The winged charge

Hi, this is Our Bloody History, where we look at fascinating historical battles and conflicts that have shaped the present.

Here’s today's story:

The terrifying charge of the Polish winged hussars against the Swedes this week, 417 years ago, on 27 September 1605, which decided the Battle of Kircholm in twenty minutes.

Let's go.

We're in the thick of the Polish–Swedish War, a continuous struggle for the territories of Estonia and Livonia (present-day areas of northern Latvia and southern Estonia). On one hand we've got the absolutist hereditary monarchy of Protestant Sweden, and on the other, an elective constitutional republic-kingdom of Catholic Poland and Lithuania known as the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Both sides are going hard, driven by territorial ambition dangerously fuelled by differences in ideology, culture and religion. Wait, aren't all wars kinda like that?

On 27 September 1605, our day in history this week, the Commonwealth and Swedish forces meet near the small town of Kircholm (now Salaspils in Latvia) for a bit of a clash. With more than 10,000 troops, the Swedes vastly outnumber the Commonwealth forces by 3-4 times.

But the Swedes don't have these guys:

The famed Polish hussars, aka the winged hussars. 

The winged hussars are elite heavy calvary from Poland with very long, unique lances. Designed to be hollow in the centre, the revolutionary design allows the hussars to carry lighter but much longer lances. At over 6m long, the hussars have the ability to absolutely smash enemy pikeman whose weapons only average about 5m. Dang and I thought length doesn't matter? 

Crazy stuff.

And if that's not enough to freak people out, let's go to their wardrobe. Rising from their backs, fastened to wooden slats, are a pair of great feathered wings. In addition to this, each hussar adorns himself with an eccentric array of skins: bear, lion, wolf, whatever exotic animal tickles his fancy (and is available). Some even paint their horses with red dye. Every battle is halloween for these guys. But it works. At full charge, the winged hussars resemble an ungodly horde of six legged winged creatures, half-human half-monster. It's a terrifying sight to behold if you're on the front line being charged down. No thanks.

Back to the battle.

Both sides are on opposing hills. But no one wants to give up the high ground. Jan Karol Chodkiewicz, commander of the Commonwealth forces, tries to lure the Swedes to come down by sending light calvary to skirmish along the front lines. But Charles IX of Sweden ain't budging. So Janny Boy gets clever and orders his troops to feign retreat. Charles sees the Commonwealth forces withdrawing and takes the bait by ordering his troops to advance. Too soon, mate.

Nek minnit the winged hussars are racing down the hill, full-tilt, towards the Swedish right and left flanks.

To inexperienced eyes the charging hussars would have looked like a disorganised flock of birds flying aimlessly. This is intentional. The more spread out and chaotic their ranks, the harder they are to aim at. But at the very last moment, mere seconds before the lines clash, the hussars merge into a single tight formation, their horses joined at the shoulder. From chaos to order in seconds, all at dizzying speed. Years of training executed to perfection. This is what makes the hussars so deadly. It's more than just feathers and furs.

The hussars explode into the front rows with a sickening crunch, throwing the Swedish infantry into complete disarray. The twenty foot lances batter aside the hedge of pikes with ease and skewer the vulnerable Swedes.

It's complete carnage.

Charles sends in his reserve calvary, but it's too late. Another unit of reserve hussars comes crashing in.

Within twenty minutes it's all over.

The Swedish forces are completely routed and begin to flee.

A decisive victory for the feathered riders of legend.

3 quick facts:

• The slaughter at Kircholm is so dreadful that of the nearly 14,000 troops that the Swedes put on the field, 9,000 are killed and the rest scattered or captured. On the other side, the Polish and Lithuanians lose a mere 100 men with some 200 wounded. Chodkiewicz writes in his report to the king: “a heavy loss for the size of Your Majesty’s army, but a small one for the greatness of the enemy.”

• Despite the success at Kircholm, the Polish–Swedish War does not end. The Swedes are driven out of Livonia for a time but the struggle between the two nations continues well into the 17th century.

• The winged hussars are a formidable force between the 16th and 17th centuries. However, as battle tactics began to change in the 18th century with the use of anti-cavalry solutions, combined with a slumping Polish economy, their reputation begins to suffer and the quality of the soldiers seeking to join them decreases. The winged hussars officially cease to exist in 1776 by decree of the Polish parliament.

Other conflicts that happened this week:

• 26 September 1423: A French army defeats the English at the Battle of La Brossinière during the Hundred Years' War.

• 27 September 1669: The Venetians surrender the fortress of Candia to the Ottomans, thus ending the 21-year-long Siege of Candia.

• 28 September 48 BC: Pompey disembarks at Pelusium upon arriving in Egypt and is assassinated by order of King Ptolemy XIII.

• 29 September 1567: Protestant coup officials in Nîmes massacre Catholic priests in an event now known as the Michelade during the French War of Religion.

• 30 September 737: The Türgesh drive back an Umayyad invasion of Khuttal and capture their baggage train in the Battle of the Baggage.

• 1 October 331 BC: Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela.

• 2 October 1937: Dictator Rafael Trujillo orders the execution of Haitians living in the border region of the Dominican Republic. The Parsley massacre kills between 17,000-35,000 Haitians.

A historical quote about historical things:

See ya next week!

DisclaimerYou are reading my abstractions based on the abstractions of others. History is not always an accurate map of what really happened. The map is not the territory. Reality can be very different. We are like blind people groping an elephant, describing what we feel. It always pays to do your own research and ask questions.