The Winged Hussars were the famous powerhouse heavy cavalry in Poland from the early 16th century to the late 18th century. These were the motherfuckers you didn't want to meet on the battlefield. They were first introduced as part of the army of the Hungarian King Stefan Bathory (He fought the Turks along with Vlad the Impaler and was an ancestor of the infamous blood countess and psychopath Elizabeth Bathory, so naturally he would have some of the most hardcore sons of bitches on the field.) Over the next few hundred years, these guys dominated the battlefield and crushed everyone in their path.
The Hussars were famous for wearing thick plate armor into battle while everyone was switching to lighter, more maneuverable armor and firearms. Yet the Hussars couldn't give less of a shit as they charged down musket men and pikemen alike with a 19-foot lance(kopia) which was used as their main weapon. While switching to pistols, daggers, swords, sabres and sometimes even battleaxes or warhammers when the enemy line was finally broken. Basically whatever these guys could get their hands on they would use on their enemy. But what the Hussars were most infamous for were their "wings" which was a wooden frame sporting eagle, swan, ostrich, or goose feathers. The purpose of these wings is still debated some say they were merely to strike fear in the opponent with the loud rattling sounds they made as the cavalry charged towards their next victims. Some say it was to stop their horses from being frighted by loud noises (the wings essentially made the horses deaf that's how loud they were) and some people say it actually made the Hussars more aerodynamic making them and their horses able to make quicker, more frequent charges.
The Winged Hussars have had numerous conquests on the field but none more famous than their "finest hour" during the siege of Vienna. As Vienna was besieged the Holy Roman Imperial army was trapped inside and desperately needed a relief force from their Ottoman oppressors. The Polish King, Jan Sobieski, in the span of six short days led a relief force of 3,000 Polish Hussars. At the battle of Vienna Jan Sobieski was at the head of the cavalry charge which consisted of over 18,000 horsemen, which was comprised of three groups of Polish horseman and one group from the Holy Roman Empire, the largest cavalry charge in history. The Poles utterly destroyed the enemy which outnumbered them over 10 times effectively pushing the Ottomans back and stopping them from moving further west. Their enemies just didn't realize the intensity at which the Hussars fought, these guys were absolutely insane, never backing down from a fight, and carrying a mindset that being outnumbered was as an exciting challenge rather than certain death.
Sources (Or if you want to read more about them):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_hussars
http://www.badassoftheweek.com/hussars.html
Awesome song dedicated to the Battle of Vienna:
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