Birdmen of the Hussars
QUESTION Why did the 17th-century Polish Hussars attach wings to their armour?
HUSSARS were a cavalry unit in the Polish-lithuanian Commonwealth, originating in mercenary units of exiled serb warriors. First recorded in 1500, they were originally light cavalry armed with a lance, shield and sabre.
in the latter half of the 16th century stephen Bathory, King of Poland and Grand Duke of lithuania, transformed them into heavily armoured cavalry, famous for the giant, arching wings they wore on their backs.
instead of the black armour favoured by other knights, theirs was burnished and polished so it gleamed in the sunlight.
As part of their psychological weaponry and designed to strike fear into the enemy, they wore brightly coloured heraldry and wings of ostrich or eagle feathers glued onto wooden frames that arched up and over the back.
Reconstruction has shown they made a fearsome whistling noise and it’s thought the wings were designed to scare the enemy’s horses. The hussars fought with a long lance, a szabla ( sabre), two pistols, an arquebus — a long-barrelled, musketlike weapon — and sometimes a war hammer or light axe. The centre of their 18ft lances were hollow to make them as light as possible. These elite shock troops were highly trained, could change direction and alter formation in mid-charge and then plough through their enemy, circling around and attacking them again from the rear. Their tactics, heavy armour and reputation guaranteed victory. From the battles at lubieszow in 1577 to Parkany in 1683, they were the decisive factor against overwhelming odds, but as guns and artillery improved, heavy cavalry lost its advantage. The Winged hussars were disbanded in 1776, when they were succeeded by the Uhlans, light cavalry armed with lances, sabres and pistols. K. Stewart, Sheffield.