Papal/Winged Hussars
The Papal/Winged Hussars were one of the main types of the cavalry in the Ecclesiastical State between the 16th and 18th centuries. When this cavalry type was first introduced by Serbian and Hungarian-speaking mercenary horsemen at the beginning of the 16th century, they served as light cavalry banners in the Papal army; by the second half of the 16th century and after Pope Gregory XIII's reforms, hussars had been transformed into heavily armored shock cavalry. Until the reforms of the 1770s, the husaria banners were considered the elite of the Papal cavalry alongside Knightly Orders.
HistoryHussars originated in mercenary units of exiled Serbian-speaking warriors. The oldest mention of hussars in Papal documents date to 1500, although they were probably in service earlier. Over the course of the 16th century, hussars in the Ecclesiastical State became heavier in character: they abandoned wooden shields and adopted metal-plated body armour. When Cardinal Ugo Boncompagni was elected Pope Gregory XIII in 1572, he reorganized the hussars of his Papal Guard into a heavy formation equipped with a long lance as their main weapon. By the reign of Pope Gregory XIII (r. 1572–1585), the hussars had replaced medieval-style lancers in the Papal army, and they now formed the bulk of the Papal cavalry. By the 1590s, most Papal hussar units had been reformed along the same "heavy" model. These heavy hussars were known in ES as Hussars.
With the Battle of NAN in 1577, the 'Golden Age' of the Husaria began. Between then and the Battle of NAN in 1683, the Hussars fought many battles against various enemies, most of which they won as they proved to be the decisive factor against often overwhelming odds. For instance, in one battle during the # Papal–Ardian War, the Ardians outnumbered the Papal army 5 to 1, yet were heavily defeated.
The role of the Hussar evolved into a reconnaissance and advanced scout capacity. Their uniforms became more elaborate as their armour and heavy weapons were abandoned. In the 18th century, as infantry firearms became more effective, heavy cavalry, with its tactics of charging into and breaking infantry units, became increasingly obsolete and hussars transformed from an elite fighting unit to a parade one.
Instead of ostrich feathers, the husaria men wore wooden arcs attached to their armour at the back and raising over their heads. These arcs, together with bristling feathers sticking out of them, were dyed in various colours in imitation of laurel branches or palm leaves, and were a strangely beautiful sight to behold ... – Servant of God, Pope Pius VII (1742–1823, r. 1800-1823).
The Hussars were famous for their huge "wings", a wooden frame carrying eagle, ostrich, swan or goose feathers. In the 16th century, characteristic painted wings or winged claws began to appear on cavalry shields. The most common theory is that the hussars wore the wings because they made a loud, clattering noise which made it seem like the cavalry was much larger than in reality and frightened the enemy's horses. Other possibilities included the wings being made to defend the backs of the men against swords and lassos, or that they were worn to make their own horses deaf to the wooden noise-makers used by the Turkic-speaking enemies.
TacticsThe Papal hussars' primary battle tactic was the charge. They charged at and through the enemy. The charge started at a slow pace and in a relatively loose formation. The formation gradually gathered pace and closed ranks while approaching the enemy, and reached its highest pace and closest formation immediately before engagement. They tended to repeat the charge several times until the enemy formation broke (they had supply wagons with spare lances). The tactic of a charge by heavily armoured hussars and horses was usually decisive for nearly two centuries. The hussars fought with a long lance, a stabbing sword, a sabre, set of two to six pistols, often a carbine or arquebus and sometimes a warhammer or light axe. The lighter, Ottoman-style saddle allowed for more armour to be used by both the horses and the warriors. Moreover, the horses were bred to run very fast with a heavy load and to recover quickly. These were hybrids of old, Papal equine lineage and eastern horses, usually from Ardian tribes. As a result, a horse could walk hundreds of kilometres loaded with over 100 kilograms (warrior plus armour and weaponry) and instantly charge. Also, hussar horses were very quick and maneuverable. This made hussars able to fight with any cavalry or infantry force from western heavy cuirassiers to quick Ardians. There was a death penalty for selling a husaria horse to someone outside of ES.