"The Empire's Last Gasp":
The Siege of Vienna

The Allies:
Poles

by Steve Phenow

The Polish kingdom at this time was actually a dual one of Poland and Lithuania. The Polish King had control both armies the in time of the war. The Polish Army was composed of the Winged Hussar horse, Pancerny, (Armored horse) and the Kwarciany, the light horse. The infantry was levied from native Poles, (often called haiduk from the Hungarian style of dress they wore ,or the wybraniecka). The Lithuanian army was made up of German veterans of the 30 years war, Hungarians, native Lithuanian horse, divided into Hussars, Reiters or Rajtars, and Lithuanian Tartars.

The Foreign Army made up the second largest contingent of the Polish forces. This name is rather misleading, as it included the Kings guard, his infantry, the dragoons and the Polish artillery. It also included the allies: Cossacks, Tartars, Wallachians and the Papal mercenaries. Because the organization of this army was, for the most part, western in style, the name was used. This army drew its members from the small King's standing army or guard, as well as, volunteers to the cause, a levy from one out of every twelve peasants. The Allies were Zaporzhian Cossacks, now back into the fold after their bloody rebellion in the 1640s and Tartar tribes that had settled on the outskirts of Lithuania. Uniforms. The concept of uniforms in the Polish army was non existent except in the Foreign Army. The Poles pretty much wore what they liked, usually they were long coats over shirts and breeches. Colors would be taken from the livery of the district they were raised, but in practice during the campaign, they wore pretty much what they could get. Dalerac in his memoirs disclosed that the Polish foot was "pitiful, more dilapidated. . .some have bonnets, other hats: some have cloaks, others not at all."

He went to compliment their hardiness and courage: "These solders. . . are nevertheless of an inconceivable solidity, that I would call bravery in reasonable men. They resist all discomforts, nudity, hunger, wounds, with a heroic steadfastness; they bear all burdens of war, and endure all its dangers cheerfully." This was the material Sobieski brought to oppose the Turkish invader.

The Hussars:

The famous noble Winged Hussars were on the decline, yet they still had their reputation to sustain them. Each hussar wore a thigh length coat of mail, over a chamois or buff coat. A breastplate was buckled over this. Worn as sort of early pelisse, was an animal skin of leopard or tiger or wolf. Heavy Boots, metal gauntlets and the szyszac (lobster pot helmet) completed the Hussar armor. He got his name from the two or one wooden frames strapped to his back, holding eagle feathers. This was a psychological weapon, not only did it make the hussars appear fierce and taller during their charge, much like crested Greek Hoplites, but the feathers themselves made a characteristic sound during movement, a sort of whir, that when amplified by the thousands of wings, could actually spook horses that were unused to the sound. Finely embroidered horse clothes, with highly decorated saddlery gave the horseman a gaudy appearance.

The hussar went to war well armed as well as armored. They carried a lance 15 feet in length - each lance bore it's owner's name and if it was found abandoned and unbroken on the field, the hussar had to leave his unit in disgrace. The hussars' second weapon was the long sword carried on the left, under the knee, while also slung on the left was a saber. By this time, the hussar was also carrying pistols, a pair in holsters strapped to the saddle. The hussar charged at the gallop, while most western cavalry was charging at the trot.

Nevertheless, the corps was not at its best. At the Dornbach plain on the allied right, the hussars were checked by charging Turkish Timarot Spahis and forced to retire behind the steady German mercenaries to rally. The Spahis were not even from the household cavalry, but were feudal units thrown in to steam the Polish advance. Only after the Spahis were exhausted were the Hussars with the aid of Pancerni, able to drive them off.

The Pancerni

Originally created for reconnaissance duties for the hussars, these were the second line of Polish horse, equivalent to men at arms of the western feudal period. Each horseman was armed with a saber and bow. By this time pistols were beginning to be carried. A lance was often used, it was shorter than the hussar's. For armor, he had a mail coat that reached down to the thighs, as well as the traditional round metal helmet and its avientail of mail. A shield called the kalkan woven of reeds had been carried, but it was no longer needed. Pancerni made up the bulk of the Polish horse at Vienna.

