Winged hussar

The Polish Hussars (/həˈzɑːr/, /həˈsɑːr/, or /hʊˈzɑːr/; Polish: Husaria [xuˈsari.a]), or Winged Hussars, were one of the main types of the cavalry in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth between the 16th and 18th centuries. Modeled on the Hungarian Hussars, the early hussars were light cavalry of exiled Serbian warriors; by the second half of the 16th century and after Stephen Báthory's reforms, hussars transformed into a heavily armored shock cavalry. Until the reforms of the 1770s, the husaria banners were considered the elite of the Polish cavalry.

Hussars originated in mercenary units of exiled Serbian warriors. Serbian lancers, also called Racowie, were used to counter Ottoman sipahi and deli cavalry. The oldest mention of hussars in Polish documents date to 1500, although they were probably in service earlier. In the 15th century, light hussars based on those of Hungarian King Mathias Corvinus were adopted by some European armies to provide light, expendable cavalry units. The Polish Hussars were originally based on the Hungarian Hussars. The development of light cavalry in the Polish army in the 16th century was partly modeled after the Serbian light cavalry that appeared in Corvinus' army.

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