Polish Armies 1596-1696

These are some great pictures I recently found:

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[img]http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/2634/wjazd5vn7nx.jpg[img]

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Originally posted by Al Jassas Janissaries with Sobieski?   Al-Jassas

Those weren't real Janissaries, but more like a guard and parade troops. For this reason men with darker facial features were recruited in this small unit.
You know Turkish fashion was quite popular in Poland in that time.

Originally posted by Władysław Warnencz Originally posted by Al Jassas Janissaries with Sobieski?   Al-Jassas   Many rich polish aristocrats and kings dressed their own polish guardsmen as janissaries on parades and feasts.They played the role of clowns rather than soldiers.

I wouldn't be so bold in that statement. They actually took part in Vienna campaign.

From Osprey book.

Small units of janissaries dressed in Turkish style, each with their own livery colours, were kept by wealthy magnates, hetmen, and the king until the end of the 18th century. The first one appears to have been raised from prisoners taken in Chocim in 1673 by Sobieski, but others were recruited from Ukrainian, Moldavian, Wallachian peasants specially selected for their dark features and long moustaches. A second company was added to Sobieski Guard  in 1681 after it deserted from the Turkish ocupied fortress Kamieniec in Podolia. Both companies numbering in total about 200 men accompanied Sobieski to Vienna and were under the command of Gorzynski.

Hi

Edited by Polish rider - 11-Aug-2008 at 06:14

Originally posted by Northman Władysław Warnencz   Be careful not to post copyright material.   All the pictures in your first post are works of the well known painter Angus McBride and if you have permission to post them, you should credit him for them and acknowledge his copyright. If you don't have permission to post them (or if they are not under any of the free licences), you should only provide access to them through links to their original address on the net.   This is  the general policy we have to adhere to, and its aimed at you and everyone else posting pictures in this thread and throughout the forum.   ~ Northman

How in God's name did I start this thread ?

Originally posted by Władysław Warnencz I found those pictures in a thread in another forum i am visiting and descided i could share them with you opening the same thread.That's the link http://forum.stirpes.net/west/7066-polish-armies-1596-1696-a.html

 

Originally posted by Władysław Warnencz And what if i just tell you i spoke to him and he permitted me to post them?

hardly possible as he died this year. not funny.

The Polish army had some interesting kit: a mixture of the latest musket-proof armor together with medieval chainmail and bows