Hussars

“ The Hussars, as is the custom of these troops in such emergencies, endeavoured to disperse, and each man to save himself as he best could: the rest of the troop in the camp seeing the danger of their comrades, mounted and galloped to their assistance, not in a compact body, to which the others might rally, but all singling out different antagonists; in which irregular manner of combat, the Morattoes themselves are equal to any horsemen in the world. The troop of French dragoons seeing the Hussars in flight, mounted and sallied to cover their retreat, but in regular order ”

“ The Hussars are indeed the prettiest fellows of all, and if I were fired with a martial ambition I should certainly enlist in their ranks. I know of no military personage more agreeable to the civil eye than a blue-and-yellow hussar, unless indeed it be a young officer in the Rifle Brigade. ”

“ But the French artillery knew their light fieldpieces as thoroughly as the Germans were masters of the heavy guns. In less than two minutes the artillery teams were unharnessed, the guns were in position and the gunners took their places when the Hussars were so near the voices of their leaders could be heard. Thirty seconds earlier, and the Hussars would have been in among the guns and made a notable capture. There was just time enough for a man to breathe twice, when the order came to fire. The Hussars were at less than a hundred yards' range. ”

“ He made a formal apology to his hussars, on public parade, for the injustice which he had done them; stuck in their caps feathers of goose-quill, much finer and taller than those of which they had been deprived; and permitted them again to blow the Hussar's Grand March. Ah, ha! we know best how it stood with their courage, when those hateful balls spotted their red coats! ”

“ Some of my readers may be curious to know what sort of men these Hussars were. A set of braver fellows it would be very hard to find; many of them having mounted themselves on horses which they had taken from the enemy. Their Commander [428] also was a wise, courageous virtuous man, and behaved himself in his station to the admiration of all, regulating his corps with such order as to make our enemies and the country, even fifty miles distant from us, have more fear of them than almost the whole army. In fine, he was of infinite service to the Prince, as also were his horse ”

“ Issuing from a jungle, heedless of the shells which exploded in the air or roared and hissed along the ground, and of the leaden rain that sowed the turf about them, the wild troopers of the Franche Compagnie fell sabre à la main on the 51st, who formed square in a trice, and by a withering fire swept them back in disorder. Then the Black Prussian Hussars, led by Count Redhaezl, a dashing noble, in his twentieth year, by a furious flank movement, cut them wholly to pieces. Beneath the sabres of the hussars a hundred men and horses rolled upon the earth, and many prisoners were taken. ”

“ The 19th Hussars have a white cloth, showing the letter A, interlaced with the Dannebrog, [9] below which is the White Elephant of Assaye, and around it a number of labels bearing battle honours, and the inscription, Queen Alexandra’s Own Royal Hussars. The 20th Hussars favour a crimson banner, which is embellished by a large golden wreath from which are growing roses, thistles and shamrocks. ”

“ Altogether, the Thirteenth Hussars did their duty well from the beginning to the end of their stay in Mesopotamia, which lasted for two years and a half. During that time they gained much honour at a heavy cost. Of their officers, eight were killed in action or died on service, two were disabled and taken prisoners, and fourteen were wounded. ”

“ A French division, consisting of six battalions with a regiment of hussars, was surprised by a force of similar strength under Prince Ferdinand, and by sundown the "King's" Hussars had gained for the Allies a glorious victory. It was to the 15th, and to the 15th alone, that the credit of the day was due. It was their baptême de feu, and well may they pride themselves on their conduct at Emsdorff. Their gallantry was the theme of the whole army, and the recollection of it has stood them in good stead on many a hard-fought field. ”

“ He might have been a field marshal, for the matter of that. I saw him at Oberstadt when the hussars went down to charge the enemy's light cavalry. Faith, madam, they made daylight shine through their ranks. Their curved sabres cut them up as the sickle does the corn. I saw him, the girl's father, madam, go into that affair with the hussars; but he came not out safe. It was pitiful to see his uniform all dabbled [83] with blood, as he lay on the ground, and to see his pale lips quivering, as he prayed for water. ”

