Hakkapeliitta (also known as Hackapelit, Hackapelite, Haccapelit or Haccapelite), was the name given in Germany to the Finnish horsemen of King Gustav II Adolph of Sweden during the Thirty Years War. Gustav II Adolph Gustav II Adolph (December 9, 1594 - November 6, 1632) (also known as Gustav Adolph the Great, under the Latin name Gustavus Adolphus or the Swedish form Gustav II Adolf) was a King of Sweden. ... The victory of Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) The Thirty Years War was a conflict fought between the years 1618 and 1648, principally in the central European territory of the Holy Roman Empire, but also involving most of the major continental powers. ...

The term hakkapeliitta comes from the Finnish fighting call - war cry - hakkaa päälle (meaning hack on or hit on in English, hacka på in Swedish).

The hakkapeliittas were extremely well trained Finnish cavalry men, specialized in massive sudden attacks and close up fighting. Their spirit and their feeling of brotherhood were powerful and they were well known, respected and much feared everywhere they went. They were strong and well armored and their Finnhorses were of a strong and durable breed which differs from its neighbouring Swedish counterpart as much larger. A descendant of the northern European domestic horse, the Finnhorse belongs to the general horse breeds, having both warm blood and heavier draft blood influences. ...

Even today the Finnhorses are known for their unique feature: they can be used successfully in battles and extremely heavy work - in tough conditions - as well as in all known horse related sports. They can do the work of both, cold and warm blooded horses. The breed is also called the Finnish Universal because it is said to fulfill all needs for horses, from draft to speedy trotting races, to riding.

The Finnish Hakkapeliitta Cavalry was first used during Sweden's so-called Polish Wars. Among many of their accomplishments, these fiercely fighting and brave cavalry men conquered - led by the famous Swedish Marshal Jacob De la Gardie - the Russian centers Novgorod and Moscow in the early 1600s, and among many other places - led by the victorious Swedish General Gustaf Horn - the entire Germany in 1632 (during the Thirty Years War). Cavalry is also a common misspelling of the Biblical hill Calvary. ... The Polish-Swedish Wars refer to a series of wars between Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden, in the wider meaning to the series of wars in which both Sweden and Poland participated between 1563 and 1721, in the narrower meaning to denote the two wars between 1600 and 1629. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Velikiy Novgorod (Но́вгород) is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia, situated on the highway (and railway) connecting Moscow and St Petersburg. ... Moscow (Russian: Москва́, Moskva, IPA: (help· info)) is the capital of Russia and the countrys principal political, economic, financial, educational and transportation center, located on the river Moskva. ... Categories: 1600s ... Gustaf Horn (1592-1657) Count Gustaf Horn (October 22, 1592 - May 10, 1657) was a Swedish soldier and politician, appointed Privy Councilor in 1625, Field Marshal in 1628, Governor General of Livonia in 1652 and Lord High Constable in 1653. ... See also: 1632 (novel) Events February 22 - Galileos Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems is published July 23 - 300 colonists for New France depart Dieppe November 8 - Wladyslaw IV Waza elected king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth after Zygmunt III Waza death November 16 - Battle of Lützen... The victory of Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) The Thirty Years War was a conflict fought between the years 1618 and 1648, principally in the central European territory of the Holy Roman Empire, but also involving most of the major continental powers. ...

