[History] The Hungarian Hussar – A Magyar Huszár

**Astaroth** · March 15, 2009, 01:44 PM

Original Thread: The Hungarian Hussar – A Magyar Huszár

The Hungarian Hussar – A Magyar Huszár

The Hungarian Hussar – A Magyar Huszár

King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary established a mercenary army named the black army during his reign in the 15th century. It was one of the most powerful and well equipped armies of the time. In a letter King Matthias wrote in 1481, the three orders of his army are laid out as: armored cavalry, heavy infantry and light cavalry. Matthias introduced light cavalry into his army because he recognized the fact that the traditional armored cavalry of the time was unable to effectively fight the light cavalry of the Turks. The new order of light cavalry Matthias created was modeled on the Scythian cavalry of the Magyars (ancestral Hungarians). Their uniform was decorated with many Scythian symbols that date back thousands of years before the settlement of the Hungarian people in the Carpathian Basin. The new order of light cavalry came to be known as huszár, which translates to hussar in English. The word huszár is made up of the two words: húsz meaning twenty and ár meaning price or value. Therefore, the word huszár means worth twenty. This name for the order derives from the common understanding that every hussar could take the life of twenty enemy soldiers in battle. Essentially, the word refers to the fact that every hussar was considered to have the value of twenty other soldiers because of its immense success on the battlefield.
An interesting battle Matthias fought against the Polish king, Casimir IV in 1474 sheds light on the basis for the hussar’s name. The Polish king invaded Hungary with a force of 40000 men. King Matthias was only able to mobilize 7000 of his army. To avoid defeat, Matthias settled in the castle of Bororszló while he ordered his hussars to hide in the surrounding villages. The Polish army surrounded and besieged the castle. The Hungarian hussars than attacked the unsuspecting Polish army. Over the course of three moths and numerous surprise attacks conducted by the Hungarian hussars, the Polish army deteriorated. In the end, King Casimir IV begged for peace from King Matthias.

The Hungarian hussar was first seen outside of Hungary as part of the Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand I’s army in his campaign in Schmalkaden between 1546-47. In total, 1200 hussars accompanied the emperor’s army. Enemy troops were frightened by the colorful uniforms of the Hungarian hussars and the fearless manner in which they engaged them time and time again. The hussars were known to be on the front lines of attacks and showed no hesitation to charge into even the densest enemy defenses.

Fear was as much of an essential weaponry of the Hungarian hussar as the pike and the sword. All officers were noble, but any soldier could become an officer and subsequently noble through heroic service.

During the Ottoman expansion into Hungary, the Hussars were involved in a constant war with the Turks even in times of peace between Vienna and Constantinople. Turkish raiders often ventured over the border to attack villages and other non-fortified but populated areas. The hussars were the patriotic soldiers who refused to stand by and let the Turks pillage their country while Vienna did nothing. During these constant rivalries between Hungarian hussars and Turkish invaders, a tradition developed involving a duel between high ranking soldiers from each side. The winner took the horse and belongings of his defeated opponent.

Rules regarding the conduct of hussars were strictly enforced. Each hussar regiment formulated a list of rules, most of which was universal among all hussar regiments. Hussars were not allowed to steal anything from people who did not take part in war. Rape was punished with beheading, other serious violations resulted in immediate discharge from service and minor disobedience was punished with reduction in pay.

Hussar regiments were established by well known nobles at the request of the king or emperor. Financing of the regiments came directly from the treasury and the noble in charge of the regiment became the owner. He was also responsible for appointing a colonel to head the regiment into battle, as well as to oversee training.
In the 17th century, the weaponry of the Hungarian hussars was changed from pikes and swords to sabers (curved swords) and carbines (sawed off muskets).

During the Kuruc Rebellion, hussars formed a large portion of the revolutionary army lead by II Rákoczi Ferenc (Francis II Rakoczi), prince of Transylvania. The successful liberation of the Hungarian kingdom from Hagsburg rule was ended with the Treaty of Szatmár in 1711.

Shortly after the end of the rebellion, many Hungarian hussars migrated to America and volunteered to take part in the American war of independence.

