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Why would anyone put wings on a suit of armour? Where these wings just for show — or did they give the riders an edge over the enemy? For nearly two centuries Poland's winged hussars were undefeated across the battlefields of Europe and the most feared army in the land. The purpose of the long feathered wings that run down the back of the Hussar's armour has baffled and divided historians for centuries. Did the wings make a frightening noise that scared the enemy or were they designed to aid the riders in their charge?
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Customer
Two simple reasons…
1) Our symbol is white eagle,
2) Intimidation 😉
Customer
… or perhaps its because Polish symbol is a white eagle… and those were some proud Poles… duh? to make this case stronger: they also wore expensive, not only durable, but carved breastplates, sometimes even ‘enhanced’ with precious metals for looks, exotic animal skins (lamparts were popular)… that was an obvious show-off move and a distinguishing feature for the winged hussar. also- once their fame grew for a century, seeing horsies with wings made enemies a bit less eager to fight back ‘nope, not this again’.
Customer
Did they make any sounds like he was suggesting?
Awesome comment Markos!
Customer
Igvvng Gjnc Yes. Indeed! You have written very truth about old centuries warriors apparels. Modern war is mostly about firepower and long distance systems of carrying weapons so the most important for warriors at the moment is a camouflage rather than psychological aspects of their apparels. Thank you for a wise commentary. Best regards from Poland 🙂
Customer
@Karol Barsky so does musketeers with bearskin hats
Customer
Igvvng Gjnc exactly! Psychological war is not less important than physical.. Roman Centurion or Spartan warrior seemed much taller in their helmets. Winged hussars looked greater with wings attached to their armors riding battle horses!
Customer
What about samurai’s sashimono. crusader’s horned helm. And those large pole things on aztec warriors back?
Customer
BECAUSE THE WINGS ON THE HUSSARS WERE SUPER COOL!!! HAVE YOU THOUGHT OF THAT VICTOR KUSHMANJUKDKSUAJCLCNE
Customer
yeah when you get like 2000 of them it sounds like a earthquake and enemy horses escape and “friendly fire” when running away killing half of their riders before the hussars start slashing what remains
Customer
i would love to watch murrica made fukin style hussars movie, imagine, that could be so awesome 🙂
Customer
Well we would get Michael Bay as director, with black and female hussars, cus of political correctness.
Customer
I disagree, 300 was the best and last decent film made by Zack Snyder. It had fictional elements combined with grounded history. I only wish Zack Snyder moved on after 300, obviously that wasn’t the case. A movie with a decent budget on Vienna and the Hussars would be epic, a shame nobody has to this day has picked up on the era.
Customer
Kristof B. I’d enjoy this if a good actor like Clint Eastwood made it a classic, John Wayne should’ve done a hussars movie… just made it amazing and stuff 🙂
Customer
It would be shitty like 99% “historical” murican movies.
Customer
Grom are Polish special force one who whonever lost member during mission
Customer
Hey, gretyngs from Poland, brothers…
Customer
Where can I buy the DVD on this ? , The hussars wings were used for several reasons not just one, Against the Tartars they were to prevent being lassoed , the others were to strike fear in the enemy , and say what you want they do look like Angelic knights from heaven swooping down on the enemy prey to destroy them. The wings were also used in parades ,The hussars were the most splendid looking cavalry and fought with ferocity no quarter, These were the last mounted knights of Europe destroying the Turkish Muslim army many times including the Battle of Vienna 1683.
Customer
Mark JG Yep thats it.
Customer
A slight correction to the video, during the time of troubles, a few Polish-Lithuanian magnates decided to have an adventure in Muscovy, not “Poland”. It was only later on that the Crown was drawn into the conflict, and even then, it did so half-heatedly and without proper funds to pay it’s soldiers as the senate was ever reluctant to raise any funds for anything the King wanted to achieve. Also, what the video calls “winged hussars” didn’t lead the soldiers, they were organized into units by themselves, they formed what would now be called cornets of shock cavalry, that was supposed to hit the enemy at full tilt and through sheer momentum, training and abilities, shatter the formation they charged at, pike formations included. And they did, repeatedly.
