Hakkapeliitta
Hakkapeliitta (Finnish pl. hakkapeliitat) is a historiographical term used for a Finnish light cavalryman in the service of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden during the Thirty Years' War (1618 to 1648). Hakkapeliitta is a 19th-century Finnish modification of a contemporary name given by foreigners in the Holy Roman Empire and variously spelled as Hackapelit, Hackapelite, Hackapell, Haccapelit, or Haccapelite. These terms were based on a Finnish battle cry hakkaa päälle (English: strike upon [them]; Swedish: hacka på), commonly translated as "Cut them down!"
The hakkapeliitta-style cavalry was first used during the
The Finnish military march Hakkapeliittain Marssi is named after hakkapeliittas.
Tactics
The Hakkapeliitta were well-trained
Organization
The Swedish army then had three cavalry regiments from Finland:
- Nylands och Tavastehus läns kavalleriregemente)
- Åbo and Björneborg County Cavalry Regiment (Åbo och Björneborgs läns kavalleriregemente)
- Viborg and Nyslott County Cavalry Regiment (Viborgs och Nyslotts läns kavalleriregemente)
Their most famous commander was
Notable battles
The main battles in which the Hakkapeliitta took part during the Thirty Years' War were:
- Breitenfeld in 1631
- Lech in 1632
- Battle of Alte Vestein 1632
- Lützen in 1632
- Nördlingen in 1634
- Leipzig in 1642 (also known as the Second Battle of Breitenfeld or the First Battle of Leipzig)
- Jankau in 1645
200 Hakkapeliitta were also part of the army which King
In popular culture
- The Bearkillers, a protagonist faction in S.M. Stirling's Emberverse series, uses the Hakkapeliitta battle cry.
- The module of the Advanced Squad Leader board game system, depicting the Finnish forces in World War II, is titled Hakkaa Päälle!
- Nokian Tyres makes snow tires called Hakkapeliittas.
- Hakkapeliitta's feature in Gustav II Adolf's armies.
- The song "Rex Regi Rebellis" by Finnish metal band Turisas describes the adventures of the Hakkapeliitta and includes the battle cry Hakkaa päälle pohjan poika! (Strike them down, son of the North!).
- The Hakkapeliitta is included in the video game Age of Empires III as a mercenary unit, under the name hackapell. When Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition released, the Hackapell mercenary was removed and replaced with a more generic "Harquebusier" unit. This is due to the introduction of a full Swedes civilization, who can field non-mercenary Hakkapelit from the Stable. While historically the Hakkapeliitta are light cavalry, until Patch 13.27885 of the Knights of the Mediterranean expansion, the game classifies them as Ranged Heavy Cavalry. Thereafter, Hakkapeliitta are correctly classified as Light Cavalry, albeit still primarily a ranged unit.
- In Civilization V, the Hakkapeliitta are a unique unit of the Swedish Empire under Gustavus Adolphus.
- Hakkapeliitta is the only unique unit of the Swedish Empire's unit roster in the strategy game Empire: Total War.
-
Cathedral of Turku
References
- ^ a b c Talaskivi 1977, pages 77-81
- ^ a b c d Karasjärvi, Tero. "Historiallisia Arvosteluja 24/2001: Sadan vuoden sotatie" [Historical [book] reviews 24/2001: Sadan vuoden sotatie] (in Finnish). Retrieved December 25, 2009.
Hakkapeliitat eivät myöskään saavuttaneet mitään kummoisempaa mainetta Euroopan sotakentillä. Hyvin harvat aikalaislähteet mainitsevat erityisesti suomalaiset sotilaat [...]
External links
- Midi tune
- Orchestral mp3 version (archived link, 8 April 2005) by the Finnish Cavalry Tradition Band(archived link, 10 April 2006)