Mirage-Hobby 1508 'Krakus' Polish Cossacs 1813 (15 fig. na koniach)

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The Duchy of Warsaw was established under the provisions of the Treaty of Tilsit concluded in 1807 between Napoleon I Bonaparte and the Tsar of Russia Alexander I. Its constitution was truncated by Napoleon on July 22, 1807. The entire armed forces of the Duchy initially numbered approx. 30 thousand. people, but in 1812, on the eve of the Russian campaign, this number had reached approx. 100,000. soldiers. However, our army suffered significant losses in the course of this campaign. In order to rebuild it at least partially - especially cavalry units - in December 1812, the Council of Ministers of the Duchy of Warsaw decided to recruit Krakow from four departments to the units. Krakusi are, to some extent, improvised light cavalry, using tough and small peasant horses, and they were also recruited most often among the peasants. The main weapons of the Cracovians during the Duchy of Warsaw were a saber, pistols and a short lance. Krakusi took part in the campaign of 1813 in Saxony and fought in the Battle of Lützen and Leipzig. They also fought in France in 1814. After Napoleon's abdication, they returned to Poland, where they were demobilized and partially incorporated into the 1st Uhlan Regiment. It is worth adding that the units of Kraków were also organized during the November (1830-1831) and January (1863-1864 / 1865) Uprising.