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Warfare in Medieval Poland

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There are some difficulties with establishing the time-frame of the epoch, and the territory of the state, especially in the earliest period, and in the time of Fragmentation of Poland as well. There are no doubts as to the beginning of the medieval period of Polish history – it was at the start of the reign of Mieszko I, and the first historically annotated battles with Wichmann the Younger (967) the Veleti, and the battle of Cedynia in 972. However it is much more difficult to establish the end of the era as there is no definite turning point in the history of Poland, parallel to events such as the Fall of Constantinople (1453), the discovery of America by Cristopher Columbus (1492), or the beginning of the Reformation (1517) in Western and Southern Europe. Most historians agree, that th

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There are some difficulties with establishing the time-frame of the epoch, and the territory of the state, especially in the earliest period, and in the time of Fragmentation of Poland as well. There are no doubts as to the beginning of the medieval period of Polish history – it was at the start of the reign of Mieszko I, and the first historically annotated battles with Wichmann the Younger (967) the Veleti, and the battle of Cedynia in 972. However it is much more difficult to establish the end of the era as there is no definite turning point in the history of Poland, parallel to events such as the Fall of Constantinople (1453), the discovery of America by Cristopher Columbus (1492), or the beginning of the Reformation (1517) in Western and Southern Europe. Most historians agree, that the end of the medieval age and the beginning of the Renaissance in Poland took place during the rule of the Jagiellon dynasty, probably in its waning period (times of Sigismund I the Old). It is much more difficult to establish a single unique battle of that period that can be considered a "final one." In the history of warfare in Western Europe the end of the medieval period is strictly connected to the end of chivalry, its ethos, and its method of fighting. In Poland, as well as in some other countries of Eastern Europe, knights (noblemen, the Polish szlachta) were called for war (pospolite ruszenie) until the end of the 18th century, or until the end of the (Saxon times). In such circumstances the criteria for the end of the chivalry ethos - as the end of medieval times in Poland - has to be rejected. Rather, the appropriate moment is more likely the time when heavy cavalry, with its full plate armour, was replaced with lighter formations like the husaria. The painting, in the collection of National Museum in Warsaw, known as The Battle of Orsza depicts the common fighting formations of heavy, armoured cavalry, and light hussars. The Battle of Orsha took place in the Fall of 1514. During the battle of Obertyn (1531) there was only light cavalry present on the Polish side. It is possible (but speculative) that these two dates are the border points; the last medieval battle (Orsha) and first battle of modern times (Obertyn). Polish medieval battles, fought mainly (though not only) in the territory of Poland, were distinguished by: * tactics (from the end of the 14th century) different from those of the Western Europe - with the use of natural obstacles and the manoeuvre; * spontaneity, impetuosity, and discontinuation of the chivalric fighting code (knight against knight, henchman against henchman) for, instead, the total war, which the Polish knight adopted during frequent border conflicts in the East, and wars with the Teutonic Knights, who although had only about 1200 brethren in Livonia and Prussia in the early 15th century, were able to build an army strong enough to endanger the much bigger and stronger Kingdom of Poland. Battles of the Middle Ages in Poland - not counting such battles as Battle of Legnica, Battle of Grunwald or the last Battle of Orsha - were not large fights, and most of them can be called skirmishes rather than battles. However, the Crimean Tartars and the Turks simultaneously attacked Polish-Lithuanian frontier, at one time reaching Lublin. To fight successfully this new enemy, light (or semi-light, like husaria) cavalry became the most important element of the Polish army.