polish regiments, in particular the winged cavalry, which led the attack on the Turkish army, with an angelic army that descended from heaven in order to punish sinners. Other historians believe that this tradition came from distant Asia and spread to the Ottoman Empire.
Formation of Polish Hussars
The hussar banner was the elite of the army of the Commonwe alth. The captain was in charge of the banner, his assistant was a lieutenant, below was the governor, and the smallest command position was the sergeant major.
The Winged Guard will neverthere were many, since it is very expensive to maintain one such warrior (horse, armor and weapons). For this money, one could buy a thousand guns and charges for them, or ten 6-pound guns. Therefore, in each army corps there were no more than two regiments or squadrons of winged hussars (no more than 700-800 people).
Polish hussars equipment
Equipment of paholiks still came at the expense of their comrades, they were armed with a variety of weapons. Equestrian formations numbered 50-120 cavalrymen. While copies were gradually abandoned in European states, the winged hussars continued to use them. The length of the spear was 6-6.5 meters, and it was a very formidable weapon.
In the 17th century, firearms were still primitive. After being fired from a pistol or a rifle from a long distance, the bullet very rarely hit the target, and it took a long time to reload. At the same time, the winged hussar managed to overcome the distance to the enemy and with his multi-meter spear demolished the enemy, who did not have time to reload his weapon and could not get a saber or sword, which still could not withstand the length of the spear and the force of the cavalry strike.
In many historical battles, bloody battles were won thanks to this fact, for example, the battle of Klushino in 1610 against the Swedes or the battle with the Russians near Chudov in 1660.
In addition to the spears, the hussars had a saber, a sword 1.7 meters long to pierce the enemy's armor and two pistols, fastened in holsters at the pommel of the saddle.
The hussar's uniform was very beautiful, hehad gilded images on his chest: on the left - the Mother of God, on the right - a Catholic cross. But besides beauty, he had to protect his master. Hussar armor could withstand a direct shot from a musket at a distance of twenty paces, and from the back they were impenetrable for a direct shot from a pistol.
Disadvantages of the Polish hussars
However, without auxiliary units of infantry and light cavalry, the winged hussar turned out to be an easy prey for a lightly armed horseman, who, having the ability to maneuver, left the hussar's line of attack and beat him from the flank or rear. It was in this way that the Polish troops were defeated, which included the hussar units of General Gordon, under the control of Sokolnitsky and Baron Odt in the battle near Slobodische with the Zaporozhye Cossack regiments.
Also, official history knows one fact when Marshal Wallenstein prayed to King Sigismund III to send him not the promised 10,000-12,000 winged hussars, but the same number of Cossacks.
Polish hussar as a prototype of the Russian horse guards
Polish winged cavalry became the prototype when the first Russian hussar elite cavalry was created in the first half of the 17th century. A Russian hussar detachment of 735 cavalry was created in 1634. It consisted of three cavalry groups led by Prince Khovansky, Prince Meshcheretsky and Captain Rylsky. This detachment served in Tula.
There is a case in history when in 1654 about one thousand winged hussars under the command of Kilski crossed over to the Russian side.
18th century Poland and the Napoleonic army
At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, Polish units, together with French troops, carried out military campaigns against Italy and Germany. These military formations were called the Danube and Italian legions. It was they who became the base for the creation of the famous Vistula Legion. In 1809, the Polish army of the 18th century was replenished with two hussar regiments created by Marshal Poniatowski in Galicia. But in 1812 Poniatowski already commanded three hussar divisions. Of course, these were not those winged hussars that terrified medieval Europe, but light cavalry.
Polish hussars also served in parts of the Napoleonic troops:
- two hussar regiments in Brun's corps;
- one regiment of hussars in the Subervi brigade;
- in 1813-1814, Polish light cavalrymen were on the staff of Poniatowski's 8th corps and Kelerman's 4th corps.
Regiments of the Polish army were valued among the Napoleonic marshals. For example, the corps of Poniatowski, who advanced to the Old Smolensk tract, forced Field Marshal Kutuzov on September 5, 1812, to retreat from the Shevardinsky redoubt. This was the beginning of the Battle of Borodino, in which the Poles were able to successfully take the village of Utitsa.
Poland and its cavalry in the 20th century
After the defeat and overthrow of Napoleon in 1814, Poland is practically absent from the map of Europe. It was divided into parts between Russia and Austria-Hungary, as well as the Kingdom of Prussia.
Poland received its independence only in 1917, at the same time itagain formed the hussar cavalry regiments. Although back in 1914, the Polish hussar units fought against the Russian Empire on the side of Austria. The Polish Legion was then commanded by Pilsudski. The same hussars took an active part in the civil war in Russia in Siberia under Kolchak's army. Hussar units were seen fighting Tukhachevsky's army in 1920.
The history of the Polish winged hussars ended in 1939, after a month of bloody battles and cavalry attacks with sabers against tanks, the capital of Poland, Warsaw, was surrendered.
Interesting historical facts about the winged hussars
Polish hussar cavalry in the 16th-19th centuries had two more interesting names: in the Commonwe alth they were called elears, and the enemies were called flying hussars, which, because of the wings behind their backs, really seemed to be flying over the battlefield.
Also, the flying hussars amazed everyone with their appearance. It came to funny curiosities. So, the troops of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, who stood near Kazan, came into great confusion when they saw foreign Cossacks - hussars, hung with feathers and skins of various animals, from a leopard to a bear. Most of the soldiers thought they were seeing Indians and not modern cavalry.
Just as today almost all children want to become paratroopers or astronauts, so at the beginning of the 19th century, almost all Polish youth wanted to be hussars. But it was an elite unit, the very best were taken there. They were required to be tall and athletic, good cavalry and military training,as well as decent financial resources, since the hussar had to dress beautifully and expensively (after all, the elite!), keep a horse, and sometimes several horses, have all the necessary equipment and weapons, and the last but not least factor - fearlessness. After all, it was not for nothing that Lannes, the marshal of the Napoleonic army, once said that a hussar who is thirty years old and has not yet been killed is waste, not hussars.
Memory of the Winged Cavalry
But the winged hussars are not entirely a thing of the past. For the Polish people, these soldiers were noble, courageous and brave defenders of their country and their land. For their time, these cavalry units really were the "absolute weapon" in resolving various military conflicts.
The noble and elite regiments of the winged guards are deeply remembered not only by the Poles, but also by all residents of neighboring states. They were and remain national heroes of all generations of Polish youth.
Even now, in our time, in the Polish army there is a combat unit of helicopters called "Winged Hussar". Recently, these helicopters have undergone a deep modernization and re-equipment with anti-tank missiles and new fire control systems. This Polish helicopter is considered one of the best combat aircraft in the world.
