POLISH INFANTRY EARLY

Although the image of a charging hussar appears almost immediately upon the thought of the Polish military in the 17th century, it should be remembered that it was supported on the battlefield by often very good infantry. These infantry mainly consisted of so-called foot units. German, Polish, so-called Hungarian as well as chosen infantry (created by Stefan Batory). The terms "German" and "Hungarian" referred primarily to the armaments of those formations modeled on those adequate to the above-mentioned countries. Regardless of the type of infantry, the main weapon was the musket, which from the second half of the 17th century was based on a berdysh serving as a forquet. During the reign of Władysław IV Waza (1632-1648), Polish infantry also received regiment cannons weighing 4 and 6 pounds. Of course, the basic form of organization was a regiment headed by a regimentar (of foreign armies) and a flag (of national armies).