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Uhlan
Uhlans (; ; ; ; ) were a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. While first appearing in the cavalry of Lithuania and then Poland, Uhlans were quickly adopted by the mounted forces of other countries, including France, Russia, Prussia, Saxony and Austria-Hungary. Uhlans traditionally wore a double-breasted short-tailed jacket with a coloured 'plastron' panel at the front, a coloured sash, and a square-topped Polish lancer cap (, also called ). This cap or cavalry helmet was derived from a traditional design of Polish cap, formalised and stylised for military use. Their lances were traditionally topped with a small, swallow-tailed flag (''pennon'') just below the spearhead. Etymology There are several suggested etymologies for the word uhlan. In the Turkic languages, ''oğlan'' means '' young man'' or ''boy''. It is probable that this entered Polish via Tatar or Turkish and was styled as ''ułan''. The Polish spelling was then adopted by German, French and oth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Czapka
Czapka (, ; also spelt ''chapka'' or ''schapska'' ) is a Polish, Belarusian, and Russian generic word for a cap. However, it is perhaps best known to English speakers as a word for the 19th-century Polish cavalry headgear, consisting of a high, four-pointed cap with regimental insignia on the front (full name in Polish: ''czapka rogatywka'', initially: ''konfederatka'') to which feathers or rosettes were sometimes added. History Origins This headdress developed initially as a square-topped variant of a shako. In its early, compact form from 1784 onwards the czapka was introduced by Austrian uhlans, during the time Galicia was under Habsburg rule. Its use was spread from eastern Europe by the Polish Legion, fighting for the French in the Napoleonic Wars, and became popular not only among Napoleon's French and allied forces, such as Westphalia, Bavaria, Saxony, and Naples, but also among the armies of his enemies. The Grand Duchy of Warsaw used them for infantry and artiller ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Army consisted of more than 900,000 regular soldiers and nearly 250,000 irregulars (mostly Cossacks). Precursors: Regiments of the New Order Russian tsars before Peter the Great maintained professional hereditary musketeer corps known as ''streltsy''. These were originally raised by Ivan the Terrible; originally an effective force, they had become highly unreliable and undisciplined. In times of war the armed forces were augmented by peasants. The regiments of the new order, or regiments of the foreign order (''Полки нового строя'' or ''Полки иноземного строя'', ''Polki novovo (inozemnovo) stroya''), was the Russian term that was used to describe military units that were formed in the Tsardom of Rus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army (, "Common Army", recruited from all parts of the country), the Imperial Austrian Landwehr (recruited from Cisleithania), and the Royal Hungarian Honvéd (recruited from Transleithania). In the wake of fighting between the Austrian Empire and the Hungarian Kingdom and the two decades of uneasy co-existence following, Hungarian soldiers served either in mixed units or were stationed away from Hungarian areas. With the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 the new tripartite army was brought into being. It existed until the disestablishment of the Austro-Hungarian Empire following World War I in 1918. The joint "Imperial and Royal Army" ( or ''k.u.k.'') units were generally poorly trained and had very limited access to new equipment bec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lance
A lance is a spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier (lancer). In ancient and medieval warfare, it evolved into the leading weapon in cavalry charges, and was unsuited for throwing or for repeated thrusting, unlike similar weapons of the javelin and pike family typically used by infantry. Lances were often equipped with a vamplate, a small circular plate to prevent the hand sliding up the shaft upon impact, and beginning in the late 14th century were used in conjunction with a lance rest attached to the breastplate. Though best known as a military and sporting weapon carried by European knights and men-at-arms, the use of lances was widespread throughout Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa wherever suitable mounts were available. Lancers of the medieval period also carried secondary weapons such as swords, battle axes, war hammers, maces and daggers for use in hand-to-hand combat, since the lance was often a one-use-per-engagement weapon; assu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Companion (military Rank)
Companion ( Polish: ''Towarzysz'' ), plural: ''towarzysze'') was a junior cavalry officer or knight-officer in the army of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from the 16th century until its demise in 1794. Name During the 20th century, ''towarzysz'' assumed the same meaning as the Russian ('' tovarishch'', " comrade"), with the military meaning fading in use. Use of cultural expressions such as '' pan'' ("sir") was frowned upon and the communist regime encouraged use of ''towarzysz'' ("companion") or '' obywatel'' ("citizen"). Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth In the military of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, (until the 1775 AD reforms) companion was usually a noble who served in the Army for a period of time, usually less than 5 years, as a horseman with his mounted retainers (cavalry) and ''free servants'' (hussars, cossack – Armoured companion, Petyhorcy, Hajduk), or with none or one retainer and very few free servants (light cavalry e.g. Wallachian, Lisowcz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tatars
The Tatars ()Tatar in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different Turkic ethnic groups bearing the name "Tatar". Initially, the ethnonym ''Tatar'' possibly referred to the Tatar confederation. That confederation was eventually incorporated into the when unified the various steppe tribes. Hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lancer