Spoiler for Hungarian Hussars in America:

In the later part of the 18th century, many Hungarian hussar regiments were established. These regiments took part in conflicts all over Europe, namely in Prussia, Poland, Germany, Italy, France and Spain. By this time, the Hungarian hussars were well known and their fearless nature was greatly respected. It is also in this time that many nations began to imitate the hussar in their own army. Many sent military officials into Hungary to learn the ways of the hussar and attempt to comprehend what it is that makes a hussar so effective in battle.

In the course of the 1787 campaign against the Ottoman Empire, the 4th Hussar regiment met the Turkish cavalry in battle and a hussar by the name of Gáspár, challenged the Turks to a duel to decide the outcome of the fight. A huge Turkish horseman accepted the challenge and actually broke the hussar’s sword in half in the first charge. The hussar jumped on the Turk, throwing him onto the ground and killed him with his bare hands. Upon witnessing this, the emperor Joseph II awarded the hussar a medal and 24 gold for his exceptional bravery. In the course of the campaign, the hussar regiment sustained only 40 deaths and earned 7 golden and 59 silver medals of valor.

Napoleonic Wars

Hungarian hussars proved to be highly significant in the battles fought by Austria against the world-conquering French general, Napoleon Bonaparte. One particular hussar stands out from all other war-heroes of the time. He was named Simonyi József, but he is remembered as Simonyi óbester (german Oberst = colonel). He joined the 4th hussar regiment at the age of 16 and shortly after received a silver medal of valor. Throughout his life, he was the most exceptional soldier in the entire Austrian army. For this, he was given numerous awards from every prestigious order, including the Order of Maria Theresa. He became colonel of the 4th hussar regiment and served as such until the age of 45.

In 1790, emperor Leopold II recognized Hungary’s Diet as the administrative leadership in Hungary. The official language of education was restored to Hungarian and Protestants were granted freedom to practice their religion. This marked the beginning of “the road to independence” in Hungary. However, before the actual liberation of Hungary took place, the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 erupted on March 15. Hungarian hussars were the most common soldiers of the revolutionary army and thanks to their superb performance against Austrian infantry, Hungary was liberated by force. The Austrians were defeated and forced to withdraw. Unfortunately, Russia sent an overwhelmingly large army to reinforce Austria. This resulted in the end of Hungarian revolution on August 13, 1849.

The continuous resistance to assimilate into the Austrian culture resulted in the Austro-Hungarian compromise of 1867. According to which, a dual monarchy replaced the tyrannical Austrian monarchy. With Buda having equal authority as Vienna, an independent Hungarian army was established and named Honvédség. The Hungarian hussar became the core of the Hungarian armed forces and finally received the recognition it deserved. The military system was reformed, including the recruitment process of hussar regiments. It was no longer done by nobles. Instead, a government appointed high ranking officer (usually a colonel) was responsible for recruitment and maintenance of a hussar regiment.

During World War I, hussars were especially useful in scouting on the Eastern front, commonly behind enemy lines. The defeat of Russia in the course of the war was largely due to the information provided by Hungarian hussar scouts and their ability to change the tides of a battle with their swift and deadly charges. World War I was the last major conflict in which Hungarian hussars took part in. However, they continued to serve as defensive forces for decades.

Today, the Hungarian hussar is an iconic form of cavalry and warfare in general. Masters of horsemanship, the hussars were equally respected and feared well beyond their homeland. The Hungarian hussar will continue to be an essential part of Hungarian culture and history. It is highly recommended for students of history and war to be familiar with the history of the original hussars and their highly significant role in history.

Spoiler for Modern Hungarian Hussar Uniform:

Disclaimer

This article contains interpretations of history that are based on facts that can be found in the sources listed below and is subject to my personal insights and conclusions. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you use it only as a guide to your own research. However, the article is articulated in my own words unless specified as a direct quotation from a source. Do not plagiarize my work under any circumstance and while I do not hold legal ownership of the material present, your academic integrity rests on the originality of your own work.

Spoiler for Sources:

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