Customer
Please, look at the picture, eyewitness account of the Battle of Kircholm. This is the work L Snayers.
Do you see there hussars with wings? not so, the case is clear, the strength of hussars, this incredible belief in their skills and confidence to his companions They said: Let the sky collaps on us, then we will maintain with our trees(copies) Sława naszym Przodkom
Customer
Well they make the rider stand out so it might be there so the enemy can know that their death is not far off, or maybe it was because it looked dope af.
Customer
Polish lancers are legendary here in France !!!!
Customer
so much bs there. hussars were fighting in TIGHT formation in multiple rows.
Customer
In many cases it was more about the swirling lance pennants that scared the enemy horses; from a distance the look and sounds of the ‘shooshing’, swirling lance pennants resemble huge snakes and the scent of the animal pelts worn by the hussars also terrified the enemy’s horses. Quite simply, it was brilliant psychological ‘shock and awe’ warfare.
Customer
These guys were absolutely fantastic! Now they call themselves GROM.
Customer
Oh dear, maybe You talking about another “grom”
Grom is Poland’s elite counter-terrorism unit.
Customer
Hast du polnische Familie?
Customer
These guys are very OP. PLease Nerf.
Customer
@Czuper1000 I recall that he said that the battle of Trzciana was “the hottest bath that I’ve ever taken.” Though that was before his greatest reforms were introduced in 1631 at the battle of First Brietenfeld, though he died at Lutzen so we couldn’t see his full military brilliance at work, it truly would have been a clash of titans 🙂
Customer
+Henry Thelin
As far as I remember Gustav Adolf almost died in the battle of Trzciana (1629) facing polish hussars 🙂
Customer
Yes but they were no military formation of those times that could withstand charge of the Winged Hussars. The only way to stop them was to use cheval de frise (“Frisian horses”), palisade, trenches, laager (wagon fort) by the infantry or attack flanks of these Polish-Lithuanian cavalry. The best example are Zaporozhian Cossacks who hidden themeselves against Winged Hussars in their “tabor” (wagon fort) during Khmelnytsky Uprising or Swedish infantry who used Frisian horses or trenches (in the battle of Kliszów 1702 Winged Hussars easily defeated cavalry of the Charles XII but they couldn’t break through the Frisian horses of the Swedish infantry). Good way was also to attack their flanks which succesfully used Charles X Gustav of Sweden in the battle of Wojnicz 1655. In that battle Winged Hussars repulsed Swedish Reiters and while Poles were involved in the fight Swedish king attacked their flanks with hidden in the gully Musketeers and Reiters and the Winged Hussars had to retreat. Also in the battle of Warsaw 1656 Charles X Gustav commanded his troops to step aside before the charging Lithuanian Winged Hussars and then Swedes attacked them from both sides which forced Lithuanians to withdraw on their positions. Of course flanking tactics against Winged Hussars were not able when their flanks were covered by the Polish medium cavalry called Pancerni (and their Lithuanian counterparts called Petyhorcy). Also obstacles were not always effective which showed the battle of Klushino 1610 where the Winged Hussars in some places jumped over the fence and crushed Russian Pikemans that defended behind them (and their mercenaries from the Sweden, France, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, England and Scotland). Silmply the best way for the enemy was to choose the place for the battle on the terrain which prevented charge of Winged Hussars. Such tactic used Gustavus Adolphus against his cousine – Sigismund III Vasa, king of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the battle of Gniew 1626. Swedish king built ramparts and trenches so the Polish cavalry couldn’t charge on the Swedes and after minor fights the battle was indecisive. If Gustavus Adolphus would survived the battle of Lützen 1632 for sure he would use the same tactic as in the battle of Gniew or maybe he would use the tactics of his nephew – Charles X Gustav. But two things are sure, first – he wouldn’t have formation (even after Thirty Years’ War) that could stand frontal attack of 6-5 meter long Winged Hussars lances and second – we can only guessing about future plans of his campaigns 😉
Customer
Lol <3
Customer
Enso ,LLC Well it was because we would take over the world
Customer
My guess for the wings is that they were designed to make them look like angels riding into battle against gods enemies.