“ The hussar was the typical Hungarian cavalry soldier, and, in the absence of good light cavalry in the regular armies of central and western Europe, the name and character of the hussars gradually spread into Prussia, France, &c. ”

“ Hussars led the way; then came the infantry, followed by artillery with siege howitzers, and a hundred motor cars armed with quick-firing guns. As the men moved into the main streets they broke into that stiff-legged parade step which has been the triumphal march of the German army since the days of Frederick the Great.
The townsfolk in deep dismay watched the Germans filing into the Grand'-Place, and many of them muttered under their breath, "They will never come back again; the Allies will do for them." ”

“ The Hussars drove the people forward with the flats of their swords, but sometimes, as is almost inevitably the case when men are placed in such situations, the edge was used, both by the Hussars, and, as I have heard, by the yeomen also ”

“ The scouting of the Hussars during the march was admirably done; they were ubiquitous. But want of food and water no horses can fight against, and they were but a sorry spectacle as they moved out of the zeriba to go down to the river. They reached the Nile almost useless as cavalry, and could only be employed for scouting purposes, at short distances from the camp.” [72]
During the whole march from Korti the entire scouting duty had been taken by the 19th Hussars, so that, each [254] day, they covered far more ground than the rest of the force. ”

“ I posted my Hussars in a convent, and went with the Rangers to a gentleman’s seat, to procure a sufficient number of waggons to bring off hay and straw from an adjacent farm. But a Lieutenant of Austrian Hussars, who lay concealed in a wood with thirty-six horse, having remarked the weakness of my escort, took advantage of the moment, when my people were employed in loading the waggons, and surprising my sentinel, fell suddenly upon them, and took the whole party prisoners in the farm-yard. ”

“ Again, besides the dark blue with red facings of the Prussian Infantry, and the Bavarian light blue with green facings, I could count up Hussars of all colours, red, black, and white, light blue, dark blue and gold, and the Würtemburg green. The German soldiers are certainly a magnificent body of men; and, although at the bottom of my heart my sympathies and affections are altogether with the French, despite their shortcomings, I am bound to declare the superiority of their adversaries, as men of fine physique and manly bearing, and of cool undaunted courage ”

“ They even called the White Hussars children of the devil and sons of persons whom it would be perfectly impossible to meet in decent society. Yet they were not above making their aversion fill their money-belts. The regiment possessed carbines—beautiful Martini-Henri carbines that would lob a bullet into an enemy’s camp at one thousand yards, and were even handier than the long rifle. ”

“ Two squadrons of hussars galloped against the German batteries north of Maisons de Champagne in the teeth of a fierce artillery fire. They nevertheless reached that part of the lines where the Germans still held their ground. Machine guns rattled against the cavalry, dropping many of their horses. The hussars dismounted and, with drawn sabers, made a rush for the trenches. Favored by this diversion the infantry simultaneously resumed their forward movement. The German resistance broke down, and more than 600 were taken prisoners. ”

“ The 13th Hussars formed line and charged up a hill at the Turks. The hill was too steep to get up, so when they got half-way up they did a dismounted action, and within a quarter of an hour the Turks on the top of the hill showed the white flag, and over one thousand surrendered; by late in the afternoon the 7th Cavalry Brigade had beat the whole of that force, capturing nearly three thousand prisoners. The finest piece of work the Brigade has done during the war. ”

“ The 17th Brunswick Hussars, preserving the memory of the Black Brunswickers of the Napoleonic wars, have black uniforms (no pelisse) , with gold lace and red busby-bag. The 18th and 19th (Saxon) Hussars have light blue tunics and trousers (no pelisse) , with gold and silver lace and red and crimson busby-bags respectively. No information is available as to the 20th Hussars, formed in November 1910. ”

