Polish Cavalry - 16th and 17th Centuries

16th and 17th Centuries

In the 16th century the introduction of gunpowder and firearms made the medieval armoured cavalry obsolete. The standing army of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was gradually converted to other, more modern forms of cavalry. Under eastern influence, the armament of the cavalrymen was lightened and their speed and mobility increased, which added to the successes of the Polish cavalry in numerous wars against Muscovy, Ottomans and the Tartars.

1503 saw the formation of a first hussar unit in Poland. Being far more manoeuvrable than the heavily armoured lancers previously employed, the hussars proved vital to the Polish victories at Orsza (1514) and Obertyn (1531). By the reign of King Stefan Batory, the hussars had replaced medieval-style lancers in the Polish army, and they now formed the bulk of the Polish cavalry.

Over the course of the 16th century hussars had become heavier in character: they had abandoned wooden shields and adopted plate metal body armour. With the Battle of Lubieszów in 1577 the 'Golden Age' of the husaria began. Until the Battle of Vienna in 1683, the Polish hussars fought countless actions against a variety of enemies, and rarely lost a battle. In the battles of Byczyna (1588), Kokenhausen (1601), Kluszyn (1610), Gniew (1626), Chocim (1673) and Lwów (1675), the Polish hussars proved to be the decisive factor often against overwhelming odds. One of the most notable examples of such victories of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy hussars was the Battle of Kircholm of 1605, in which 3,000 hussars under Jan Karol Chodkiewicz managed to defeat 11,000 soldiers of Charles IX of Sweden - with negligible losses.

As one of the very few units in the Polish national standing army (most of other units were formed as levée en masse), the hussars were well-trained and well-equipped. Until the 18th century they were considered the elite of the Polish national armed forces. Because of the extreme cost, lackluster pay, fame and prestige that surrounded the hussars, almost all of them were members of the upper level nobility (szlachta). Although by the 18th century their importance was diminished by the collapse of the Polish military system and not by the introduction of modern infantry firearms and quick-firing artillery, the Polish hussars' tactics and armament remained almost unchanged until they were absorbed into the National Cavalry regiments in 1770s.

At first hussars performed most services but as they grew heavier the need arose for a medium or lighter cavalry. The 16th century saw creation of lighter cavalry known as 'Kozacy' (singular 'Kozak' hence 'towarzysz kozacki') until 1648 and then known as 'Pancerni' from 1650s on until 1770s) in the Kingdom of Poland or 'Petyhorcy' in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (the actual subject of the illustration) - whose offensive armament included a shorter 'demi-lance' ('dzida') or 'rohatyna', bow and arrows, war-ax, sabre in the 16th century and a pistol or two, a carbine in the 17th and 18th centuries. The lighter yet cavalry was created during the Muscovite Wars of the early 17th century, the most famous unit or type was known as Lisowczyk, after their commander Aleksander Lisowski, that fought in the 30 Years War as well. Along with these mentioned Polish or Lithuanian horsemen there were banners/companies of lighter cavalry drawn from Lithuanian Tatars (serving in their own banners under their precarious legal status), Romanian ("Wallachian"), Cheremis, Circassians (similar to Kozak/Pancerni) and Hungarians.

The early 18th century saw the creation of yet another cavalry formation that influenced most European armies of the time: the uhlans. Initially light cavalry companies formed by Polish Tatars (the very word ulan came from Lithuanian Tartar surname that might have come from an honorific name for a young, skilled warrior known as oglan) for one of the magantes, Sapieha, the uhlans joined the forces of Augustus der Starke, the king of Poland-Lithuania-Saxony, and in early 1740s 18th century the first uhlan 'pulks' (regiments) - known as uhlans - were formed for his son, king Augustus III. The uhlans were light cavalry armed with lances, sabres and pistols, which gave them enough power and at the same time adding to their versatility and manouevrability. In addition, the Polish uhlans, or ułani as they were called in their native tongue, introduced a new uniform style composed of a colourful jacket with a coloured panel in the front, dark trousers with colourful stripes on the sides and a high, pointed cap called czapka (often rendered chapska in English).