The Dragoons

Dragoons in Polish service were not like other western units, as they were mounted on horses, not hacks, or broken down nags. They could if needed, charge and fight on horseback. Their uniforms were red knee length coats with various colored facings.

The front of the coat was turned back at the corners, revealing the lining. Breeches and boots with a fur cap completed the costume. They were usually armed with matchlock muskets, although the snaphance was beginning to make it appearance and a sword "...a cross between a sabre and broadsword." (Fredro).

The Infantry

Polish infantry wore a fur cap and the zupan -the ankle length long coat of the East. They sometimes wore the kontusz - a shorter short sleeved thigh high coat over it. This would be dyed in the regimental color, if any. Blue, dark blue, blue-grey all seemed to be common Polish uniform colors. Buff coats, as in the English civil war, were also common.

The regiments reduced the number of pikemen in a Pulk to less than 10%, with the pike reduced to the size of the Swedes 8-10 feet. The musketeers carried the beridish axe, instead of musket rest, using the axe to support the weapon, then used the axe in melee, causing terrible wounds. "German" regiments would wear the round hat, western coat, breeches, socks and shoes. Coats were usually dark blue. They would be armed the same as their imperialist allies. However this was is in the process of transition just before the beginning of the campaign, as the king wished all his infantry to dress the same, and had issued orders for the "German" regiments to don the long zupan. The number of units that did for the campaign are unknown. Probably not many.

The King's Guard: The Janissaries

The Polish King had 200 Janissaries in his bodyguard. They were prisoners and deserters from the Turkish fortress at Kamieniec. They wore a green or blue coat, in characteristic Janissary dress.

The Lifeguard

King's guard infantry was a "German" dressed regiment 1200 strong. At least 1/3rd was pike, the rest musketeers. The uniform was dark blue with yellow facings. Sobieski also formed a Queen's guard unit. These would be the same except in green faced white uniforms.

King's Dragoons

The King's Dragoons consisted of two regiments. First wore Red coats lined yellow. The second was raised for the Queen and was commanded by her brother. Uniform was blue coats lined yellow.

The King's Drabant-Reiters

The Drabants were axe bearing bodyguard formed from gentlemen of the Polish court. The reiters were a "German" regiment of troopers devoted to the king. Together they made up a unit 1,000 strong. It is doubtful that they were still able to caracole at this late date. They charged with the winged hussars in the second phase of the battle and their commander fell, one of few high ranking Poles killed in the battle. Uniform at this time was buff coat with round plumed hat, heavy boots, white sash. They carried two pistols, with a third in the boot. They sound much like the Royalist Cavaliers from the ECW.

The Artillery

While the Polish artillery had greatly improved since the encounters with the Swedes the Cossack wars had taken their toll in guns and gunners. Sobieski was in such a hurry to march, and eager to stay mobile, that he left his large pieces in forts and took 24-28 3-4# guns with him for the campaign. The Artillery wore a cap, yellow zupans, with blue kontuszes over them.

The Tartars

The Tartars were still armed as their ancestors the Mongols. Wearing heavy sheepskin coats, boots, and the traditional fur cap, they carried a recurve bow and a saber, riding the hardy steppe horse. They usually dragged 3-4 remounts along. Their nobles dressed as Pancerni and rode an Arabian/Mongol mix breed of horse. Tartars preferred to fight from a distance, their traditional form of firing and evading was called "The dance of the Tartars." The Lithuanian Army also army used Tartars, but these had long been settled in the area around Wilno and allowed to intermarry with the local populace. Each tribe owed military service for the right to live on their land. Apparently by this time they spoke Polish. "Wild" Tartars from outside the Ukraine could also hired as mercenaries.

The Cossacks

The Zaporozhians Cossacks were more a state of mind, then a race of people. They were made up of all sort of nationalities, predominantly Kipchak and Cicassians which settled in the Ukraine on islands in Dnieper river. The Cossack life style was one of pillage and debauchery, it's no wonder there were applicants from as far South as Italy to join! Cossack women were known for their promiscuity, which the Turks considered their greatest attribute. Life with the Cossacks sounds like one long party in a large commune. When the Cossacks went to war, things changed. The Cossack was kept in his place by firm discipline. Women were banned, no alcohol was carried by the troops. Any disobedient solider was drowned at once in the nearest river.

