The winged hussar. Polish winged hussars. History of armament and ammunition

The first cavalry units of the Poles were formed almost at the same time as the Polish state. In the second half of the 10th - early 11th century Poland on the map of the Middle Ages was a small state. Most of it was occupied by separate Slavic tribes. In the north, the kingdom of Poland bordered on Prussia and knightly orders, in the east - with Kievan Rus, in the south - with the Hungarian kingdom.

Historians know about the so-called "chain armies" of the times of Mieszko the First and Boleslaw the Brave. Due to its strong cavalry, the Kingdom of Poland was not perceived as an adversary by the Order of the Teutons and the Sword-bearers. But the neighbors - the Lithuanians - before the formation of their own principality there were no heavy horse connections, but there was a light cavalry, which has darts and clubs. Therefore, they could not stop the heavy Order cavalry, which allowed the orders to seize 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 Polish Kingdom, in conjunction with the Lithuanian principality, the Tatar cavalry made a huge contribution to the victory, which broke through the defenses of the Crusaders with its head.

During the Thirty Years' War with Sweden from 1630-1660, the Polish army recruited irregular cavalry from Lithuanians, Tatars, Serbs, Hungarians and other nationalities. They were excellent warriors, able to use any convenient circumstance, but not fond of fighting with the slender ranks of the enemy. However, Sweden, which did not have this kind of troops, was afraid to seriously contact such a cavalry before the approach of the Zaporozhye Cossacks.

In the beginning of the 16th century the Polish cavalry consisted of mounted heavy-armed formations and light irregular parts, which included Tatars, Zaporozhians, Serbs, Lithuanians, Moldovans and other nationalities. These military units have proved themselves well in many battles and battles. The creation of Polish cavalry irregular parts on an ongoing basis has become a matter of time.

Speech Pospolita - a new education on the map of Europe

When Poland and Lithuania united, the so-called Rzeczpospolita appeared , which needed new cavalry units to guard the southern and eastern borders, easier than the kopey ones, consisting of innate horsemen. The new system of defense of the borders was called "Defeat Potoknna", and its first boss was appointed Peter Myshkovsky. So for the first time there were Polish hussars. At the very beginning of the formation of these military units, they recruited foreigners, for example the Serbs, and later began to take Poles there.

Hussar units were divided into lancers and streltsy, since at the initial stages of organizing the defense of the borders there were not enough heavy horsemen. Therefore, light hussar compounds learned to fight both in dense and loose order.

A little later the hussars became widespread military formations throughout the Commonwealth. The Polish army owned them in its composition along with the cavalry cavalry. Each spearman or comrade (from Polish means "companion") was obliged to appear in the army, along with several streltsy, which were called pacholikami. They could be from 2 to 14 people or more. Often there were cases when the spearman could come and himself, without accompanying. Arms were bought by a comrade, so they had a variety of weapons.

In the middle of the 16th century, due to the massive spread of firearms in Europe, the demand for heavy cavalry is rapidly declining. Therefore, the famous Polish King Stefan Batory, a clever diplomat and skilful commander, began to reform the army, including cavalry.

The birth of elite Polish cavalry units

Famous among the Polish gentry hussar parts gradually turn into cuirassier cavalry. These elite associations began to receive rich landowners. Each of them had to bring along with him 4 pacholikas. Polish winged hussars were required to have a good horse. Going to war, they had to own a spear, armor and elbow straps, a helmet, a short rifle, a saber or a saber. As a rule, comrades put skins of various animals on top of the armor. In old paintings you can often see how a winged hussar is dressed in the skin of a leopard, a leopard, a bear, a wolf and other animals.

The Winged Guards

Comrades and paholiki often wore a structure of wings on top of the armor. It could be the wings of a turkey, an eagle or a goose. Initially, small wings were made, which were fastened on the shield or on the bow of the saddle from behind. It is believed that during the movement the feathers issued a sound unpleasant for the unprepared horses of the enemy. The horses of the enemy were furious, refused to obey the orders of the riders - and the enemy system fell apart into various uncontrolled units.

In the 17th century, the hussar's uniform changed: the wings became large and began to attach to the back of the armor and hang over the head of the rider. Thanks to this, the wings have additional features - protection of the horseman from the lasso and softening of the impact in the fall. Some researchers believe that large wings and animal skins, worn on the armor of a warrior, should have demoralized an opponent. This conjecture is a historical proof.

One of the participants in the battle of Vienna in 1683 compared the Polish regiments, in particular the winged cavalry, which was attacking the Turkish army, with an angelic army descended from heaven in order to punish sinners. Other historians believe that this tradition came from far-off Asia and spread to the Ottoman Empire.

Formation of Polish hussars

The Hussar's banner was the elite of the army of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The captain was governed by a captain, his lieutenant was a lieutenant, the governor stood below, and the smallest commander was a sergeant-major.

The winged guard has never been much, since it is very expensive to contain one such warrior (a horse, armor and weapons). For this money it was possible to acquire a thousand rifles and charges to 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).

Equipment of Polish hussars

Equipment paholikov still occurred at the expense of comrades, they armed themselves with a variety of weapons. Equestrian formations numbered 50-120 cavalrymen. While the European states gradually refused to copy, 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 a shot from a pistol or shotgun from a long distance, the bullet very rarely hit the target, and it took a long time to recharge. At the same time, the winged hussar managed to overcome the distance to the enemy and demolished the enemy with his many-meter spear, unable to reload the weapon and unable to get a saber or sword, which still could not resist the length of the spear and the force of the horseman's blow.

