Hussars

[Illustrious]

Originally posted by napoleon526
...only Polish hussars had the 'wings.' I honestly don't know what they were for, other than to look impressive. [/B]

Originally posted by vrylakas
The wings. These were just for effect ultimately, but it worked.

Quite a lot of old military uniforms and equipment were there to look impressive and intimidating. Tall bearskin hats, shakos, plumed helmets etc all served to make the soldier look taller. Epaulettes made the shoulders look broader. It's like the animal kingdom - if you make yourself look bigger, it might scare the opposition (think pufferfish).

 

[klazlo]

Originally posted by Vrylakas
As AofA mentioned, hussars derive from the Hungarians' Steppe cavalry that burst violently into Europe in the 9th and 10th centuries. At the time most of Europe was pouring on the armor for its mounted warriors but the Magyar riders who raided across Europe literally ran circles around them until Otto I learned the lesson and met fire with fire at Lechfeld (Augsburg) in 955. The idea was having a light cavalry that could be all over the battlefield quickly, applied as needed where needed. A mounted knight in full armor in 1000 A.D. often wore as much as 140 kg/300 lbs., which really cut down on mobility.
Firearms diminished the need for armor in the 16th and 17th centuries, and the old Hungarian huszárok were revived, this time with lances and sidearms.

I'm having the same feeling over and over again... I cannot add more to the Hungarian history!
The current Hungarian perception of the hussars (i.e. what we think when we hear this word) comes from the 1848 revolution's light cavarly that really had some problems with disciplines - as the people themselves who served there. It was really kinda Hungarian: hot blood, virtue, sometimes outstanding performance on the battlefield but in other times shocking unreliability.

And I recommend the "Ogniem i mieczem" (With Fire and Sword) movie for everybody, it is really great!

 

[Stefan Haertel]

I was mistaken... they weren't called "Todeshussaren" but "Totenkopfhussaren" ("Skull Hussars", though most translations call them "Death's Head Hussars"). Here's a French poster from WWI showing one of them (the guy in the middle):

http://www.ga.k12.pa.us/academics/u...ages/imagesPosters/LePetitJournalPub04108.jpg

Hmm... that's a long link...

 

[ellie]

Hmm so the main difference between regular cavalry such as say the light brigade, and hussars was that hussars were the elite?

Ellie

 

[Illustrious]

Originally posted by ellie
Hmm so the main difference between regular cavalry such as say the light brigade, and hussars was that hussars were the elite?

Ellie

Something of a bad example, since the Light Brigade (of Balaklava fame) included a regiment of Hussars (the 11th Hussars, popularly known as the Cherrybums - or, in polite company, the Cherubim - owing to their bright cherry-red trousers).

At least in the British Army, the hussars and lancers considered themselves to be an elite, but the Light Dragoons didn't share that view!

The big problem with British cavalry is that everybody thought of themselves as an elite. The Household Cavalry (Life Guards and Horse Guards) arguably were an elite, being royal household troops. For the others, it was largely a question of social status, with some regiments being more "fashionable" than others.

The old senior regiments of "horse", which had been renamed "Dragoon Guards" were pretty high status, especially the 2nd DG (Royal North British Dragoon Guards, later known as the Scots Greys). The Dragoons of the line were relatively low on the pecking order (apart from the 1st Royal Dragoons, who later amalgamated with the Horse Guards to become the Blues And Royals), but still above mere infantry.

On the light cavalry side, as I mentioned, the Hussars and Lancers considered themselves to be a cut above the Light Dragoons - during the 19th century they enjoyed considerable social status because of the fancy uniforms.

It's probably fair to say that for most of the time the British cavalry was much of a muchness - some considerable social differences, but no "elites" in the modern sense of the term.

 

[ellie]

Thanks
interesting stuff

Ellie

 

[FlakJacket]

Originally posted by Illustrious

It's probably fair to say that for most of the time the British cavalry was much of a muchness - some considerable social differences, but no "elites" in the modern sense of the term.

Agreed. I know that during the Napoleonic wars the Britsh cavalry were basically considered a bunch of glory hunting foppish berks by those with any intelligence. One of the jokes was that it was the horses that were the brains of the operation when it came to the cavalry.

The best cavalry we had back then wasn't even Britsh, but the Kings German Legion. Always amusing.

 

[Squonk]

Originally posted by napoleon526

"Winged" hussars were generally Polish nobility. The uniform made it's way into all European armies, but only Polish hussars had the 'wings.' I honestly don't know what they were for, other than to look impressive.

Some claim that they let out a sound (when someone rode with them) that was scaring enemy's horses (hussars' were used to it)

I do not find Ogniem i Mieczem at all accurate. I'm no specialist, I just read some basic Gierowski's stuff and a few other books a long long time ago, but I remember that gunpowder weapons weren't all that common in Poland that time. And in ogniem i Mieczem film, even cossacks have them. I may be wrong, but it seemed pretty suprising to me.

 

[polymath]

Yes, they did make a sound, I have read an extract from the diary of a soldier who fought against them...apparently it sounded like a kind of unearthly whistling noise...he didn't say it scared the horses but he did say it scared the crap out of him!