Hakkapeliitta ( Finnish ) is a historiographical term used for a Finnish

light cavalry Light cavalry comprised lightly armed and body armor, armored cavalry troops mounted on fast horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the mounted riders (and sometimes the warhorses) were heavily armored. The purpose of light cavalry was p ...

man in the service of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

(1618 to 1648). is a 19th-century Finnish modification of a contemporary name given by foreigners in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

and variously spelled as Hackapelit, Hackapelite, Hackapell, Haccapelit, or Haccapelite. These terms were based on a Finnish

battle cry A battle cry or war cry is a yell or chant taken up in battle, usually by members of the same combatant group. Battle cries are not necessarily articulate (e.g. "Eulaliaaaa!", "Alala"..), although they often aim to invoke patriotic or religio ...

(; ), commonly translated as The -style cavalry was first used during the Polish-Swedish Wars of the late 16th century. In the early 17th century the cavalry led by the Field Marshal Jacob De la Gardie participated in campaigns against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. The Hakkapeliitta cavalry men led by Field Marshal Gustaf Horn were vital to the Swedish victories in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

during the Thirty Years' War. The Finnish military march Hakkapeliittain Marssi is named after hakkapeliittas.

Tactics

The Hakkapeliitta were well-trained Finnish light

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

men who excelled in skirmishing, raiding and

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

, as well as in pitched battles. The greatest advantage these lightly armored horsemen had were the speed and ferocity of their charge. They were equipped like the typical harquebusier light cavalry of their era; armed with a broadsword and two wheellock pistols and protected by a buff coat and a pot helmet. A steel breastplate was often worn as well. They would attack at a full gallop, the troopers on the front rank firing their pistols at near-contact distance and the whole formation crashing through the enemy at sword point. The horses themselves were another weapon, as they were used to trample enemy infantrymen. The

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

s used by the Hakkapeliitta were the ancestors of the modern Finnhorse; they were strong and durable.

Organization

The Swedish army then had three cavalry

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

s from Finland: * Nyland and Tavastehus County Cavalry Regiment () * Åbo and Björneborg County Cavalry Regiment () * Viborg and Nyslott County Cavalry Regiment () Their most famous commander was Torsten Stålhandske (surname meaning ), who was commissioned as a lieutenant-colonel with the Nyland and Tavastehus Cavalry Regiment in 1629 and led it for the first time in the Thirty Years' War. The original provincial regiments () had been raised by splitting the old Grand regiments (); also "Land regiments" (), organized by Gustavus Adolphus at the end of the 1610s, forming 21 infantry and eight cavalry regiments as written in the Swedish constitution of 1634.

Notable battles

The main battles in which the Hakkapeliitta took part during the Thirty Years' War were: * Breitenfeld in 1631 * Lech in 1632 * Battle of Alte Veste in 1632 * Lützen in 1632 * Nördlingen in 1634 *

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

in 1642 (also known as the ''Second Battle of Breitenfeld'' or the ''First Battle of Leipzig'') * Jankau in 1645 200 Hakkapeliitta were also part of the army which King Karl X Gustav of Sweden led across the frozen Danish straits in the winter of 1658, which enabled him to conquer Skåneland from

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

in the

Treaty of Roskilde The Treaty of Roskilde was negotiated at Høje Taastrup Church and was concluded on 26 February ( OS) or 8 March 1658 ( NS) during the Second Northern War between Frederick III of Denmark–Norway and Karl X Gustav of Sweden in the Danish ci ...

. Many Finnish soldiers served under the Swedish Empire. During the era of the

Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire or the Great Power era () was the period in Swedish history spanning much of the 17th and early 18th centuries during which Sweden became a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic regi ...

of the 17th century, the Finnish cavalry was constantly used in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

, and

. Parts of the cavalry were stationed in

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

and

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

.Talaskivi 1977, pages 77–81

In popular culture

* The Bearkillers, a protagonist faction in S.M. Stirling's Emberverse series, uses the Hakkapeliitta battle cry. * The module of the Advanced Squad Leader board game system, depicting the Finnish forces in World War II, is titled ''Hakkaa Päälle!'' * Nokian Tyres and its predecessor firms have made a snow tire called Hakkapeliitta since 1936. * Hakkapeliitta's feature in

Eric Flint Eric Flint (February 6, 1947 – July 17, 2022) was an American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his works are alternate history science fiction, but he also wrote humorous fantasy adventures. His works have been listed on ' ...

's '' 1632'' novel series as one part of Gustav II Adolf's armies. * The song "Rex Regi Rebellis" by Finnish metal band Turisas describes the adventures of the Hakkapeliitta and includes the battle cry . * The Hakkapeliitta is included in the video game Age of Empires III as a mercenary unit, under the name hackapell. When Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition released, the Hackapell mercenary was removed and replaced with a more generic "Harquebusier" unit. This is due to the introduction of a full Swedes civilization, who can field non-mercenary Hakkapelit from the Stable. While historically the Hakkapeliitta are light cavalry, until Patch 13.27885 of the ''Knights of the Mediterranean'' expansion, the game classifies them as Ranged Heavy Cavalry. Thereafter, Hakkapeliitta are correctly classified as Light Cavalry, albeit still primarily a ranged unit. * In Civilization V, the Hakkapeliitta are a unique unit of the Swedish Empire under Gustavus Adolphus. * Hakkapeliitta is the only unique unit of the Swedish Empire's unit roster in the strategy game Empire: Total War. *In the Anime Jormungand, Sophia Valmer use this war cry before engaging in hand to hand combat situation with knives, in episode 12 of the first season. Image:Tott.jpg, Åke Henriksson Tott's tomb in the Cathedral of Turku

References

External links

{{Wikiquote
Midi tuneOrchestral mp3 version
(archived link, 8 April 2005) by th
Finnish Cavalry Tradition Band
archived link, 10 April 2006) Military history of Finland Military units and formations of Sweden Cavalry Thirty Years' War Swedish military personnel of the Thirty Years' War Finnish expatriates in Germany Finnish military personnel