A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used for mounted warfare in Assyria as early as and subsequently by Persia, India, Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome. The weapon was widely used throughout Eurasia during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance by heavy cavalry, but fell out of general use in the late 16th century before its revival by light cavalry in the 19th century. 17th, 18th, and 19th century lancers The lancer ( Polish: ''ułan'', German: ''Ulan'', French: ''uhlan'') had become a common sight in the majority of European, Ottoman, and Indian cavalry forces during this time, but, with the exception of the Ottoman troops, they increasingly discarded the heavy armour to give greater freedom of movement in combat. The Polish "winged" lancers were amongst the last European units to abandon their armour. There was debate over the value of the lance in mounted combat during the 17th and 18th centuries, with most armies having very few lancer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Saxon Army
The Royal Saxon Army (german: Königlich Sächsische Armee) was the military force of the Electorate (1682–1807) and later the Kingdom of Saxony (1807–1918). A regular Saxon army was first established in 1682 and it continued to exist until the abolition of the German monarchies in 1918. With the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine by Napoleon the Royal Saxon Army joined the French "Grande Armée" along with 37 other German states. History The army at the time of the Electorate of Saxony (1682–1807) The founder of the standing army in Saxony was Elector Johann Georg III. He convinced the Saxon Estates in 1681 that the established practice of in case of war hiring mercenaries and dismissing them in peace, was as costly as the formation of a standing army. In 1682 the hitherto existing home troops and Guard and other small units were consolidated in line regiments. The army consisted of six infantry regiments of eight companies and five cavalry regiments. The fie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polish Hussars
The Polish hussars (; pl, husaria ), alternatively known as the winged hussars, were a heavy cavalry formation active in Poland and in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1503 to 1702. Their epithet is derived from large rear wings, which were intended to demoralize the enemy during charge. The hussars ranked as the elite of Polish cavalry until their official disbanding in 1776. The hussar dress was ostentatious and comprised plated body armour (cuirass, spaulders, bevors, and arm bracers) adorned by gold ornaments, a burgonet or lobster-tailed pot helmet and jackboots as well as versatile weaponry such as lances, koncerz, sabres, backswords, pistols, maces, and hatchets. It was customary to maintain a red-and-white colour scheme, and to be girded with tanned animal hide. The wings were traditionally assembled from the feathers of raptors, and the angel-like frame was fastened onto the armour or saddle. The early hussars were light cavalry units of exiled Balkan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poczet
Poczet (, "fellowship" or "retinue"; plural ''poczty'') was the smallest organized unit of soldiers in the and later also the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army from the 15th until the 18th century. The name of a medium or heavy-cavalry soldiers in poczet was pocztowy. In the cavalry, each poczet was commanded by a Companion or Armoured companion. Several Poczets were combined to form larger units like a Banner (the equivalent of a Western Company). In this context the poczet is the equivalent of the medieval Lances fournies. Pocztowy was an assistant and subordinate of the Companion, in some respects similar to more ancient knight's servant - page or squire. He was armoured like his superior, but fought in the second or third line and was responsible for guarding his back and flanks in a battle. See also * Offices in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth This article discusses the organizational and administrative structure of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Polish–Lit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polish King
Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16th to 18th centuries). The first known Polish ruler is Duke Mieszko I, who adopted Christianity under the authority of Rome in the year 966. He was succeeded by his son, Bolesław I the Brave, who greatly expanded the boundaries of the Polish state and ruled as the first king in 1025. The following centuries gave rise to the mighty Piast dynasty, consisting of both kings such as Mieszko II Lambert, Przemysł II or Władysław I the Elbow-high and dukes like Bolesław III Wrymouth. The dynasty ceased to exist with the death of Casimir III the Great in 1370. In the same year, the Capetian House of Anjou became the ruling house with Louis I as king of both Poland and Hungary. His daughter, Jadwiga, later married Jogaila, the pagan Grand Duke of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Retinue
A retinue is a body of persons "retained" in the service of a noble, royal personage, or dignitary; a ''suite'' (French "what follows") of retainers. Etymology The word, recorded in English since circa 1375, stems from Old French ''retenue'', itself from ''retenir'', from the Latin ''retenere'': to hold back or retain. Employment Such retainers were not necessarily in the domestic service or otherwise normally close to the presence of their lord, but also include others who wore his livery (a kind of uniform, in distinctive colours) and claimed his protection, such as musicians and tutors. Some were a source of trouble and abuse in the 15th and early 16th century. Often their real importance was very different from their rank: on the one hand, sinecures and supernumerary appointments allowed enjoying benefits without performing full service. On the other hand, 'having the ear' of the master can allow one to act as a confidant in an informal capacity; or in some cases, even ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
