A hussar was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry regiments in European armies during the late 17th and 18th centuries. By the 19th century, hussars were wearing jackets decorated with braid plus shako or busby fur hats and had developed a romanticized image of being dashing and adventurous.
Several modern armies retain the designation of hussars for armored (tank) units. In addition, a number of mounted units survive which wear historical hussar uniforms on parade or while providing ceremonial escorts.
Etymology
Etymologists are divided over the derivation of the word hussar. The term came into use in relation to the cavalry of late medieval Hungary, popularized under Matthias Corvinus, made up of Serb warriors. The first written use of the word (in Latin, plural; in Hungarian: ) is found in documents dating from 1432 in southern Hungary (at the time an area of the Kingdom of Hungary bordering the Ottoman Empire). Two main theories exist:
The word hussar stems from Hungarian which in turn originates from the medieval Serbian (Cyrillic: , or , Cyrillic: ), meaning brigand (because early hussars' shock troops tactics used against the Ottoman army resembled that of brigands; in modern Serbian the meaning of is limited to sea pirate), from the Medieval Latin (cf. the English word corsair). Byzantinist scholars argue that the term originated in Roman military practice, and the (singular ). 10th-century Byzantine military manuals mention , light cavalry, recruited in the Balkans, especially Serbs, "ideal for scouting and raiding". This word was subsequently reintroduced to Western European military practice after its original usage had been lost with the collapse of Rome in the west.M. Canard, "" in Byzantion, 40 (1970), pp. 226–229. Another theory is that the term is an original Hungarian one. A further premise notes that means 'twenty' in Hungarian whilst is a unit of land measurement or acre. Accordingly, it is suggested that hussars are so named as they were a form of military levy introduced after 1458 whereby any landowner with twenty acres was duty bound to provide a mounted and equipped (peasant origin) soldier to the king's army at his own expense.
Origins
Early Hungarian hussars The hussars reportedly originated in bands of Serb warriors, crossing into southern Hungary after the Ottoman conquest of Serbia in the late 14th century. Regent-Governor John Hunyadi created mounted units inspired by the Ottomans. His son, Matthias Corvinus, later king of Hungary, is claimed to be the creator of these troops, commonly called Rác (a Hungarian exonym for Serbs). Initially, they fought in small bands, but were reorganised into larger, trained formations during the reign of King Matthias Corvinus.
The medieval Hungarian written sources spoke disparagingly and contemptuously of the light cavalry and the hussars in general, and during battles the texts praised only the virtues, endurance, courage, training and achievements of the knights, since during the Middle Ages the Hungarian noble origin soldiers served exclusively as heavy armoured cavalry.
The first hussar regiments comprised the light cavalry of the Black Army of Hungary. Under Corvinus's command, the hussars took part in the war against the Ottoman Empire in 1485 and proved successful against the sipahis (Ottoman cavalry) as well as against the Bohemians and Poles. After the king's death, in 1490, hussars became the standard form of cavalry in Hungary in addition to the heavy cavalry. Their role was limited to irregular warfare, raiding, securing, covering and reconnaissance of main regular forces. According to Antonio Bonfini, this lightly armed cavalry (expeditissimus equitatus) was not allowed to be part of the regular army, when the order of the battle was formed, but was placed outside it in quite separate groups and used to destroy, burn, kill and instil fear in the civilian population, while they rode ahead of the regular army.JENŐ Darkó (in Hungarian): A MAGYAR HUSZÁRSÁG EREDETE (1937) (About the origin of Hungarian hussars)
The 16th and 17th centuries saw a major change and during the Thirty Years' War they fought as light cavalry and increasingly used firearms, instead of more traditional weapons such as bows and spears.FILIP HREN(master's thesis), 2017, Hrvatski staleži i vojna krajina u tridesetogodišnjem ratu, p. 51 The Habsburg emperors hired Hungarian hussars as mercenaries to serve against the Ottomans and on various battlefields throughout Western Europe.
Early hussars wore armor when they could afford it, as did the later Polish hussars. Hungarian hussars abandoned the use of shields and, at a later date, armor; becoming entirely light cavalry in the first half of the 17th century.Kovács S. Tibor (2010): Huszárfegyverek a 15-17. században
Polish hussars
Initially the first units of Polish Hussars in the Kingdom of Poland were formed around 1500.
The Polish heavy hussars of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were far more manoeuvrable than the heavily armoured lancers previously employed. The hussars proved vital to the Polish–Lithuanian victories at the Orsza (1514), the Obertyn (1531) and the Battle of Vienna (1683).
Over the course of the 16th century, hussars in Transylvania and Hungary became heavier in character: they had abandoned wooden shields and adopted plate-metal body armour. When Stephen Báthory, a Transylvanian-Hungarian prince, was elected King of Poland in 1576, he reorganised the Polish–Lithuanian Hussars of his Royal Guard along Hungarian lines, making them a heavy formation, equipped with a long lance as their main weapon. Under his reign, the hussars replaced medieval-style lancers in the Polish–Lithuanian army, and they formed the bulk of the Polish cavalry. By the 1590s, most Polish–Lithuanian hussar units had been reformed along the same "heavy", Hungarian model. Due to the same resemblance, the Polish heavy hussars came with their own style, the Polish winged hussars or Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth winged husaria.