In many historical battles, thanks to this fact, bloody battles were won, for example, the Battle of Klushino in 1610 against the Swedes or the battle with the Russians under Chudov in 1660.

In addition to the copies, the hussar had a saber, a sword of 1.7 meters long for piercing the armor of the enemy and two pistols fastened in holsters at the saddle's bows.

The hussar's uniform was very beautiful, he had gilded images on his chest: to the left - the Virgin, to the right - a Catholic cross. But besides beauty he had to protect his master. Hussar armor could withstand a direct shot from the musket at a distance of twenty paces, and from the back they were impenetrable for a direct shot from the pistol.

Disadvantages of Polish hussars

However, without the auxiliary units of the infantry and light cavalry, the winged hussar was an easy prey for a lightly armed rider who, having maneuvered, left the hussar's line of attack and flanked him from the flank or rear. This is how the Polish troops were defeated, in which the hussar units of General Gordon were stationed, under the command of Sokolnitsky and Baron Ott in the battle of Slobodischem with Zaporozhye Cossack regiments.

Also of official history, one fact is known when Marshal Wallenstein prayed to King Sigismund III to send him not promised 10000-12000 winged hussars, but as many Cossacks.

Polish Hussar as a prototype of the Russian Horse Guards

Polish winged horsemen became a prototype when the first Russian hussar elite cavalry was created in the first half of the 17th century. A Russian hussar detachment of 735 horsemen was created in 1634. It consisted of three cavalry groups under the command of Prince Khovansky, Prince Meshcheretsky and captain Rylsky. This detachment was on duty in Tula.

In the history of the case, when in 1654 on the Russian side passed about one thousand winged hussars under the command of Kilsky.

Poland of the 18th century and Napoleonic army

At the turn of the 18-19th centuries, the Polish units, together with the French troops, carried out military campaigns against Italy and Germany. These military formations were called the Danube and Italian legions. They were the basis for the creation of the famous Wisla Legion. In 1809 the Polish army of the 18th century is replenished with two hussar regiments, created by Marshal Poniatowski in Galicia. But in 1812 Poniatowski commanded three hussar divisions already. Of course, these were not the winged hussars that brought terror to medieval Europe, but light cavalry.
Also Polish hussars served in parts of Napoleonic troops:

• Two hussar regiments as part of Brun's corps;
• One regiment of hussars in the Soubervi brigade;
• In 1813-1814 the Polish light cavalrymen were in the staff of the 8th Poniatowski corps and in the 4th Corps of Kelerman.

The shelves of the Polish army were valued among the Napoleonic marshals. For example, Poniatowski's corps, which had advanced to the Old Smolensk tract, compelled Field Marshal Kutuzov to retreat from the Shevardin Redoubt on September 5, 1812 . This was the beginning of the Battle of Borodino, in which the Poles were able to successfully take the village of Utica.

Poland and its cavalry in the XX century

After the defeat and the overthrow of Napoleon in 1814, Poland is practically absent on the map of Europe. It was divided into parts between Russia and Austria-Hungary, and also by the Prussian kingdom.

Poland gained its independence only in 1917, at the same time it again formed the Hussar cavalry regiments. Although 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 the Kolchak army. Hussar units were seen in the battles with the army of Tukhachevsky 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 winged hussars

Polish hussar cavalrymen in the 16th and 19th centuries wore two more interesting names: in the Commonwealth they were called elearas, and the enemies - by flying hussars, who, because of the wings behind their backs, really flew over the field of battle.

Also, the flying hussars amazed everyone with their appearance. Coming to ridiculous curiosities. So, the troops of the Tsar Ivan the Terrible, who came to Kazan, came in great confusion when they saw the foreign Cossacks - hussars, hung with feathers and skins of various animals, from leopards to bears. Most of the soldiers thought that they saw before them the Indians, and not the modern cavalrymen.

As in our time almost all children want to become paratroopers or astronauts, and in the beginning of the 19th century almost all Polish youth wanted to be hussars. But it was an elite unit, they took the very best. They were obliged to have high growth and athletic build, good cavalry and military training, as well as decent financial resources, since the hussar had to dress beautifully and expensively (the elite all the same!), Keep a horse, and sometimes several horses, Necessary equipment and weapons and the last, but important factor - fearlessness. It's not for nothing that Lann, the marshal of the Napoleonic army, once said that a hussar who is thirty years old and has not yet been killed is a waste, not a hussar.

Memory of the winged cavalry

But the winged hussars did not go far into the past. For the Polish people these soldiers were noble, brave and brave defenders of their country and their land. For their time, these cavalry really were "an absolute weapon" in the solution of various military conflicts.

Noble and elite regiments of the winged Guards entered deeply into the memory not only of the Poles, but of all the inhabitants of neighboring countries. They were and remain the national heroes of all generations of Polish youth.

Even now, in our time, in the Polish army there is a combat unit of helicopters under the name "Winged Hussar". Recently, these helicopters underwent a profound modernization and rearmament with anti-tank missiles and new fire control systems. This Polish helicopter is considered one of the best in the world of combat aircraft.