Welcome to our History series! Today we will be talking about the Winged Hussars, a Polish troop of soldiers able to invoke fear equal to the sight of Medusa's head!
This episode starts in 1503. Poland decides that light cavalry isn't sufficient for their army, so they developed a heavy cavalry troop called the Winged Hussars. The Winged Hussars developed this name because of their getup, consisting of plate armor and a pair of silver wings on the back sections of their armor, specifically to assert themselves as Poland's heavy cavalry and to intimidate enemies. The Winged Hussars, after a 100-year period, participated in the Battle of Kircholm and won alongside Lithuania. They then did the exact same thing at the Battle of Klushino, then proceeded to do that one more time at the battle of Khotyn. Their final victory was during the Siege of Vienna, as part of a relief force for Vienna, successfully managing to hold back the Ottoman empire. They lost only once at the Battle of Kliszów, then eventually stopped fighting and participated at ceremonies thereafter. They eventually disbanded as of 1776, keeping their honor intact as one of the most fierce and successful troops in Europe.
