page_title: Polish hussars
section_title: Tactics
hierarchical_section_title: Polish hussars / Tactics
context_page_description: The Polish hussars, or Winged hussars, were one of the main types of Polish cavalry in Poland and in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth between the 16th and 18th centuries.
  Modelled on the Hungarian hussars, the early hussars were light cavalry of exiled Balkan warriors who were sent to Poland as mercenaries. Following the military reforms of king Stephen Báthory in the second half of the 16th century, the hussar unit was adopted by the Polish military and transformed into a heavily armoured shock cavalry. The husaria banners and units participated in the largest cavalry charge in history at the Battle of Vienna in 1683 and were the elite of Polish cavalry until their disbandment in the 1770s.
context_section_description: The hussars represented the heavy cavalry of the Commonwealth. The Towarzysz husarski (Companion) commanded his own poczet (kopia) consisting of two to five similarly armed retainers and other servants (czeladnicy) who tended to his horses, food, supplies, repairs and fodder and often participated in battle. His 'lance' was part of a larger unit known as a banner (chorągiew). Each banner had from 30 to over 60 kopia. The commander, per his contractual obligation, was called "rotmistrz", while the de facto commander was often the porucznik (lieutenant). There was also one chorąży (ensign) who carried the banner's flag ("znak" or "chorągiew") and could command the banner when the porucznik was unable to. Each banner had one rotmistrz kopia that was larger than its other lances; this included trumpeters, and musicians (kettle drummers, more trumpeters etc.). There were other towarzysze with duties (keeping order, helping with manoeuvres) within the banner during battle, but their functions are rather poorly understood.
  The Polish hussars' primary battle tactic was the charge. They charged at and through the enemy. The charge started at a slow pace and in a relatively loose formation. The formation gradually gathered pace and closed ranks while approaching the enemy, and reached its highest pace and closest formation immediately before engagement. They tended to repeat the charge several times until the enemy formation broke (they had supply wagons with spare lances). The tactic of a charge by heavily armoured hussars and horses was usually decisive for nearly two centuries. The hussars fought with a long lance, a koncerz (stabbing sword), a szabla (sabre), set of two to six pistols, often a carbine or arquebus (known in Polish as a bandolet) and sometimes a warhammer or light axe. The lighter, Ottoman-style saddle allowed for more armour to be used by both the horses and the warriors. Moreover, the horses were bred to run very fast with a heavy load and to recover quickly. These were hybrids of old, Polish equine lineage and eastern horses, usually from Tatar tribes. As a result, a horse could walk hundreds of kilometres loaded with over 100 kilograms (warrior plus armour and weaponry) and instantly charge. Also, hussar horses were very quick and maneuverable. This made hussars able to fight with any cavalry or infantry force from western heavy cuirassiers to quick Tatars. There was a death penalty for selling a husaria horse (sometimes the horses were referred to as "tarpan") to someone outside of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
caption: Hussar formation at the Battle of Klushino (1610), painting by Szymon Boguszowicz, 1620
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