Czapka

Czapka (, Polish pronunciation: [ˈt͡ʂapka]; also spelt chapka or schapska ) is a Polish, Belarusian, and Russian generic word for a cap. However, it is perhaps best known to English speakers as a word for the 19th-century Polish cavalry headgear, consisting of a high, four-pointed cap with regimental insignia on the front (full name in Polish: czapka rogatywka, initially: konfederatka) to which feathers or rosettes were sometimes added.

History

Origins

This headdress developed initially as a square-topped variant of a shako. In its early, compact form from 1784 onwards the czapka was introduced by Austrian uhlans, during the time Galicia was under Habsburg rule. Its use was spread from eastern Europe by the Polish Legion, fighting for the French in the Napoleonic Wars, and became popular not only among Napoleon's French and allied forces, such as Westphalia, Bavaria, Saxony, and Naples, but also among the armies of his enemies. The army of the Duchy of Warsaw's infantry and artillery units wore czapkas, but otherwise they were only ever used for uhlan units.

After the Polish lancers proved their effectiveness during the Napoleonic Wars, armies across Europe quickly adopted the concept of the lancer regiments, complete with the czapka as their headdresses.

Nineteenth-century usage

At the end of the Napoleonic Wars the czapka continued to be worn by uhlans in Germany and Austria, as well as in France by Line-Regiment Lancers and later the Imperial Guard of Napoleon III. Lancer regiments in the British Army continued to wear czapkas (described as "lance caps") for full dress until 1939 and the modern Royal Lancers still retains this historic headdress for its Lancer Honour Guard. Along with the traditional double-breasted plastron-fronted lancer jacket, it is also still worn by the band of the Royal Yeomanry.

With the end of the Second French Empire lancer regiments, and thus the czapka, disappeared from the French Army.