The main battles in which the Haccapelites took part during the Thirty Years War were the battles of Breitenfeld in 1631, Lech in 1632, Lützen in 1632, Nördlingen in 1634, Leipzig in 1642 (also known as the Second Battle of Breitenfeld or the First Battle of Leipzig), and Jankau in 1645, as well as the battle of Lens in 1648. Combatants Saxony Saxony Holy Roman Empire Catholic Leauge Commanders Gustavus Adolphus John George I Johan Tzerclaes, Count of Tilly Strength 23,000 swedes, 17,000 saxons 33,000 Casualties 3500 Swedes and 2000 Saxons dead 7600 dead, 6000 captured and many recruited into the swedish army {{{notes}}} The Battle of... // Events February 5 - Roger Williams emigrates to Boston. ... The Lech (Licus, Licca) is a river in Austria and Germany. ... See also: 1632 (novel) Events February 22 - Galileos Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems is published July 23 - 300 colonists for New France depart Dieppe November 8 - Wladyslaw IV Waza elected king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth after Zygmunt III Waza death November 16 - Battle of Lützen... The Battle of Lützen was one of the most decisive battles of the Thirty Years War. ... See also: 1632 (novel) Events February 22 - Galileos Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems is published July 23 - 300 colonists for New France depart Dieppe November 8 - Wladyslaw IV Waza elected king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth after Zygmunt III Waza death November 16 - Battle of Lützen... Combatants Sweden Saxony Holy Roman Empire Spain Commanders Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar Gustav Horn Cardinal-Infante of Spain Ferdinand of Hungary Matthias Gallas Strength 16,300 infantry 9,300 cavalry 54 guns 20,000 infantry 13,000 cavalry 32 guns Casualties 13,000–15,000 dead or wounded 3,500... Events Moses Amyrauts Traite de la predestination is published Curaçao captured by the Dutch Treaty of Polianovska First meeting of the Académie française The witchcraft affair at Loudun Jean Nicolet lands at Green Bay, Wisconsin Opening of Covent Garden Market in London English establish a settlement... The Second Battle of Breitenfeld (October 23, 1642), also known as the First Battle of Leipzig, took place 4 miles north-east of Leipzig, Germany during the Thirty Years War. ... Events January 4 - Charles I attempts to arrest five leading members of the Long Parliament, but they escape. ... The Battle of Jankau was fought by the Swedish army SSE of Prague in Bohemia (part of present-day Czech Republic) on February 23, 1645 during the Thirty Years War. ... // Events January 10 - Archbishop Laud executed on Tower Hill, London. ... The Battle of Lens (August 20, 1648) was a French victory under Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé against the Spanish army under Archduke Leopold in the Thirty Years War (1618-1648). ... // Events January 17 - Englands Long Parliament passes the Vote of No Address, breaking off negotiations with King Charles I and thereby setting the scene for the second phase of the English Civil War. ...

200 Haccapelits were also part of the army which Swedish King Karl X Gustav led across two ice-frozen Danish straits in the winter of 1658, enabling him to conquer Terra Scania from Denmark by the Treaty of Roskilde. Charles X Gustav (Karl X Gustav) (November 8, 1622 – February 13, 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. ... Events January 13 - Edward Sexby, who had plotted against Oliver Cromwell, dies in Tower of London February 6 - Swedish troops of Charles X Gustav of Sweden cross The Great Belt (Storebælt) in Denmark over frozen sea May 1 - Publication of Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial and The Garden of Cyrus by... Terra Scania, or Skåneland, once constituted the eastern part of the Danish kingdom. ... The Treaty of Roskilde was signed on February 26, 1658 in the Danish city Roskilde, whereby the king of Denmark-Norway sacrificed nearly half his territory to save the rest. ...

The Swedish army had then three cavalry regiments from Finland:

• Nyland and Tavastehus County Cavalry Regiment, in Swedish Nylands och Tavastehus läns kavalleriregemente.
• Åbo and Björneborg Country Cavalry Regiment, Åbo och Björneborgs läns kavalleriregemente.
• Viborg and Nyslott County Cavalry Regiment, Viborgs och Nyslotts läns kavalleriregemente.

Their most famous commander was Torsten Stålhandske, who was commissioned as a lieutenant-colonel with the Nyland and Tavastehus Cavalry Regiment in 1629 and led it for the first time into the Thirty Years' War. Nyland and Tavastehus County Cavalry Regiment , Nylands och Tavastehus läns kavalleriregemente in Swedish, was one of the three original Finnish provincial cavalry regiments in the Swedish Army, officially set up in 1632. ... Nyland and Tavastehus County, Nylands och Tavastehus län or Uudenmaan ja Hämeen lääni, was a County of Sweden from 1634 to 1808, named after Nyland and Tavastehus. ... Torsten StÃ¥lhandske (BorgÃ¥ 1594 -† Haderslev, April 21, 1644) — Swedish for Torsten Steelglove, sometimes written StÃ¥lhansch in the Swedish of the times, and referred to in German literature as Torsten Staalhansch, was a Finnish officer in the Swedish army during the Thirty Years War. ... Nyland and Tavastehus County Cavalry Regiment , Nylands och Tavastehus läns kavalleriregemente in Swedish, was one of the three original Finnish provincial cavalry regiments in the Swedish Army, officially set up in 1632. ... Events March 4 - Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter. ... The victory of Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) The Thirty Years War was fought between the years 1618 and 1648, principally on the territory of todays Germany, but also involving most of the major continental powers. ...

