uhlan
Sign in to savethumb|Polish uhlans from the army of the Duchy of Warsaw, 1807–1815, [[January Suchodolski painting]] Uhlan (; ; ; ; ) is a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. The uhlans started with the tartars in the Lithuanian irregular cavalry, that were later also adopted by other countries during the 18th century, including Poland, France, Russia, Prussia, Saxony, and Austria. The term "lancer" was often used interchangeably with "uhlan"; the lancer regiments later formed for the British Army were directly inspired by the uhlans of other armies (even though they were never known by that
Article
24 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- History
- Origins
- Electorate of Saxony
- 18th century
- 19th century
- World War I
- German uhlans
- Austrian uhlans
- Polish uhlans
- Russian uhlans
- Interwar
- World War II
- Modern
- In popular culture
- Video games
- Literature and film
- Culture
- Sports and organisations
- See also
- References
- Bibliography
- Further reading
- External links
thumb|Polish uhlans from the army of the Duchy of Warsaw, 1807–1815, [[January Suchodolski painting]] Uhlan (; ; ; ; ) is a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. The uhlans started with the tartars in the Lithuanian irregular cavalry, that were later also adopted by other countries during the 18th century, including Poland, France, Russia, Prussia, Saxony, and Austria. The term "lancer" was often used interchangeably with "uhlan"; the lancer regiments later formed for the British Army were directly inspired by the uhlans of other armies (even though they were never known by that name).
Uhlans traditionally wore a double-breasted short-tailed jacket with a coloured plastron panel at the front, a coloured sash, and a square-topped Polish lancer cap (, also called ). This cap or cavalry helmet was derived from a traditional Polish cap design, formalised and stylised for military use. Their lances were traditionally topped with a small, swallow-tailed flag (pennon) just below the spearhead.