>>15601156
Weaponry used by the Winged Hussars
As impressive as they may have looked, the hussars didn’t depend on looks alone to achieve victory on the battlefield. Each hussar was equipped with a kopia lance, which was made of thin, hollowed-out wood. While the lances were incredibly lightweight, they were usually crafted out of cheap wood, due to the fact that each was designed for a single use.
Not to worry, for after a hussar had put his lance to good use, he would then fall back on the use of his saber. He might be carrying one of several different kinds, ranging from a koncerz (which has a pointy end designed to pierce armor) to a pallash (which is more like a traditional broadsword).
When the evolution of firearms came along, the hussars begrudgingly added them to their arsenals but didn’t necessarily use them as replacements of their old weapons. After all, what’s scarier than a winged guy riding at you with a pistol? A winged guy riding at you with a pistol, a spear, a sword, and a war hammer!
Famous battles
Among the other assets that the hussars had to their advantage was the reputation they developed for being virtually unbeatable. Their renown was first sparked by the Battle of Lubiszew on April 17, 1577.
The hussars represented the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Danzig, a group of people who weren’t so keen to accept Stephen Batory as the new Commonwealth’s king. Despite being totally outnumbered, the Polish-Lithuanian army dealt the Danzig a crushing defeat.
Thats why Poso said “get the wings” after he posted the Vienna truckers arriving
The hussars also fought in the famous Battle of Vienna in 1683. When 150,000 Turks, along with the support of the Hungarian army, laid siege to the city, it appeared that all was probably lost.
Ultimately, however, a combined force led by John III Sobieski of Poland was able to defeat the Turks. Sobieski’s victory in Vienna marked the beginning of the end for the Turks when it came to the dominion of Eastern Europe.
Among the hussars’ most impressive yet often overlooked triumphs is the Battle of Hodow in 1694. Legend has it that the battle, which is sometimes referred to as the Polish Thermopylae, was fought between anywhere from 10,000 to 25,000 Crimean Khanate and just 400 members of the Polish cavalry, among whom were plenty of hussars.
As the story goes, the hussars managed to break up their enemy’s lines by charging headfirst into them. Their commander, whose name was supposedly Konstanty Zahorowski, decided it was probably time to take a defensive route.
So he steered the Polish forces into a nearby village named Hodow and had them spend the night, turning it into a makeshift fortress. The next day, the hussars and their fellow cavalrymen spent six hours holding off a massive army, knowing that the odds in their favor were about 60 to 1.
By utilizing everything from their rifles to improvised weapons, the Polish cavalry achieved a remarkable victory. While thousands of Khanate lay dead after the battle was over, less than 100 Polish soldiers had fallen.
Due to these and many other battles, the word got around that the hussars could triumph over any enemy, whether they happened to be outnumbered or not. Due to their association with Poland’s golden age and their remarkable achievements in battle, their legend remains alive and well among today’s Polish citizenry.
The Winged Hussars formally disband
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and it was no different for Poland’s legendary fighting force. As the legend of the hussars spread throughout Europe, various ideas began to sprout up about how to defeat them.
One such anti-hussar invention was called the cheval de fries, or Frisian horse, which would prove devastating to the Polish cavalry.
The Frisian horse was basically a larger, wooden version of those road spikes that threaten to pop the tires of anyone who dares to drive over them. Unfortunately for the hussars, they were just as effective at making any attempt at a cavalry charge absolutely hopeless.
Many point to the Battle of Kilszów in 1702 as the beginning of the end of the hussars. After suffering a disheartening defeat due to the discovery of the Frisian horse and other new military technology, morale began to fade quickly among their ranks.
Though they weren’t officially disbanded until the 1770s, by that point they had more or less become obsolete as warriors and were being used more in a ceremonial capacity.
That said, some hussar units lived on in the form of armored regiments, ceremonial arguments, and light infantries in various countries such as the UK, Sweden, and France. Some German states also retained hussars as a mounted police force, complete with special uniforms, until the early 1900s.
https://www.history101.com/polish-winged-hussars/