Customer
for your knowledge, the wings served psychologically. for scaring the enemy and their horses, the horse is naturally shy as he sees something for the first time and is bigger than himself, he is panicking and it’s difficult to control him, let alone fight. Husarria was so effective. Secondly, Poles are a courageous nation. for them the only thing that counts is God’s Honor of Fatherland, it is worth giving a lifetime to these values.
Customer
You have any links to this? I love the Serbs but to once again take away from Polish history as you have said is nothing new.
Customer
Hussar cavalry was adopted from medieval Serbian knights who fled into Hungary and Poland after Turkish occupation, they also wore wings but not like later Polish hussars. Name hussar is from Serbian word Gusar ,which means raider or a bandit (light rider), Venice also adopted this word to describe pirates and called them gorsair or corsair.
Custom of wearing wings was adopted from eastern raiders, possibly of Turkic or Persian origin. They also wore egzotic animal furs and skulls to look as intimidating as possible. They were menace until Serbs adopted their raiding tactics into regular cavalry unit. So purpose of wings was intimidation for sure.
Customer
They also protected against slitting in the back and Tatar arrannes
Customer
From psychological aspect the wings were frightening enemy’s horses and also their task was to make impression, that Winged Hussars are very tall and there are much more of them, than in reality.
Customer
As for this particular suit of Polish winged hussar armor being in a Russian Museum; the most likely explanation is that it was stolen from Poland during WW II, and brought back to Russia; they were never ‘captured’ in battle by Muscovy, Although historically, Muscovite cavalry attempted to imitate the Polish hussars but lacked the true ‘esprit de corps’ to actually successfully pull it off.
Customer
Says the Russian. Surely anyone could buy authentic Hussar armor over AMazon or Ebay. Idiot.
Customer
Sulima Knight Yes! Poland has unbelievable history. All country was conquered by simultaneous attack of Germany, Russia and Austria in XVIII century. It was preluded when German intelligence, after big wars of XVII century, successfully installed as King of Poland their man Augustus II the Strong. He and his freemasonry officials took control over country and destabilized all Commonwealth from inside according to Sun-Tzu “Art of War” principles of intelligence war. From that time Poland never recover again. After short time in XX semi-independent Poland was destroyed by German Nazi and Soviets of Russia. Incredible is the fact that Polish spirit never perish. Principles of the knights are still strong among Poles. Honor and Virtues as a way of life. (Knights were Catholic warriors in Medieval times when Poland was at peak of their power as Guardian of Latin Civilization)
Customer
@Парсифаль XVII century.
Customer
If anyone would like to hear about the great history polish HUSAR saber, I invite you to my channellll szablotłuk polski
Customer
Definitely Husaria was the best heavy cavalry ever.
Customer
tom 132 „chłop swoje sny opowiada” 🙂 Super odpowiedź! Ledwo powstrzymałem się od śmiechu..
Customer
@Simo Hayha For the time, they were more of a medium cavalry, but they were still as good as charging as anyone else. Even in a melee, they had enough tricks up their sleeves to contend against something heavier, say Gendarmes. Not that the two ever fought though. There’s also the question of French equipment vs. actual skill (the French were many times called “awkward” horsemen), but that’s another story.
Customer
@Simo Hayha they were shock cavalry
Customer
bashpr0mpt they crushed pikes walls like nothing… they was specialized for it.
Customer
Nuh-uh, pike block OP nerf nao pls.