Uploaded July 2020 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
The Polish hussars (/həˈzɑːr/, /həˈsɑːr/, or /hʊˈzɑːr/; Polish: Husaria [xuˈsarja]), 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.
The Polish hussars (/həˈzɑːr/, /həˈsɑːr/, or /hʊˈzɑːr/; Polish: Husaria [xuˈsarja]), 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.
