Polish Winged Hussars

Polish Winged Hussars

The Polish Winged Hussars were remarkably a unique army that appeared in Europe; they had creative ideas which they utilize to make extraordinary works of fine and decorative art ¹ . Typically the horsemen had a cross-cultural richness of art that included a spectacle uniform made of feathers and leopard skin ² . Besides the attire and use of traditional portraits of royalty, the army has been described as one of the most effective forces in the world. This paper seeks to explore why the Polish Winged Hussars were the most successful military formation of the 16th century.

The Winged Hussars were a different military force that existed around the 1500s to 1700s. The horsemen were known to wear wings with long feathers; attached them to their back or on the saddles of their horses. When in battle they would charge them to produce a vibrating sound of feathers, and this frightened their enemies. A famous weapon used by the Polish Winged Hussars is the lance; a long weapon reaching up to 7 meters and used for charges ³ . It is reported that this weapon was incredibly destructive and in one of the battles a Winged Hussar killed six fighters in one thrust. Additionally, the Winged Hussars had other weapons such as the long Sword, Koncerz, and the Hussars saber.

The battle of Vienna is one of the most famous battles that the polish winged horsemen participated in and won. This battle which took place at the gates of Vienna is so significant that it is described as the beginning of the decline of the Ottoman Empire ⁴ . The war occurred in September 1683 and involved more than 23,000 polish soldiers led by chief commander Jan Sobieski ⁵ . The fight was a joint effort of armies from various European countries by the polish commander is the individual who led the force. Many Turks who had besieged Vienna with the objective of defeating the Holy Roman emperor. The battle lasted for 15 hours until the Turks were driven out of the City gates ⁶ .

In conclusion, the polish winged Hussars were the most effective military in Europe between the 1500s and 1700s because they only lost few battles and remained undefeated for 125 years. Some of the battles they participated include the battles of Lubiszew (1577), Byczyna (1588), Kircholm (1605), Polonka (1651) and Vienna in 1683 ⁷ . Their principal was he charge the charge and had weapons such as a long lance and sabre. They were finally defeated in 1776 by the lighter Uhlans who utilized light cavalry, lances, and pistols.

Annotated Bibliography

Brzezinski, Richard. Polish Winged Hussar 1576-1775. Vol. 94. Osprey Publishing, 2006.

This eBook describes about the origins and development of the polish Winged Hussars. It is believed that the author researched through hundreds of unpublished polish sources in order to come up with this detailed description of the Polish Hussars. The author succeeds in describing the polis Hussars training, tactics, appearance and their experience. The wings are described here as a dramatic attire where the wings were worn on the on the back or on the saddle. The Polish Hussar army managed to defeat strong military of the time such as the Turks, Tatars, Mascovite Boyars, Ukrainian Cossacks and the Swedes.

Emerick, Carolyn. Europa Sun Issue 3: February 2018. Vol. 3. Carolyn Emerick, 2018.

This book revisits the European history and the most influential cultures to describe the ancient Rome and its physical appearance. It narrates of how people utilize history to nurture heroes. There is a narration of heroes from European history. Joan of Arc is a major character in this book, she is a female hero.

Gömöri, George. The Polish Swan triumphant: Essays on Polish and comparative literature from Kochanowski to Norwid. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013.

Mainly this source is a collection of essay’s prepared by George Gomori on the polish literature and its reception abroad. The author narrates of the polish renaissance, Stefan Batory, the King of Poland form 1576 to 1586. The king is depicted to have helped in establishing a strong army and he is described as one of the greatest princes of Poland. The thoughts of various scholars about polish literature have been discussed in this book.

Kozaczka, Grażyna J. "The Boy Who Wanted Wings." (2018): 106-109.

This source has been instrumental in this research because it depicts the ethnic and political tensions that the polish people and Europe by extension was experiencing doing the reign of the merciless Ottoman Empire. The novel narrates of a poor archer in medieval Poland who takes aim at the love of his life. The source utilizes period-specific details to help the author in understanding the events that took place during the time. The author uses minute details to show the plight of Alesky and Krystyna; they both have a desire to move beyond the social classes that are dividing them; at some point their plight transcends the historical moment. Typically the novel switches naturally between battle and intimacy. Alesky is highlighted as young man brought up in polish peasant family and he has a great desire to become a Polish Winged Hussar. He is engulfed by the desire to one day carry a lancer in battle and have a dozen eagle feathers attached to his back. As a Tatar, this is a great dream and almost an unlikely quest. He later meets Krytyna and falls in love. But Alesky dos not seize to follow his dream. The source is significant because it shows the influence the Polish Hussars had and the expectations that ordinary citizens had on them.

Leitsch, Walter. "1683 THE SIEGE OF VIENNA-DEFEAT OF OTTOMAN ARMY AS BEGINNING OF DECLINE OF OTTOMAN EMPIRE." History Today 33, no. JUL (1983): 37-40.

The source narrates of how the army of the Ottoman Empire besieged Vienna. This army was large and was reportedly well equipped. Vienna was not well equipped and did not have a strong army, they were on the verge of losing its capacity to resist. It is here that they called for help form other stronger armies, the polish Winged Hussars was one of the military force that was called to help in the battle. More than 23,000 polish Winged Hussars fought in this Vienna battle under the leadership of Commander Jan Sobieski. The Ottoman army was defeated in September 12 in an open battle

Rospond, Vincent W., ed. European Weapons and Warfare, 1618-1648. Winged Hussar Pub. LLC, 2014.

This source is significant because it has been authored by a renowned historian Vincent. The source narrates of the years of war in the Europe continent. This was a significant time in European history because the wars were either on religion basis, had political and economic contentions. There is also a narration about the strong military formation of the time. The military used hand-to-hand combat and utilized edged swords, hand guns and artillery. Such were used by the Polish winged Hussars.

Bibliography

Brzezinski, Richard. Polish Winged Hussar 1576-1775. Vol. 94. Osprey Publishing, 2006.

Emerick, Carolyn. Europa Sun Issue 3: February 2018. Vol. 3. Carolyn Emerick, 2018.

Gömöri, George. The Polish Swan triumphant: Essays on Polish and comparative literature from Kochanowski to Norwid. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013.

Kozaczka, Grażyna J. "The Boy Who Wanted Wings." (2018): 106-109.

Leitsch, Walter. "1683 THE SIEGE OF VIENNA-DEFEAT OF OTTOMAN ARMY AS BEGINNING OF DECLINE OF OTTOMAN EMPIRE." History Today 33, no. JUL (1983): 37-40.

Rospond, Vincent W., ed. European Weapons and Warfare, 1618-1648. Winged Hussar Pub. LLC, 2014.