Re: Polish panache/elan

[army]

Posted by Ian Edwards <iedwards@home.com> on Wed, 18 Oct 2000 15:53:40 -0600
Tell me more about the Polish Winged Hussars, please. The only unit
I‘ve ever heard about was The Polish Underground Balloon Corps. :
dave wrote:
>
> This general made an interesting observation. It doesn‘t really matter
> though does it? Even as an Infanteer I‘ve always admired the dash and elan
> of the Cavalry, especially the British. Just read a little on the famous
> Polish Winged Hussars. Wow! Now there is panashe!.
>
> Dave Willard
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mike Oleary"
> To:
> Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 11:15 PM
> Subject: cavalry panache, was Re: SALH
>
> > "Why is it my cavalry officers exude panache, but cannot spell it?" -
> > attributed to BGen Reay while Commander of 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade
> > Group
> >
> > Mike
> >
> > The Regimental Rogue
> > http://regimentalrogue.tripod.com
> > 2001 Canadian Military History Calendar
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From:
> > To:
> > Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 9:26 PM
> > Subject: Re: SALH
> >
> >
> > > Ian,
> > > Cavalry is a state of mind, rather than being tied to equines.
> >
> > > This includes taking on a measure of the arrogance which the French
> have
> > a
> > > much nicer-sounding term for...elan‘, and a touch of the pompous, as
> > > illustrated by George Armstrong Custer, Jeb Stuart, Lords Cardigan and
> > > Raglan, and Georgie Patton Jr and the III.
> > > Dave Hall
> >
> > --------------------------------------------------------
> > NOTE: To remove yourself from this list, send a message
> > to majordomo@cipherlogic.on.ca from the account you wish
> > to remove, with the line "unsubscribe army" in the
> > message body.
>
> --------------------------------------------------------
> NOTE: To remove yourself from this list, send a message
> to majordomo@cipherlogic.on.ca from the account you wish
> to remove, with the line "unsubscribe army" in the
> message body.
--------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: To remove yourself from this list, send a message
to majordomo@cipherlogic.on.ca from the account you wish
to remove, with the line "unsubscribe army" in the
message body.

 

[army]

Posted by "dave" <davidwillard@home.com> on Wed, 18 Oct 2000 20:43:26 -0400
Polish Winged Hussars
Here is just a little.
The era is when the muslims were at the gates of Vienna. The Polish Winged
Hussars got their name from the contraption they wore off the back of their
body armour. This device consisted of two slats of wood hinged together
which went up their backs and above their heads and then protuded out much
like a set of wings. The slats were quite narrow and had eagle feathers
attached to them. When in a skirmism line and breaking into a trot, the wind
would catch the feathers which caused a whirring sound coupled with the
hinged slats clapping back and forth. Of course as the speed increased when
they broke into a gallop the eerie sounds created by the combined whirring
feathers, clapping slats, thundering hooves and screams of the cavalrymen
instilled a fear into the enemy that set them up for the kill. Talk about
phsycological warfare! They are credited with turning back the these Muslim
hordes at Vienna. Other features of these Winged Hussars were brass helmets,
saddle pommels of leopard skin and leg armour. Into the fray the nobles
would form the first line, squires and gentlemen next, followed by the rank
and file. The Polish Winged Hussars never ever retreated. For a quick "fast
forward" you may recall from WWII readings or films the invasion of Poland
by the Nazis. The Poles could not and would not believe the Germans had the
kind of armour reported due to limitations put upon them as a result of WWI.
When Nazi armour rolled across the border into Poland the troops were told
these so called tanks were just cardboard cutouts meant to fool an enemy.
The Polish Winged Hussars charged these tanks on horseback and of course
were cut to pieces. This action caused much sadness with the Germans
themselves. During the glorious days of mounted cavalry the Polish Winged
Hussars were the best in Europe which I assume means the best in the world
for that era. There is precious little information available on these
beautiful soldiers but if you search Polish Winged Hussars on the net you
will find some modelling information and a few illustrations.
Dave Willard
P.S. Please don‘t draw any comparisons between this story and my tale of
Snow Snakes, this is true and not a tall tale.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ian Edwards"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2000 5:53 PM
Subject: Re: Polish panache/elan
> Tell me more about the Polish Winged Hussars, please. The only unit
> I‘ve ever heard about was The Polish Underground Balloon Corps. :
>
> dave wrote:
> >
> > This general made an interesting observation. It doesn‘t really matter
> > though does it? Even as an Infanteer I‘ve always admired the dash and
elan
> > of the Cavalry, especially the British. Just read a little on the famous
> > Polish Winged Hussars. Wow! Now there is panashe!.
> >
> > Dave Willard
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Mike Oleary"
> > To:
> > Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 11:15 PM
> > Subject: cavalry panache, was Re: SALH
> >
> > > "Why is it my cavalry officers exude panache, but cannot spell it?" -
> > > attributed to BGen Reay while Commander of 1 Canadian Mechanized
Brigade
> > > Group
> > >
> > > Mike
> > >
> > > The Regimental Rogue
> > > http://regimentalrogue.tripod.com
> > > 2001 Canadian Military History Calendar
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From:
> > > To:
> > > Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 9:26 PM
> > > Subject: Re: SALH
> > >
> > >
> > > > Ian,
> > > > Cavalry is a state of mind, rather than being tied to equines.
> > >
> > > > This includes taking on a measure of the arrogance which the French
> > have
> > > a
> > > > much nicer-sounding term for...elan‘, and a touch of the pompous,
as
> > > > illustrated by George Armstrong Custer, Jeb Stuart, Lords Cardigan
and
> > > > Raglan, and Georgie Patton Jr and the III.
> > > > Dave Hall
> > >
> > > --------------------------------------------------------
> > > NOTE: To remove yourself from this list, send a message
> > > to majordomo@cipherlogic.on.ca from the account you wish
> > > to remove, with the line "unsubscribe army" in the
> > > message body.
> >
> > --------------------------------------------------------
> > NOTE: To remove yourself from this list, send a message
> > to majordomo@cipherlogic.on.ca from the account you wish
> > to remove, with the line "unsubscribe army" in the
> > message body.
> --------------------------------------------------------
> NOTE: To remove yourself from this list, send a message
> to majordomo@cipherlogic.on.ca from the account you wish
> to remove, with the line "unsubscribe army" in the
> message body.
--------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: To remove yourself from this list, send a message
to majordomo@cipherlogic.on.ca from the account you wish
to remove, with the line "unsubscribe army" in the
message body.