The original provincial regiments (landskapsregementen) had been raised by splitting the old Grand regiments (Storregementen, also "Land regiments" (landsregementen), organized by Gustav II Adolph at the end of the 1610s, forming 21 infantry and eight cavalry regiments as written in the Swedish constitution of 1634. Gustav II Adolph Gustav II Adolph (December 9, 1594 - November 6, 1632) (also known as Gustav Adolph the Great, under the Latin name Gustavus Adolphus or the Swedish form Gustav II Adolf) was a King of Sweden. ... Events and Trends Start of the Golden Age of the Netherlands. ... Events Moses Amyrauts Traite de la predestination is published Curaçao captured by the Dutch Treaty of Polianovska First meeting of the Académie française The witchcraft affair at Loudun Jean Nicolet lands at Green Bay, Wisconsin Opening of Covent Garden Market in London English establish a settlement...

The Hakkapeliitta cavalry was fast, lightly armored and its greatest advantage was its charge. They typically had two pistols and a sword, and sought protection from a helmet, a leather armor or a breast-plate of steel. They would attack at full (galloping) speed, discharge the first pistol at 20 paces, the second at 5 paces and then draw the sword. The horse itself was used like another weapon, as it was used to trample enemy infantry. Charge is a word with many different meanings. ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 nugget For other uses, see Horse (disambiguation). ... Infantry of the Royal Irish Rifles during the Battle of the Somme, First World War. ...

Some of their enemies even said the Hakkapeliitat (plural of Hakkapeliitta) were made unbreakable by witchcraft and that Catholic churches had reserved a place for them in their prayers: Witchcraft, in various historical, religious and mythical contexts, is the use of certain kinds of supernatural or magical powers. ...

"A horribile Haccapaelitorum agmine libera nos, Domine".

("O Lord, deliver us from the terrible army of the Haccapelites")

The many famous and influential hakkapeliittas and their descendants include the Curator of the superpower Sweden in 1660s, Anders Hackzelius and the WW2 period Finnish Prime Minister in 1940s, Antti Hackzell. Events and Trends Samuel Pepys begins his famous diary in 1660 and ends it, due to failing eyesight in 1669. ...

The name Hakkapeliitta was also taken up by Nokian tyres in 1936 for its winter tyres. 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Hakkapeliittain Marssi — March of the Hackapelites

One of their battle marches "Hakkapeliittain Marssi", "March of the Hackapelites" (official title in Swedish "Finska Rytteriets Marsch i trettiåra kriget" or "March of the Finnish Cavalry during the Thirty Years War", with lyrics by Zacharias Topelius in 1872 — translated in Finnish as "Suomalaisen ratsuväen marssi 30-vuotisessa sodassa") is one of the oldest currently played. The Prussian Army adopted it officially in 1891 under the title "Marsch der Finnländischen Reiterei im 30-jährigen Kriege" or "Schwedischer Reitermarsch" (March of the Swedish Cavalry) and it is now a standard of German military folklore. Topelius in a picture published in the Swedish periodical Svenska Familj-Journalen 1866. ... 1872 (MDCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

It goes this way: (mp3)

On Pohjolan hangissa meill' isänmaa

sen rannalla loimuta lietemme saa

käs' säilöjä käyttäiss' on varttunut siell'

on kunnialle, uskolle hehkunut miel'

Kun ratsujamme Nevan vuossa uitettihin

kuin häihin se ui yli Veikselinkin;

Ja kalpamme kostavan Reinille toi

ja Tonavasta Keisarin maljan se joi !

Rough English translation:

Our homeland lies in the snows of the North;

the hearth of the home glowing warm and strong

Our hand has grown sure with playing the sword

and honour and pure faith lies in our record

At the river Neva our mounts did draw their first blood

like in a wedding march they went across the Wistula flood

Our swords they did bring to the Rhineland's coast

and by the Danube they raised up the Emperor's toast !

Original Swedish text:

Den snöiga nord är vårt fädernesland,

där sprakar vår härd på den stormiga strand,

där växte vid svärdet vår seniga arm,

där glödde för tro och för ära vår barm.

Vi vattnade i Nevans bad vår frustande häst

han sam över Weichseln så glad som till fest,

han bar över Rhen vårt hämnande stål,

han drack utur Donau kejsarens skål.

Midi tune here, orchestral mp3 version here by the Finnish Cavalry Tradition Band.

The Finnish composer Uuno Klami developed a free orchestral version of this theme under the title "Suomalaisen ratsuväen marssi" ("March of the Finnish Cavalry") op. 28 in 1939. 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The Finnish poet Eino Leino published another "Hakkapeliittain Marssi", as part of a collection by the name of "Tähtitarha" ("Garden of stars") in 1912. Eino Leino (July 6, 1878 - January 10, 1926) was a Finnish poet and journalist, considered one of the important developers of Finnish poetry. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...