The Poles tolerated them, since the raiding Tartars had to cross their lands, and the Cossacks could make such expeditions costly for the raiders. As the disruptions and raids in the Ukraine worsened the Poles intervened, attempting to "register" known Cossacks and regulate their existence. This was more than the freedom loving Cossacks would tolerate, and they broke out in open rebellion. From 1648-54 there were a series of bloody battles, in 1652, The Polish "Quarter" army was massacred by an alliance of Tartars and Cossacks. An uneasy peace followed in 1654, as the Muscovites in Russia were slowly encroaching on the Zaporozhians' lands. More Cossacks were moving to the Don area, where they would be safe from the Poles, giving rise to the famous Don Cossacks of the 18-19th centuries.

Cossacks wore the long coat, boots, and the fur lined melon hat. Often this hat came to a peak (the Santa Claus cap). Red is the color most often mentioned referring to the Zaporozhians.

Cossacks were usually infantry, not cavalry as the Don brethren, armed with pikes, flails, axes (berdish) and muskets. They preferred muskets, but had trouble acquiring them. By raiding neighboring areas especially Turkish, they would build up their armory with captured weaponry.

Cossacks in Polish service were organized in Pulks (regiments). They are often described wearing blue-grey coats.

Polish Organization

The cavalry was organized in "choragiews" or squadrons of 50-75 troopers. Light horse would double this number. By this time the Polish horse was being reorganized as western regiments. These numbered between 500-1,000 men per regiment. Dragoons numbered 600 troopers. The infantry that was once 1200 strong per regiment or Pulk was scaled down to 400, almost the strength of a battalion. The King's Lifeguard apparently kept the old organization, 1200 is the number mentioned during the campaign.

The Tartars

Tartars in Polish service used the choragiew as their basic organization. Those of the Khan kept to the decimal system.

The Cossacks

The Cossacks used their own organization, which the Poles recognized. The regiments were territorial, divided into sotnias (hundreds). A sotnia could number anywhere between 100-300 men. Some regiments could contain up 3,000 men, if recruitment was good.

The Polish army at Vienna consisted of:

    4,000 Hussars
    16,000 Pancernes
    4,000 Tartars
    9,000 Infantry
    3,000 Dragoons
    4,000 Cossocks

The Lithuanian contingent consisted of:

    1,000 Hussars
    3,000 Rajtars
    4,500 Tartars
    1,500 Dragoons
    4,400 German Infantry
    600 Hungarian Infantry

The army was under the command of the king, but once the battle began the Grand General Jablonowski, took nominal command while the king took command of the Allied army. Sobeiski realised that the broken terrain of woods and gullies around the Kahlenberg was not conducive to mounted warfare. He therefore reinforced the left and center "divisions" of the Army with large contingents of foot. The right division, the one that would have to advance across the Dornbach plain was the horse wing, all the Polish noble cavalry, as well as 2 regiments of Austrian cuirassiers, were in the first line. The Lithuanian hussars, and "German" reiters 3,500 strong under Lubomirski were not present, being stationed on the left of the army with the Austrians.

The Winged Hussars advanced against the mass of Turkish horse assembling to block their way. Something went wrong with the advance, The Austrians retreated, and the hussars were driven back. They were forced to rally behind "German" infantry, and Papal mercenaries in the second line. The Turks were unable to break the second line of foot, although they made repeated charges all afternoon. Seeing them tiring, Sobeiski sent reiters to turn and occupy the Turkish left. Then in what was called the greatest cavalry melee in the 17th century, over 14,000 Polish cavalry charged approx 16,000 Turkish horse and foot. The Turks finally broke, and Sobeiski, launched his reserve: 8,000 Pancerni and 2,000 Cossacks in what was called the "Mongolian" pursuit.

Thousands of Turks were butchered, armor and weapons collected in large piles. After this battle, many Cossacks and Tartars took on a definite "Turkish" look, due to wearing the captured armor and clothes of their enemy.

More Siege of Vienna

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