7YW Austrian/Prussian Hussars (troopers)

The hussars of the Seven Years’ War were among the most colourful and effective light cavalry in Europe. Originally developed in Hungary, the hussar tradition was adopted by the armies of the Habsburg Empire and later copied by many other European powers, including Prussia. Fast moving, aggressive and highly skilled horsemen, hussars were used for scouting, raiding, screening army movements, pursuing defeated enemies and attacking isolated outposts and supply columns. Their daring exploits became legendary during the wars of the 18th century.

The Austrian hussars were largely recruited from the Hungarian lands of the Habsburg Empire and retained much of their distinctive Hungarian dress and cavalry culture. Wearing braided dolmans, fur pelisses and tall fur busbies, they brought an exotic eastern flair to European battlefields. During the Seven Years’ War Austria maintained numerous hussar regiments, each typically organised into several squadrons and fielding hundreds of mounted troopers. Their speed, flexibility and battlefield initiative made them some of the finest light cavalry of the age.

Prussia, recognising the effectiveness of the Hungarian hussars, created its own hussar regiments modelled closely upon the Austrian example. By the middle of the 18th century Austrian and Prussian hussars often wore very similar uniforms, differing mainly in regimental colours and insignia such as sabretache emblems and royal cyphers. For this reason the figures in this set have been intentionally designed without specific markings, allowing them to be painted and used as either Austrian or Prussian hussars for the Seven Years’ War and related conflicts.

Digitial roughs, 4 troopers.

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