In the Battle of Lubieszów, in 1577, the "Golden Age" of the husaria began. Up to and including the Battle of Vienna in 1683, the Polish–Lithuanian hussars fought countless actions against a variety of enemies. In the battles of Byczyna (1588), Kokenhusen (1601), Kircholm (1605), Kłuszyn (1610), Trzciana (1629), Chocim (1673) and Lwów (1675), the Polish–Lithuanian hussars proved to be the decisive factor, often against overwhelming odds.
Until the 18th century, they were considered the elite of the Commonwealth's armed forces.
Croatian hussars Croatian hussar units, often designated simply as "Croats", were raised from the Kingdom of Hungary Military Frontier, Croatian-Slavonian and the Kingdom of Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia.Attila Réfi; (2012), The Croatian-Slavonic Grenz (Border) Hussars Role in the Campaigns 1793–94 against the Revolutionary France or the history of the cavalry of the Wurmser Freikorps p. 197; Elte, Budapest One notable captain and chief officer of hussars was Petar Keglević.Josipa Adžić; (2018) Keglevići Bužimski u 16. stoljeću (in Croatian) p. 10 In 1578, Charles II took command of the Croatian and Slavonian Military Frontier and prepared written orders and rule of service for infantry (haramije) and cavalry (hussars), using the Serbo-Croatian language.Neven Budak, Habsburzi i Hrvati, 2002Velimir Vukšić; (2016) Večernji list, Vojna povijest (Military history), {Capitan ima petdesset koine hussarske vse ili vetschi dela plemenite viteze s dobrimi koini, oklopi, ili panziny, schischakom, szhitom, copiem, sablo, bodeschom, batom ili sekirizo spravne imati. Komu drago pusho polag nossiti, to mu se dopustiti (...)} - vojnapovijest.vecernji.hr The oldest written trace of the surname Husar in Croatia is from 1507 in Vinica where Petrus Hwzar (Petar Husar) was mentioned, and the next mentions are in a Regestum document dated 1598 of Blasius Hwszar at Lobor ("Castrum Lobor ... dominorum Joannis et Petri Keglyewich ... Blasius Hwszar") and in 1613 from Krapina ("desertum Joannes Huszar").Mladen Paver; (2015) Husari u Hrvatskoj prije 500 godina(Hussars in Croatia 500 years ago)
Croatian hussars were irregular light horsemen characteristic of the Habsburg-Ottoman border area. Croatian units were not inevitably referred as "Croats" but it was the most commonly used name. In the Thirty Years' War other designations used were "Wallachen, Zigeuner, Türken, Uskocken, Raitzen, Granitscharen, Insulaner, Wenden, Polen". Amongst the Croatian hussars could be found other ethno-political groups, such as Hungarians, Serbs, Albanians, Romanians, Poles, Vlachs and Cossacks.Filip Hren (master's thesis), (2017) Hrvatski staleži i vojna krajina u tridesetogodišnjem ratu pp. 55-60 Croatian hussars participated in the siege of Magdeburg which was led by Johann TserclaesVladimir Huzjan; (2008) Pokušaj otkrivanja nastanka i razvoja kravate kao riječi i odjevnoga predmeta(in Croatian) p. 108; Povijesni prilozi, Vol. 27 No. 34, Zagreb as well as the sieges of Heidelberg, Frankenthal, Manheim, Breitenfeld, Lützen, Nördlingen, Wittstock and Breitenfeld.Filip Hren; (master's thesis) (2017) Hrvatski staleži i vojna krajina u tridesetogodišnjem ratu, pp. 60, 72
Between 1746 and 1750, four Grenzer Hussar regiments were established: the Karlovac, Varaždin, Slavonian and Syrmia regiments. The Croatian-Slavonian Grenzer Hussars took part in the campaigns of 1793–94 against Revolutionary FranceAttila Réfi; (2012) The Croatian-Slavonic Grenz (Border) Hussars Role in the Campaign 1793–94 against the Revolutionary France or the history of the cavalry for the Wurmser Freikorps p. 199; Elte, Budapest In 1751, Maria Theresa prescribed a distinctive hussar uniform.
History
18th century European hussar formations
Hussars throughout Europe followed a different line of development than the Polish hussars. During the early decades of the 17th century, hussars in Hungary ceased to wear metal body armour; and, by 1640, most were light cavalry. It was hussars of this "light" pattern, rather than the Polish heavy hussar, that were later copied across Europe. These light hussars were ideal for reconnaissance and raiding sources of fodder and provisions in advance of the army.
In battle, they were used in such light cavalry roles as harassing enemy skirmishers, overrunning artillery positions, and pursuing fleeing troops. In many countries, the hussars and bosniaks actually retained their original Asiatic uniforms. In the late 17th and 18th centuries, many Hungarian hussars sought employment in other Central and Western European countries and became the core of similar light cavalry formations created there. Following their example, hussar regiments were introduced into at least twelve European armies by 1800.As listed through Richard Knötel's "Uniforms of the World", ISBN )-684-16304-7
Bavaria raised its first hussar regiment in 1688 and a second one in about 1700. Prussia followed suit in 1721 when Frederick the Great used hussar units extensively during the War of the Austrian Succession.Hungarian-history.hu
France established a number of hussar regiments from 1692 onward, recruiting originally from Hungary and Germany, then subsequently from German-speaking frontier regions within France itself. The first hussar regiment in the French army was the (Royal Hussars), raised from Hungarian deserters in 1692.