“ Hussars are not sent on scouting expeditions, and it is rare also that they go skirmishing, as it is not fitting that such men should meet all kinds of faces; but when their turn comes, they so press on and trample that others do not spill so much blood in six days as they do on their Sunday. ”

“ A troop of hussars now dashed forward and were met by an equal number of cuirassiers; their leaders, being on the right of their troops, had not yet met face to face, but, foremost to the charge, they showed a good example, while each man fought as if he alone were responsible for the honour of his party. The right flank on either side pressing back the foe's left, they both turned round the centre, like a stiff axle—the hussars occupying the place of the cuirassiers, and the latter that of the hussars. ”

“ The consequence was, that though the hussars who led, formed up in succession as they got through, and charged their opponents with great gallantry, they effected nothing more than the dispersion of the handful of horse; for the infantry had time to form a square, and not all the efforts of our people could succeed in breaking it. The hussars rode bravely up to the bayonets, but were repulsed by a volley closely thrown in, which killed or wounded upwards of a dozen men. The remainder wheeled off, and pursuing the French cavalry, made way for a squadron of the 16th. ”

“ Hussars (Plate I., line 1, figs. 1 and 3) wear a blue jacket, shorter than the ordinary tunic, braided with yellow or gold in front, along the back seams and on the collars and cuffs. They have no shoulder-straps, facings or waist-belt. The 3rd Hussars wear, however, scarlet and the 13th white, collars. The distinctive head-dress is the cylindrical busby with an upright feather plume, lines, and a busby-bag on the right side. The pantaloons are blue, except for the 11th Hussars, who wear crimson. Double stripes on the trousers, yellow (white, 13th) . The undress cap is a red peaked cap. ”

“ Hussars, 19th (Queen Alexandra’s Own Royal) Hussars, 20th Hussars, 21st (Empress of India’s) Lancers—none of these regiments fly guidons.
Almost as attractive as the standards and guidons are the drum banners, or drum cloths, of the cavalry. 42These appointments are usually made of brilliant coloured fabric, richly embroidered in gold, and bear the devices and, at times, the battle honours peculiar to each regiment. To our minds, it is unfortunate that the material chosen in making them does not always correspond with the facings of the unit. ”

“ If there are any hussars in the quarters, they should be employed in these detachments preferably to any other troops, as they are better calculated to scour a country than heavy cavalry, or even dragoons; their horses being more in wind and less liable to be fatigued. It is, besides, the sort of war which is natural to hussars. ”

“ It was at Emsdorf that the 15th Hussars won this name, and their feat of arms on that field gained them the privilege to wear on their helmets the following inscription: "Five battalions of French defeated and taken by this Regiment with their colours and nine pieces of cannon at Emsdorf, 16th July, 1760." In 1794, at Villiers-en-Couché, they charged with the Austrian Leopold Hussars against vastly superior numbers to protect the person of the Austrian Emperor. In recognition of this the then Kaiser presented each of the eight surviving officers with a medal. ”

“ The silver trumpets used by the Drogheda Light Horse, and now in the possession of the 18th Hussars, were provided out of the proceeds of the sale of the captured horses at the Battle of Waterloo. The motto of the 18th Hussars is "Pro Rege, pro Lege, pro Patria Conamur" (We fight for King, Law, and Country) .
There is a traditional romance in the annals of the 18th Hussars which has its confirmation in modern history. A beautiful Spanish lady, finding herself a refugee with Wellington's forces in the Peninsula, fell in love with a young English officer named Harry Smith, and married him. ”

“ The 3rd (King’s Own) Hussars have silver decorated drums, and possess no drum cloths. The 4th Hussars have the Royal Arms and a number of battle honours on their yellow banner. The 5th Lancers own a neat green cloth which bears the Harp and Crown, the motto, “Quis separabit” (Who shall separate?) , a golden-brown wreath, two crossed lances, and a scroll inscribed with the words, “Fifth Royal Irish.” No battle honours appear. This cloth is shown in Fig. 13. The 6th Dragoons reveal their connection with Inniskilling by using the castle as a badge. ”